A HouseBeautiful Home Business. Emma Jones
old Grade II listed former hop kiln, on the outskirts of Farnham, Surrey. We rent a showroom and benefit from their sales and marketing abilities, which enables us to create fresh pieces for our collection, expand our supply chain and develop additional channels to market, with an emphasis on social media.”
In order to grow the business, James and Sally started to think more commercially about their products and services and also researched what their competitors were doing.
“We allocated time to visit leading high atreet stores and registered for trade fairs and assessed how to position ourselves as being better than the mass market items.”
As part of that, they considered their ethos and values and decided to focus on how to reflect that in their communication with customers.
“We decided to only use the very best high-quality fabrics, to raise awareness of the traditional and ethical upholstery methods we adopt (such as our use of horsehair) and we pride ourselves on delivering a friendly and professional service.”
Within a few months they also started to look for adjacent business opportunities to grow their business and reflect their values. They sourced a range of homeware items that complemented their collection, including silver lanterns, bespoke tables, hand-sewn floor cushions, vintage vases and pictures, and negotiated the costs to fit with their low start-up budget.
“We were also keen to build a strong brand for ourselves so we worked with a designer to create some logos and developed ways to package our smaller items. For our first Christmas we worked with a supplier to create a range of clean wax (no lead) candles and diffusers which used high quality fragrance oil that was pure and undiluted. We also commissioned our own packaging to reflect the Liberty Rose Interiors logo and style and were delighted with the results.”
At this stage in their business, Sally and James are keen to increase sales in their local market before taking their business global. However, they have started to look into the options and intend to assess the opportunities at a later date. 2013 will also see them develop new and innovative products, as well as testing new products in the form of high quality wallpapers, rugs and paints.
Top tips!
1 “Look to your passion for inspiration. We are passionate about our products and services and we share that with our customers.”
2 “Consider your values and vision and look for ways to communicate that. Our ethos is simple. It’s about celebrating individual vision. We provide our friends and customers (same thing!) with furniture that they won’t find in anyone else’s home because it is totally unique to them.”
3 “Engage with your customers and allow them to influence your decisions. We use social networking channels to talk directly to our customers; we ask questions about where they shop and we are eager to understand their likes and dislikes regarding colours, fabrics and textures. We treat our customers as individuals. We genuinely want to create statement pieces that will add va va voom to their homes.”
4 “Prioritise what will make you money. In the early days it’s easy to get distracted from your core business. We attempt to limit the time we spend on emails, we avoid long visits from sales reps, we design and create our own products whenever we can and we actively look for reciprocal marketing opportunities and free publicity.”
5 “Evaluate your business on a regular basis, be flexible about what isn’t working and be prepared to change We understand what is selling and we are honest about anything that isn’t. We only buy things that we are passionate about, we test the market and we avoid overstocking. For anyone considering starting up a soft furnishing and upholstery business it’s important to understand interior design trends, to be an ambassador for your own products and services and above all, to be energetic and open to new ideas, even the crazy ones!”
The name game
Coming up with an idea and carrying out research will get you thinking about what to name your new baby (by which I mean your business!). If you are selling your services or your knowledge the company may be named after you, for example, ‘Emma Jones Interior Design’, in which case, job done. But if that’s not appropriate, think of a name that:
is easy to spell
is not already registered with Companies House (you can use a free web-check service to access existing company names at www.companieshouse.gov.uk) or trademarked
people will remember
has an available domain name.
You might want to protect the name with a trademark to make sure that no one else can take it in the future.
If you get stuck, visit Enterprise Nation (www.enterprisenation.com) where you will find people who can help you win the name game, as the site is buzzing with talented copywriters and wordsmiths.
Sonia Mundey named her company Yellow Book Interiors after taking inspiration from a 19th century quarterly . . .
Beautiful Business: Yellow Book Interiors
Name: Sonia Mundey
Business: Yellow Book Interiors Ltd
Website: www.yellowbookinteriors.co.uk
Social media: www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Book-Interiors-Ltd/111090695681888
Sonia Mundey’s business journey began in 2011, shortly after her son’s first birthday.
“I had worked in the interior design business for five years, working with private clients, as well as show home and hotel refurbishment projects, but had wanted to work for myself for some time.”
After completing a degree in History of Art at Birkbeck, University of London, Sonia began to seriously consider working for herself. She loved the idea of combining her love of interior design with her knowledge of art history and creating something amazing. Shortly after, interior design business Yellow Book Interiors was born. She hasn’t looked back since!
When looking for her business name, Sonia was inspired by The Yellow Book, a cultural quarterly published in the 1890s that was renowned for highlighting beautiful art and the creative energy of the age.
“Our outlook is firmly 21st century, but just like the original Yellow Book we’re always looking for beautiful ways to brighten everyday life.”
Yellow Book Interiors’ first customer came through word of mouth.
“A family friend who is a builder and developer got in touch and asked me to refurbish his Grade II listed cottage near Blandford, Dorset, which was a great start to the business.”
Since then, Sonia has promoted the business through her website, as well using social media and local advertising.
“We are a part of Home Welcome packs which are given to people who have just moved house in the Bournemouth/Poole/New Forest area.”
Promotional postcards and word of mouth also help Sonia to get the word out about her business.
Yellow Book Interiors is run solely by Sonia but she has started to develop a strong network of reliable trades and suppliers.
“Working with local trades and suppliers has proved to be a very worthwhile experience. As well as helping to support local businesses it has also meant that I can negotiate better terms and discounts with them. By meeting with people face-to-face you can foster a much better relationship and have far better bargaining power with them. You can also share your knowledge