Sofia launches Boat School after completing her Royal Yachting Association course
A Kinver woman has found that running her own canal-based business really floats her boat.
Sofia Zuberi has launched the Kinver Boat School after completing her Royal Yachting Association helmsman course and with the help of a £1,000 grant from South Staffordshire District Council.
She aims to help newcomers to canal living understand their boats better and the legalities surrounding moorings, as well as providing training to people preparing for canal holidays.
“I decided to live on a canal after the end of my marriage and found that I loved it and was a natural at handling the boat,” explained Sofia, who was awarded the grant after completing a business start-up scheme with consultants Good2Great.
She has used the money for marketing material, including business cards, postcards and signage.
“My passion is to help more people to enjoy the waterways safely, whether that be as owners, holiday makers or people just satisfying their curiosity," she added.
“The Good2Great course elevated my thinking into being more business-like, particularly helping me to recognise who my ideal customers are and improved my understanding on how to market the business.
“While I may have got there eventually, this course gave me a big leap forward plus gave me access to other new businesses and experts to run ideas by and learn from,” Sofia added.
More workshops will be delivered by Good2Great for South Staffordshire District Council on October 29 and 30 at the Civic Centre in Wombourne and on November 19 and 20 at Rodbaston College.
These events have been funded by the UK government through its UKSPF programme.
Anyone interested in joining the business start-up workshops can contact Tamsin Preece on 01746 330730 or start@good-2- great.co.uk
Match-funded grants of up to £1,000 are available for eligible businesses.
