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After nearly two decades working in interior design, Sarah Hodgkins gave up her successful career to start a family.

Sarah subsequently returned to the workplace in the telecoms industry.  However, it was the desperation of a friend, whose child was having terrible trouble sleeping, which led Sarah to pick up her paint brushes again.

Word spread, and soon more and more people were enquiring about Sarah’s services, and in 2005 she set up 'Charlotte Designs'.

We went to meet Sarah, to find out how she balances life as the mother of two small children and an entrepreneur, and discovered her plans to give London 2012 her very own dash of colour!

How do you manage both family life and a business?

"You need support. If you are thinking of setting up a business, and you have a family, unless you have support - forget it!" said Sarah.

"I have a wonderfully supportive husband, but we also have a network of working mums in the village.   It’ll be 2.55 in the afternoon and I’m stuck in a meeting. I’ll ring up one of them and say ‘Help! Can you pick up the kids from school for me?’ Without that help, I just could not do it...

"If you do not know who is picking up your kids, and are wondering if they are going to be safe, you will not be able to focus on your customers. I know that as a mum.

"The other thing you need is creativity to use your time effectively. I often sit with the laptop as the kids are having breakfast. They’ll be throwing cereal at each other, and I’ll be typing up a quote!" laughed Sarah.

"I’m also known as the lady with the sketchbook!  When I’m waiting for my kids to finish their sports classes, I’m drawing away!  I'm often finding those ways of fitting in an extra hour of work somewhere... I’m very lucky in that part of my work is very flexible. I can pack some pencils and a pad into my bag and do it wherever I need to do it.

"It depends on what you do, and the strength of your support network, really. Without that you are snookered!" said Sarah.

What's a typical week for you?

"If I’m working on someone's house, it is get the kids up and out, then whizzing straight off to wherever I’m going. I’ll have a car full of paints, dust sheets and ladders!

"I then have to get home again for three o’clock. Then it's kids stuff again. By the time we’ve put them to bed (James is four, and Charlotte is seven) I’m exhausted. Some weeks you feel like you don’t have any time to breathe!

"But I do think about friends of mine who don’t see their children because they are in childcare from eight until six every day, and I think... ‘Would I want that?’

"While some weeks are difficult, and I am pulling my hair out, I wouldn’t change any of it" said Sarah.

How did it all begin then?

"I was working in a management role in London, travelling around Europe for a telecoms company.

"When I had my second child, I just knew it wasn’t going to work out. I took a year off after James was born, but had to earn some money!

"My friends recommended that I go back to interior design, but I just couldn’t get excited about it. There was nothing I hadn’t already done in 18 years of already doing it.

"Then a friend asked for my help with her little boy’s bedroom - the colour of the room was giving him nightmares... We designed a space theme, and all the planets had to be in the right place for him. I then realised - this is fun!

"Another friend then wanted a room done for her twins, and it soon became apparent that there was a real need for a children’s interiors designer" explained Sarah.

And how are you coping with the recession?

"I met someone at a networking meeting who is based over here in the UK, but is a consultant to people in the USA.  She said something to me that just kept ringing in my head... ‘I love getting up in the morning and seeing how much money I’ve made while I’ve been asleep.’ I thought ‘I want to do that!’

"I came across an interesting product from America, I ordered one, but found flaws in it.   It’s a paint-by-numbers style mural that can be done at home which costs about a quarter of what I would charge to design one in person. I’ve successfully adapted it for the British market, and now 50% of the hits on my website are from the States!

"This product can ship to anywhere in the world, so potentially, I could get up in the morning and find out how much money I’ve been making while I’ve been sleeping - I’m very excited by that!

"I started to think about this idea properly in November. I’m a very impatient person - I had these very, very tight deadlines that I set myself but which I have spectacularly failed to meet!

"But I spoke to my advisors at Business Link (a free, government-backed support network for small businesses), and they told me not to beat myself up - I was still going in the right direction!

Sarah then recalled her memories of the last recession, "In about 1991 things started to wobble a bit. It then went from wobbling to horrendous. It was awful, I just remember being stressed the whole time.  I’m just hoping now that I have the knowledge and the network to ride it out this time."

So, you’ve had a lot of advice to get your ideas off the ground then?

"I saw a marketing consultant about two years ago. I was paying for adverts but nothing was really happening from them.  The advisor put together a marketing plan for me, but it would have taken thousands (of pounds) to implement and I just couldn’t afford it.

"I started networking instead - it was one of the best things I have ever done! Through the networking I met my Business Link adviser, Sally. I started talking to her and thought ‘you know what you are talking about’!  She is so switched on to my business, and to me. She’s also a working mum so understands all my problems!

"She is impartial, not trying to sell you something. For instance, she comes from a printing background, and was telling me how much cheaper I could get business cards done elsewhere! Sally has been enormously helpful, at every step of the way.

What dreams and aims do you have for your business?

"My ultimate goal is that I want to be the centre of excellence for children’s interior design. It’s my number one aim that if people want their children’s room done, they call on me!" said Sarah.

"I dream about painting murals in some of the 2012 stadiums. I love painting sporty scenes, and the Ancient Greeks were the most prolific muralists ever.  I’ve already designed murals in my head, and it won’t be painting the Olympic Stadium by numbers, either!

Sarah summed it up by saying: "If you can get your business right, it’s great -  stressful, but great!"

Find out more

Business Link is a free business advice and support service, available online and through local advisors.  Find out more by visiting their website: