Guest Post - Daisychain Baby Ltd

Sitting at my desk in my “day job”  lunch break, writing this guest post for lovely Kelly at Piddley Pix and looking at the rain pouring down outside, I feel a bit like a spy with a secret life. The reality is that sometimes I’d rather be anywhere than here, and that’s why you’ll sometimes see me sneaking on to Twitter or Facebook, using my alias “DaisychainBaby”. It’s the pipedream me, the alter ego that allows me to be freed from my rather geeky full-time day job bland shackles and soar off into a world of colour, clothing, running my business and selling at markets. For in my alternate universe, I sell organic clothing for 0-5 year olds, and love it.

It’s been just over 3 years now since I started having some random ideas about starting a business, fuelled by a selling purge on Ebay as the hubby and I raised funds for our wedding. I got a buzz from ridding the house of boxes of junk, although little did I know that just a few months later I’d be replacing them with boxes of stock. I don’t even know to this day why I became so determined that I could make it work, that it was well within my reach to run a business, after all so many other people do. We launched in November 2008, well into the recession, and somehow as we approach our 3rd birthday STILL in recession, I’m proud and delighted that we’re still going strong.

I’m very honest and realistic about the pressures of trying to keep a business going, be it large or small, especially in these very tough economic times. Over the years there has been unbridled optimism almost immediately replaced by the reality of life. It’s why I’ve maintained right from the start that I wanted the business to grow organically and well within my capabilities. I never expected to make a million, but as time goes by our customer base grows, we get more repeat custom and such lovely feedback that the sleepless nights I used to have worrying about it are now firmly a thing of the past. I still panic each year about cash flow when all the new stock invoices need paying all at the same time and normally at a very quiet point of the year for sales, but over the year it all evens out and I traipse off to Bubble (a tradeshow for children’s clothing and other items) twice annually to say hello to my suppliers, look at all the lovely new things I can’t afford and get very excited about it all. I’ve also come to realise my own limitations – many other small business owners have either: a) had high-flying power jobs that they’ve given up and have therefore thrown tens of thousands at their new venture, or have partners that can afford to do so (not me); b) come from some kind of super-duper journalist/PR/supremo background that means they have a little black book more impressive than that of Tiger Woods (not me); or c) already have a family that provides them a bit more flexibility time-wise and also a network in some cases depending on their target audience (not me).

Yet none of that stops me from pushing forward, confident in the belief that I can make a true success of DaisychainBaby and one day in the future I’ll be able to write a guest post from the comfort of my own home, or a DaisychainBaby office (even better!) and my day job will be a distant memory. I have passion and support from wonderful family and friends – not to mention that surely this recession can’t last forever?! We’ve also just had our best-ever takings at the monthly market we attend in Ruislip this past Sunday, so we MUST be doing something right ;o) I fully admire anyone who starts up their own business from scratch – it’s taught me so much about myself and I’m sure others would say the same.

The very lovely Lins from Daisychain Baby has offered you a fac discount 20% off by quoting REVIEW at checkout! So what you waiting for, get shopping!