Running your own business - Emily, Owner of S&P
Hello & thanks so much for visiting our online shop!
As the 3rd year of running my own business approaches, I thought it was a good time to reflect and share with you the experiences Sparrow & Plumb has taught me, the highs & lows!
Sometimes, when people ask me how we set this business up, I say it was almost a fluke during Covid because we were sat at home with nothing to do but wanting to create and make things. Me working in design and development for a furniture company and Ed being a self employed Carpenter. But when I truly reflect, I think Sparrow & Plumb was an idea long before that, I remember working at a web designers a few years prior and talking about how I wanted to make statement furniture because everything out there seemed to be really dull! I thought I could use my wacky colour and pattern knowledge from my fashion design degree to bring people more colourful homes! I remember moving into mine and Eds first home together and being soo excited I could fill it with colour but getting frustrated I couldn’t find furniture I wanted to express my personality.
The first ottoman we created was for ourselves to go at the end of our bed, we choose the banana leaf fabric and created a Large Ottoman! It’s safe to say its not our handiest work!!! Our skills and knowledge have massively evolved since then, but we have kept it and it currently lives in our workshop storing fabric! From this ottoman, I set up a Facebook and Instagram page and started posting a few pieces we were making during lockdown. From here it took off and within 3 months we were renting a 1400sqft industrial unit! Some people, including friends and family thought we were mad, I was even asked when I was getting another job as id recently been made redundant. I remember thinking how the hell am I supposed to get another job when Im working 7am to 11pm with this new business!!
The first ottoman we ever created!
It was then I learnt very quickly there are 3 types of people in this world: the first are those “who make things happen” the second are those “who watch things happen” and the third type of people are those “who wonder what has happened” they were a wonderer!! We were bombarded with orders and couldn’t keep up which was amazing, as at this point the country was in a place of massive unknown and worry but people were still wanting to spend there money on our creations. But it was also very stressful, we weren’t as streamlined as we are now, we didn’t drop-ship anything and everything was made by us. We have now managed to outsource work to local companies which helps our workload.
If you are reading this and thinking of setting up your own business, that’s amazing! Do not be disheartened by others if their reactions are negative or not as you’d hoped for. Everyone is different, some people find others success and ambition really positive, others find it really difficult. You will find you will gravitate towards the positive people and that’s definitely the right thing to do in order to be successful.
We’ve been through many uncomfortable situations in these 3 years from huge supplier delays, employment issues, self doubt & legal issues.
But running your own business will never be easy, it has the potential to give you the best life imaginable not just with wealth but with freedom, freedom to express your creativity as well as freedom to work your own hours and book as much holiday as you’d like, within reason!! It also has the potential to give you the lowest of lows, this company has given me a responsibility, bigger than Id ever wished for. I’d gone from being employed earning under £30k a year to having a turn over of over £300k a year. I have to remind myself sometimes I am only 27 years old and its ok to make mistakes. There are days I feel so overwhelmed I can’t work and my sister Alice has to step in and sort things out, to an outsider it could look like Ive been lazy that day. But its far from that, you are mentally exhausted from thinking of a million things all at once. Then you have your personal life to keep up with too, seeing friends and family, going to the gym, spending time with the dogs and going for nice walks, sorting the house out, spending quality time with my husband.
For me, I think the lows have been hard for others to understand because I am always such a bubbly happy person, someone you wouldn’t think has sad days because I am always so positive. But the highs have definitely outweighed it all, the top being that I’ve been able to visit countries and experience things I would have only ever dreamed of before and I have spent more time with my sister and built the most amazing relationship with her.
This is why it is so important to take time out for yourself, I try to have Fridays off where I potter around at home, walk the dogs, go for a coffee and just relax! But also book that holiday! Treat yourself to something nice and enjoy what you’ve worked really hard to achieve.
In 2022 we decided to throw planning our wedding into the mix and it was almost enough to turn me grey! But we managed and had the most amazing day ever.
Heres some top tips to remember when starting your own business:
. Get a good accountant!
. Always remember to put your tax away, that bill will hit you quicker than you think!
. Prepare to make sacrifices
. Always provide great customer service, word of mouth is the best marketing of all.
. Drink plenty of coffee
. Expect your working hours to triple
. Have clear goals of what you want to achieve
. Keep the social life alive
. Love what you do
. Social media is really important as is building a mailing list to help your business grow
We are currently moving workshops for the 3rd time since starting our business and I am pleased to say, we have no intention of moving again!! I can’t wait for our new space to be all set up and be able to walk up the road with the dogs to work. I have always had to drive quite far for work so this will be a real positive change for me. I am hoping it will give me more time too! I take my 2 golden retrievers Ralph & Rosie to work with me every day, they mainly curl up and go to sleep under my desk & then play fight with each other! When things get stressful, it’s so nice to have them there to take 5 minutes out and play with them.
I feel really positive going into 2023, the business is really busy and growing, it feels stronger than ever and I have some fabulous ideas up my sleeve that I can’t wait to share with you all!
By no means am I an expert in running a business, I am not a millionaire or preaching CEO advice, so feel free to ignore me! Haha. But I have managed to create a business I absolutely love and a life that makes me happier than I have ever been before and I think that’s really important.
I hope this blog helps you in one way or another and I hope you feel as though you know me a little bit more.
Wishing you all a fabulous new year, go smash it!
Love, Emily x
