Angelic Bathrooms | RETAILER PROFILE
So what made her give up what many would see as a steady career in accounting and join the ranks of the nation’s KBB retailers? She explains how, once she had graduated, she first joined a bathroom showroom as a bookkeeper. “I worked in accounting for two years and decided that it wasn’t for me. I’ve always had a passion for bathrooms and the construction industry and that’s what made me change my mind.”
Influence Her father was also a major influence on her eventual career path. She tells me: “My dad came here one year before me in 2006. He worked in a big construction company, and then he started working for himself. When I got older, I started
helping him, doing
quotes and going to see what he does and how a project goes from nothing to something.
“I really enjoyed it. So I thought the best idea for me is to open something that I could actually see myself in, and bathrooms was the way forward. Here I can see something through from the beginning to the end – from when it was a building site with nothing there, to when I put in the products I sell and I can say, ‘I designed this’.”
At the time of my visit, Angelic Bathrooms had only been trading for three months, having opened its doors on September 24 last year. What, I ask, were the major challenges? “When I started looking into opening my own business I was 22 and I was still employed full time. Having an accounting background, I knew how to start a company, but one thing I was always concerned about was where I’d get my customers from? I would be on my own with no additional income, but I have always had that push from
February 2023 · 61
my mum and dad, who said just do it and we will help you.”
And talking of finding customers, I am curious how she publicised her new business. She tells me her first step was social media, which she recognises as “the most powerful thing at the moment”. She was active on Instagram and Facebook before she opened the showroom doors and still posts regularly on Instagram about the latest trends. She also designed her own website to get her name out there. Kotarska also tried Facebook advertising, but says it didn’t
really
work for her. “I got more views,” she recalls, “but views don’t necessarily turn into customers.”
Kotarska’s father also helped. He has many contacts and said he would make sure that if any of his customers wanted a bathroom, he’d send them to Angelic.
Her father also takes care of installations for her. Kotarska explains: “He has his own customers and jobs, but when he has the time he will come and help me to measure a job or fit a bathroom. We work together to decide what can be done if the customer doesn’t want the hassle of moving pipes and wants it all finished as soon as possible. As a plumber, he knows what will work from a technical persperctive. I think about the design. “In the future, when the workload
increases, my idea is to have him managing a group of fitters who will work just for me.”
New businesses often need some form of financial backing, but this was not a problem for Angelic. Kotarska tells me: “It was purely my parents. They had faith in me. I can’t thank them enough. They helped so much. My mum was encouraging and my dad was the bank. I didn’t want to get a loan. I was nervous about how I would repay it.” I ask what it was like approaching suppliers as a 22-year-old woman looking to go it alone with her first ever business venture. “Surprisingly, it was not that
„
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
