Going it alone ... gradually

By ELLEN READ

To employers it might have looked like job-hopping but Fiona Stewart knew exactly what she was doing - collecting a variety of skills and experience before setting up her own business.

Six months ago she did just that, leaving behind the safety net of paid employment to start the Fiona Stewart Soft Furnishings Workshop.

Returning to Auckland after nine years in London, Stewart took an admin job on a fixed contract to cover maternity leave.

The job was part-time as she combined employment with caring for her daughter, Stephanie.

She knew when she started the job that she wanted to start her own business, "but the timing wasn't quite right then".

Instead, she gradually reduced her hours with her employer as she worked towards branching out on her own.

"The process took four months and they were really good about it."

While in England, Stewart worked as a manager for a software company. The job involved a lot of travel which became a problem when Stephanie was born three years ago.

To help, the UK employer let her establish her own consultancy with its clients and that gave Stewart her first taste of running her own business.

It was something she enjoyed so she decided to return home and work towards setting up on her own.

Working in the soft furnishing area appealed, as she had always enjoyed fabrics, design and sewing.

Six months into her own venture, she doesn't regret the jump and enjoys the diversity of being a one- person operation.

"I hadn't realised before I started just how much I didn't know," she said.

"Which is probably a good thing or I might never have done it.

"At the beginning it might have taken all day to source a button, but I'm building relationships with suppliers now."

Finding enough time in the week to get everything done is a struggle but the benefits of working from home outweigh that stress.

"I can drop my daughter off at daycare nearby and be back home and working by 8.15am," Stewart said.

She took a planned and organised approach - writing business plans, attending BIZ courses and going to mentoring sessions.

Despite the careful preparation, Stewart said, reality was different from what she imagined and her plans have been adapted accordingly.

The original plan was for a two-sided business - one making and installing items such as curtains, blinds and bed linen for clients and the other running sewing workshops from her premises.

Reality means plans have changed, although the goals remain the same.

"I realised I had to change some things. But that's all part of it, thinking on your feet and being happy to accept that some of my ideas aren't going to work," she said.

"For example, I loved teaching when I was teaching software so I thought it would be good to carry that on with sewing.

"But it won't make me a lot of money, so I decided that I can't focus on that straight up," she said.

"But it is soul food to me, so I want to do it eventually."

For now, Stewart is focusing on building up a customer base - largely through word of mouth.

"I've let everyone, family and friends, know what I'm doing," she said.

Another area she is keen to get into is working with interior designers and boutique shops to promote her services and products.

"I don't want to be reliant on just one income stream or area so I'm trying to diversify as much as possible."

But she is aware of the dangers of trying to do too much too soon.

"I know it's not going to be the fastest business in the world but it's mine and I still have plans to grow.

"But I want to keep the business very creative. I don't ever want to get to the stage where I release product lines."

A year from now, she hopes to have employed at least one person to help her with the sewing and to have an established relationship with shops and designers for her cushions.

Fiona Stewart