Opt out of performative quick fixes. Opt in to a genuinely inclusive business
Inclusive Biz Foundations is a self-paced course and expert audit for small service businesses that turns the big ARGH inclusion feels into simple 15-minute tasks
£500 (payment plans from £167/month)
You don’t need a spiel about why your small business needs to be inclusive, do you?
You want every single person who comes across your business to stop in their tracks and think "this is for me too" especially people who are routinely excluded from the white, middle class women dominated online business space.
But actually doing it? That’s the bit where you do a great impression of a deer caught in headlights.
Your bum clenches at the mere thought of talking about inclusion. You second-guess every single word, panic before hitting publish, or freeze up because you’re scared of being called out, looking performative, or worse, causing more harm.
You’re procrasti-learning. You’ve bookmarked the anti-racism reading lists, followed creators who talk about social justice, and saved 47 Instagram carousels, but how you actually do biz day-to-day hasn’t changed.
You’ve picked up random bits and bobs from other people. You’ve put pronouns in your bio or added image descriptions to your posts because you’ve seen other people do it. You get a "phew, I'm doing it" feeling, but if someone (like, I dunno, me?) asked how you back that up through your business, you’d look at me with this face 😬
You’ve posted-and-deleted AT LEAST once. You search ‘Black woman on a laptop’ in Canva, or share an Instagram story to show you give a shit. Then you panic that it looks performative or tokenistic, delete the whole thing, and then worry it looks like you don’t care.
Hey, hey shhhhh. Sumi’s here now. It’s all gonna be okay.
“I feel so much more confident about making my business more inclusive and moving alongside my fear of getting it wrong”
- Hayley, somatic therapy and menstrual cycle awareness
A more inclusive biz in less time than it takes to cook a frozen pizza
Inclusion hasn’t even made it onto your actual written to-do-list yet, and I know why.
It’s cus inclusion feels like this big thinky thing that needs 45226 hours clear in your calendar (and a big emotional reckoning about your privilege first)
Nuh uh. With Inclusive Biz Foundations you can bung a frozen pizza in the oven and have your onboarding form optimised before the timer dings.
That’s my whole thing: making inclusion simple and practical, so you can actually do it instead of forever just thinking about doing it.
“In my first 48hrs of getting IBF, I fixed more DEI issues in my biz than I have done in a year.
— Nadia Amer, Business Strategist and Copywriter
Here’s how we get this done
Step 1: lay the foundations
You’ll whack in some info about your biz and instantly get your personalised DEI Roadmap - a list of lessons that are relevant to your biz specifically.
Step 2: class is in session
Do the lessons listed in your DEI Roadmap. Each lesson is short and simple (mostly under 15 mins) with resources, swipe files and examples so you can apply it to your business more easily and quickly.
It’s full of stuff you can actually do (no statements like ‘centre the most marginalised’ that leave you scratching your head about what that means in practice)
Step 3: the action bit
As you go, you'll build your very own Inclusion Action Plan. This is your living document of bite-sized actions, along with a priority rating. You'll know exactly what simple things to do, and when.
Step 4: Sumi looks at your bits (no not like that)
Submit your Inclusion Action Plan to me for a detailed review. I’ll make sure it fits your business so you can be confident you’re on the right path. You’ll need to submit your plan within 30 days of purchase (but if you need longer, just let me know)
Step 5: Confidently implement and watch the diversity and glowing testimonials roll in.
A proper review. Not a quick skim and a 👍
Here is what I personally review for you:
A line-by-line copy review of your homepage, about page, and one sales page. I’ll spot any clunky phrasing or accidental icks that you’re too close to see, and I’ll tell you what’s missing.
Your last 18 social media posts. I’ll look at your messaging, your imagery, and whether your content is accidentally turning away people you’d love to work with - people who don’t feel seen by your marketing (yet!)
Your website and social media accessibility. Tech and formatting checks to make sure people can actually see / read / hear what you’re sharing.
Your Inclusion Action Plan. I'll check that you're taking the right actions, in the right order, for your specific business context. I’m not gonna let you faff about with the less important stuff.
Plus, guidance on your specific brain-melts. When you submit, you can let me know if there’s anything you’re sweating over - like the phrasing of a question on your intake form, a weird dynamic in your membership, or wondering if X thing is cultural appropriation - and I’ll sort you out.
You’re getting my eyes on your whole business so you can stop second-guessing everything.
So yeah, Inclusive Biz Foundations is a course, but the review gives it a 1-to-1 feel without the 1-to-1 price tag
“Although it was a course, it still feels tailored to people’s needs because of the way you structured it…having your eyes and feedback on the plan - this makes the course so personal and even more valuable.”
— Daniela, Hypnotherapist, Mindfulness Teacher and Writer
We should probably meet before I start rummaging around
👋🏽 I’m Sumi (they/she)
I’ve been doing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) since before iPhones and Instagram even existed, and the expertise to back it up: an MA in Race and Ethnicity, Feminist Coach Theory certification, plus a rucksack bursting with lived experience.
And as a former full-time facilitator, I know exactly how to design learning experiences that get results (in fact, I wrote a programme that was proven to reduce reoffending 💅).
Now, I'm bringing it all to you.
The full buffet spread (but I’ll design a Michelin star worthy tasting menu just for you)
You don't need to wade through 40 hours of content that isn't relevant to your business. You'll get a custom DEI Roadmap showing you exactly what lessons you need to do.
So, no duplicate work, no spending time on stuff you’ve already fixed, no wasting time at all. Just pure 100% DEI juice.
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Broadening your network. A network of people like you attracts clients who are like you. In this lesson, we’ll change that.
Inclusive first impressions. Don’t let people click off before you even know they exist
Accessible content. Make sure more people can engage with your content
Inclusive niching. Is it inclusive to only work with [insert demographic here]?
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Communicating your inclusive values. Show your best-fit people you give a damn.
Inclusive content. Don’t give people the ick without even realising.
Equitable pricing. Hitting that pricing sweet spot for you *and* your clients
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Accessible and inclusive services. Give your clients the red-carpet experience.
Inclusive frameworks. Myers-Briggs, DISC, PERMAH...whatever you use, make sure it works for everyone.
Inclusive coaching. The stuff they don’t teach in coach training.
Inclusive groups. Bring your community on board and create safer spaces.
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Collecting data. Spot issues before they become big problems.
Getting feedback. Measure your impact, keep getting better.
Inclusive biz reviews. Keep the momentum going.
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Your DEI commitments. Make more equitable decisions.
Legal basics. Be confident you’re on the right side of equality laws.
Moving alongside fear. Take action anyway.
WTF does that mean?! Demystifying the things you think you’re supposed to know, but don’t.
Tomorrow, you’ll improve your biz, but what about 6 months from now?
Get more (diverse) clients. Attract a more diverse pool of dream clients aka don’t just book people who are just like you.
Top shit-giver status. Uplevel their experience of you and your services, establishing yourself as one of the few service providers that actually gives a shit.
Raise the bar. Be the person people DM and be like ‘I LOVED your booking form! I felt so seen’ and play your part in making inclusion the default in online biz.
Stop looking for stock images of marginalised people. Start catering to actual marginalised people. Get straight down to the actions that matter instead of tinkering about with busy work that’s not making much difference.
Stop worrying about being performative, learn how to take action with your fear alongside you.
Bags of integrity. Actually be who you say you want to be. You get to finally align your service with your values, so you can run your business without that nagging guilt that you’re not doing enough.
Build the foundations now, so you can grow a business that welcomes more of your dream clients for years and years.
“I feel like you’ve future-proofed DEI for my business”
- Saloni, Business mentor, coach and strategist
Doing the right thing is just good business.
You want an inclusive business because you care about actual human beings.
But if you need to justify spending the time or money on your foundations right now (or if that little voice in your head asks if this can wait until next year), just take a look at the numbers:
57%
of consumers are more loyal to brands that commit to addressing social inequities in their actions
71%
of disabled customers with access needs will click away from a website they find difficult to use.
85%
of LGBTQ people took some sort of action after seeing an ad that they considered to be diverse or inclusive.
When your onboarding form is clunky, your website isn't accessible, or your messaging only speaks to people who look like you, potential dream clients don't make a big song and dance about it. They just close the tab.
Building solid foundations plugs those leaks, helps you reach more people, and future-proofs your business.
The investment: £500.
Payment plan: £167 today, then £166 for two months.
Got questions? I’ve got answers (probably)
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Yes, but also…no (hope that clears things up for you 😅). It’s a course that you work through at your own pace, but with two things that make it different to any course I’ve ever seen.
Firstly, it’s personalised - you fill in a quick questionnaire and then you automatically get a list of lessons that are relevant to you and your business - you can just ignore the rest (although you have access to them all if your biz ever changes and you need them).
Secondly, I do a deep dive on your business once you submit your Inclusion Action Plan and that bit is SUUUUPER tailored obvs. Think of it as a course and audit hybrid without the 1:1 price tag.
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It’s for solo service-based business owners - think coaches, strategists, VAs, copywriters, designers, therapists - who know what you do, who for, and have at least one service up and running. I’m fairly confident when I say this is the only course designed for small businesses, by a small business. It’s got loads of examples that you will instantly just get without having to do the “ok how do I apply this to MY business?” translation.
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Don’t sweat it. You can ask for an extension once as long as it’s before the deadline hits (literally just ping me a one line email with the new date. You don’t have to tell me your dog ate it).
It doesn’t matter how much extra time you need, I just need a date so I can put a slot in my diary to get intimately acquainted with your business (I block out half a day. It’s not something I just squeeze in 10 mins before I do the school run).
You also get email reminders counting down to the deadline to keep you on track, so you’re very unlikely to forget and accidentally miss it.
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Can I be honest? I’ve ummmed and ahhhed about this and for now it’s a no. Because imagine I do everything for you, and a marginalised person buys your service…then what? If you haven’t done the learning yourself, could you be totally confident that you’d give them an experience that matches the shiny inclusive stuff I’d done for you? Probably not, right?
The bite-sized lessons (most are under 15 mins) help you understand the why and improve your own skills, so YOU can confidently make inclusive decisions in your business.
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Fair. We’ve all bought a course we haven’t finished, but I built Inclusive Biz Foundations to be the course you actually get through:
A clear deadline. You have 30 days to submit your Inclusion Action Plan for expert review (with the option for an extension if life happens - don't panic).
Supportive reminders. You'll get email nudges to keep your momentum going.
Bite-sized by design. Most videos are under 15 minutes. You can fix a piece of your business in that dead time between client calls, or plough through a module while waiting for dinner to cook.
I’ve got a background in Learning and Development, so I do actually know how to create engaging learning experiences.
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Because the course is tailored to each person, it really depends. The average total combined lesson time across everyone who’s done Inclusive Biz Foundations is only 3 hours 35 minutes.
That’s less than an hour a week to submit within the 30 day timeframe (and if you don’t manage that, you can get an extension). It’s a really tiny time investment to feel confident you’ve done your bit to make the small business world better for everyone.
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All course videos come with closed captions, full transcripts, and downloadable slides. The materials are structured so you can digest them in whatever format works best for your brain. If you have any specific access needs or questions before joining, drop me an email at hello@sumifitzgerald.com and we'll sort it out.
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I’ll review your Inclusion Action Plan that you build as you watch the lessons, making sure it’s the right actions in the right order for your business. But on top of that, I also review your actual client-facing stuff:
Your website: I check basic accessibility, then go through your home page, about page, and one sales page line-by-line to spot any icks and suggest the important bits you’re missing.
Your socials: I review the last 18 posts on your main social media account.
When I give you feedback, I don't just point out problems—I tell you how to fix them. For example, if you’ve got a colour contrast issue on your website (heads up: almost everyone has this), I’ll show you exactly where it is and tell you which of your brand colours CAN go together without giving your visitors a literal or metaphorical headache.
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I usually send it as a PDF with my feedback and screenshots so you can easily see which bit I’m on about. But if you prefer, I can do a short video talking you through it instead. Whatever works for you - you can choose when you submit your Inclusion Action Plan.
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Inclusive Biz Foundations includes one review. If you need me to clear something up then of course you can ping me a clarifying question. If you want me to do another review once you’ve made all the suggested changes (or to review any new bits you’ve added to your business since joining Inclusive Biz Foundations) keep your peepers peeled for a new service to do just that.
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Of course not, I'm not the inclusion police. I’m not here to judge you or shame you, I’m just here to help you make the tweaks you need to, or to think about the things you might’ve missed. Everyone fears they’re uniquely f*cking inclusion up, but I can’t remember the last time I had to give feedback that I’ve not given before. You’re most likely to be relieved to finally know the things you didn’t realise were barriers so you can fix them, rather than feeling like sh*t for getting something “wrong”
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A whole mix of businesses have done Inclusive Biz Foundations - a somatic therapist, a website designer, copywriters, a time management expert…you get the picture.
What they had in common was 1) giving a shit about inclusion, and 2) working with people. So if that’s you, I’ve got you - even if you do something totally random like a llama milking coach.
When you submit your Inclusion Action Plan, I also ask you to drop some specific info about your business so that I can review your plan knowing your specific offer, your client journey, and your business model.
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This is actually the best time to do it. Building solid foundations while your business is simple means you don't have to unpick a big, complicated, messy business (from an inclusion perspective) later down the line. From the moment you join Inclusive Biz Foundations, you’ll always have the tools to bake inclusion into everything you do for as long as you run a business. Plus, fixing the barriers for marginalised people means you can start attracting more clients from now on.
“[it’s] given me the education and confidence to start NOW and a really clear plan to keep going and going. I never would've been able to make so much progress this fast on my own - honestly, I think it would've taken years”
— Susannah Worth, Gutsy - creative group coaching for shy dreamers
POV: you’ve just hit the ‘buy now’ button
Instead of months of getting into Google scroll holes or “what if I get it wrong” spirals, you’ll feel that instant “oh this is actually pretty simple?” relief from watching the first bitesize video.
And in just 30 days from now, you’ll have made a tangible difference to the experience of everyone who steps through your digital door.
Here’s what’s waiting for you inside:
Your custom DEI Roadmap. Get straight to the lessons and practical tasks you can actually finish between client calls or while waiting for the bus.
Line-by-line expert review. Submit your Inclusion Action Plan, website, and socials to get my eyes on your business operations (along with my 20 years experience DEI-ing) so you know you're solid.
Lifetime access. Come back and refresh your foundations whenever your business grows, so you never have to worry if your business is excluding people.
You’ve got the heart for this, you just gotta get the business foundations to match.