Amy Nolan, Owner, Ginger Rainbow
When Amy Nolan’s husband, a sergeant in the Royal Air Force, was posted to a rural military base, she had no choice but to leave her role as a team co-ordinator at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. “As a military spouse you often need to move around and take on whatever work is available, as opposed to the job best suited to you.” Turning the experience into a positive, Amy decided to start her own business, Ginger Rainbow, designing colour-in pillowcases for children to send to a parent serving overseas. “I’d always had creative skills, so I wanted to try and make a living through that, but when you’re self-employed, everything changes. My biggest challenge was using social media – I’ve never been confident sharing personal stories online – so, promoting a business was a big step.”
When Amy decided to attend a Google Digital Garage training event, organised with charity Recruit for Spouses, things started to move in the right direction. Next, taking part in an #IamRemarkable workshop on how to improve self-promotion skills and celebrate achievements, helped Amy discover the confidence she needed. “The biggest change was my mindset. I became more comfortable saying: this is what I have done, this is what I do, this is what I am good at. I got braver, less embarrassed, and I’ve been moving forwards because of that.” Since the workshop Amy has started a second business offering project support to companies and is also growing Ginger Rainbow, using the skills and confidence she’s developed. “If you’re serious about building a business, you need to be more confident and get yourself out there. And realising that was a very important moment for me.”
About Ginger Rainbow:Â
Creative, colour-in gifts for parents on military service.
The biggest change was my mindset. I became more comfortable saying: this is what I do, this is what I have done, this is what I am good at.
Amy Nolan
