Mr & Mrs: Drabwell and Hymes
This time last year we kicked off our ‘In Love and In Business’ series with profiles of two businesses; DaisychainBaby and Inch Punch Design. We go knocking on their home office doors once more to ask how business is going.
DaisychainBaby
Read about Lindsay and Peter 12 months ago.
And now?
The past 12 months have been very exciting for DaisychainBaby.co.uk. When we were last featured, we had only just dipped our toe in the water as far as taking DCB on the road was concerned and I was worried as to whether Pete would be happy with taking a step into the spotlight when he’s normally much happier behind the scenes. A year later and it’s a very different story. We threw ourselves headlong into showing at events, the biggest for us being a pitch at the Thames Festival in September 09 – 2 days on the south bank of the river where up to 750,000 people potentially walk past! Our travels have taken us as far afield as Witney in Oxfordshire and Royston in Cambridgeshire and just about everywhere in between. We’ve taken our stand to baby shows, dog shows (!), craft markets, country shows, fetes and festivals. One of the more unique venues involved sharing a barn with “small animals” (a shy chinchilla, dozy rabbit and several fearless mice) at Standalone Farm in Hertfordshire.
Our first year of business has been a huge learning curve – whilst the website has come on in leaps and bounds and we achieved our turnover goal for Year One, we’ve realised that it’s all too easy to become complacent and when the sales are rolling in, you think that you’re there, you’ve made it. Wrong. It’s still unpredictable and takes constant work. The events have helped enormously in building a solid customer base and spreading the word. It’s been lovely when people have bought from us in person and then subsequently bought online, or returned to us at our regular events because they’ve been so happy with their previous purchase. This alone makes the 6.30am starts in winter, when you’ve been working all week long and really want a lie-in, worth it.
I think we would both agree we’ve learned so much about each other too. We started off doing the events together, then had a couple of quiet ones so realised it was a waste of time for both of us to be there doing nothing. We decided it was better for Pete to drop me off and head home (of course if we’re feasibly close enough to do this) and work on the website. It didn’t last long – I was enthusiastic to begin with but then found it very hard to work the events by myself. I missed the opportunity to go round talking to other stallholders and network, especially at one off markets, and I missed him. For one reason and another we sometimes don’t see a great deal of each other during the week, so it’s important we’re together at weekends, even if that is drinking the 50th cup of tea waiting for a sale that might not come. So he rejoined me and we’ve realised we work much better as a team than by ourselves.
We also react differently to successes or lack thereof. I get motivated by good times and tend to stomp around in a black cloud if we have a bad day. Pete is the opposite – he gets very frustrated if things aren’t going well and uses it to kick start his involvement and tends to relax more if the good times are rolling. He’s probably got the right attitude!
With both of us working Monday to Friday and then having to spend all day out and about on Saturdays and Sundays, it’s certainly the kind of thing that can test a fledgling marriage! This year we know which events will work and which won’t (give or take), so we can plan our roadshow much more effectively, leading to more quality time for us. We’re excited about the year ahead, but with a far greater emphasis on getting that work-life balance spot on so both we and the business continue to flourish.
Inch Punch Design
Read about Siobhan and Craig 12 months ago.
And now?
Over the past 12 months our business has continued to grow and we have become more focused on the areas of design that we want to work in. We have developed stronger ties with our main clients and the number of new clients gained as a result of referrals has increased.
Being in business and in love is definitely as good as ever. As a couple we work well together and this team work is reflected in the excellent service that our clients receive. They know they can rely on us to come up with innovative design ideas that are cost effective and meet tight deadlines.
Spending 24 hours together 7 days a week is always going to be a challenge but it is one that we enjoy and good communication is still the essential ingredient for making our business work.