Building a business doesn’t always mean starting with one perfectly formed idea.

For Barnsley entrepreneur Paige Goddard, it has been a journey of rediscovering her creativity, rebuilding her confidence and finding a business model that works for both her ambitions and her family.

Today, Paige is developing Peach Pit, a family-run pop-up play café centred around imaginative play, creativity and connection. But getting to this point hasn’t been a straightforward journey.

After spending several years caring for her mum through serious illness, alongside raising a young family and facing challenges of her own, losing her mum left Paige questioning what came next.

She had previously channelled her creativity into Fuzzy Peach, making memory bears and keepsakes from loved ones’ clothing, and had plenty of ideas about where her creative skills could take her in the future.

What she lacked was confidence and a clear direction - “I felt like I’d lost confidence in my creativity and in myself,” she explains. “I knew I wanted to be creative and build something meaningful, but I wasn’t sure what that looked like or how to move forward.”

Finding Launchpad at the Right Time

Paige first heard about Launchpad after attending Barnsley Fashion Week in 2023, where a conversation with Karen from Darling Buds of Cudworth introduced her to the programme and the support available.

“I signed up straight away and haven’t looked back since.”

Her first conversation with Business Advisor Nicole helped put her at ease. Paige went on to complete Launchpad’s first three modules before accessing further workshops, clinics and 1-2-1 support. Being surrounded by other people who were also developing businesses helped her overcome some of the imposter syndrome she had initially felt.

“I attended the first workshop and really enjoyed it. I was surrounded by other entrepreneurs, learning new skills and beginning to understand what starting a business really involves.”

The support gave Paige practical business knowledge, but just as importantly, it gave her the confidence to start exploring her ideas properly. Marketing workshops helped her feel more comfortable promoting what she was doing, while opportunities such as Start Up Saturday encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone, speak about her ideas and connect with other entrepreneurs.

One of her proudest moments was standing in front of the room and confidently sharing who she was, where she had come from and what she wanted to build. It was a significant step for someone who had previously questioned whether she belonged in that environment at all.

Turning an Idea into Peach Pit

One of Paige’s ideas was to create a play café in Barnsley town centre – a welcoming space where children could enjoy imaginative and creative play while parents had the opportunity to relax, enjoy a coffee and connect with other families. Initially, she imagined Peach Pit as a permanent venue.

However, conversations through Launchpad encouraged her to look more closely at the practicalities of the idea and, importantly, what she actually wanted the business to give her.

Working with Business Advisor Nicole and Retail Specialist James helped Paige consider whether taking on permanent premises – and the costs and pressures that came with them – was necessarily the right first step. Instead, the idea evolved.

Peach Pit became a flexible, family-run pop-up play café offering children an alternative to highly stimulating play environments, with imaginative play and creative activities at the heart of its sessions.

For parents, it offers something too: the chance to enjoy a coffee, get involved in crafts and spend time connecting with their children and other families.

For Paige, seeing children enjoying the sessions and asking when they can come back has been one of the most rewarding parts of bringing the idea to life. And the pop-up model means she can test, learn and grow without placing the business under the pressure of large overheads.

Her ambitions haven’t become smaller – they’ve become more considered.

Finding a Different Definition of Growth

Perhaps one of the biggest changes for Paige since joining Launchpad has been recognising that business success doesn’t have to mean growing as quickly as possible.

“I now understand that things take time.”

Rather than feeling pressure to immediately secure premises or turn every creative idea into a business, she has become more confident about taking things one step at a time. She now has short and long-term goals for Peach Pit, with ambitions to continue building its community and potentially expand into parties and events in the future.

Her wider creative ambitions are still there too. Paige hopes to continue developing her design work through Allora Creative, with a long-term vision of building a multidisciplinary creative studio.

But for now, the focus is on developing Peach Pit in a way that is meaningful, sustainable and works around family life.

That flexibility matters to Paige. It allows her to spend time with her children while they are young, involve her family in the journey and continue exploring her creativity without feeling that everything has to happen at once.

From Ideas to a Clearer Direction

Before Launchpad, Paige had creativity, ambition and plenty of ideas – but struggled to know which direction to take them. Now there is more structure behind those ambitions.

Goals and deadlines have created accountability, workshops have strengthened her business knowledge and marketing skills, and the connections she has made through Launchpad and the wider Enterprising Barnsley community have helped her feel part of a supportive local business network.

Most importantly, she has become more confident in making decisions based on what is right for her and her business.

“For the first time, I feel like I’m on the right path. Things are finally starting to fall into place. I don’t have everything figured out, but I know where I’m heading.”

Her Advice? Show Up.

Paige’s experience has shown her that you don’t need a perfect business plan, complete confidence or every answer before asking for support. Asked whether she would recommend Launchpad to somebody else, her answer is clear.

“Absolutely. You might join with one idea and leave with a completely different direction, but that’s all part of the journey. The programme gives you the support, guidance and confidence to follow the path that’s right for you.”

Her advice to anyone considering taking that first step is simple:

“Give it a try. Opportunities don’t find you if you stay hidden. You have to put yourself out there, be seen and take the first step.”

For Paige, taking that step has helped turn a period of uncertainty into a much clearer direction – with Peach Pit now growing from an idea into a business built around creativity, connection and the life she wants to create. As she puts it:

“Launchpad didn’t just help me grow a business, it helped me grow.”