A change of direction inspires health business in Ghana
Without entrepreneurship training, Charity Selorm struggled to develop her business. HP LIFE training gave her the confidence she needed to change direction.
Lotus Flower Laboratory provides core health assessments, including tests for blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels, to help clients identify health risks. It also provides the information they need to lead a healthier lifestyle. “Good health is so important, but we hardly pay any attention to it,” Charity explains. “A sedentary lifestyle can result in ill health and time off work. We are trying to combat this by showing our clients, who are typically busy professionals, where their health is now, and what they can do to improve it.”
Like lots of new small business owners, Charity faced some challenges. “Of course, it’s critical for the future success of any business that it doesn’t run at a loss,” she said. “But because I’d never had any entrepreneurship training, I was struggling with the basics. I didn’t know how to price my services properly, who my target market was or what to do to ensure the business would grow.”
This meant Charity was wasting time and resources marketing to people who were not her key customers and making pricing decisions that were adversely affecting the business’s future growth prospects.
HP LIFE helped Charity tackle these challenges. The program is funded by the HP Foundation and provides people all over the world with access to 32 free online courses in seven languages which help them build key business competencies.
“I learnt so many new skills through HP LIFE,” she said. “Like how to use the business model canvas tool (BMC) to develop and refine a business idea, how to determine the break-even point of my business, how to price my services properly, and how to identify my target market.”
As a result, Charity realized her original business idea was not going to work. Using her new skills, she began working on an idea for a profitable, socially impactful business and Lotus Flower Laboratory was born. “HP LIFE gave me the tools I needed to build a strong, business with good long-term growth prospects,” she said.
Three years later, Charity’s business is thriving. She has five employees and is investing in new equipment so she can extend the services she offers and scale up her business.
Inspiring Stories Showing the Impact of Our Global Program
Roger Blair, Professor III Entrepreneurship
View success story“Incorporating HP LIFE into our upper-level entrepreneurship course has enabled us to offer our students access to a high-quality open-access learning resource, supporting our goal to find long-term solutions to textbook affordability.”
Danayit Zegeye, YMCA Ethiopia
View success story“The knowledge I have gained from taking HP LIFE courses will allow me to make disciplined decisions and invest in my business.”
Cameron Early, Student, YMCA Scotland
View success story“As someone without previous knowledge of running an enterprise, I found the HP LIFE courses engaging. The interactive content and videos made it fun to learn.”
Argiris Tzikopoulos, CEO, JA Greece
View success story“We are glad for our global collaboration with HP. Our organizations share a common passion for enhancing students’ soft skills and empowering them. As JA Greece, we are proud that we are building on expanding this partnership to reach more students through HP LIFE courses.”
Shanthi Kanthaswamy, executive director, JA Malaysia
View success story“Teachers are pivotal to education and to the impact it has on students who are our hope and future leaders. JA Malaysia is truly grateful for the empathy shown by HP Malaysia to the challenges these heroes of education are facing at the moment.”
Andrea Mendes, executive director, Mundo Aflora
View success story“The HP volunteer team helped increase the self-esteem of these young women who are forgotten by a large part of society.”
HP LIFE graduate, Costa Rica
View success story“The course exceeded my expectations in terms of content, tools, application, and the most valuable thing, which is the human factor, because behind it all there is a whole team full of commitment, dedication and professionalism. HP LIFE truly transforms lives.”
Ndinda Catherine Leech, YALI participant
View success story“I encourage everyone to take advantage of any opportunity to learn new skills, especially if it’s free. Improving your knowledge will take you a long way.”
Jalel Echaybi
View success storyI particularly liked the HP LIFE marketing courses. I use these every day in the planning and growth of my business.
Sondess Amara
View success storyHP LIFE training has been crucial for me. Through the HP LIFE program, I was given mentoring to complete my business plan, learned how to advertise my business and even how to do my accounts from one year to the next.
Tunisian entrepreneurs
View success storyFive Tunisian entrepreneurs hone their entrepreneurship skills through the Mashrou3i program and learn cooperation is the best way to grow a successful business.
Anis Assali
View success storyI learned how to use Microsoft Excel to determine the break-even point of my business and how to analyze my expenses which has enabled me to better estimate my real costs. HP LIFE helped me in virtually every aspect of my business.
Charity Selorm
View success storyI learnt so many new skills through HP LIFE. Like how to use the business model canvas tool to develop and refine a business idea, how to determine the break-even point, how to price my services properly, and how to identify my target market.
Barbara Millard from Johnson County Community College, US
View success storyHP LIFE was just what I was looking for to add new life to my teaching. I can use the modules as basic course content, or as a refresher. Each module stands alone and can be mixed and matched according to individual class needs.