Meet Jo and learn how Burp & Boogie was born

In March 2024 I was made redundant from my job in Licensing at WeightWatchers. This actually turned out to be a very positive thing. I was very fortunate that they gave me a financial settlement which allowed me to take some time to reset and consider what my next steps would be.

After a lovely relaxing holiday, I began to formulate a plan. I’ve always wanted to work for myself but didn’t really know what I wanted to do, or even if I could do it. So I began researching what training was available to me and found out about Skills Bootcamps through the Government website. Digital Marketing appealed to me,as I had done a little of this in my previous jobs and wanted to explore it further. So I applied, and after a Zoom chat with Louize I was enrolled on the Digital Marketing for Small Business course.

Now I had to think of a business! I had some experience selling t-shirts online, so I decided to give that a go. Unfortunately, about a million other people are trying to do this too, so I quickly realised it was a non-starter. Then a new idea came to me and Burp & Boogie was born!

I live in a very musical world. My husband and I both used to play in bands and our house is full of guitars, amps and a full drum kit. Not to mention the huge vinyl collection. Our 12 year old son is getting into music and learning to play drums and guitar. When he was little, I used to take him to classical music concerts just for babies. This was in London and now living in Maidenhead, I haven’t seen anything similar locally. So I decided to bring this to life with my own business, Burp & Boogie.

So I changed course halfway through my bootcamp. Louize and my fellow boot campers were incredibly supportive and excited about my new plan!

I learnt a whole new set of skills during my course. From setting up a website & learning about SEO, to defining my target audience and how to reach them using the website and social media. One of the most useful things was learning how to use Canva, which has been instrumental to my business. I use it to create ads, social media posts and have even created my own business cards using it. 

Being on the course kept me focussed and gave me a timeline to work towards. The people in my group were so supportive and kept me motivated, while providing invaluable feedback on my ideas. By the end of the course I had everything I needed in place to get started and I had my first show on September 12th, attended by 12 lovely mums and babies.

I’ve now hosted 3 events and am looking to build and expand on this next year. In the meantime, I have set up another business offering pet sitting services, to help generate some income while Burp & Boogie is still finding its feet. All using the skills I learnt on the course.

I would advise anyone thinking about applying for a course at the Curious Academy to go for it! The team there is fantastic - everyone is so friendly and the coffee is delicious too!