BUILDINGS hold a special interest for Alison Fearns.
The Stocksmoor businesswoman – who liked nothing better than playing with Lego and her brother’s Meccano set as a girl – went on to enjoy a successful career in architecture and design before working in local government.
Now she is building up her own business – and relishing the chance to put the skills she honed in her previous career to use in an entirely new environment.
Alison set up Kids Bedroom Boutique Ltd only last summer and moved into premises at Springfield Mill, Denby Dale, in October. The business brings together everything needed to furnish or makeover a child’s bedroom – with colourful collections of beds and chairs, rugs, light shades, pillows, duvets and play equipment.
The idea was sown when Alison’s daughter Lucy was ready to move from cot to bed. “I had difficulty in finding well-designed, aesthetically pleasing and affordable bedroom furniture and tasteful accessories in a reasonable distance and price,” says Alison.
“Having spent hours on the internet and travelling round the area, I kept thinking wouldn’t it be good if I could pull a range of desirable and affordable things together in one place – without having to go from place to place or spend hours on the web pulling it all together. This is the gap that I spotted.”
Alison began researching her plan while still employed as a project manager working on regeneration schemes at Kirklees Council. The opportunity to turn the dream into reality came when her employer began seeking volunteers for redundancy – and Alison began to give it serious consideration.
She says: “I had my own ‘Dragon’s Den’ panellist to convince – my husband Neal! He made me sit down and work out a proper business plan. I had to demonstrate to him that it was viable because the decision to leave a relatively safe job with regular pay would impact the whole family.”
Alison applied the same project management principles she had used at the council to draw up her business plan, cashflow forecasts, budget and supplier lists.
She also used her experience in the property field to find suitable premises. A light and airy unit at Springfield Mill met the requirements for reasonably-priced accommodation which was well-connected to the public transport system, close to the motorway, offered free parking for customers and already provided a home to complementary businesses.
Says Alison: “Being in an old mill building is ‘classic’ Huddersfield – making use of an old building which has been part of our industrial heritage and is still providing space for businesses. I have always loved buildings. I noticed buildings from an early age. I remember some houses being built near to where we lived and the local kids used to play on the site. I loved the smell of sawn wood and putty!
“I used to draw plans of houses and play with my brother’s Meccano and my Lego. One of my grandfathers was a mining engineer and he would take me to museums or let me use his draughting equipment. He also had a set of lovely encyclopaedias and would explain interesting facts.”
At school, Alison was “warned off” her preferred career of architect – but happily ignored the advice. Studying for her degree at University College London, she honed her skills in fine art and sketching and learned the disciplines of being a draughtsman during the holidays on short-term contracts for private sector firms, including structural engineers.
“You had to produce accurate, neat drawings very quickly because you were working in a commercial environment,” she says. “One of my projects was to add embellishments to the basic structure of a bridge. Later, I would get small commissions, such as domestic extensions. I did a lot of work in London for a property developer who was converting large, old houses into flats.”
During the recession of the 1990s, Alison decided to leave the capital and return to her home town of Barnsley. She got a job with Kirklees Council as a condition surveyor, diagnosing problems and defects in privately-owned listed buildings.
She later moved into regeneration, working on projects to maintain and improve council housing stock and develop facilities including the DRAM Centre at Ridgeway, Dalton. Other projects included Orchard View respite centre at Westfields, Mirfield, and a nursery for Healey Lane J&I School in Batley. Alison has also worked on the ambitious HD One development involving Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd.
While the work was rewarding, Alison has no doubt that being her own boss is better. She says: “It concentrates all your thoughts, but in a positive way because you are thinking about developing the business, picking up ideas, becoming more observant and you are hugely motivated.
“Any job with a degree of responsibility brings with it some level of stress because not everything goes to plan. With my role now, the stress is more latent. I’m asking myself will the business be successful? How is my cashflow doing? What can I do to improve sales? It is free of the burden of having to please the boss.
“I’m a great believer in the idea that you only get out of something what you put in and I relate well to the idea of 100% effort gleans 100% reward. Working for myself is like the ultimate performance-related pay scheme!”
Adds Alison: “I can’t force people to buy anything, but I can exercise my judgement in assessing what people will want, how products link together so customers will buy more and act as an advocate for my products and services.”
Working hard to build up the business means there’s no time for Alison to pursue some of her favourite hobbies and pastimes. To complement the showroom, she is developing a website so that people can shop online if they prefer. “My focus now is on developing the website and refining systems and processes to effectively and efficiently run the business,” she says.
While Alison still enjoys music and relishes time with the family, she says: “I have sacrificed employment for something more dynamic and unpredictable. I have also sacrificed my walks. Until starting this business robbed us of our Sundays, Neal and I were very keen hill walkers. I miss it most on a crisp, sunny day when I yearn to be out on the moors.”
