Lara Sheldrake, 26, works in recruitment, but decided to set up Y-Pro – a website where young professionals can rate services, compare experiences, share advice and stay up-to-date on the latest topics – from home with friend and business-partner Haley Pascal. She explains why:
Y-Pro: Lara Sheldrake set up an online business from home
‘My business partner, Haley Pascal, and I noticed a gap in the market and knew we had found something new and exciting, worthy of exploration.
‘We wanted to visit one site which would cover topics relevant to our age and location. So we bought the company name, registered it online and now we are in contact with a number of different bloggers and business owners who are all part of Y-pro.
‘Setting up Y-Pro from home has its benefits as it allows for flexibility. I have a full-time job so finding the time can be a challenge, but it is refreshing to come home and be able to pick up Y-pro – it is so rewarding having an idea and seeing it through.
‘People ask me how I find the motivation but it doesn’t even cross my mind, it may be tiring and arduous at times but I love it and to me it’s my baby.
‘With us both having full-time jobs, this probably wasn’t the right time for us to set up a business.
‘But a good idea should never be ignored and the digital media world, being a 24-hour domain, accommodates a flexible working approach.
‘So far our outgoings have only been the administrative costs of setting up the company, our time and the website. I think the beauty of being in the digital landscape is that you don’t need to spend money to make it. You just need to make time, have patience, passion and perseverance.’
Costs of setting up included:
£35 to register the company name
£35 web domain
£15 web hosting
£12 newsletter templates
£30 image gallery
£70 business card.
‘I should add it would have cost a lot more if a good friend hadn’t helped to oversee the technicalities of setting up the website and coding.
‘I also spent hours teaching myself how to use newsletter templates and publishing platform WordPress to keep costs down. Being self-taught meant long nights trying to crack simple yet time consuming web tasks which probably could have been done much quicker if I paid someone who knew how to do it. But we were on a budget so this was the only way.’
The Daily Startup 