You can quickly get a feel for the ethos of a business by meeting the people behind it and that is no more true than in the personal care sector where services are provided by excellent individuals skilled within their field offering direct support for people.

It was immediately evident when we met Laura Long, what type of person she is and why her business would be a great addition to 'Connect: Pembrokeshire'. Personable, friendly and with great knowledge of her business and industry. 

She leads a small team, having started ‘Share the Care’ in May 2021. She has worked in the care industry since she was 17 years old, with 18 years of experience including 12 at the local hospital.

She made the decision to go on her own after being made redundant throughout Covid where she juggled working relief work at the hospital and working with homeless youth.

After seeing her friend successfully start their own micro business, she decided to follow suit and within a week she was flying and found herself overwhelmed with the demand - with such a huge need for these vital services within the county.

By the end of the year, she had her first employee with two more joining in January this year. She has a fifth member joining next month and is excited by the direction her company is going and what lies ahead in the future.

Most of their time is spent on companionship duties, out and about in the community assisting people with a variety of activities across all areas of Pembrokeshire.

Within her team, each member brings their own unique personality and skills, working on tasks including meal preparation, administering medication, assistance with personal care and shopping.

She has enjoyed the natural progression of the business and the journey she has been on with her team. She didn’t envision such fast growth when she started but quickly became snowed under and had to expand.

People come to her from the variety of useful services available in the county such as PAVS and Planed, which the council also use. As well as these services, Laura utilises her social media platforms to share her journey.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Laura as ‘Share the Care’ continues to grow. In our next article we’ll be taking a closer look at Laura’s team and what a month in the life of her business looks like.