MD Sarah Elliott tells unLTD how ‘fantastic support’ from Launchpad helped her realise the ‘long-held dream’ of setting up the family business White Rose Tuition
Tell us about your company?
White Rose Tuition are based in South Yorkshire. We offer a bespoke tuition service where we match the individual needs of each student to their perfect, fully vetted tutor. Every tutor on our site is an expert in their subject and experienced with online tuition. Our tutors are lovely people and have a fantastic record helping children and young people across the UK.
When did you first decide to start up on your own and what inspired you?
Starting a tuition business was a long-held dream. In August 2020, my sister, Elizabeth Bell and I were discussing the impact of COVID-19 on school students and our idea was formed. Working together to combine our 40 years’ teaching experience, we created White Rose Tuition.
Ours is truly a family business as our 90-year-old father even came up with our name! As the first lockdown took hold, we felt passionate about trying to make a difference in supporting students who had fallen behind due to school closures. As tutors ourselves, we were determined to create a tutor-friendly platform for other educational professionals who were looking to increase their portfolio of students.
How has Launchpad helped you?
Launchpad has been a fantastic support to us as a start-up business and provided invaluable business advice. We have been able to access workshops on customer profiling, marketing, and forming an effective business plan. Networking with other businesses was also made easy and it felt good to meet others going through a challenging time for SMEs in this climate.
What are your hopes and aims for the business?
Our hope for the future of White Rose Tuition is to build a platform where we can offer tuition in all subjects including, for example, arts and crafts for adult learners. We would also like to offer group sessions making learning accessible for more students. Currently, we are also in the process of producing fantastic, self-learning style courses that students can download to aid in their studies.
“I love working with Elizabeth as she shows such a passion for teaching and was very keen to learn as much as possible about how to start a business. Starting a business is never easy especially under Covid and I am delighted that her client base is growing”
“Starting and growing a business is not easy and that’s why the Launchpad programme was created. Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and our partners means there is no cost to the entrepreneur, so we can get straight to work on turning those dreams into reality.
“Stop dreaming and do it. Contact us for information now on 03330 00 00 39 or email growthhub@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk.”
