Enterprise Nation

Congratulations to Helen Rhiannon Gill! She's winner of the Young Home Business Owner of the Year Award. Just how will this young and up-and-coming fashion designer spend the fashion vouchers that she receives as her prize?!  

Helen Rhiannon

How are you promoting your business, being efficient and increasing your profitability?

I set up my own womenswear designer label, Helen Rhiannon, three years ago. I attended many courses to help me start up the business and to meet like minded people. In the first year of business, I attended a Dreamweaver course to learn the skills needed to set up and maintain my own website from home. I have since completed my own site which has proved to be very successful.

Two years ago I secured funding towards my design studio which is based alongside the family home in South Wales. The studio is a wooden structure with central heating and double glazing. I spend most of my time working in the studio and customers will also visit for fittings or to browse through stock. Through various networking events, I have met some very useful business contacts which have led me to work on some fantastic projects including designing and making a dress for international opera star, Katherine Jenkins, and also to design and make the National Costume for Miss Universe UK to wear to the finals of Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam.

I have now also started designing and making accessories to match outfits which will inevitably improve the profitability of the label. To be able to offer a whole designer package will add interest to the label. Working from home allows me to spend more quality time working on projects by saving on travel time and costs.

How are you successfully combining your business with your domestic life and maintaining a healthy environment both in and out of your home office?

The design studio is based alongside the family home. I have a phone line and internet connection which allows me to do all my work from there. I am able to separate my working routine from my domestic life as the studio is separate from the house. Before the studio, I worked on my Mother’s dining room table which made it very difficult to switch off from work. Now I am able to shut the door behind me and finish work for the day. I am also a bit of a night owl, working best in the evenings. Working from home allows me to be flexible both day and night as I am not restricted by times and access to my work place. This allows me to have a flexible way of living and can also be very useful to customers who are unable to visit the studio by day due to working hours. Being able to switch off and have some relaxing time away from the work place is something I have started to do more off, which has therefore improved my productivity.

How are you making the most of technology to improve your business and your lifestyle?

I have a phone line and full internet access in my design studio which allows me to work successfully from one work place. My website is an information website which I constantly update from home. I am also very confident with lots of computer packages which I use for design layouts for advertising and marketing such as fliers, posters, catalogues and portfolio work.

I have an online boutique which is linked to the website. This allows new customers to browse the website and then have the opportunity to buy garments online. I have recently had stock manufactured in Wales. This allows me to keep my studio reasonably small and compact as I only work in small quantities from there. Larger quantities can be sent out to companies. This helps reduce the practical workload and improve on the actual tasks of running the business.

By working closely with other local businesses and local business centres, I am able to continue expanding the business and improve on productivity. I am concentrating on getting the label well known in the local area and further afield. Many events are planned which will raise the profile of the Helen Rhiannon designer label in the year ahead.

• HelenRhiannon.com