Big move brings rewards for bib start-up

by Rebecca Burn-Callander - Thursday, 3rd July 2008 -

When Lara Boyle moved her luxury bib firm Beauty & the Bib out of the family home and into an industrial business park, turnover doubled and productivity went sky high.

“The business started out on the kitchen table,” says Boyle. “Then we moved into the garden shed. A few months down the line, we were turning over £150,000 and there were six sheds outside!”

When new batches of bibs arrived at the house, it took Boyle and her husband four hours to process the delivery. “You couldn’t see the floor!” she says.

So, in April 2007, Boyle took the big leap and moved the whole operation to a business park in Eltham. The rent set the company back some £1,500 per month (“That’s the equivalent of a big mortgage!” says Boyle), but it did wonders for the firm’s lead times as well as its bottom line.

“Deliveries are processed in five minutes now,” she says. “It’s improved our ordering processes and turnover has doubled to £300,000! Having a dedicated workspace means that I don’t get distracted by the dishes.

“It’s just great to be able to close the door on the Beauty & the Bib at the end of the day. When we were based at home, the business was always in our kids’ faces. We were always talking about it. It’s great that sales have doubled, but it’s also wonderful to have our lives back.”

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