What seems like a century ago, I left school and joined a well-known
High Street Bank. In those days working as a bank clerk was a
well-established route for many school leavers and perceived to be a
proper job with prospects. It wasn’t long before I became disillusioned
with the world of banking and sought a change of job. In complete
contrast to my previous job, I became a clerk in the local hospital
dealing with the injured and infirm, but it was a role that I found
strangely interesting and rewarding. In today’s parlance, it is known as
job satisfaction.
My career progressed rapidly and after working in a
number of different departments I became Admissions Officer of a major
regional hospital where I soon gained valuable front line experience.
There is nothing more conducive to honing your powers of communication,
persuasion, resilience and empathy than dealing with people when they
are at their most vulnerable. Working in an Accident and Emergency
Department definitely puts one’s life completely into perspective and is
like being part of a TV medical soap opera.
My career came to halt when I met my husband and moved
away from the area. I have to admit that back in the early 70’s marrying
and having the obligatory 2.4 children was still the acceptable norm,
although liberation for women was gathering pace. Being a conservative
soul, I slipped into the mainstream and before I knew it I was the wife
of a career man and the mother of two children living in a three-bed
semi. Returning to work was not a consideration and this proved to be a
sensible decision as my husband was posted to four different locations
throughout the UK in the space of 6 years.
At the end of this period, the children were at school,
our relocation days were over and we were finally able to establish some
roots and settle down as a family. It was time to start considering my
own needs and to plan a return to the mainstream work environment. This
was not an easy thing to do after almost seven years of raising a
family, but I plucked up courage and found myself back in the health
care sector as a part time receptionist at my local doctor’s surgery, a
role that I found very satisfying. My confidence increased and my job
gave me a focus outside of my immediate family. I regained some
independence, earned my own money and met a new circle of friends. At
last I had an opportunity to talk about something other than children
and I felt that the old grey matter was once again being stimulated!
After a while, the novelty of working in a doctor’s
surgery wore off and I felt that I needed a fresh challenge. At the same
time my husband also felt that he had had enough of corporate life and
wanted to do something completely different. For a couple that had had a
very structured life, the crossroads seemed to be particularly difficult
to negotiate. After two years had passed and a couple of false starts, I
decided that I wanted to pursue my own business interest with a little
bit of help from my husband. He had pursued a portfolio career and had
the time and expertise to help me develop my plans and make sure that I
was on the right tracks.
The idea was quite simple and was borne out of my own
frustration of finding quality lighting products locally for the home.
Although we didn’t live in an isolated area, we still had to travel at
least forty miles to find a lighting outlet that sold, what I considered
to be, quality lighting. Upon further investigation, I found that there
are many areas in the UK that are not well served with lighting shops
and therefore I felt that there must be an opportunity to fill this gap
in the market.
Once this need had been identified, the next problem was
where to start. Opening my own shop was an option, but the economics of
doing so were really not that attractive. Lighting is space hungry and
the overheads associated with running a shop can be phenomenal. The
other drawback was that whilst one shop would satisfy a few people, it
didn’t really address the fundamental issue of providing a wide range of
quality of lighting to as many people as possible as conveniently as
possible. The answer lay on the Internet and via a mail order system,
where people would not be bound by geographical or time constraints.
As the concept developed, I managed to enlist the
cooperation of a couple of lighting manufacturers. This was not easy,
since there are few suppliers who are prepared to take time to listen to
your idea, let alone help you when you are not able to offer them any
tangible evidence that you can deliver in any way, shape or form. Having
secured the supply of products with David Hunt Lighting and Le Dauphin
Lighting, I needed to find out how to set up a website and develop a
mail order catalogue. I actually began by looking for an accountant,
which is testimony to my optimism about the business empire that I was
planning to build over the coming years! Within two meetings I had been
introduced to a web designer and a marketing company, both of which were
based locally.
The brakes were off and before long I was immersed in a
completely new world. After months of contemplation and planning, The
Light Company (Direct) Ltd was formed and was rapidly taking shape. It
was a further six months until all the pieces of the jigsaw came
together and, on the 19 January 2004, the website was launched and the
mail order catalogues delivered.
As with many new business ventures, the early days are
the most difficult and I am spending all of my time exploring ways in
which I can make people aware of the extensive range of contemporary and
classical decorative lighting that is on offer. I have already decided
to open a showroom that will double up as my office design studio and
mail order room. Although compact, the showroom will be far more
suitable than the lock up on an industrial estate that I am currently
using. It is a leap of faith, but having come this far, it is one that I
feel has to be taken.
It is certainly a long way from the Accident and
Emergency Department. I have swapped a career in the NHS to become an
entrepreneur, even though I do not believe that I have the archetypical
qualities of such. I am still nervous about taking risks and I still
worry about what the future may hold, but my course is set and there is
no backtracking.
Although completely unconnected, my years working in the
health sector have proved to be useful particularly in dealing with
customers and suppliers. It seems that good communication, combined with
the ability to deal positively with people who are demanding across a
whole spectrum of issues and events, are distinct attributes
irrespective of your industry sector. In a perverse sort of way, this is
the aspect of the business that turns me on and which fuels my
enthusiasm to succeed.
About The Author
Carolyn and Laurence James own The Light Company Direct
Ltd, an independent, family run business, based in the heart of the
Cotswolds. The company offers a superb range of distinctive and stylish
lighting for homes and commercial establishments via mail order and the
Internet. Carolyn and Laurence have selected lighting that represents
the very best in design and craftsmanship. They have developed close
links with key manufacturers throughout Europe and are able to offer
customers many designs that are rarely seen in the UK.
www.thelightcompanydirect.co.uk
carolyn@thelightcompanydirect.co.uk
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