When Bethany Holland picked up a 50p scarf from a charity shop, she had no idea that this would be the catalyst for her owning a six-figure business.
The 29-year-old now earns £15,000 a month from her fashion brand, and has ditched her day job to focus on her passion full time.
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After the unassuming scarf received a number of compliments, Bethany decided to wash it and sell it to a friend for profit.
“I realised there was a business opportunity”, she told Fabulous.
She then scoured charity shops and vintage stores for more similar items and started selling them on Depop and at local markets alongside her job working as a paramedic for the NHS.
Bethany is a huge fan of country and western clothing, so decided to make this her niche, naming her brand The Country Ladies Closet.
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As her business continued to grow, Bethany, from Poole, Dorset, met a leather bag seller whose family handmade bags abroad.
“Being a huge country fan, I love them so I invested my money from the vintage business into the cowhides, and designed some bags,” she said.
“That was the start of my career.”
She then decided to launch her own online retailer named Bethany Rae, where she sold the leather bags, alongside other country and western style goods, running the business from a small warehouse on an industrial estate.
After five years, the business had grown to such a size that Bethany was able to pack in her day job, and focus on it full time.
She began selling her clothes at festivals and events, and in 2023 was lucky enough to be able to open up her own physical shop, Lavender Moon, in her hometown.
She said: “I really believe in the power of bricks and mortar.
“Having spent five years running Bethany Rae from a room on an industrial estate, I was overjoyed to open up my own shop on the town centre high street.”
After a year in her first shop, Bethany was invited to relocate her shop to Poole’s Kingland Crescent, which has gained an international reputation for its ambitious regeneration by Legal & General, funded in part by Nest pensions.
After being offered a support package to grow her business, her monthly sales “exploded” from £4000 to £15,000 in just six months.
Her new shop is three times the size of the old premises, and the bride-to-be has been able to use the extra cash to plan her dream wedding.
How to start your own business
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
She said: “I’m so proud of what I have achieved and to think it all started from a 50p scarf is mind-blowing.
“Lavender Moon is thriving like never before. Having a larger shop has opened so many doors for me.”
As well as benefiting from the prime location of her new shop, the rise in the “Cowboy Core” trend has also contributed to Bethany’s skyrocketing growth.
“Country fashion is bang on trend this year and I’ve
really seen the impact of that in my sales,” she said.
“Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album have made my business the trendiest on the block.”
However, Bethany’s journey hasn’t all been plain sailing as she suffers with Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) a rare condition which causes severe depression, irritability and tension in the week or two before a period.
She revealed that the condition, which has been highlighted by Vicky Pattison and Married At First Sight’s Kristina Goodsell, often makes running her business a struggle.
“For a week a month I am unwell,” she explained.
“With self doubt, low mood, anxiety and brain fog, running a business during those times is tough to say the least.”
I’m so proud of what I have achieved and to think it all started from a 50p scarf is mind-blowing.
Bethany Holland
“But my business gave me a purpose and a drive and I’m pretty sure that’s one of the biggest things that gets me through each month!”
Sharing advise to any budding entrepreneurs, Bethany said that it is important to mark up products by a considerable amount.
“Everything costs more than you think,” she said.
“My top tip for others wanting to start a
business like mine is to map out every expense involved in your product and multiply by 2.5.
“This gives you a rough idea of how much you should be selling it on for. Anything less and you run the risk of making a loss.”
Bethany is now able to employ a small group of people to help her run her shop, which allows her to have a good work life balance.
“Part of the motivation for wanting to grow my own business was to work flexible hours that are right for me,” she said.
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“I spent a lot of my 20s with health problems and I needed something that gave me passion, as well as work around my life.”
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