Consulting

We had loads of strong ideas for our new business but with no structure or pathway on how to make that dream a reality.  We lacked focus and direction before the workshops and really needed Dorota’s steady hand to guide us. In the early days of starting a business, it can be hard to know where to spend funds wisely. Working with Dorota accelerated us on our way to receiving payment on our first invoice.

Dorota gave us the confidence and tools to overcome our hesitations, extract the most from our ideas and push our business plan. She took us systematically through what we were doing and why, really getting to the bottom of what we wanted and how we could achieve it. This was all done in a fun, informative and visual way with lots of leaping off points to make our own notes and brainstorm further. Dorota helped us define in our own minds the needs and desires for our business and supported us with how we could communicate this. We were much more focused with a clear direction and vision of our product. We started thinking more like businesswomen.  I really appreciated how Dorota steered us through the course and let our ideas flourish. She is a great teacher and always prepared to help.

By end of the programme, we had feedback from our customers, prototypes and drafts to hone, copy and content for our website, a brand strategy and designed packaging. Working with Dorota gave us a change in perspective. We now don’t make assumptions about customers' needs and desires.  We know how to extract the information we need to make our product better and target our audience. We are more confident in talking about what we offer. This is what I meant by we now think like businesswomen.

I had a lot of doubt around my creative ability and even more so around whether I could turn this into a ‘real’ business. I felt embarrassed that this was my passion and to market and sell my products to the general public. I was worried nobody would take my idea/product seriously, and then it wouldn’t be marketable. After participating in the workshop, I found confidence and self belief in my business idea and the products that I am making. I definitely felt I had more drive and creative direction particularly for how I wanted my end product to look and also how I wanted to market my brand. I feel I have more creative inspiration which has led to new ideas and products. Dorota really helped to draw out my brand ethos and exactly why wanted to market my product. It was hard, but became easy to recognise the more tasks that she set. The quality of my product has improved – I now feel and see the cohesiveness of my brand running throughout the range. I'd 100% recommend this workshop - at the beginning of this I only had an idea and a few products, following this experience I would now say I have a brand identity and a proper business. Dorota takes you on a journey, from your initial idea she helps you transform this into a real, tangible business. She anticipates your hopes, fears and needs and helps to draw out things about yourself and your business that you won’t even aware that you knew.

When I saw Dorota's post, I was quite busy with client related tasks. Before realising that thinking forward was important for my growth, I hesitated on the basis of time, which would have been perhaps a little short sighted. I decided to reach out, after processing my current situation and thinking clearly about how I would reach my goals. Also, I realised I had help and expertise in front of me in the form of Dorota’s guidance, and that it would be foolish not to speak.

As an engineer,  I appreciate when things are laid out methodically and with a tangible focus. The framework we used allowed me to take my dreams, ideas and ambitions from my mind and place them on ‘paper’ in front of me, which made them a little more real. This gave them structure and a new focus, which was helpful and allowed me to develop ideas a little deeper. After participating in the workshops, I noticed I had some more clarity and organisation on my mission and how I wanted to move in the immediate future. Also, defining my target audience and how to approach them were some of the immediate benefits. It also helped me to focus on my plan from a high level, rather than in a narrower, task by task sense.

The workshops certainly gave me a new energy in the form of inspiration. It gave my ideas more presence, almost making them more tangible in a structured and meaningful way. After the sessions, I also realised that I could use the ideas, clarity and concepts we developed to rebrand my company. I created new branding, name and website which I’m very proud of and I've had positive feedback from potential clients within hours of making it live!

 I’d certainly recommend this to people like myself who have an existing business, but are ready to take it up a level. Also, to people with an idea they would like to explore in the sense of creating a meaningful business from.