Category: Blog

Spotlight On: ‘That Crafty Stitch’ & ‘Her Small Biz’ Introducing a serial entrepreneur that BIPC customers may recognise! Meet Sam Webber, founder of ‘Her Small Biz’ and ‘That Crafty Stitch’. How it all Started After a hugely successful retail career, managing flagship stores for the Arcadia Group in London and the Southwest, Sam was burnt out. Retail had changed and she lacked the autonomy she craved. Realising that the life she was living didn’t align with her true values anymore, she quit! Sam worked in part-time admin roles (some of which she deliberately had to ‘dumb down’ her CV to get due to overqualification!) and focused on starting her first business. Then one Sunday evening in March 2020, Sam received a call from her employer and was let go from her lifeline job! Simultaneously Boris announced that mask-wearing would become mandatory in all indoor spaces. That night Sam made, photographed, and listed 10 different mask designs on her Etsy shop and instantly started getting orders. Covid proved to be the catalyst for her Etsy store, going from around 10 to 150 orders overnight! Sam had enormous envy for those who had been furloughed and were spending their days relaxing in

Top Tips for Writing a Business Plan:
Keep figures realistic. Don’t be over-optimistic with sales and underestimate costs.

Cross reference what you have written with your financials. If you have listed various marketing activities or purchase of equipment, the costs of these need to be shown in your cashflow forecast.

Cut the waffle. A clear, concise business plan is likely to fair far better if you apply for funding than one full of unnecessary information which the reader has to wade through.

High Street Heroes: Thornes Farm Shop & Cafe Each month we’ll be featuring one of our High Street Heroes; a Devon-based independent small business worth celebrating! This month we want to shout about Crediton-based Thornes Farm Shop & Café. While not technically on the High Street, Thornes is well worth the short trip into the rolling hills of Mid-Devon! Founded by Anthony Thorne in 1986, the Thorne family can trace its farming ancestry in Devon back hundreds of years. Anthony’s main concern has always been how to get the most out of the red soil of Devon, while preserving its quality and enjoying the beautiful Devon scenery in which he lives and works. Let’s hear a bit more from Anthony himself: “From 1986 when Thorne’s Farm was established, we concentrated on what we have become famous for in Devon: our strawberries. In the early 1990s local people approached us to see if they could buy direct from us. Our range of soft fruit and vegetables has been developed on our farm over an area of 125 acres in the local parishes around Stockleigh Pomeroy. It was in 1992 that we started the shop. Local people visit us, and we also supply

Did you know that BIPC Devon has a team of small business experts that can advise you on how to take those next steps? You can book a free 1-1 with any of our experts and bring your business-related questions to us. We can help you unpick where to start with naming your business, marketing, websites, accounting and finance, how to secure funding, and so much more! Our team of friendly experts include: Angie Taffs, Business Advisor & Director of Seahorse Creatives James Court, Award-Winning NatWest Local Enterprise Manager Stacey Sheppard, Writer & multi-award-winning interior design blogger Claire Collis, Digital Education Specialist & Teacher We’ve helped dozens of people across Devon to launch their new business or move forwards with an existing one, whether you make fudge or fine art, we have free resources available to you! Want to know where to set up your gift shop? You’ll need to do some market research, we can help you to make a start! We have access to Local Data Online, which provides localised information on high streets, cities and towns, with a focus on retail and leisure. You can see overviews, demographics, occupancy/vacancy changes and gap analyses for a particular place,