Nikki Hesford

In 2008 as a young undergraduate, I stumbled across an unmet demand for clothing and lingerie for bigger busted women. My degree was in English Literature, I had no business experience, or even an appetite for being a business owner but I couldn't shake this gut feeling had for the size of the opportunity.

Knowing diddly squat about patterns, blocks, fabrics or manufacturing I embarked on researching and launching my business - grass roots up - I didn't even know what a domain name was back then, let alone hosting!

Fast forward three years and my brand was being sold in stores across the world, I had appeared on Dragons Den and obtained a good deal for £250,000 of investment after the show had aired. We re-shored the production of our garments from China to the UK, opening our own factory and rebranded as 'Made in Preston' to reflect the British manufacture.

In 2015 I had my youngest son, and as a single mum to a newborn this was the right time for me to exit and manoeuvre into a slower pace of life! I enjoyed some maternity, and when I was ready to re-join the business world, I was fortunate to land senior manager sales and marketing positions with FTSE100 and medium/large companies where I gained vital exposure to different types of operation.

Since August 2017 I have been a self employed business consultant / advisor helping people turn their ideas into businesses, and helping established businesses scale up by improving their commercials and sales/marketing. 2018 will see the launch of a number of events that I will be running nationwide, to give start-up and small businesses access to specialist knowledge at a smaller cost than hiring me on a one-to-one.

Details of my experience and events can be found on my website.