Pets make a paw-fect start-up business

Juggling a young family while trying to grow a small business is never an easy task.

But mum-of-two Emma Gooding, from Dunmow in Essex - the star of the latest ad campaign for Vistaprint - has proven it can be done.

Her 4 Paws Dog Salon was set up three years ago and its success has shown Emma wasn’t barking mad for going it alone - alongside her busy life caring for her children and two dogs.

“Setting up a small business is the perfect option for many women who want to earn a primary or an extra family income. In Emma’s case you could say it was the paw-fect option because she told us she can control her own schedule,” says Kathryn Huxtable, Marketing Manager at Vistaprint.

Emma, 29, left school at 16 and started grooming dogs before opening her salon. She is now looking to expand her premises but knows marketing her business is one of the main and constant drivers for its success.

She found Vistaprint via a website search and started by purchasing traditional business cards to hand out to prospective clients.

But Emma now takes a more innovative approach to using Vistaprint to spread her message and her brand.

Personalised items such as key rings and appointment cards are given out as well as post card leaflets to put through letterboxes while banners display special offers and events outside the shop.

Kathryn added: “Emma is typical of our small business customers who need a fast and efficient service that they can control at the right price. “Like many of those who use the Vistaprint service, she has taken advantage of a wide-range of different products to market her business and grow her customer base. It’s no surprise given the sort of business she runs that she knows how to take the lead against her competitors.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vistaprint.co.uk .