Eloise Skinner is an author, teacher and the founder of two businesses – The Purpose Workshop (a social impact consultancy) and One Typical Day (a supplier of educational careers resources). Find out more about Eloise at www.eloiseskinner.com, or find her on social media.
Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?
I started my career in quite a traditional way – in corporate law! I wanted to be a lawyer from a young age, and studied Law at university before training to be a solicitor. I worked in the city for five years, and then swapped law for entrepreneurship. I’ve also been writing books for the last few years – my first book, in 2019, was for junior lawyers, and my second book, in 2021, was about finding purpose. My third book is out in 2023!
Since starting, have you made any changes to your business model?
For my second business, One Typical Day – yes! We started by focusing on the corporate market: graduate recruitment materials for big corporate employers. But we soon saw that there was a real gap in the education market – a slightly younger demographic than the post-university graduates we’d been targeting. Our resources are now more tailored to school and college students, although with the same intention, to make careers information more relatable, fun and engaging.
Have you ever had a mentor? If so, how has this benefitted you either personally or professionally?
I’ve had several mentors throughout my career, and I really credit these relationships with giving me the confidence and support to develop my work over the past decade. In particular, my mentors have always been able to provide clear, objective feedback on career moves and strategies – it’s been so helpful to be able to run ideas by a third party, especially when they have a bit of distance from the situation.
What outlets do you use for marketing?
Social media – Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. And, because One Typical Day is fundamentally B2B, we use a lot of direct outreach, client referrals and testimonials!
You are part of our BEYOUROWN SME Network Club, but what methods are you using to build your own support network?
Building a network is definitely a priority as a small business owner. Venture-building can often feel like an isolated journey, especially at the early stages! I’ve really benefitted from reaching out to other entrepreneurs at a similar stage, and building connections directly. Platforms like LinkedIn can be great for this, as well as networking clubs (like BEYOUROWN!).
What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?
Make sure every key business decision you take is in alignment with your core purpose, or the mission of your business.
How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?
It’s certainly an ongoing process! It helps to make the most of unpredictable hours – if I have a free evening or afternoon, I’ll take the time to step back and take a break. That makes it easier when (as all business owners know) there are times when you need to work straight through weekends or holidays!
How do you define your own success?
I think it’s about figuring out, first, what you really want to achieve. It sounds basic, but it’s often the first and most obvious step that we overlook: what do you want? Once you have a clear and defined answer to this question (or at least, a couple of places to start), you can work back from there to define some metrics or measures of personal and professional success.
What can we expect from you next?
I have a new book out in a few months, which I’m really excited about. Alongside my businesses, I’m hoping to develop my work as an author, writer and speaker – especially about topics like education, existentialism and personal development!
