Ola Soneye is the Director of Work Care and Thrive Ltd which was established in September 2023, and operates in the London borough of Waltham Forest. The company provides a range of services to support carers and helps organisations to become more carer friendly, for their employees. Ola joined the E-Business programme in March 2024.

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Describe your business

Drawing from personal experience of balancing work while caring for a loved one and backed by alarming statistics - 1 in 7 employees juggling additional caregiving responsibilities - Work Care and Thrive emerged. Between 2017 and 2019, an average of 600 people left employment daily in the UK due to these challenges, resulting in a staggering cost of approximately £3.4 billion a year. 

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Work Care and Thrive is driven by a passionate mission: to support both working, unpaid carers and organisations that are committed to support their working, unpaid carer community. Our comprehensive services include workshops, coaching, group programmes, public speaking, and consultancy - all anchored in a supportive community framework.

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Work Care and Thrive provides targeted support for unpaid carers through a range of services including workshops and training; coaching; group programmes; peer support; consultancy for organisations.

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What issues was your business facing before you joined the E-Business programme?

Being a new purpose driven business that developed organically with the extension of some of the services that I put in place at my workplace, our goals before joining the E-Business programme were to increase revenue and expand our customer base by reaching potential clients who hadn’t discovered our services yet. As a small business we recognise the importance of using technology effectively and the E-business Programme seemed like an attractive opportunity to drive growth through digital tools 

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What advice and support have you received through the programme?

Both Liz Gjoni, our Business Adviser and Nadya Quintanilla, our Digital Adviser have been great. 

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During the initial diagnostic meeting Liz conducted a review of the business and we looked at ways the E-Business programme could provide support, identifying specific areas to work on. including our administrative framework such as terms and privacy policy. Together, we explored ways to enhance and update our administrative processes to ensure compliance and clarity.  Other key areas addressed with Liz included:

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• Conducting a comprehensive financial review and annual forecast.

• Providing a user-friendly template that has become an indispensable tool for mapping potential programs and business activities, aiding in predicting their viability.

• Exploring strategies for expanding services and implementing necessary changes.

• Analysing customer journeys to enhance the value provided by Work Care and Thrive.

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Nadya’s expertise has helped us enhance communication about our services and improve discoverability.

Key areas addressed included:

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• A review of the website, identifying areas for improvement. 

• Exploration of specific digital tools and devised an action plan to implement necessary changes.

• Looking at LinkedIn optimisation for better online presence.

• Incorporating other digital tools to support the marketing process, e.g. MailChimp

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What impact has this had on your business?

The E-Business Programme has brought about the following impacts on our business:

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• Established and streamlined business administration processes, ensuring compliance and clarity.

• Enhanced our website, optimising it for specific keywords to improve visibility and reach.

• Updated and optimised our LinkedIn profile to maximise online presence.

• Implemented a financial forecast system to effectively track business activity.

• Enabled us to introduce new programmes to diversify our offerings and meet evolving needs.

• Successfully launched the Self-Care Challenge for Carers Week 2024

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What are your plans and goals for the future?

Our immediate objective is to execute a successful campaign for Carer’s Week 2024, scheduled for 10th to 16th June, 2024. This year's campaign theme is 'Putting carers on the map'. At Work, Care, and Thrive, our focus will be on hosting a self-care challenge for carers and their supporters.  Please see this webpage for more details and to sign up.

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Following this initiative, we aim to enhance our website by introducing downloadable digital tools and advancing our business expansion plans. Our overarching goal is to normalise discussions about additional caring responsibilities in the workplace, ensuring that employees with such responsibilities receive the necessary support to thrive in their dual roles.

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Any other comments?

I've discovered that the programme offers more value than I initially anticipated. While I expected assistance and guidance with utilising digital tools to boost the business, I also received a comprehensive review of our business operations, which helped to provide confidence that we're moving in the right direction. The interest, encouragement and investment in Work Care and Thrive were truly invaluable and greatly appreciated. I've already recommended this programme to other small businesses.

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For more details visit the website Work Care and Thrive