When two young mums with blossoming careers in law decided to take a
furniture painting class, little did they know within a year their hobby
would be a successful business called Lovely Things.
However, after friends and family expressed interest in their
up-cycled pieces, Charlotte Dennison (pictured, a lawyer for the Crown
Prosecution Service) and Charlotte Smith (a legal assistant for Ryedale
Council), both 32, decided to showcase their products at a local market,
and the pieces were quickly snapped up by local stores. The Charlottes
also now sell their goods on Ebay and Facebook.
Here the pair from North Yorkshire share their tips on how to run a sideline business.
On support from family and friends
Charlotte D: “When we started Lovely Things I was on maternity leave,
looking after a three-year-old and a four-month-old. Charlotte Smith
was back at uni as a mature student and looking after a 10-year-old.
“Luckily my husband is a policeman who works shifts and my in-laws
live locally and Charlotte Smith’s parents help her out. There is no way
we would be able to run our business without them, because we just
couldn’t afford childcare.”
On teamwork and communication
Charlotte D: “We split the big jobs in half. For example, if we’re
decorating a table and chairs, Charlotte (S) will do the first bit and I
will do the second bit. This way no job is too big, and we don’t get
bored half way through!”
On keeping overheads low
Charlotte S: “As we’re still in the very early days, we keep our own
books and our overheads are low. We don’t have fixed prices for our
items and encourage customers to make offers.
“We did consider getting our own website produced, but because we
could use Facebook, Twitter and Ebay for free, it was hard to justify
the additional cost.”
On flexible working
Charlotte S: “Being able to work in the evening and weekends allows us to fit Lovely Things around our family and work lives.”
On believing in your products
Charlotte D: “If I could go back to last year, one thing I would
change is I’d have more belief in our products earlier on. We were too
nervous to go and rent a market stall to begin with because we were
worried no one would be interested in our products.
“But it turned out to be the best thing we did, because it was at a
market that we got talking to the owner of a local interior design
business, who offered us space in her shop for our things. You just need
to speak to everyone, because you never know who you are talking to and
you really need to shout about your business. You have to believe in
yourself, your business and its products.”
0 Comments: