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Growing up in a family without much money, Christy Foster’s entrepreneurial journey started earlier than most.

At the age of 13, Christy got herself a job before and after school setting up and clearing away market stalls in Manchester. She would walk miles to and from her job in order to save money on the bus fare.  

After saving up some money, Christy began her first entrepreneurial endeavor selling costume jewelry in gift boxes. With the help of female factory workers in Manchester who she paid commission, she made an impressive £16,000 in the 16 weeks leading up to Christmas that year - money she used to buy her mother a car.  

Despite their financial struggles, Christy came from a very academic family. She explains that having had five members of her family attend the University of Cambridge, there was an expectation that she too would pursue higher education. She was, however, struggling at school with what she now knows was undiagnosed Dyslexia.  

Therefore, instead of following the expected path, Christy dropped out of sixth form in order to start making money.

Soon after, Christy began trading on online marketplace, eBay. Due to her natural skill for problem solving and strategy, she achieved great success and quickly needed to use a courier to deliver all the orders she was receiving.

Once she saw the potential for her trading to turn into a fully-fledged business, she asked her husband, sister and brother-in-law to join her, turning the business into a family affair.

Eventually Christy felt it was the right time to leave the third-party website and launch Online4baby on its own. Christy puts Online4baby’s success down to putting customers at the heart of the business and providing a combination of value for money as well as sound, practical advice for parents. Christy, a mother herself to twins, prides herself on buying differently to other retailers and providing first-class customer service.

Boosting business

During lockdown, Christy decided to take a different stance on stock to many of her competitors. Rather than cut back, she ordered more. Although stock was more expensive for her to order at this time, she found that this was a worthwhile gamble as customers were happy to pay more in order to get the items they needed.

Christy says that as a result of their success during the pandemic, the business came out of lockdown a more structured, corporate entity with the potential to scale further.

Although she recognises how hard it is for e-commerce businesses to compete with the likes of Amazon, Online4baby has continued to grow year on year. Christy and the team have even gone on to create their own brands within Online4baby, something Christy is passionate about given her 35 years’ experience in baby products. It is this expertise as well as the personal experience of buying directly from a business that leaves Christy undeterred by e-commerce giants.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Having worked with her sister now for 33 years, Christy has learned that the two bring very different strengths to the business. Christy acknowledges that while her strengths lie in the business strategy, creativity and thinking outside of the box, her sister is the solid, structural arm of Online4baby.

Neurodiversity

Recently Christy was diagnosed with ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism. She explains that it isn’t common to be diagnosed with all three, and that one can actually help to counterbalance the other.

In many ways, Christy feels her neurodiversity benefits her in business with her additional energy boosting her output, creativity and work ethic, she explains.

All her additional energy also means she fills her spare time with speaking in schools around Manchester. She hopes to raise awareness about neurodiversity, reminding others like her that they can go onto achieve anything.

Christy’s success has not gone unnoticed. In 2022 she was a Finalist in the North in EY’s Entrepreneur of the year UK programme. Describing it as the ‘best experience’, she urges others to take part if presented with the opportunity due to the invaluable learning and networking opportunities it provides.

Adjust and adapt

Now with a solid foundation and a good infrastructure, Christy is keen to continue growing Online4baby. She believes that during challenging times, the business can continue to succeed so long as it is able to adjust and adapt.

Christy’s advice for other entrepreneurs is to believe in themselves and embrace being different.