My Amazing Mind
“I loved that when I had a problem, I could call up my business advisor and their response would always be ‘What can we do?’ It made me feel like we were a team!”…
Zoe Moore’s story
Having spent more than 16 years working in the primary school teaching system, as well as working for the Dyslexia Service in Cornwall for 12 months, Zoe Moore had learned a lot about the challenges faced by teachers, children, and their parents, and the potential gaps and lack of services afforded to children with dyslexia and other literacy issues.
After making the decision to leave teaching in 2019, with the firm plan of moving to the United States in early 2020, lockdown put paid to the Moore’s relocation, as was the case with many plans made at that time. This left Zoe with an unscheduled moment to reflect on her life and think about her future professional career.
It was her passion for teaching children that spurred her forward, and her belief that children’s literacy education could be improved in Cornwall, giving Zoe the idea to set up a business focusing on this area.
“I realised these children do not need ‘extra’ as much as they need ‘different’,” says Zoe. “I decided to use my knowledge and experience to help families support their children’s learning with a different approach at home.”
While attending a course on Neuro Linguistic Programming, Zoe discussed her idea with a colleague, who recommended she look into the Outset programme. After doing some research on the Outset Cornwall website, Zoe felt it was exactly what she needed to take her idea forward and got in contact.
After chatting with one of the team, Zoe discovered she was also eligible to join Outset’s sister programme, Focus from the Outset. The personal development content Zoe worked on with Focus naturally fed into the Outset Cornwall programme and, feeling really motivated to start putting the pieces of her business together, she then began Outset Cornwall’s ‘Start Your Business’ sessions in early 2021.
“I found the Start sessions on the Outset programme really nurturing. We had a small group, and it was so exciting to hear everyone’s plans and be part of their journeys, as well as starting my own. Hearing their wobbles and sharing their excitement was a really positive experience.”
Zoe naturally progressed onto Outset’s ‘Run Your Business’ sessions, allowing her to focus on the core activities of the business, and develop the values and brand mission that provide the foundations of My Amazing Mind. Finding support and practical help from both the workshop and 1:1 sessions allowed Zoe to gain great confidence and belief in her business.
“I loved that when I had a problem, I could call up my business advisor and their response would always be ‘What can we do?’ It made me feel like we were a team!”
Centred on how each child processes and absorbs information, as well as understanding behaviour and attitudes to learning, Zoe provides parents and children with a common language on which to build a practical and positive system for daily learning.
“During the Outset programme the opportunities I had to practice presenting and pitching the business and develop my brand values have really benefitted me in promoting the business now.
I feel really enabled by this; I can clearly communicate the business concept and people really do ‘get it’ straight away.””
Building an audience online for My Amazing Mind was one of the challenges Zoe faced, but leveraging the power of social media and marketing is an important part of how Zoe plans to build the business. She quickly grasped how she needed to be in her customers shoes and speak their language in order to get noticed in the digital marketing space. Once her customers become aware of the service My Amazing Mind provides, Zoe can then utilise her existing ability to connect and engage with them.
“The best advice I’ve been given is that people buy from people. It’s so important for me to connect and understand my customers before I start to teach anything. Ensuring I have a relationship with the parents first means that the learning outcomes for the child are better, and the sessions are really fruitful.”
Zoe plans to build on all that she has achieved so far. With more and more awareness around the importance of the learning environment at home, not least since the pandemic, there is a great opportunity to develop her offering. Thanks to help from the Outset programme and her expert knowledge of her field, Zoe is seeking and capitalising on each opportunity.
By developing her business plan and the My Amazing Mind brand during Outset’s Start and Run Your Business sessions, the future of Zoe’s business is bright. Zoe now plans to add to her skillset and gain a qualification as a dyslexic assessor, alongside specialist Grow Your Business Sessions offered by Outset Cornwall.
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