Keen to stay busy after losing her job, Lisa Richardson gave her a friend a hand at home. It was to be the beginning of a successful new career…
Name
Lisa Richardson
Old Position
Commercial property lawyer
New Career
Domestic cleaning company
What are you doing now?
I run a domestic cleaning company, a commercial cleaning company, and a decluttering / design business. I also write articles on my experiences and journey from redundancy to running a business.
What work were you doing previously?
I was a commercial property lawyer with a local firm of solicitors.
Why did you decide to change careers?
I was relatively happy in my role, but I was made redundant shortly after I returned from maternity leave.
At the time the economy was in recession. After several months of job hunting, it became apparent that there were very few suitable roles available within property law.
Keen to fill my time, I started helping a friend re-organise and declutter her home (something I’d done in my own home for years). She suggested I might like to set up a business offering that as a service.
In time I started to consider the idea seriously. Once I started exploring it, help and resources seemed to come my way. We had friends able to build a website, provide advertising material, and produce a logo. I took a free course aimed at women setting up and running small businesses. After attending this course, I felt I had nothing to lose. My husband was keen to give it a go too.
I went on maternity leave and shortly after I returned, I was made redundant.
Are you happy with the change?
Completely. It’s been challenging on many occasions but my husband and I are really proud of the business model we’ve created. We’ve stayed true to our beliefs and ethos in the service we provide to our clients, and the way we look after our staff.
We’ve been able to have more time with our children than might be the case if we worked for other people.
How did you go about making the shift?
Following my redundancy, I spent time planning logos, studying websites, looking at competitors to see how they worked, and planning marketing.
I also carried on applying for roles as we needed some money coming in. I secured a full-time role as a residential conveyancer, and ended up working nine-to-five while building the business during lunch breaks and in the evenings. My husband worked on the business during the day, carrying out any appointments.
How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible?
We’ve been careful and gradual in building the business up. We were fortunate that we didn’t have huge overheads to worry about, no premises to rent or huge equipment to purchase.
We struggled with managing our personal finances, with only me working nine-to-five to begin with. As a result, we did get ourselves into some debt early on.
I ended up working nine-to-five while building the business during lunch breaks and in the evenings.
What resources would you recommend to others?
Friends and family. Many of them will be able to help with services and advice, and also publicising your business. Look out for Facebook and LinkedIn groups on business support and networking. Taking a course on setting up a small business was invaluable in terms of areas to consider when getting started. I’d recommend researching other businesses doing what you want to offer, to see how they work.
What would you advise others to do in the same situation?
Have a plan, a rough one. Don’t feel you have to know everything on day one. You won’t.
Ideally, get the new business running on the side while you remain in full-time employment, then at least you’ll have money coming in while you’re getting started.
