Childrens purses
Career

Mums in Business featuring Livvy and Rose

This week on my Mums in Business series I am delighted to be interviewing Jill who set up her own fashion accessory business; Livvy & Rose, for adults and children. Having always wanted her own business Jill set up Livvy & Rose and was so impressed when she had her first sale. I can only imagine what that must have felt like, and the business has gone strength to strength since then. To find out more about how Jill juggles the business and family life, read on….

Tell me a little bit about you, your background and Livvy and Rose?

I am a graphic designer and work part time 3 days a week, I have two children aged 8 and 4. I set up my business Livvy and Rose earlier this year, after months of planning and wondering whether to take the plunge and set it up. I knew I wanted to set up my own business and selling fashion accessories was an idea I kept coming back to and that felt like it was ‘me’. I invested my own money which meant I was very poor for a few months but I knew I had to make an initial investment to get started and didn’t want to borrow if I could help it.

Livvy and Rose Logo

What were your drivers and motivations for setting up Livvy and Rose?

Since my son was born 8 years ago my 2 days off have been spent looking after my children, going to baby groups and spending quality time with them which has been a special time for me. My daughter has just started school and since last year I have been planning what to do with the 2 days a week I now have to myself. I didn’t want to do more hours in my graphic design job (I have been doing it for 20 years!) and thought it was time for me to do something for me. My dad and grandpa both had their own businesses and this is something I have always aspired to.

How do you balance the business around family and childcare?

Because my business is new and still growing, I find evenings and my days off at the moment is enough time to run the business. As it grows I hope I can still manage to juggle time with the kids and time to work, I see it as a good thing if I’m getting busier as that means it’s the business is growing and that it is a success!

Since setting up Livvy and Rose what’s been your biggest success to date? 

I see my first internet sale as my biggest success. I have done many events, shows and parties and made more money but that first online sale meant more to me. I have spent hours creating my website and someone had found it, seen an accessory they liked and bought it – such a simple thing but it meant the hard work had started to pay off. It’s why I set the business up and it felt amazing that I had achieved what I had set out to do.

Ladies clothing and accessories

What’s your top tip for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

Get as much advice as possible! Read about everything from websites, marketing, SEO and talk to people in the business. I have learnt so much this year but it is mainly self taught, I have read so many articles, blogs, magazines and tried to get myself in a good position to run a business.When you start off you need to know about finance, marketing, legalities, design, latest trends – every aspect to running a business. If you’ve never done it before, like me, it’s hard knowing where to start. I started by just arming myself with as much knowledge as I could and I’m still learning as I’m going along, which I think I always will be.

You can find out more about Livvy and Rose on the website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest channels.

Thank you so much Jill for taking me part in my series, it was lovely to interview you, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

If you would like to be part of my Mums in Business then just drop me an email: thepramshedblog@gmail.com. Or have a nose at some of the other businesses I have featured in my series: Happity, Pink Spaghetti, and Making Mumpreneurs.

Claire x

Mums in Business Featuring Livvy & Rose

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