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watering
success for mum natalie
mouth
A Plymouth mum has come up with a mouth-watering change of career.
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After several years working in the care sector and with her 40th birthday looming large, Natalie Chapman decided it was time to take the plunge and launch her own business.
Natalie has opened Tutti-Fruiti Bouquets in Beacon Park offering a ground-breaking service in the south west creating unique bouquets, arrangements and gifts made entirely from fruit.
Natalie said: “A colleague of mine came across fruit bouquets on the internet a few years ago and said that I would be good at making them. At the time I was working in a care home where I later became manager so the moment passed.
“Her suggestion never left me, though, and I often thought about running my own business, but the timing never seemed right. In the past I have worked in retail, finance and administration and so I have a pretty good understanding of the various skills required in running a business.
“Eventually I realised that the care sector was not really the place I wanted to be, largely because of all the bureaucracy and red-tape that is now involved.
“Last spring I decided that it was now or never and decided to quit my job as a care home manager and work for myself.
“I researched the whole fruit bouquet market and discovered that it is pretty big business in America and is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. There are a few companies offering the same service in the London area and the Midlands, but nothing in the south west.
“Franchises are available, but I decided I had the skills and experience necessary to launch my own business without all the cost of purchasing a fran-
chise. I have always been quite creative and have done lots of cake decorating in the past.
“Developing that into the creation and production of fruit bouquets was not a difficult step and I was able to teach myself fairly quickly.”
Natalie’s partner Gwynn Thomas was extremely supportive, encouraging her to make the transition from employee to self-employed. Natalie spent the summer months developing the business model, creating a logo and corporate identity and building a website for the enterprise.
“I wanted to invest that time in ensuring that we came up with a strong corporate identity and researching the market thoroughly in terms of product range, pricing and so on. Gwynn was brilliant, giving me all the support and help I needed.”
Natalie attended a large wedding fayre to test the reaction to her new business idea and was overwhelmed with the response.
“We had to step back from our stand because we had so many people wanting to know more about our table decorations and bouquets,” she said.
Natalie eventually launched her website in 2009, but was convinced that she needed a retail presence as well.
4 the plymouth magazine
Taking her daughter Megan-Louise to school every day at Devonport High School
women at work
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