It’s never too lateto make £50k … or more!

Emma Pritchard talks to four women whose ideas have paid off despite tough economic times

‘My novel idea transformed the bag market’

‘I recognised the potential in online shopping’

NEw dIrEctIoNs

‘My beauty range offers luxurious organic products’

‘I traded banking for a business in knitting’

142 woman&home A BrAnd new Attitude

NEw dIrEctIoNs

Nicola Elliott, 33, was an associate editor before

starting Neom, an organic candle and skincare company. She

lives in Harrogate with her husband and their son, aged two.

tHE idEa i was sitting on a local beach with my children,

surrounded by carrier bags, when i noticed a gap in the market.

So i went home and designed a practical and stylish canvas bag.

WHat HappENEd NExt i ordered 6,000 bags based

on my design, and after ten weeks of cold calling, i secured

40 stockists. A year later, i launched a handbag and backpack,

created a website and moved from my dining room to an office

space. i had to work around my children, but i loved my career.

WHErE i am NoW My bags are stocked in 400 outlets

and i’ve expanded to include purses, leather handbags and

laptop cases. Five years after i started, i can treat the family to

a second holiday as well as donate some of my profit to charity.

tHE futurE developing new bags and designs following

customer feedback on our online forum.

BiggESt cHallENgE Gauging stock. i’ve secured some

big stockists and i’m worried i’m going to run out of stock!

grEatESt acHiEvEmENt i got a Startups Award in

2007, was highly commended for Gift of the Year Award in 2008,

won the South devon excellence Award in 2008 and recently

won the Barclays Bank Family Affair Award.

BooSt your EarNiNgS Join

a local business

network and

get advice from

organisations such

as the Federation

of Small Businesses

(fsb.org.uk).

Sally HurSt, 50, was a full-time mum when she launched

the old Bag company, which sells reusable bags. She lives in

devon with her husband and has five children, aged 24 to nine.

lauNcHEd 2005

Start-up coStS £10,000

firSt yEar’S turNovEr £80,000

currENt turNovEr £400,000

currENt profit £140,000

theoldbagcompany.com

BuSineSS in FiGureS

tHE idEa Holly was organising shopping fairs and wanted to

create an online market for small start-ups, so i agreed to help.

WHat HappENEd NExt we cobbled together £140,000

from savings, a bank loan, and donations from family and friends,

which covered market research, a web designer, a cheap

– albeit grim – office space, and two staff. we approached the

businesses Holly had been working with and 100 signed up.

WHErE WE arE NoW we list 1,500 businesses (we expect

to exceed 2,000 by the end of 2010), employ 35 staff and, two years

after launch, drew our first salary, which has continued to increase.

tHE futurE in the recession, more people are setting

up small businesses and customers want to buy products with

added value. So,

despite the economic

climate, we’re on

target to double last

year’s £6.3m turnover.

BiggESt cHallENgE

Outsourcing our

website management

was a mistake because

when we came to

launch, the site wasn’t ready. it was the worst time of my

business life, but it did introduce us to our current web director.

grEatESt acHiEvEmENt this year, we’re making

the same amount in a day that we initially made in our first year!

BooSt your EarNiNgS Be clever with your budget

– don’t invest in outside help if you can do it yourself. w&h

SopHiE corNiSH, 43, ran a floristry and events business

before starting online shopping site notonthehighstreet.com

with friend, Holly tucker (below left). She lives in london with

her husband and their two children, aged 13 and 11.

lauNcHEd 2006

Start-up coStS £140,000

firSt yEar’S turNovEr £130,000

currENt turNovEr £14m

currENt profit £300,000

notonthehighstreet.com

BuSineSS in FiGureS

tHE idEa i started knitting when i was pregnant. My sister,

Helena (above left), is a designer for a european fashion

company, so we decided to design our own knitting patterns –

the perfect solution to my search for a more family friendly career.

WHat HappENEd NExt MillaMia sells pattern books

and the yarn to make the designs, so i scoured the internet and

visited craft shows, while Helena designed the collections. we

paid a professional to write the patterns and i test-knitted every

yarn as well as cold calling shop managers to secure stockists.

WHErE WE arE NoW we launched last October and

were soon in eight shops, and our website went live six weeks

later. we don’t have an advertising budget, so rely on word

of mouth. i pack the orders myself and enjoy being hands-on.

tHE futurE we want to increase our stockist numbers and

we’re releasing two new collections as well as designing free

patterns for people who subscribe to our website.

BiggESt cHallENgE Getting the samples made and

photographed for the pattern books. we used test-knitters, but we

underestimated how much yarn they needed. i had to negotiate

a rush order with the mill so we didn’t miss our deadlines.

grEatESt acHiEvEmENt the website. we wanted it to

be like high-end sites such as net-a-porter.com.

BooSt your EarNiNgS think outside the box. i was

surprised to be

approached by

someone wanting

to do an internship

with us, but then

i realised we’re a

business in our own

right, so why not?

KatariNa roSEN, 36, worked in the city at rBS before

launching millamia with her sister in 2009. She lives in london

with her husband and their children, aged three and 18 months.

lauNcHEd 2009

Start-up coStS £50,000

firSt yEar’S turNovEr £96,300

firSt yEar’S profit £55,750

millamia.com

BuSineSS in FiGureS

tHE idEa My sister worked for the Government’s environment

department and was always telling me how important it is to

be green. But i wasn’t prepared to swap my luxurious beauty

products for the unattractive organic versions.

WHat HappENEd NExt i sold my car and used savings

to raise £15,000 to get started. i had no experience of the beauty

industry, so launched with a basic range of five candles – i only

needed to buy wax,

wicks, the fragrance

and a glass container.

i did it alongside my

full-time job, until i got

my big break when

Selfridges agreed to

take me on. it is still

my biggest stockist.

WHErE i am NoW

My candles are in 400

shops and i also sell online. i started to make body products

18 months ago to meet customer demand and have around

55 products as well as ten staff. i also got married, and we have

a two-year-old son and another baby on the way.

tHE futurE we’re launching new products throughout

2010 because i want neom to be a household name. we’re also

experimenting with new ingredients such as macadamia nut oil.

BiggESt cHallENgE Keeping customers. Organic beauty

is a big business. we have to pioneer ingredients, while staying

luxurious and keeping the product 70 per cent certified or above.

grEatESt acHiEvEmENt Finding out that celebrities

such as Kylie Minogue use my candles. i get a buzz when i open

a magazine and see my products on display in their homes.

BooSt your EarNiNgS Keep it simple and, more

importantly, try to do it better than everyone else.

lauNcHEd 2005

Start-up coStS £15,000

firSt yEar’S turNovEr £70,000

currENt turNovEr £1.5m

currENt profit £400,000

neomorganics.com

BuSineSS in FiGureSAfter a year, my online knitting patterns and wool collection are producing £55,000 in profit

My organic candles and beauty products have given me a business with a healthy profit margin

I can afford to treat myself and take my family on holiday twice a year by selling my range of bags

Our website suits the economic climate and we’re on target to double last year’s £6.3m turnover

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144 woman&home A BrAnd new Attitude