Who: Louise Bell, former creative director
What: Online homewares store – Table Tonic
Where: Sydney, Australia

Q) What motivated you to start your online business?

A) I suppose I saw a gap in the market – I seemed to be constantly searching for homewares I couldn’t find anywhere, and asked myself “how hard can it be”. Well. Did I open a can of worms that day!

Q) What was your first job?

A) My very first job was a university internship at Dolly magazine, 4 days a week for 8 months. We had to complete some form of industry experience, in order to graduate from the Bachelor of Design degree.

It turned out to be a foot in a very important door, and a door I would continue to walk through for the next 12 years.

Q) Were you employed when you launched Table Tonic?

A) Yes and no. The Table Tonic story has 2 chapters – The blog and the online store. I was made redundant from my job in November, and worked up until 4th February.

The blog was started (I wouldn’t even say launched) in December 2009, purely as a hobby, but also, without question, as a potential marketing tool for my next venture. The online store went “live” on 8th March.

Q) Did you have all the ‘must-have’s’ done before you quit? A business plan, website, savings etc?

A) N/A, but if the question was “Did you have all the ‘must-have’s’ done when you started? A business plan, website, savings etc?” I would say No!! I had the blog, and muddled through the rest. I just had a strong vision and went for it.

Q) What is the biggest difference in your day now compared to when you were employed?

A) I have a lot more freedom to run errands and pick up kids, which is a huge bonus, but I also never really leave the office! Until about 10.30pm, anyway.

Q) What do you love most about having your own business?

A) Getting recognition for the hard work. It’s so easy working this hard doing something I love, but to have people pat me on the back on a daily basis is not only unexpected, but a wonderful and inspiring thing.

Q) What do you find is the hardest part?

A) Ugh. The finances. Hands down. Anything to do with numbers makes my ears glaze over.

Q) What has been the most effective way of promoting your business?

A) My Table Tonic blog without question, was an extremely effective tool for promoting the Table Tonic online shop in it’s very early stages.

Lord knows, I didn’t (and still don’t!) have a marketing or advertising budget, but the blog gained a good number of readers in the 3 months leading up to the store launch, so it certainly got the ball rolling.

My best marketing tip? Write yourself a good press release and send it out to magazines. Editorial coverage in a national magazines is priceless, and a great way of getting your brand out there.

Q) What advice have you got for someone who wants to quit their day job?

A) While I was extremely fortunate in the sense that my redundancy meant I effectively had an income and could pay bills while starting a business. I would advise others to think long and hard about how they’ll continue paying their bills and then I would say go for it. Life is too short not to follow your dream.

Check out Table Tonic’s online shop and blog and follow Louise on Twitter.