‘I dream up ideas and bring them to fruition’
SARA Davies, entrepreneur and multi award-winning founder of Crafter’s Companion was a regular on TV channels with her products long before she became the youngest ever member of the panel of BBC show Dragons’ Den.
Born in Coundon, County Durham, Sara was at York University when the business first began with a simple product, a patented enveloper.
Now, the firm has more than 200 employees in the UK and the US, turns over more than £34m, sells into more than 40 countries worldwide through a strong online business, has its own TV studios and a string of bricks and mortar hobby haven shops which she can’t wait to reopen next month. For International Women’s Day 2021 Sara tells us how much she has learned on her career journey, how her business celebrates its women employees – and the advice she would love to give her teenage self.
What is your proudest achievement?
Career-wise I would have to say that receiving my MBE was my proudest achievement. When I told my mam and dad they cried because they were so proud, which made me feel very proud, and that moment is something I’ll never forget. On a personal level, having my kids is my proudest achievement.
When were you happiest?
Right now, because I think that lockdown has definitely changed my perspective on things. I read something the other day which was along the lines of ‘I thought 2020 was going to be the year I got everything I always wanted, but it turned out to be the year I came to appreciate everything I already had.’ That really resonated with me.
This past year has been one of the most challenging times and while I’ve had difficulties to face in the business and haven’t been able to see friends and loved ones, personally, I have felt very lucky to have been able to spend so much time at home.
What is the best thing about your job?
I love the variety that comes with the job and I’m a big visionary. I get to dream up big ideas and work hard to bring them to fruition. Plus, I work to develop people to be the best they can be and achieve success in their own careers.
Will you and Crafter’s Companion be doing anything to acknowledge International Women’s Day?
I’m attending the Northern Power Women Awards on International Women’s Day. I’ve been nominated for Outstanding Entrepreneur and it was postponed last year so I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s important that these kinds of celebrations go ahead, especially at the moment.
Also, HSN, our global TV shopping partner based in the US, is celebrating by hosting a panel event the following day and I’m thrilled to be taking part in that with some amazing women. We’ll be discussing barriers and challenges in our working life, what inspires us, and how we use our platforms.
Do you do anything in your business in particular to help women employees? And customers?
Being a woman with a thriving career and a young family, I appreciate the challenges that come with trying to manage both. For me, it’s not just about being flexible with them in their approach to work – which we also try to do as a company – it’s understanding and appreciating where they are at in terms of their family life and career paths, then being flexible around that.
At a certain point, a woman might need flexibility from an employer to allow them to drive their career forward whilst managing that against the demands of running a family. However, that same person might just need their employers to appreciate and empathise with the fact that her career may not be her top priority right at that moment.
As for our customers, 99% of our base is female so we completely understand and cater to their needs. We understand our customers want more from us and from their purchases, they want to be inspired and supported, so we have created various online groups and lots of places for inspiration and education.
Which woman in business has inspired you most and why? Do you have any other female role models?
My friend Fiona Cruickshank inspires me because she’s given me so much invaluable advice but I’d also have to say another role model of mine is Steph Mcgovern. I really admire that way she has chased her career aspirations and balanced those with having a family.
What are your views on gender pay equality?
I believe that regardless of gender, people should be paid proportionately and fairly for the work they are doing.
How can women help each to move ahead in their careers instead of compete? Do changes need to be made?
I see a lot of mutual support among women, especially in the North East and within the craft industry, in my role at Crafter’s Companion. In order for entrepreneurialism to thrive and for individual sectors to thrive, helping and supporting one another is in our best interest.
We can share our experiences with others so that they can learn from situations, and this advice and mentorship can be invaluable. Ultimately, watching others flourish and knowing that you might have played a small part in their success is extremely fulfilling.
What advice would you have given to your 18-year-old self?
I think the best piece of advice I could give my 18-year-old self would just to be comfortable in your own skin and try not to be something that you’re not.
When I was younger, in the early years of Crafter’s Companion, I used to power dress for external meetings because I was often the youngest, or the only female, or the only northerner in the room. Then a few years ago I had a bit of a wake-up call because I realised that it was me who had established the company and had helped it to grow. I decided to be myself and that it would either be good enough or it wouldn’t, and if something didn’t work out then that was okay because I had been true to myself and would never wonder, what if I was just more ‘me’?
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career so far?
A year after I launched Crafter’s Companion, a major stationery company tried to copy our most popular product, The Enveloper. I had patented the design so I took them to court but it was enormously stressful.
I was very young, a bit naive and we stood to lose £250,000 in legal fees, which would have finished the business.
The only saving grace was that my boyfriend at the time – now husband – Simon quit his job as an accountant to work with me at Crafter’s Companion, taking on a lot of the day-to-day running of the business and financial stuff that I didn’t enjoy. We ended up winning and settling out of court but I took it very personally and I still remember it as my most difficult time.
It taught me a huge lesson and we’ve successfully defended that same patent five times now.
A DRUG driver was caught over-thelimit for cannabis twice in just four months.
Wasim Shan was behind the wheel of two different vehicles when he was pulled over by the same officer in Gateshead and Newcastle.
The 41-year-old was first stopped on Askew Road in November 2019 and was arrested after failing a saliva test.
A court heard that he was later found to be over-the-limit for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a breakdown product of cannabis.
But, Shan didn’t learn his lesson and, just four months later in March 2020 and on the day the country went into its first national coronavirus lockdown, he was pulled over again, this time on Elswick Road.
He once more failed a saliva test and later proved to be over the legal limit for the same drug.
Shan, of Westmoreland Road, in Elswick, was found guilty of one count of driving while over the drug limit after trial in July last year but failed to show up for his court appearance for the second charge.
He then appeared in the dock in custody to plead guilty to the second offence of driving while over the drug limit and was banned from the roads for 36 months.
Ben Woodward, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, said Shan was first pulled over in a VW Passat on Askew Road, in Gateshead, on November 8, 2019, before being stopped again in a Mercedes on March
23 last year.
Mr Woodward added: “The facts in both are very similar. The defendant is pulled over by police. They smell cannabis. He fails a roadside test and is taken to a police station, where blood samples have been taken.”
The level of THC in Shan’s blood was greater that 7 microgrammes per litre of blood on both occasions, when the legal limit is just two.
Alanna Wesencraft, defending, said Shan had been struggling at the time and had hit “rock bottom” since losing his job as a delivery driver.
She added: “I would ask you extend the credit that’s due for his early guilty plea.
“Mr Shan was stopped by the same officer on the two different occasions. While we accept we were over the drug drive limit, we refute we smelled of cannabis. There was no issue with his driving.”
Shan was also fined £120 and ordered to pay £100 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.