Stevie Matthewson : Stone Workwear

I have two children, one still at home – a bubbly artistic 12 year old daughter (who I am so proud to say interpreted my design concepts for the business image and made them a reality).  Over the past few years I have been juggling my career and home life almost to the point of exhaustion, often working in excess of 12 hours a day and driving over 1,000 miles per week. 

I have wanted to start my own business for a number of years and made the decision one wet afternoon in May driving home on the M6 (late as usual, wondering what was in the freezer for dinner and if my daughter had completed her homework and started to tidy her bedroom as promised in an earlier conversation – the “sorry I’m running late” one that almost drowned me in guilt daily).  Having the knowledge of the industry and some pretty influential contacts I knew it was going to be hard work but sitting there that night I wrote down the pro’s and con’s of going it alone.

I met a lady who started up her own business in Coventry last year, gave me the WBDA telephone number after hearing of my business idea and suggested I contact them for support and advice.

So that’s just what I did. WBDA were great when I called, they booked me straight onto their Marketing and Selling workshop which gave me the extra drive to complete my business plan and the determination to get it right. I was also able to talk to other women in similar situations who were at various stages of setting up or running their own businesses, all with their own set of barriers or solutions to their individual business needs.  Knowing that there are other women out there overcoming barriers and making a success of finding that work life balance cemented my decision. 

Then after completing the workshop I was booked in to see a business advisor, Michelle. She has been wonderful, instilling additional confidence in my plan by giving constructive criticism where necessary and oodles of support and information, helping me to generate ideas and focus on areas of priority.  She has listened and advised, and given me solutions and ideas for some of the weaknesses in my SWOT analysis.

I had many barriers to deal with. Like being a woman in a man’s arena I have to work harder to maintain the professional image I want to portray.  I desperately require expert advice on the financial aspects of record keeping, form completion etc – VAT, corporation tax, PAYE etc and have been unable to gain the information required via the internet or over the phone to HMRC – I am attending a course in September organised by WBDA which I am very much looking forward to because I hope it will remove one of my barriers for me.

Thanks to Michelle and WBDA’s workshops, I feel I am able to deal with the barriers and doubts that face me knowing I had the professional support necessary to drive my business forward. I’m more equipped to deal with some of the harder more complex issues that face me knowing that WBDA can offer the advice and support I might need, so this removes any fears and allows me to focus on building my business.

And now my reality has begun – a few short weeks later, after deciding that I am definitely going to start my own business, I heard of a premises available within 5 minutes walk of home, went to view it and here I am, less than two months later, up and running.  OK so it has been a slog, gutting the premises inside and out, having metal roller shutters fitted, sorting out company image, signage, shop fittings, forms and more forms etc etc, not to mention the ever decreasing bank balance!  But I am here and grateful to everyone that has been able to support me from family and friends, ex colleagues, local suppliers and businesses in the immediate location.

Stone Workwear supply garments for all aspects of work applications, from trade wear (safety boots, knee pad trousers, high visibility garments), through health and beauty (tunics, tabards, aprons) to leisure (fleeces, t-shirts, golf wear etc)..

I don’t want my image to be a woman running a shop - that is not what Stone Workwear is about – it is a business, the retail outlet is only a small part of it – the image must be professional, the garments of good quality, and the service superb.  I have supported local businesses when purchasing fittings, often paying more through the smaller businesses but with the knowledge that they are the businesses that will offer more for their product/service in the way of advice and information because they are grateful for the business and ensure a professional job is done – the response is also quicker if there should be a problem in the future.

For more information on the garments from Stone Workwear please contact Stevie Matthewson on 02476 595464 or email sales@stoneworkwear.co.uk