Laura-Jane Atkinson

MEET THE MAKER

I am a designer maker based in Manchester. I started my business in 2017. Originally, I trained in Textiles in an undergraduate degree in Embroidery, before taking a different direction over the course of my MA in Design (Lab) which I finished in 2017. I design and make colourful, playful interior accessories that celebrate the characteristics of materials that are often overlooked by traditional craft practices.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

6 months ago, I hadn’t even heard of a Cash Flow and I didn’t think of half of the items now on my overheads list as being overheads at all. I knew that I earned enough from my other income source to cover my business costs but I didn’t realise quite how much I was paying into my business overheads. Although I wouldn’t say I do what I do for money primarily, I don’t want it to be funded by other work. I now have a cash flow, and I know how much I need to sell in units and pounds to break even and to make a certain amount of profit (tangible and motivational). The finance for my business has become an objective beast, rather than an internal concern.

Starting out, I wasn’t sure that what I wanted to achieve was possible. I realise now that my goals just hadn’t been broken down into process goals and tangible actions. I’ve learned to break my goals into actions as far down as they go (despite how obvious and rudimentary some of these may seem!).

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• Be yourself (embrace your personality and character and play on what you have to offer here!);
• Put everything in a spreadsheet (it makes things seem tangible and more achievably!);
• Visualise your vision, time, goals (graphs are your best friend!);
• Look at your business objectively;
• Ask yourself lots of questions to find more answers.