MONEY
Start-up loans
A day in
the life
7:15 Up and out of bed and
the computer in my home
office goes straight on. I like to
check my emails first thing so
I can prioritise the day ahead,
and check the takings from
online orders overnight. I’ll
have my breakfast and cup of
tea at my desk, then take my
dog for a walk.
10:00 Official start time. I
cycle to our first shop, which
has a gorgeous converted barn
at the back housing a studio
and office space. Here I’ll
quickly brief the shop staff
on any orders we can expect
that day.
11:00 Being a start-up means
I’m currently the financial
director, sales director and
marketing manager, so I
kick-start my day with the
finances. I check everything
is in order and pay any
invoices outstanding.
11.30 We have a huge
delivery in as we are slowly
starting to get our autumn/
winter lines. My photographer
comes into the studio with our
model and takes shots for our
website. It’s always good fun
and quite motivational. He’ll
send me the images tomorrow
Amy Barker,
founder of Monks
& Co. Clothing,
takes us through
a typically hectic
day in the world
of men’s fashion
and it will be my priority to
upload them onto the website.
12.30 I have a meeting with
my business partner at 3pm so
I am just preparing and printing
off previous minutes. We try to
hold meetings regularly to keep
us focused. Our business plan
was great when we started out,
In Profile
Entrepreneur: Amy Barker
Business: Monks &
Co. Clothing
Web: www.facebook.com/
MonksandCoClothing
Concept: Menswear
clothing shop in West
Malling, Kent and online
but we ended up turning over
600% more than anticipated,
and achieved our three-year
goals within three months.
With the business moving so
fast, we constantly need to be
evaluating where we are, where
we want to be and how we are
going to get there. I then take
this focus to my meeting with
my business mentor, who can
help me to develop it further;
she is particularly great at
mentally preparing me to
achieve my goals.
15:00 Our meeting starts
over a coffee and a bite to eat.
We discuss the last month
and our strengths, weaknesses
and what the future will bring.
We are coming up to our first
birthday in November, and
along with Christmas, it will
be a major event for us. We
are focusing on scaling up at
the moment and growing our
online presence to propel the
business forward.
17:00 I cycle home, but
as soon as I get in, the office
computer goes on. I’m buzzing
after our meeting and want
to type up our ideas before I
forget, then send them to my
business mentor so we can
discuss them next week. I also
have an SEO meeting with an
agency tomorrow, so want to
remind myself of our organic
traffic, keywords and current
practice before I head to bed
later this evening.
Contact: www.startuploans.co.uk
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