Dotty About Braille was founded in May 2023 by Hayley Kellard

Can you tell us your story before you started your business?

I've actually been self-employed for almost 6 years now, so before opening Dotty About Braille, I mostly worked on a business called Happily Rustic, I closed that in December 2022 for various reasons, supply issues, competitors undercutting me drastically and I'd lost my passion for it. Between that and opening Dotty in May 2023, I tried to launch a couple of different business ideas, but nothing really worked, until I came up with Dotty About Braille.

Can you introduce your business?

Dotty About Braille is an online business specialising in personalised braille greetings cards, transcribed documents, and labels. I have a wide range of greetings cards covering different life events, milestones, and special occasions, including a range of religious cards such as Mazel Tov, Merry Christmas and Happy Diwali cards. I want Dotty to be as diverse and inclusive as possible.

What was the motivation for you to start the business? 

I had taught myself braille during the period when none of my business ideas were working. I had actually applied for a job with the Royal National Institute Of The Blind (RNIB) and you needed to know braille, I only knew a small amount so I spent the next six weeks learning as much as I could.

I found I had a passion for braille, and I thought about how I could turn it into a business idea, and that's when I thought of braille greetings cards. My mum gifted me a Perkins brailler so I could get started. I knew from personal experience that the choices of braille greetings cards were often limited, expensive or not fully accessible, I wanted to change that.

What feedback have you had on Dotty About Braille?

I've received lots of great feedback about the cards, people are loving that they can send thoughtful and accessible braille cards to their loved ones. I've even received an award for them and being shortlisted for other awards.

People are reaching out to me and asking me to be involved with things that I could never have imagined. For example, I have been added to the steering board for The Lilac Review, a government-backed independent review, aiming to tackle the inequality faced by disabled-led businesses and level-up entrepreneurial opportunity across the UK. I was invited down to 10 Downing Street and then after the launch they emailed me and asked me if they could add me to the steering board, which is very exciting.

How would you describe the EnterprisingYou programme?  

I really enjoyed the programme, I thought the workshops were fantastic, they provided so much value and the hosts were always really friendly and engaging. I also enjoyed working with Rebecca one of the advisors at GM Business Growth Hub, it was useful having somebody to bounce ideas off and she gave constructive feedback and kept me focused on the job in hand, instead of worrying about the future.

How has EnterprisingYou helped you with your business?

I think it gave me confidence more than anything, I'm not new to business, but with my previous business I never did any proper training, I just winged everything, and I never had much of a plan or goals for the future. Completing the workshops made me realise, I do know what I'm doing, and it also filled some knowledge gaps which helped to make me feel confident in running this business.

Would you recommend the EnterprisingYou programme to others?

Absolutely, I think it's fantastic, especially with it being fully funded. The workshops alone were worth signing up for. I have actually already recommended it to other Etsy sellers in the area. I love that the workshops were mostly online because I wouldn’t have been able to attend a lot of them in person and it was great meeting other local business owners.

What would you say to someone who is considering starting their own business?

I would say try to avoid super saturated markets unless you're offering something unique within that market and have the means to get your message out there. I'd also say don't panic if it doesn't take off in the way you hoped, or even if fails. Not all businesses are meant to be a huge success, some are there just to keep you moving towards the business that will take off. Enjoy the process, absorb as much information as you can, be curious, ask questions and put yourself out there.

What is next for your business?

Things are very exciting for Dotty About Braille at the moment, I'm a finalist in the Gift of the Year awards (in two categories) and I'm receiving a lot of support and recognition for the work I'm doing which is great. My plan for 2024 is to grow the B2B side of things, offer more transcribing work and hopefully make Dotty a full-time job by the end of the yea