Mapping out a new business
How redundancy spurred Tracey Marshall on to turn her sewing hobby into a new career
When redundancy loomed for the second time as Tracey Marshall was heading for 50, it was her daughter Kathy who pushed her to see the situation in a positive light. “You’ve done jobs that suited others all your life,” she pointed out to her mum. “This is your chance to do something you want.” Kathy’s words struck a chord with Tracey, who’d spent 22 years working in call centres while looking after her home and family. Leaving school at 16, she’d gone to work in a bank. At 19, she married civil engineer Bob (now 58) and by her early 30s was a mum to Kathy (now 32). She returned part-time to her old job until she had Andy (now 29). When he was two, she went to work in a call centre doing four evening shifts a week. “It suited our family life; it was quite near to where we lived and I could swap shifts if necessary,” she explains. Nevertheless, she admits: “It wasn’t my dream job. When I left school, career advice wasn’t very good and opportunities were more limited if you didn’t go to university. I always wished I’d done more.” Even when made redundant the first time around in her mid-40s, Tracey’s reaction was to find another job in another call centre. When redundancy loomed again there, she was more prepared to try something new, spurred on by her daughter. “Up to then, I’d never even dreamed of being my own boss,” she admits. As a practical person, Tracey had always loved gardening and sewing but had only ever done them as hobbies. “I learnt to sew at school and I spent a lot
of time with my grandma who also taught me. By the time I was 12 or 13, I was making my own clothes and when I got married, I made my own wedding dress and two of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Clothes were more expensive to buy in those days but I liked the fact that by sewing my own, nobody else had the same thing.” Chatting things over with Kathy, they explored ways of turning one of her hobbies into a business. “I thought about starting a plant business, but realised it wasn’t practical because we didn’t have a big enough garden, so sewing looked a better option.” It was Kathy who suggested she could embroider personalised maps, which were becoming trendy, onto cushions, bags, pillowcases and pin boards and sell them via online marketplaces. After doing some research, she decided to give it a go. “I was scared though,” she admits. “It takes a lot of courage to change direction, especially when you’re a bit older.” When her gran died in 1993, Tracey had spent her small inheritance on a new Bernina sewing machine. Although top of the range at the time, she realised she’d need a more up-to-date one. She invested £3,500 of her redundancy to buy a new embroidery machine and attended two business courses run by the former Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) and New Enterprise Allowance. “I didn’t realise how hard it is setting up a business. You have to be good at everything. I’d never even thought about things such as cash flow before,” she says. The following October, she officially launched her new business – Threadsquirrel – setting up a sewing studio in her spare bedroom. “It was quite slow to take off at first,” she recalls.“I didn’t get any maps listed on websites until mid-December so I missed the Christmas market, which was a vital lesson.” Kathy, who is studying for a degree, helps with the marketing and social media side of the business and Tracey’s widowed mum Nell (75) helps out too, ironing products and snipping off threads. With a steady 25 orders a
‘It takes a lot of courage to change direction, especially when you’re a bit older’
week coming in, Tracey, who charges between £9–£14 for bags and £41-£43 for cushions, is happy to make a living and enjoy a nicer quality of life. “Some days I can be at work at 7am in my pyjamas but in the summer I can be working in my garden in the afternoon. I love the fact that I’ll never get stuck in rush-hour traffic again or waste 40 minutes a day travelling to work and back. I now do most of the housework in my commuting time! “I still can’t believe how lucky I am! If I hadn’t been made redundant, I’d probably still be working in a call centre.”