This month our spotlight is Emily Tarrant from Webfooted Designs.
Emily Tarrant is a local web designer and is founder of the Far West Business Network. Her company builds websites for small businesses and non-profits, with a focus on providing services for other local businesses.
“Try not to get caught up in the ‘shoulds’. You can be made to feel like you should be doing things a certain way, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to business.“ says Emily
Name
Emily Tarrant
Business Name
Webfooted Designs
Tell us about your business – what service or product do you offer?
My business is a web design business. We build websites for small businesses and non-profits, and have a strong focus on providing an ongoing service to take away the stress and overwhelm of running a website. We can build anything from a simple one-page site to a full-blown ecommerce webshop – but we are very much about keeping things simple and will never sell additional features for the sake of it.
How long has your business been running?
We have just reached 22 years in business. I first set up as a sole trader in 2004 and the business has been a limited company since my partner (now husband!) joined the business in 2006.
Why did you start up your business?
I started dabbling with web design as a hobby in 2000, which very quickly became a passion. When we decided that we would like to move down to Cornwall from Oxfordshire, I was working as an Archivist and found that job opportunities in that role were few and far between down here. So I decided to pursue web design as a business as a way to make the move possible.
Tell us about a time you have taken a leap of faith
Moving down to Cornwall in 2006 was definitely a leap of faith. Both myself and my partner quit our full time jobs for the move, bought our first house, and went all-in on making a living through running our business. And looking back, I’m so proud of us for doing that and that we are still going.
And more recently, setting up the Far West Business Network was a huge leap of faith for me. As someone who is happiest sat at her computer, getting people together and organising regular meetups was definitely out of my comfort zone. But I’m very happy that I did it and am thrilled with the response the group has had.
How has your business changed since you began?
There has been a big change in the way we build websites. When we started out we were hand coding all the websites we built and we only had to account for desktop monitors and laptops. Now websites have to work across a range of screen sizes from a mobile phone up to a huge desktop monitor.
We used to try to do everything ourselves but now we focus on our strengths and partner up with other business owners to give us a stronger offering – in particular graphic design, copywriting and photography. We work with some fab people, which makes the job even more enjoyable.
What do you hope for your business in the future?
I would love to keep the business going at a sustainable pace, focusing on providing services to other local businesses. We’re living in difficult times at the moment, so I am coming back to the importance of local support in everything I do.
What benefits/challenges have you found as a business owner in the Far West of Cornwall
It can feel like we’re a long way from everything else down here in our corner of the world. It can feel quite isolated. But one of the things I love about living and working in St Just is that we have an amazing community around us.
How has being a part of FWBN helped you?
Setting up the FWBN has made such difference to me. I’ve met some amazing people running businesses that I didn’t know existed before, and as a result have found people to work with that have made my business better. I have made some great friends, and my confidence has increased massively as a result of running the group.
Do you have any advice for people starting out?
Try not to get caught up in the “shoulds”. You can be made to feel like you should be doing things a certain way, but there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to business. Try things out and don’t be afraid of finding your own way of doing things.
And get a good support system around you! The FWBN is great for that – if you need advice you’ll find a group of people who’d love to help you.
Website: www.webfooted.co.uk
Email Address: emily@webfooted.co.uk
Want to be the next Spotlight? Or want to join the network? Drop us a line at hello@farwestbusiness.co.uk.