02.08.2017 Views

Choices Local - Launch July-August 2017

New business and lifestyle magazine for Haringey. Helping you make the transition from employee to entrepreneur.

New business and lifestyle magazine for Haringey. Helping you make the transition from employee to entrepreneur.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Entrepreneur fears?<br />

Do these 7 things<br />

7<br />

Start up tips<br />

From our<br />

accounts guru<br />

<strong>Launch</strong> Issue<br />

Case studies<br />

Entrepreneurs share<br />

their start up<br />

stories<br />

Rachael Laine<br />

On bringing Salt-Water Sandals to Europe<br />

Helping you make the transition from employee to entrepreneur


Editor's letter...<br />

Welcome to our second edition of <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong>; the magazine for Haringey<br />

entrepreneurs. If you are looking for inspiration and support to go freelance, work from<br />

home or even start a business, you are at the right place.<br />

<strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> is the inspiration of Anthony and Lisa Charles; Haringey entrepreneurs,<br />

who wanted to do something for the entrepreneur and businesses in the borough of<br />

Haringey, particularly in Wood Green. Already running a successful online magazine aimed<br />

at helping people make a smooth transition from employee to entrepreneur, we wanted to<br />

do something for the borough where we live and work. Reaching out into the business<br />

world we formed links with Wood Green Business Forum, Haringey Council and<br />

businesses large and small across the borough; that’s when the idea to create a version of<br />

<strong>Choices</strong> Magazine specifically for Haringey was born.<br />

So here we are and here you are; if you are reading this you are someone who wants to do<br />

more, have more or be more; or all of the above. We’ve selected some fantastic<br />

entrepreneurs to wet your appetite and get you thinking about how to bring that business<br />

idea to life or grow that business of yours.<br />

Our cover story features Rachael Laine; it’s an amazing story of how this Crouch End<br />

mother of two and PR expert reached out to a company looking for a PR role and ended<br />

up setting up a multi million pound distribution business spanning several countries.<br />

There’s so much more I want to talk to you about, but I’m not going to hold you up any<br />

longer; read, enjoy, feedback; follow us on social media. We want to develop a magazine<br />

that is just right for you, so make sure you get in touch; we want to hear from you.<br />

Anthony Charles.<br />

Co Editors: Anthony & Lisa Charles, Advertising, Distribution & Sales: 020 8889 5363, success@choicesmagazine.co.uk.<br />

Publishers: Team Titanium. www.choiceslocal.co.uk | www.twitter.com/choiceslocal | www.facebook.com/choiceslocal<br />

While every care is taken to ensure accuracy, <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong>, the publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability<br />

for errors or omissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form. Opinions expressed in this<br />

magazine are not necessarily those of <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> or the publisher. All material in this magazine is intended to be<br />

used for information purposes only. You agree to perform your own due diligence and that <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> or Team<br />

Titanium will not be held in anyway liable for any consequences without limitation, resulting from any action you or any<br />

other person takes or fails to take, whether or not based on information provided in this magazine or on any related<br />

websites.<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 3


Contents<br />

Don't be shy - 7 Start up tips<br />

With accounts guro Rukhsana Adams<br />

COVER STORY: Rachael Laine<br />

Haringey's very own sandals extraordinaire<br />

Breaking into filming<br />

Lloyd Gardener shares his journey<br />

Yoyo's dream 10 years in the making<br />

Opening a salon and achieving a life long dream<br />

Crouch End duo serving little feet<br />

The Windmill story<br />

Fears halting your entrepreneur journey?<br />

Do these 7 things<br />

Separating the talkers and doers<br />

Top biz guro Ron Holland tells you how<br />

Last word<br />

Anthony Charles has something to say...<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 5


7<br />

Start<br />

up tips for<br />

business success<br />

Rachel Myles speaks to local accountant Rukhsana Adams<br />

Experienced accountant Rukhsana Adam<br />

helped companies turn failings into profit<br />

and success for over 10 years, headed up her<br />

franchise business TaxAssist Accountants in<br />

Wood Green since 2013 and now runs her<br />

own company Mirandus Accountants. With<br />

an abundance of invaluable knowledge to<br />

share, Rukhsana had a quick chat with me to<br />

share her top tips for local businesses.<br />

1. Do the 3 essentials<br />

'People, process and markets.' Always know<br />

who you are targeting, working with and<br />

associating yourself with. Choosing the right<br />

people can be the distinction between<br />

absolute success and an awful failure.<br />

Always know your processes, the way you're<br />

going to do things. If you have no process,<br />

no plan, there's no business! And finally,<br />

research, research and research your market!<br />

Making sure you know everything humanly<br />

possible about competitors or where to<br />

target your niche item, is of vital<br />

importance.<br />

2. Set the right structure<br />

When starting a new venture, the biggest<br />

mistake Rukhsana comes across is people<br />

setting up a structure that doesn't suit their<br />

company. "People get over-enthused and<br />

within an afternoon they've set up their<br />

business online and its set." The problem in<br />

doing this, is that most people do not realise<br />

the implications, rules or regulations that<br />

come with whichever business structure<br />

they’ve opted for. Most people do not do<br />

their research and end up paying extreme<br />

penalties. Do your research and get some<br />

advice.<br />

3. Always see an accountant<br />

When you are unsure, or even if you think<br />

you know whether to set up as a sole trader<br />

or limited company, to educate and avoid<br />

penalties, make sure you go and see an<br />

accountant. It will save you time and money<br />

in the long run.<br />

4. Write everything down<br />

"Write everything down! Your plans, goals,<br />

aims, ideas. All of it is important and you<br />

will need to refer back to it as time goes on.<br />

It is a great way to not lose sight of why you<br />

are doing something."<br />

A very simple tip here, write down what you<br />

want. Put down on paper your aims and<br />

stick to them. They are no doubt the most<br />

important thing in your whole business -<br />

whether your goal is paying off your<br />

mortgage sooner than expected or being the<br />

century’s biggest innovator or new<br />

technology. It doesn't matter- just keep it in<br />

sight.<br />

6 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


5. Have a business plan<br />

Writing down your plans will help you keep<br />

a clear mind and will make you focus more<br />

clearly when things become more difficult<br />

(and believe me, they will!). They are great<br />

for keeping yourself on the right track and<br />

are an inevitability if you're ever going to<br />

need financial backing. Banks, investors and<br />

friends will take you much more seriously<br />

with a formal idea to show.<br />

"Business plans are just<br />

essential to build a<br />

relationship of trust with any<br />

financial backers you may<br />

want or have. If you want a<br />

bank, or investor to trust you,<br />

you need to show them you<br />

know what you're doing. You<br />

need to be a professional. It<br />

also helps you to see mistakes<br />

and adjustments you might want to make."<br />

6. Prepare and keep organised<br />

Create a timeline to keep track of your<br />

action plan, but keep clear that target you<br />

set when making decisions. Your business<br />

plan might change over time, but the goals<br />

and aims you wrote down for yourself<br />

probably won't and neither should how<br />

prepared you are.<br />

7. Keep good relationships<br />

In every sense of what this says really.<br />

When you're starting your new business,<br />

you have no idea how things will go and you<br />

truly won't know how much your friends<br />

and family will become your support system<br />

and how much you’ll need them, until<br />

everything seems to be going wrong. So<br />

make time for them. Building a good<br />

relationship<br />

with an<br />

accountant and<br />

your bank is<br />

also a smart<br />

step to take, it<br />

may cost<br />

money, but it’s<br />

an investment<br />

in your future<br />

and will turn<br />

out to probably<br />

save you financially in the long term.<br />

Rukhsana adds "Times will get tough when<br />

you're starting up your business, you will<br />

have huge highs and huge lows, and your<br />

closest relatives and friends are the most<br />

significant tool in keeping you sane.”<br />

Write everything down! Your<br />

plans, goals, aims, ideas. All<br />

of it is important and you will<br />

need to refer back to it as<br />

time goes on. It is a great way<br />

to not lose sight of why you<br />

are doing something.<br />

Rukhsana offers a free consultation. For more<br />

info contact: 0208 888 4909. Email:<br />

rukhsana@mirandusaccountants.co.uk<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 7


So I approached<br />

them and said, I<br />

really think you<br />

should bring your<br />

sandals over to<br />

Europe and<br />

specifically for the<br />

UK for all the<br />

reasons I just said,<br />

and they were like,<br />

if you want<br />

"<br />

to do it,<br />

you can do it.<br />

Rachael Laine


We caught up with marketing and PR extraordinaire, Rachael Laine, now sole<br />

importer for the UK and other territories of the Salt-Water Sandals brand, to<br />

learn about her amazing 7 year journey.<br />

Please introduce yourself. Who you<br />

are and what you do.<br />

I am Rachel Laine and I’m the exclusive<br />

distributor of a footwear brand from<br />

America called Salt-Water Sandals, which is<br />

a heritage brand of sandals that was<br />

designed in the 1940s.<br />

That’s an interesting name; where<br />

does it come from?<br />

The guy who made the first pair, used to<br />

make military boots for the American army,<br />

so he learned about how to treat the quality<br />

of leather so that if people were marching<br />

through mud or standing in the rain, the<br />

leather didn’t seize up or crack or stretch<br />

out of shape. Leather was at a premium in<br />

the Second World War and was only<br />

allowed to be used for military purposes,<br />

but his daughter needed a pair of sandals,<br />

so he made her a pair out of scrap leather<br />

from the floor of the factory.<br />

The Second World War ended and he<br />

switched production entirely from making<br />

military boots, to making sandals for kids.<br />

The fallout from using the leather from the<br />

military boots was that they realized that<br />

these sandals could get wet. So his<br />

daughter could go swimming in them, or<br />

go cycling in the rain and that's why they're<br />

called Salt-Water Sandals.<br />

That's why I was so interested in them<br />

because, a leather sandal that you can get<br />

wet and it doesn’t stretch or crack or what<br />

have you, is really fantastic for the United<br />

Kingdom because we've got really pebbly,<br />

cobbly beaches. And I thought they would<br />

be amazing in the UK because I've taken<br />

my kids to the beach and they complain<br />

about their feet hurting.<br />

So how did you get involved?<br />

I contacted them and I liked the story that<br />

they're the same design from the forties.<br />

They haven’t changed the design for over<br />

70 years. That's four generations of the<br />

same family still running the business and<br />

they hadn’t gone international at all. They<br />

were just selling in the United States.<br />

So I approached them and said, I really<br />

think you should bring your sandals over to<br />

Europe and specifically for the UK for all<br />

the reasons I just said, and they were like, if<br />

you want to do it, you can do it.<br />

I was on maternity leave with my second<br />

child and my career history was launching<br />

brands to market and marketing. I've<br />

worked on everything from when the new<br />

Mini launched, to a vodka brand, to a<br />

patisserie; I was part of the agency that<br />

brought Krispy Kreme over from America<br />

and Starbucks. I became a specialist in<br />

taking consumer goods that were really<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 9


successful in other international territories<br />

and then slightly repackaging them or<br />

trying to recreate the same success of that<br />

brand in the United Kingdom.<br />

moved from TV into marketing and events.<br />

The main common thread between<br />

everything that I've ever done as a working<br />

adult is I'm a storyteller. That's what I do.<br />

So when I approached the sandal company,<br />

it was really just to say, I'll help you with<br />

your communications strategy, it was not<br />

actually to get involved with the shipping,<br />

the buying, the warehousing, the<br />

distribution and the selling. But they said,<br />

well, if you want do to it, you do it all.<br />

We're not interested in helping man the<br />

logistics or set up all of that.<br />

And now you are the sole<br />

distributor?<br />

Sole exclusive distributor for the majority<br />

of countries, which is really exciting and<br />

also daunting at the same time. I've got a<br />

warehouse in Hong Kong, we've got a<br />

warehouse in the UK, and we’re looking at<br />

a warehouse for mainland Europe. We've<br />

got sales reps across every single country<br />

and we’ve got a woman who's based in<br />

Hong Kong who's helping us at the<br />

moment to man the South-East Asia<br />

expansion. We've just signed a deal with<br />

someone in Thailand and we're in<br />

communication with someone from the<br />

Philippines, so it's a lot of balls in the air at<br />

the moment, but everybody loves the<br />

brand.<br />

Tell me about your professional<br />

journey.<br />

I started off in TV, fun TV, music TV, and<br />

then I moved into dry TV documentaries<br />

and hated it, and right at the beginning I<br />

started doing radio, but for only two weeks,<br />

so I don’t really count that. And then I<br />

Unpack that for me.<br />

If I'm a scriptwriter in TV, I'm telling a<br />

story and it might be someone else telling<br />

that story in front of the camera, but I've<br />

written the script and it's the story that I've<br />

created. If I was documentary making,<br />

again, it's a story in a slightly different way.<br />

Marketing and events; you're telling a story<br />

about the brand or introducing the brand to<br />

someone with a story about the product.<br />

So, when I set up my agency, I made a really<br />

specific decision, that I would only work<br />

with brands that had an authentic true<br />

story. It has to have a real story, not a made<br />

up one. And I can sniff out a made up<br />

story from three metres away. It has to<br />

have a USP, a unique selling point, which is<br />

a gap, a proper gap in the market and the<br />

product has to function; it has to be a good<br />

product.<br />

10 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


How does Salt-Water Sandals shape<br />

up to this test?<br />

Salt-Water Sandals - authentic story, 70<br />

years old, never heard of outside of<br />

America, been around since the 1940s,<br />

haven’t changed the design in over 70 years.<br />

The product functions. It does exactly<br />

what it says. You can wear them all<br />

summer, they don’t fall apart; they stay<br />

looking good. They're not pretending to be<br />

anything other than a functional decent<br />

looking straightforward sandal and I really<br />

like the humbleness of that. And then the<br />

unique selling point is that they can get wet.<br />

So, it ticks all three. And it's a delight to<br />

sell. I enjoy selling it and I feel I'm not<br />

selling someone clutter. I'm selling them<br />

the equivalent of a wellington boot, but in<br />

summer. So, it's a sandal that does<br />

everything.<br />

How many outlets would you say<br />

you've got now in the UK?<br />

What’s been your biggest<br />

achievement? What are you most<br />

proud of ?<br />

The ultimate was to benefit my family. You<br />

know, but if I'm slightly selfish, because of<br />

my background in launching brands to<br />

market, some of the satisfaction doesn’t<br />

necessarily come from making money. And<br />

this is the honest truth; I have a huge<br />

satisfaction out of introducing a brand that<br />

no one has heard of and then watching<br />

people discover it and watching people<br />

totally fall in love with it and become really<br />

massive fans of it. So that has been really<br />

great for me, just watching - because<br />

obviously in the area we are, there's lots of<br />

mums and families and I've introduced the<br />

brand directly, and just watching all the<br />

mums in the local school and all the kids<br />

wearing those sandals in summer and all of<br />

them coming to me and saying, they're the<br />

best pair of sandals.<br />

Oh, crikey. I'd have to ask my sales<br />

director. I've got a sales director now.<br />

Actually, in the UK, we've probably got<br />

maybe 160, at a guess.<br />

And how do you choose who stocks<br />

the brand?<br />

Our route to market is you find your best<br />

independent boutiques or your best<br />

independent shoe shops because, without a<br />

doubt, if they're any good at what they do,<br />

they choose a really good brand mix for<br />

their clientele, and we look at what brands<br />

they're already selling and if they've got a<br />

few recognizable brands that will really sit<br />

alongside our sandals nicely, we go, oh,<br />

they're a good fit.<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 11


Independent films<br />

thriving in Wood Green<br />

Anthony speaks to Haringey entrepreneur Lloyd Gardener of Wood<br />

Green Films, to get some insight into the independent film industry.<br />

Tell us how long you’ve been doing<br />

this and why you chose Wood Green<br />

to base yourself in?<br />

I've been doing this for, must be nearly 30<br />

years now. I had a shop in Tottenham called<br />

Black Vision back in the day when we were<br />

really looking to promote films that had<br />

black people in it, because, there was no<br />

outlet then for people who wanted to see<br />

people of colour on screen.<br />

From there, I learned a lot about production<br />

and what people needed and I decided I<br />

wanted to make films and really change the<br />

perception of what we were seeing of black<br />

people on TV. I did a bit of studying at the<br />

University of Westminster, studied film and<br />

television and then set up my own company<br />

back in1991. And from there on in, I've<br />

been working as an independent producer.<br />

I've filmed a lot of reggae concerts and<br />

community events and just really continued<br />

learning. I've set up in Wood Green because<br />

I'm close to Tottenham, where I've lived for<br />

a long time.<br />

How easy was it for you to start?<br />

Did you face any difficulties getting<br />

the business off the ground?<br />

When I started back in the day, it was a lot<br />

more difficult to get the business going than<br />

it probably is now because it was an industry<br />

where there weren't many black people at<br />

the time. You didn’t have role models, so<br />

there weren’t people there to give you advice<br />

and help. My attitude was I wanted to do<br />

this and I was going to have a go. Some<br />

people knew me from Black Vision, so I<br />

used those contacts and let them know that<br />

I was now in production, and then spent<br />

time looking around and just being in the<br />

business.<br />

One thing I always say to people who are<br />

thinking of getting into this industry, the<br />

film business, is that you’ve got to stay in it.<br />

It's not something that you come in and you<br />

spend a short period of time and then give<br />

up. You've really got to stay in it for a long<br />

time and learn the art, but it's also about<br />

being there, so when people decide that they<br />

want something done, they can find you;<br />

because a film, whether it's a corporate film<br />

or a music video or a short film, isn’t<br />

something that people make every day. So,<br />

you’ve just got to be in the game and stay in<br />

there.<br />

You know I must admit, I think as a<br />

filmmaker, I've been very lucky, in terms of<br />

what I've done. As Wood Green Films, I<br />

got a call from Sony Music about Michael<br />

Jackson's tour that was coming over and<br />

they wanted a production company to<br />

follow him around for a couple of days and<br />

film him at various private events and then<br />

12 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


also backstage at the Wembley concert. I<br />

did that and that was amazing because,<br />

obviously, apart from being just a few feet<br />

away from Michael Jackson and capturing<br />

him at the Guildhall and a couple of other<br />

events, at Wembley backstage, everyone was<br />

there and everywhere you<br />

turned, I was bumping into<br />

film stars and footballers and<br />

so forth. So that was great.<br />

"<br />

The more I think of the<br />

names like meeting Jazzie B<br />

and working with Kylie<br />

Minogue and the then<br />

heavyweight champion of the<br />

world Lennox Lewis, I've just<br />

been very privileged in my life<br />

to have done something which<br />

I didn’t set out to do at the<br />

start, and it's something that I've really<br />

enjoyed. I would say to anyone who's<br />

considering working in this business, is that<br />

it's a fantastic industry to be in. Sometimes<br />

you may not always make a lot of money<br />

but the experience and things that you get<br />

out of it, I just think is first class and it's just<br />

worth being part of a journey that is never<br />

ending.<br />

Every day I meet new and interesting people<br />

and there's always journeys that you go on<br />

and some stories to tell.<br />

What have you learned about<br />

yourself, Lloyd, on this journey?<br />

There's so many things I've learned. You<br />

know, I've learned maybe I should have<br />

listened to myself a lot earlier, you know,<br />

before I knew what I know now. But I<br />

know, one thing I've learned is that life takes<br />

you through difficult things and you learn a<br />

lot when times are difficult. I've learned that<br />

it's really about believing in yourself and<br />

sticking to your values. So at least, at the<br />

end of the day, when things don’t go right,<br />

you can't say I blame this person for telling<br />

me this or telling me that. You know, don’t<br />

blow with the wind. You have certain values<br />

and certain goals and<br />

You have certain<br />

values and certain<br />

goals and certain<br />

attitudes, stick to them<br />

because, at the end<br />

of the day, they're the<br />

things I think that's<br />

going to make you<br />

successful or not<br />

certain attitudes, stick to<br />

them because, at the end<br />

of the day, they're the<br />

things I think that's going<br />

to make you successful or<br />

not.<br />

I like that. What are<br />

you working on now?<br />

"<br />

Well, we're in a very<br />

interesting position at this<br />

time. It's taken us a while<br />

to get here but we have a number of<br />

projects in development. We're in the early<br />

stages of doing some initial research on a<br />

little film. I say a little film because it's a<br />

Tottenham film. It's a true story set in<br />

Tottenham and we'll be employing some<br />

actors locally. And then there's a couple of<br />

other film scripts that we have which<br />

hopefully will kick off on the back of this<br />

film, which we're hoping to take into<br />

production early next year.<br />

We're running training programmes and<br />

working with some schools in Haringey and<br />

Barnet, running animation programmes and<br />

digital photography programmes with some<br />

young people. And we hope to see a feature<br />

film coming out of Wood Green fairly soon.<br />

Wood Green Films<br />

Chocolate Factory 2, 4 Coburg Road,<br />

London, N22 6UJ. Tel: 020 8829 8931.<br />

www.woodgreenfilms.co.uk<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 13


A dream, 10 years in<br />

the making<br />

Mobile hairdresser Yoyo dreamt of having her own salon for 10 years. In the<br />

eleventh year, she opened Beauty Evaluation. It’s been a long struggle,<br />

Anthony spoke to her about her focused journey.<br />

How long have you dreamt of having<br />

your own business?<br />

I remember being 17. I used to live in<br />

Tottenham Court Road and I used to see all<br />

these big advertising posters that they put<br />

up in the streets and I always used to think,<br />

this will be me one day, advertising my<br />

business. Hairdressing has been something<br />

that I've always wanted to do, but it seemed<br />

impossible because I didn’t have the money.<br />

How important has the support of your<br />

partner, family and friends been?<br />

I'm a mum of three young boys, so it hasn’t<br />

been easy. My kids and my husband have<br />

been very supportive. I personally think,<br />

without friends and family, I would not have<br />

been able to do this. My friend Carlene<br />

gives me great encouragement, she’ll say<br />

‘you have to do it, it's in you. It's not<br />

something that you're forcing, it's in you so<br />

don’t give up’.<br />

What's been the biggest struggle for<br />

you?<br />

Money. That's why I went into retail, even<br />

though I didn’t really like doing it, I had to<br />

do it so I could save up. It took me a while.<br />

I was saving about £500 each month.<br />

Every single month of my salary for the<br />

past few years.<br />

What would you say to our readers who<br />

want to start a business but have got a<br />

financial challenge?<br />

I would say it takes time. I've been doing<br />

this for 10 years and I've made it on the<br />

eleventh year. You have to always be able to<br />

follow your dream. If that's what you want.<br />

What words of encouragement would<br />

you give to people wanting to become<br />

an entrepreneur?<br />

I would say to never stop. Keep doing it<br />

until you get there. Dreams are real because<br />

my dreams have been since I was a teenager<br />

and I'm 29 now and finally achieved mine.<br />

Beauty Evaluation specialises in Brazilian wigs,<br />

weaves, ponytails, braiding and full make-up.<br />

Visit them at 556 Lordship Lane, Wood Green<br />

N22 5BY. Tel no. 07960 159 182.<br />

14 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


Crouch End duo share their<br />

Windmill journey<br />

One lovely summers day, 2 friends sat in a Crouch End garden complaining about<br />

the lack of places to buy their kids shoes. Kirsty, with her experience as a buyer for<br />

Selfridges and Arancha, with her past life in customer management, and then 10<br />

years as a childminder while she raised her kids, went from agreeing they should<br />

provide the solution, to opening a shop in under 2 months! Anthony spoke to this<br />

amazing duo for some further insight...<br />

Wow – what a quick turn around...<br />

Kirsty: Yeah, it was a short sharp shock.<br />

We turned it around very quickly.<br />

Arancha: I think it was better that way so<br />

we didn’t really linger and think about what<br />

we were doing so we just really had to get<br />

on with it.<br />

You turned everything around so<br />

quickly. What did you look at in order to<br />

go forward and know that you could do<br />

this and put it together?<br />

Kirsty: We looked at our surrounding area.<br />

We worked out how many primary and<br />

secondary schools there were. We found<br />

out there's like 11 primary schools in a twomile<br />

radius, so we knew there's enough feet<br />

to put shoes on. We did a lot of market<br />

research, did a lot of surveys with people<br />

asking them about price sensitivity. We did<br />

strength, weakness, you know, swat analysis<br />

basically. And you know, we tried financial<br />

forecasting based on the amount of stock<br />

we'd have to buy and what profit we'd have<br />

to make to keep us going for those first<br />

tough couple of years.<br />

How do you juggle your time because I<br />

know you've both got families? Has it<br />

changed much from when you started?<br />

Arancha: It definitely has. I mean, when<br />

we first started it was just Kirsty and me in<br />

the shop and we both have two kids and<br />

they were all super excited to be in the back<br />

of the shop and they had a little sofa and<br />

they were all playing. Obviously as they got<br />

a bit older, the novelty wore off and they<br />

did not want to be in the shop anymore. As<br />

we grew, we were able to afford an assistant<br />

who would work throughout the week and<br />

then Kirsty and I would take turns, so we<br />

could take our kids home two evenings after<br />

school. We had to spend some time with<br />

them as well, because the shop has been our<br />

baby and for the first two years, we spent so<br />

much time and energy on it that you had to<br />

get the balance right with our family and try<br />

not to neglect them too much.<br />

What impact did it have on your home<br />

life?<br />

Kirsty: I think it just really meant that we<br />

weren’t there as much, and both our<br />

partners work odd hours. Arancha's partner<br />

16 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


works away for long periods. My husband<br />

works late nights, so the kids were literally<br />

always with us. If we were at work, the kids<br />

were at work. They just had to kind of suck<br />

like, ‘are you still friends’, because we run a<br />

business together. We are because I think<br />

we complement each other so well and we<br />

know each other's strengths and weaknesses.<br />

98 Weston Park<br />

London N8 9PP.<br />

Tel. 0208 340 6700.<br />

www.windmill-kids.com<br />

it up and deal with it really, and then we<br />

were trying to show them that as mothers,<br />

we didn’t just have to stay at home. We<br />

could do something really empowering that<br />

they would respect us for and remember<br />

when they were adults that, our mum got up<br />

and did something.<br />

Arancha: We're very lucky because we live<br />

very near to the shop. The school is very<br />

near so they can walk back and forth, you<br />

can pop in and check on them. We've been<br />

very lucky to find this location.<br />

When you walk past the shop and it's<br />

closed and you look across and you<br />

think, there's my shop over there. What<br />

runs through your mind?<br />

Arancha: Oh, I just feel so proud that<br />

we've actually managed to do something like<br />

this. To see it standing there, and mostly to<br />

see kids wearing your shoes around the<br />

town you live and hearing other parents<br />

comments and you think, oh, they're talking<br />

about my shop. It makes you really, really<br />

proud and not just of the shop, but of<br />

ourselves to be able to do it and people are<br />

Kirsty: And we know when to be careful<br />

and not to press each other's buttons. Not to<br />

say it's always been easy when we first<br />

started, but we've managed to get to a point<br />

where we can disagree and move on and still<br />

be friends.<br />

And five years from now, where is the<br />

shop going to be? Where is the business<br />

going to be? Where are you going to be?<br />

Kirsty: Well, hopefully we're going to be<br />

retired on a tropical island! No, we'd love to<br />

open a few more stores eventually and have<br />

our own brand of shoes.<br />

Arancha: We're trying to promote our<br />

brand all around social media to establish it<br />

as a well-recognised brand, not only for the<br />

style that we provide, but for our shoe fitting<br />

service. With that in mind, in the future we<br />

will be able to be around longer and be<br />

recognised as a brand itself.<br />

Kirsty: And we really wouldn’t mind if<br />

Clarks or some big store wanted to buy us<br />

out or put us in concessions in big stores. It<br />

wouldn’t be horrible.<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 17


Scared to make the<br />

transition to<br />

entrepreneur? By Rachel Myles<br />

Thinking about starting your own business<br />

can seem daunting, maybe even impossible,<br />

but it really isn’t. Each and every business<br />

we come across be it a global giant or<br />

small local shop, was started by<br />

one person with an idea. So<br />

why can't that person be<br />

you? It can.<br />

One important thing<br />

each of these<br />

entrepreneurs' have in<br />

common, that is<br />

absolutely detrimental to<br />

their success is<br />

confidence. This is one of,<br />

if not the most, valuable attribute<br />

you must have to make the transition you<br />

have been yearning for; employee to<br />

employer. However, you are not born with<br />

confidence the same as you are with gut<br />

instinct, it has to be constructed like a<br />

foundation for a home, layer by layer.<br />

Don't worry, very few people really know<br />

what they're doing when they first come up<br />

with an idea for a business- they just have<br />

the idea. It takes more than that idea to turn<br />

a profit, it requires research, planning,<br />

connections, advertising and more. But to<br />

Build your<br />

confidence to give you<br />

the state of mind to make<br />

real progression in beginning<br />

your new business venture.<br />

Portraying self-assurance<br />

makes other people see<br />

you more positively.<br />

even begin taking those first steps takes<br />

bravery and confidence; both in yourself<br />

and your business proposal.<br />

Build your confidence to give<br />

you the state of mind to<br />

make real progression in<br />

beginning your new<br />

business venture.<br />

Portraying selfassurance<br />

makes other<br />

people see you more<br />

positively, which is<br />

exactly what you need<br />

when building up your<br />

network of contacts and<br />

making a good impression on<br />

those around you. It also keeps the doubts<br />

away when they try to get inside your head,<br />

as fear is going to be your number one<br />

enemy in stopping your dreams.<br />

So, how can you become this new found you<br />

with an aura of poise you ask? Without<br />

trying to sound too much like a bad selfhelp<br />

book, following this simple guidance<br />

and being perpetually positive will honestly<br />

work wonders for you and you'll count<br />

yourself crazy for not doing it sooner.<br />

18 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


Look at your achievements<br />

Looking at all the already wonderful things<br />

in your life that you have done will make<br />

you feel miles better and remind you that<br />

you can do it. Whether it's small<br />

achievements or big ones, write them down<br />

and keep a log to look at when you feel<br />

disheartened. Give credit where credit is<br />

due.<br />

Focus on your strengths<br />

You need to take some time and really think<br />

about the areas where you shine, if you<br />

don't already know. Everyone has things<br />

they are great at, so instead of worrying<br />

about what you can't or don't like doing,<br />

focus on the things you can. The areas that<br />

aren't so good you can always work on in<br />

the future.<br />

Try new things<br />

Take the plunge! Try a new class or sport or<br />

anything that interests you really. Something<br />

that will challenge you and maybe even<br />

something you’re afraid to do, that's how<br />

people grow, through experience and<br />

overcoming. Whether you are actually good<br />

at it or not isn’t important, the fact that you<br />

did it is. You will feel like you have truly<br />

achieved something outside of your<br />

comfort zone and it's a great way of<br />

meeting new people. It might even become<br />

your new favourite past-time!<br />

Write a list of goals<br />

If each day or week you write yourself a list<br />

of all the things you want to achieve in that<br />

time, you are much more likely to complete<br />

them than if you don't. It makes you think<br />

about your days more and plan better -<br />

great skills to have when running a business.<br />

Moreover, at the end of the week when you<br />

look back at all those tasks you finished,<br />

even if it wasn't all of them, you will feel<br />

like you have done so much with your time.<br />

Talk to different people<br />

You never know who are you going to<br />

discover when you strike up a conversation<br />

with someone you don't know when you go<br />

for drinks or when you're starting your new<br />

hobby. It's a useful way to make<br />

connections for your future business or just<br />

to make new friends and will help you to<br />

realise people can be friendlier than you<br />

think. It will soon become second nature<br />

and you won't ever be afraid of introducing<br />

yourself again.<br />

Exercise<br />

If you don't already, doing exercise has been<br />

proven to have amazing psychological<br />

effects which will leave you feeling fantastic.<br />

So get in the gym, go for a swim or even a<br />

walk and you're guaranteed to feel better<br />

afterwards.<br />

Don't beat yourself up!<br />

Everybody messes up at times, you need to<br />

remember that life is not perfect and things<br />

do go wrong, but you are not alone in that.<br />

Realising your mistakes, learning from them<br />

and moving on is sensible and mature, but<br />

having enough confidence afterwards to<br />

pick yourself up and carry on with your<br />

head held high is what will make you<br />

successful. As Einstein said "A person who<br />

has never made a mistake has never tried<br />

anything new."<br />

CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey 19


Separate Talkers<br />

from Doers<br />

Top Biz Guru, Ron G Holland explains...<br />

Here’s a real gem for you: Over the<br />

coming years you’ll meet all sorts<br />

of people who will ‘talk the talk’<br />

and convince you that they are the right ones<br />

to do your PR, web building or design,<br />

marketing, sales or some other service. You’ll<br />

no doubt sign them up, give them an advance<br />

and pay them month after month. Most<br />

times you’re going to end up bitterly<br />

disappointed! Why? Simply because most<br />

people ‘talk the talk’ – very few, perhaps one<br />

in a hundred, (if you’re lucky!) can and will<br />

actually deliver and ‘walk the walk’.<br />

So can you build your business, prosper and<br />

save yourself heartache and frustration? Well,<br />

you can, but it isn’t simple, so here’s my best<br />

shot, based on over forty-years of experience<br />

in the field, dealing with lots of ‘talkers’ and<br />

a few actual ‘doers.’ Even if someone sounds<br />

really good, it still pays to have a colleague in<br />

the room with you listening to the sales pitch<br />

so that the two of you can decide how<br />

realistic the proposal is, then try to talk to at<br />

least three people who they have performed<br />

their miracles for in the past. Drill down on<br />

these previous clients and get to the bottom<br />

of what was really delivered and what wasn’t.<br />

Don’t forget if they fail to deliver, the<br />

excuses you’ll get will be just as exotic as the<br />

sales pitch you received in the first place,<br />

maybe even more so. Unfortunately you can’t<br />

build a business based on excuses, not even<br />

exotic ones – only demonstrable results. Try<br />

to get warm introductions from your own<br />

business associates who you trust and have<br />

known for years and get them to introduce<br />

you to people who really can deliver. Realise<br />

that some things do take time to build up,<br />

like PR, stuffing sales funnels and lead times,<br />

so don’t confuse your misunderstanding of<br />

business time frames with the lack of<br />

someone else’s performance.<br />

Get a one page agreement in writing, as to<br />

what they get paid and what you can<br />

realistically expect in return for your money.<br />

In that agreement, try to capture all the<br />

promises and inferences that went down in<br />

the ‘talk of talks’ sales pitch to you. Cover<br />

off lead times and time frames in the<br />

agreement. Enter into agreements with your<br />

eyes wide open – most people don’t. Have a<br />

weasel clause so you can escape and stop<br />

paying if you’re not getting the required<br />

results, so you can get on with your life, get<br />

shot of the ‘talker’ and tie up with a ‘doer.'<br />

Sometimes you have to kiss many frogs to<br />

find the princess and once you do – marry<br />

her! (Or him!)<br />

Ron G Holland is a 22-Times #1 Best Selling Author, Business and<br />

Mind Power Mentor and Fundraiser - www.ronhollanddirect.com<br />

20 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


Here is<br />

Tell<br />

yourself that thousands<br />

and tens of thousands of<br />

people, not very intelligent<br />

and certainly no more<br />

intelligent than the rest of<br />

us, have mastered<br />

problems as difficult as<br />

those that now baffle you.<br />

William Feather<br />

CHOICES INSPIRATION


Last word...<br />

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this edition of <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong>; we<br />

hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.<br />

It’s been a real labour of love; love for entrepreneurs, love for business, love for<br />

personal development and love for the borough that we live and work in.<br />

So how did you find it? We sincerely hope that you found it to be much more<br />

than just a business and lifestyle magazine; we would love to hear your feedback;<br />

that way we can start as we mean to go on; making <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> better, issue by<br />

issue. So get in contact with us and share your thoughts.<br />

The main thing we want to achieve with <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> is for it to do what it says<br />

on the cover; provide you with <strong>Choices</strong>; whether they be business, lifestyle,<br />

wellbeing or personal growth; we want to provide you with the best information<br />

so that you can make the very best <strong>Choices</strong> now and in the future.<br />

We are already working on our next two issues and we are excited about the<br />

people we will be featuring, plus the knowledge and insights we will be sharing<br />

from our fantastic guests and contributors.<br />

In our next issue, we will be talking all things food; featuring some great<br />

franchisees, some great independents and some amazing food innovators. So<br />

whether you are thinking of entering the food business or just looking for a great<br />

place to eat in Wood Green; <strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> has something special for you.<br />

Don’t miss it.<br />

Anthony<br />

Keep up to date with all our activities and get to know<br />

us online:<br />

www.twitter.com/choiceslocal<br />

www.facebook.com/choiceslocal<br />

Sign up for the Inside <strong>Choices</strong> newsletter at:<br />

www.choiceslocal.co.uk<br />

22 CHOICES <strong>Local</strong> Haringey


Proud to support<br />

<strong>Choices</strong> <strong>Local</strong> and Wood Green's<br />

Small Businesses

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!