Average Jo Meets The UK's Everyday Entrepreneurs

Throughout their twenties and early thirties, cousins Victoria and Rachel were pursuing their careers coincidently both in sports marketing but whenever they got together at Christmas and family gatherings they were always talking about how one day they wanted to work together and run their own thing. And that one day came and an opportunity presented itself. They now run Teakunique, a UK supplier of the finest grade Teak outdoor furniture that they sustainably source from Indonesia. You can view their range and buy online at teakunique.co.uk and they have a showroom by appointment near Midhurst in West Sussex. This is the story about how that opportunity came about, the steps the cousins took to act upon it and then what running a premium furniture business is all about… from the supply, import and storage challenges to the marketing and selling aspects… as well as the realities of running a family business with your own family commitments. It’s really informative and practical and it was lovely to find out all about Rachel and Victoria’s journey. So all the best for the Summer season to the team at Teakunique – hope it’s a good one and happy listening all.

Happy New Year folks! Let’s kick January off with some super high energy and some super people.. twins Laura and Jess Tilli who are the owners of the popular café chain Brown & Green.To those not familiar even to those who are, Brown & Green has 7 sites and counting across South London in some great locations including in Crystal Palace Park and Triangle, Mayow Park, Norwood Junction, Horniman Play Park and where it all began which is Gipsy Hill train station.The largest of these is called LIFE and is based in Crystal Palace Park and this also includes an event space for hire where Laura and Jess offer wedding catering and event planning too.And to top it all off, if you’re in the area, you can order the delicious food from Brown & Green on Deliveroo!There’s a lot of juicy stuff to come listeners…We hear about Laura and Jess’s adventures before B&G from Saturday jobs to reality TV!The hard work and steps that went into setting up their very first station coffee shop and making it work.To how they began to scale up including lots of detail around how they went about navigating tenders with councils and government organisations.And that’s only some of the highlights...!The common theme throughout? Their infectious just do it attitude. So thanks so much Laura and Jess for sharing that with us… Happy listening all.

Here’s a Christmas treat… today we’re welcome Claire Bennett who runs a coaching business with a specific target market – small businesses.After a career in the London insurance sector, she took some time out to study Positive Psychology and from there went on to establish her own business under her own name and you can check her out at clairebennett.com.Claire’s niche is offering an array of coaching and workshops focused around bringing the theory and practical aspects of positive psychology into small businesses so both owners, staff, the self-employed work towards a state of thriving and away from surviving. As part of this she heavily focuses on wellbeing especially for those who work from home as this shifts to become the new norm for many of us.This episode is a double whammy as we get her story about setting up her business with some interesting client stories, but also lots of tips and advice for everyone really around productivity, time management and how to work well. Happy listening and Happy Christmas!

Please welcome Shirley White who whilst working in banking and finance for many years had a chance conversation with a boss at the time who mentioned he thought she had the skills and drive to run her own business got her thinking about what sort of business that could be.Shirley is now the owner of OTC Beverages, which produces premium non-alcoholic beverages based on traditional Carribean flavours. Flavours include sorrel, lime juice with butterfly pea flower and of course Ginger beer.The drinks are available both online on OTC’s website otcbeverages.com and social media sites and also in over 30 independent retail outlets across London.OTC Beverages has received lots of industry recognition and awards and the includes the highest possible grading by the Great British Food Award judges.But how do you go about building a drinks business in such a competitive market place from production through to building a brand, let’s find out from Shirley and her OTC journey so far.

Today we’re talking bouncy castles and bouncy dartboards and bouncy slides, assault courses, penalty shoot outs, disco domes you name it.All available to hire from www.jumpingjacksbouncycastles.co.uk along with soft play kits, ball ponds, candy floss makers, sumo suits, a burger van and lots more.This is the business run by husband and wife team Robert and Emma. Shortly after having twins, the two seized an opportunity to buy Jumping Jacks from a contact of Roberts who was looking to sell. This was not an insignificant decision and it meant having to sell their family home and move in with Emma’s parents, with two one year olds in tow, to fund the purchase.At the time the business came with one van, 50 inflatables and 3 freelance staff. Within two years they now have 4 vans over 100 inflatables, over 10 delivery and event staff to call upon.. as well as many family members including Sam, Robert’s sister who joins Emma today.They have also started their own events too so as well as providing hire to school fetes, birthday parties and sporting events, they put on an bouncy castle extravanga where children can come and spend a few hours and try out over 15 of their inflatables. The next one is being held on the 16th December at the Kent Country cricket Ground in Beckenham and I can recommend as great entertainment for children of any age!Emma and Sam lift the lid on what it’s like running an events business.. from the hard work at weekends to the fun bits... let’s have a listen.

Imagine waking up to freshly baked bread and pastries on your doorstep every weekend.This was the idea that Ollie Brenman had 10 years ago when he was just 18, but it wasn’t until the pandemic combined with a change of jobs for Ollie, that he was able to take the opportunity to turn his idea into a reality.Butter & Crust delivers delicious bread, pastries and other carefully sourced breakfast goods by bike to homes across South London to arrive as first thing on a Saturday and Sunday morning.Ollie kindly takes us through his journey in real detail from the start up days of juggling his job in finance alongside tough very early morning bike rides to more recent adventures of fundraising and his ambitious plans for his growing business. It’s a really inspiring one with lots of useful takeaways. Thanks Ollie.