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Babu
Emerging butterfly brand Babu exhibited for the first time this year at Premier Kids. Prince’s Trust Young Achiever Katy Ellis showcased her four fabulous new maternity t-shirts with the titles Love is like a butterfly, Been there… Done that…, and the highly topical Mother Earth and Make Love. These alongside the pop art style Boom and the now iconic Bun in the oven.
The idea for Babu came when I was flicking through a magazine on a train, travelling to a business-planning course organised by Business Link. I had been thinking of becoming a market trader selling customised t-shirts but came across this photo of an acorn and suddenly the concept of stretchy t-shirts for pregnant women and the phrase 'tall oaks from small acorns grow' seemed a match made in heaven.
Once I'd had the idea I couldn't not go through with it. It's just over a year since I launched the business and I now have a number of stockists in the UK and Ireland, an agent in Denmark, and I send t-shirts all over the world from Babu's online store... they were featured in Time Out Tel-Aviv last week! I was also awarded a 'Young Achiever of the Year' certificate by The Prince's Trust!
It's not been particularly easy though... running your own business can be pretty lonely at times, and when you're on a shoestring budget cash flow can be a complete nightmare, but you become more creative, and the lows just make the highs more enjoyable.
I get a huge buzz from being my own boss - I couldn't recommend it enough - in fact one of the highlights of the past year has been volunteering as an advisor for Young Enterprise at a local school. I read this recently and it really struck a nerve... Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts. ...and as Nike says, 'Just do it!'
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