The Big Smoke

Jeremy Bell

Brill
When nursery teacher, drummer and vinyl collector Jeremy Brill (46) was looking for a new career direction, he opened a record shop in Clerkenwell. But when CD sales were hit hard by the rise of the iTunes Music Store and other digital download sources, he reinvented his business with a new name, new look and new coffee bar to create a friendly, local music shop.

What was the inspiration for your business?
I used to sell records at fairs to support my vinyl habit; after a while I thought I should go full-time with it.

When was it launched?
Clerkenwell Music opened eight years ago and was then relaunched as Brill in late 2006.
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What funding did you have?
I was left £20,000 by my grandparents.

Where did you go for advice?
The most helpful experience was working in different record stores. When developing the coffee-shop idea, again, I looked at how other places did it and talked to as many people as I could.

What were the first few months like?
Clerkenwell Music was a hit within the first hour and stayed that way for three years. Brill has taken off more gradually as word of mouth has spread.

What have been the highlights?
Always the people I meet in the shop.

Main challenges?
When CD sales started to plummet and we had to rethink everything and sort it out – or give up.

Can you recommend any helpful resources?
Allmusic.com and the forums on Coffeegeek.com.

What are your top tips?
You have to love what you do. Start from a passion – people will instantly know if you’re pretending.

What is your business philosophy?
Treat people in a friendly, decent way and always make them feel welcome.

Brill, 27 Exmouth Market, EC1 (020 7833 9757) Angel tube or Farringdon tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 7.30am-6pm, Sat 8am-6pm.

Ed and Beth Greenacre

Rokeby
When Beth and Ed Greenacre (both 32) got married, they wanted to open a contemporary art gallery together in the West End, but they were concerned about the viability of a husband-wife partnership. They needn’t have worried – clearly defined business roles combined with a fierce determination on both parts has led to success for Rokeby and its artists. Their previous experience clearly helped: Ed had been a press agent in the art world and ran a bar on Portobello Road, while Beth had worked as an art consultant and curator.

What was the inspiration for your business?
Ed: The gallery was a natural progression of Beth’s business and we now represent many of the emerging artists that she previously curated such as Michael Samuels, Sam Dargan and Graham Hudson.

When was it launched?
April 2005.

What funding did you have?
We had £30,000 from our previous businesses.

Where did you go for advice?
Ed: Other married couples we knew who had their own businesses, my father who was a curator and then became a private dealer when he retired, Beth’s father who is self-employed and Beth’s accountant.

What were the first few months like?
The premises were a dump when we moved in and the first five months were spent doing hard labour to get the gallery ready in time. We worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week, which took its physical and emotional toll.

What have been the highlights?
Selling the first big installation, which was by Raul Ortega; placing the work of our artists in major collections and witnessing their success; and getting three years ahead of our business plan within the first year of opening.

Main challenges?
When we had a horrible sewage problem in the building. We now know a lot about plumbing.

Can you recommend any helpful resources?
‘Business: The Ultimate Resource’ published by A&C Black at £40.

What are your top tips?
Go and work in a gallery first and visit as many other galleries as you can – look at the way they project themselves.

What is your business philosophy?
You need determination, hard work and belief in what you’re doing.

Rokeby, 37 Store St, WC1 (020 7168 9942/www.rokebygallery.com) Goodge St or Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat
11am-4pm, or by appointment.

Samantha Burlton

So Organic
After three years of researching the organic beauty industry, Samantha Burlton (31), formerly an account manager in corporate telecommunications, launched online organic beauty store So Organic from her second bedroom. With sales growing by 18 per cent each month, the business has now expanded to a warehouse and office, and has just opened its first shop in Greenwich.

What was the inspiration for your business?
I was having difficulty finding the organic alternatives I wanted in a convenient and stylish shopping environment and I was sure others felt the same way.

When was it launched?
February 2005.

What funding did you have?
Personal savings of £20,000 and some help from my family.

Where did you go for advice?
Friends, family and the Greenwich Enterprise Board (020 8305 2666/www.geb.co.uk).

What were the first few months like?
It was a very, very steep learning curve. I had to learn how to do everything; from keeping accounts and filling in VAT returns to search engine optimisation and advertising online.

What have been the highlights?
Winning the London region of the O2/Grazia Business Woman of the Year Award 2006, reaching the finals of the industry award for Best Delivery/Internet Company within our first year, the launch of our own label and the opening of our first store.

Main challenges?
Because I love what I do so much it can be very difficult to switch off.

Can you recommend any helpful resources?
City Business Library (020 7332 1812/www.cityoflondon.gov.uk).

What are your top tips?
Talk to people and ask everyone you know for help and advice – it’s amazing just how many doors will open.

What is your business philosophy?
If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

So Organic, Eagle House, 7 Turnpin Lane, SE10 (0800 169257/ www.soorganic.com) Cutty Sark DLR or Greenwich DLR/rail. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11-5pm.

Andrew Valentine and Brett Asker

Streetcar
It took Andrew Valentine and Brett Akker (both 32) a year-and-a-half and hundreds of ideas to decide on a business venture they thought would work. Launched with just eight cars in London their car-share club, Streetcar, now has 500 cars and is expanding to other cities across the UK. Before launching Streetcar, Valentine worked in shipping in South Africa and then returned to the UK to do an MBA; Akker was an account manager at Mars. They met as students at Durham University.

What was the inspiration for your business?
We read an article in a US magazine about a similar car-club scheme, liked it and set about finding out what kind of reception the idea would get in the UK.

When was it launched?
April 2004.

What funding did you have?
Personal savings of £100,000 as well as secured banking and asset finance.

Where did you go for advice?
Established car clubs in the US and Europe and our bank manager.

What were the first few months like?
Absolutely frantic – we were faced with an office full of ringing phones and not enough people to answer them! We quickly had to recruit and have gone from just two people when we started to a team of 50. We now have more than 15,000 members and are signing up thousands more Londoners every month.

What have been the highlights?
The day that we secured investment from venture capital firm Smedvig was a real high point as it meant we could really accelerate our growth plans. Getting positive feedback from customers is always satisfying too – especially when they tell us they’ve given up their car in favour of our scheme. Each car we put on to the streets hopefully takes about 20 privately owned cars off the streets, so when we reached 500 cars, it meant we could have potentially taken 10,000 cars off the streets of London in just three years.

Main challenges?
Despite our cars being more environmentally friendly, users still have to pay the full congestion charge (it’s added to your bill automatically if you go into the congestion charge zone). We’ll continue to fight for preferential terms for Streetcars in the congestion charge zone and when the new congestion charge rates are finally linked to the environmental standing of each vehicle, we want recognition that our pay-as-you-go scheme takes cars off the road and consequently reduces emissions.

Can you recommend any helpful resources?
Startups.co.uk.

What are your top tips?
When putting together a proposal, quality and professionalism are essential. In London, you are up against so much competition that you can’t afford to cut corners.

What is your business philosophy?
Enjoy it and build up a strong team so that you can confidently switch off your Blackberry and mobile knowing that your business will run without you!

Streetcar (0845 644 8475/www.streetcar. co.uk). Membership £49.50 per year then from £4.95 per hour to £195 per week.

Emmy Scarterfield

Emmy’s Shoes
Operating out of two small rooms above an Islington lingerie shop, Emmy Scarterfield, 32, designs handmade wedding shoes. Starting with just five pairs, Emmy’s Shoes now offers 60 different styles and employs 16 staff. Before launching her business, Scarterfield studied a BA in shoe design at Cordwainers then worked in Milan for five years for Giorgio Armani and Bottega Veneto. After that she freelanced for Reiss, Jessica Ogden, House of Jazz and others in the UK, setting up their shoe design and production.

What was the inspiration for your business?
My friends were starting to get married. After the third time I’d been asked to help choose the bride’s shoes – and been disappointed by the compromises they’d had to make – I thought I could do it better myself.

When was it launched?
May 2004.

What funding did you have?
Personal savings of £24,000.

Where did you go for advice?
Initially, I went to BusinessLink Islington to ask for advice and then to a friend of my dad’s, who was so impressed with my business plan that instead of sending me to the bank he decided to invest.

What were the first few months like?
I sold my first pair of shoes at 5pm on the opening day, then there was no time to breathe for three months as all my orders were for August weddings.

What have been the highlights?
Designing shoes for Elizabeth Hurley, being named Best Accessories Designer by Condé Nast and doubling the firm’s amount of orders in the past year.

Main challenges?
Working long hours and struggling so much when the business had expanded that I was no longer able to cope alone. But now I see this as a positive sign of growth and am prepared for it.

Can you recommend any helpful resources?
BusinessLink (0845 600 9006/www.businesslink.gov.uk).

What are your top tips?
Do lots of research and write a business plan.

What is your business philosophy?
Stick to what you’re good at.

Emmy’s Shoes, 65 Cross St (above Tallulah lingerie shop), N1 (020 7704 0012/www.emmyshoes.co.uk) Angel tube or Highbury & Islington tube/rail. Open by appointment.