Two enterprising Barnsley College students have used lockdown as a chance to start up their own businesses. Here the young entrepreneurs share more about their plans and the organisations supporting them on their new ventures
Two Barnsley College students have launched new businesses with help from iTrust, a joint venture between the College, The Barnsley Chronicle and The Business Village @BarnsleyBIC.
iTrust supports students interested in starting up a business in Barnsley by offering them access to an array of information and guidance such as mentoring from industry specialists and local businesses and financial investments.
Shanna Greenall (19) is a Level 2 Hair and Beauty student and launched her business, Limitless Lashes, which sells vegan, faux mink lashes, during lockdown in May this year. She was awarded a grant of £250 to support her start-up.
Shanna said: “During lockdown, I started to think about starting my own business more seriously – the workshops at College really helped me put my mind to it. Now I have launched Limitless Lashes, my grant will allow me to purchase my first bulk order of lashes, package them and also start my website.”
Level 3 Sport and Exercise Sciences student Luke Jones (19) was inspired to start his own business making custom-made footwear after he wanted both himself and his shoes to stand out from the crowd. He has founded Sketch Customs with help from iTrust.
Luke said: “About a year ago I was looking to buy some new shoes and I really liked a particular pair, but I was put off by the fact that everyone around me was wearing them.
“I started to search for different models of the shoe and found a picture of some that were custom-made and loved them so I started to look into how they were made – I found a website that stocked paints especially for leather so I ordered some, customised my own and started to wear them.
“I truly aspire to have my own business and I’m excited to see where it can go with the support of the Enterprise Team, the Prince’s Trust and my friends and family. I really feel that I can make this a success.”
Barnsley College is rated outstanding by Ofsted. It has approximately 9,000 students and offers various programmes including vocational courses, A Levels, apprenticeships, technical courses (T Levels), part-time, and Higher Education courses.
See www.barnsley.ac.uk or www.barnsleysixthformcollege.co.uk for more information or contact
Jess Widdowson: j.widdowson@barnsley.ac.uk.
It’s not too late to apply online to study with us in September. For more information about any of our courses email info@barnsley.ac.uk or visit www.barnsley.ac.uk.
