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Do What You Love interview – Nicky Westbury

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There are now almost 1.2 million ‘mumpreneurs’ – mothers starting firms from home and setting up part-time – in the UK and their numbers are rising fast. The number of self-employed women has grown by almost 10% in the last two years, according to the Office for National Statistics. So why the boom?

We caught up with Nicky Westbury, one of the three founders of Scout & Co, an online kids’ lifestyle boutique, to find out what inspired her to leave her job and start a business doing what she loves…

Nicky Westbury profile

1. How are you doing what you love?

I’m the editorial & marketing director of Scout & Co which sells clothing, décor, toys, books and gifts for kids up to the age of seven.  I’m doing what I love because I’m working with two of my closest friends on a business that I find exciting and challenging. Our roles often overlap and we all tend to pitch in across everything. It’s satisfying knowing that we’ve built it up ourselves, through passion and hard work.

We’re still in the early stages, but if it continues to flourish as it has so far, I hope that I’ll be able to achieve the elusive work/life/family balance that I dream of. It’s an exciting time for the business right now, as we’ve just moved into our first office in Lewes, East Sussex (where I now live) – a real milestone! This means I won’t be commuting to London anymore so I’ll get more time with my kids while building a career that I’m proud of.

I’ve experienced big changes myself recently too having just left my day job to work on Scout & Co full-time following my maternity leave. Now I split my time between the office, where we pack orders, and home. I work on my laptop in the evenings when my two kids, Anna, nearly 4, and Matilda, 1, are asleep.

2. What did you do before this?

My background is in editorial, most recently in online retail but previously print magazines. My last role was Chief Sub-Editor at ASOS. Before that, I was at The Outnet (part of the Net-a-Porter group) and prior to that, at ELLE magazine. I’ve been lucky to work for brands that I love and with some really inspiring people. It wasn’t a case of hating my day job – far from it – but I wanted to try something for myself and online retail just made sense. My dad has a huge entrepreneurial streak and has always had his own businesses, so perhaps a bit of that rubbed off on me. Having worked for big companies, I love the autonomy of having your own business rather than being a teeny cog in a big machine. You can make decisions and action things much quicker.

Nicky Westbury - Scout & CoMe (L) with Fiamma Poltock, Creative Director (Centre) and Gemma Morgan, Commercial Director (R) 

3. What inspired you to team up with Fiamma and Gemma to start your own online business?

We’re all really good friends, which is a joy. I’ve known Gemma for 20 years (eek!). We met as teenagers at a local pub back in Portsmouth where we grew up. She was one of my bridesmaids and I’ll be one of hers in July! We met Fiamma about eight years ago in London, and we all lived close together in Stoke Newington until Gemma and I moved to Sussex last year. I really miss Fiamma being round the corner!

Fiamma and I had talked about starting a kids’ business for a while. Then we roped Gemma into it and launched in a just a few months. Gemma is a buyer for Sainsbury’s in her day job, and she is our commercial director; Fiamma had her own fashion label, Poltock & Walsh, and she is our creative director – so our professional experience is different but complementary and we make a good team. We’re honest with each other and share the decision-making. If two out of three really believe in something, we go for it.

I had the name Scout & Co in mind because Scout is Anna’s middle name (inspired by To Kill A Mocking Bird, and the indie singer Scout Niblett), plus we all liked the idea of scouting out the best products, and a scout as an adventurer. The ‘and co’ is a nice pointer towards our gang of three and all the Scout & Co kids (now six amongst us!)

We chose online because it’s an easier way to start in retail without the outlay of high-street premises. We’d like to have bricks and mortar shop one day, but when the time and location is right.

4. Tell us about the philosophy behind your brand; what makes Scout & Co so unique?

Our tagline is “design for kids you love” and we focus on a curated edit of beautifully designed products that both children and adults love. As we all have families, we’re well aware of the tidal wave of garish plastic that can come with kids, plus we were fed up of stereotypical pink and blue clothes and toys. Everything we choose, we want to have in our own homes. We wanted to be an online destination that makes buying cool stuff for kids easy and fun.

FullSizeRender_2Baby clothes we love right now: Oeuf bear tie baby hat £24, Mini Rodini mouse baby bodysuit, £24 and Bobo Choses baby red striped culottes, £16

FullSizeRender_3A Little Lovely Company mini cloud light, £10

5. Why are you so passionate about seeking out and collaborating with smaller designer/makers from around the world? And which designers/brands are you most loving right now?

Finding new brands and makers is one of my favourite parts of the job. It’s important for us to offer our customers something unique on our site, so that’s why we keep seeking out new and exciting products from around the world. Plus, we’ve met a lot of lovely and inspiring people.

Some of my favourites: Mini Rodini’s latest clothing collection with unicorns, clouds and rainbows is right up my street. Sarah Elwick designs and makes beautiful knitted baby blankets here in the UK. Kitpas is an award-winning Japanese company with a lovely social conscience, they make eco chalk, blackboards and markers. Mint Rhapsody is a husband-and-wife team in Australia, who make super-cool minimalist Perspex dollshouses that are unisex. Paris brand Diapers & Milk’s organic cotton leggings in cool monochrome prints.

6. How has the business changed and grown since you started out two years ago?

We launched pretty quickly really, so we have learned a lot in a short space of time! Now we know a lot more about what our customers love, so we have changed what we buy a little – for example, we started by offering only unisex clothing, but now we stock dresses etc. (I couldn’t hold out now that I have two girls!)

When we launched, we only had one kid each, now we’re all mums of two so we’ve had to become more pro at juggling family life.

FullSizeRender_1Bobo Choses diamonds cocoon dress, £30

7. What have been the biggest lessons that you’ve learnt so far in business? And in life?

Regular communication is so important, especially now the three of us aren’t in one place. Whatsapp and Skype are very useful! Have realistic expectations of yourself – you probably can’t do EVERYTHING you’d like to, so just do your best! So learn to organise and prioritise your time as well as you can.

Nicky Westbury two girlsMy daughters Anna (L) and Matilda (R) modelling our stock

8. As any parent knows, juggling family life with the demands of working or running your own business can be a big challenge. What’s the secret of your success?

It’s definitely a challenge, with not a lot of time to call my own! Evenings with my laptop have been the norm since the beginning. Learning to set aside time for family and time for work is really important, as otherwise it’s easy to feel like you’re not doing your best at either.

9. What are the most important first steps that anyone wanting to set up their own business should take?

Plenty of research. Are you offering something different to your competititors? Who’s your target market? Realise that if you’re doing this to work less hours than in a regular office job, that’s not going to happen!

10. What gets you up in the morning, and keeps you up at night?

In the morning, we’re usually woken up by Anna asking for ‘miiiiilk’. I need a cup of tea to get my brain into action. Matilda, my baby, keeps me up a lot at night. And tomorrow’s to-do list keeps my brain whirring. That’s the thing with your own business, you can never switch off totally; there’s always something more to do.

Nicky Westbury and babyMe with Matilda

11. How do you spend your free time? What do you enjoy doing?

Free time – I wish I had a bit more of that! Reading novels, watching films, cooking, walking, the usual. And getting back into playing the piano.

Nicky Westbury walkA country walk with my girls

12. What advice would you give anyone who isn’t doing what they love?

Make the change! Nothing is forever, so give it a go, then you’ll have no regrets. It’s clichéd but true, you wouldn’t get to the end of your life and think, “I wish I’d worked more”, so you might as well be doing what you love!

13. What next for you and the business? And personally?

We have lots of ideas for the business – lots more new brands arriving on the site, more products for grown-ups, hopefully a pop-up shop later in the year…

Personally, I’m still enjoying settling into Lewes life (and we’re still mid-house renovations). I love the beautiful setting, slower pace and meeting new people, plus the chance to make Scout & Co a bigger success.

For more information visit the Scout & Co website.

IT IS YOUR LIFE – LIVE IT

What is it you really want? The courage to start a new career? The time to pursue passions and hobbies? The freedom to travel and have big adventures? Or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is? All of those wants — and so many others — stem from one big desire… The desire to do what you love. 

 

Do What You Love is an acclaimed course for people who want to spend more time doing what they love and less time doing what they don’t. Simple as that. It’s about finding freedom and building the life you really want. And if that’s what you want, you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launchpad — and this is your community. And this online course might just change your life. Find out more or sign up HEREDWYL e-course freedom banner

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