I’m a savvy mum and I started a £250,000 business with just a £5 sewing machine – here’s how

A MUM-of-two has launched a £250,000 business after starting with just a £5 sewing machine she bought at a car boot sale.

Emma Cattell, 35, from Leeds, wanted to "glow up" her Ikea highchair and quickly discovered she had stumbled across a gap in the market.

The savvy mum had her first baby in December 2015 and her journey to becoming a business owner started shortly after in March 2016 when she ordered a highchair for her little one.

Emma said: "I ordered the infamous Ikea highchair after lots of recommendations but when it turned up it came with an ugly striped cushion cover for the insert.

"I instantly thought to myself 'That's so ugly, I’m going to go online and find a pretty pink one that I can wipe'."

The first-time mum searched online but couldn't find anything matching her requirements.

She added: "I knew I wanted something that didn’t exist.

"So I went to the local car boot and bought a second-hand sewing machine for £5.

"Then I got a metre of oilcloth fabric and my mum taught me how to sew.

"I had made my first ."

Making the first sale

Emma started posting pictures of her daughter online and people started noticing the cover and asking her where she got it from.

When she told people she had made the high-chair cover herself she was met with suggestions that she should sell them online.

Emma said: "At the time I had moved to a new city away from family and friends, I had a young baby and was a stay-at-home mum.

"My husband was out at work Monday through Friday. 

"One day I just woke up and thought to myself that I would list them on Etsy and if I could sell one a week it would give me something to do whilst my daughter napped.

"Plus I’d feel really happy that I would sort of have something for myself."

Emma listed the covers on Etsy and they started selling immediately.

She received orders from Iceland, the USA, Australia, Tel Aviv, France, and Germany, basically anywhere that had an Ikea.

It was then that Emma said "panic set in" and she very much had to learn "on the job" with very limited sewing skills.

Overcoming obstacles

However, learning to improve her sewing skills was not the biggest obstacle that she would face.

Emma said: "I was pregnant with my second child and the business really exploded during the 2020 lockdown.

"I didn’t have any maternity leave and I was working around 90 hours a week."

She made over 1,000 covers in lockdown while also homeschooling her 4-year-old daughter, and says she had "blistered hands" from cutting all the fabric.

Emma adds: After my second child was born, even on the day I had him, I was literally answering emails between being sick from the anesthetic of a C-section.

"It was a really hard time and two years on I feel like I'm only just coming out the other side of the toll it all took on me."

Keeping up with the demand

It was shortly after that Emma moved everything over to manufacturing so that he could keep up with the demand and allow her to grow the business further.

She said: "It was difficult.

"I’ve made lots of mistakes (expensive mistakes at that) and I’m still learning all about manufacturing."

Emma says that despite being a challenge at times, staying passionate about her business "is easy" and she is proud of her achievement.

"Look at what I’ve built, literally from my dining table whilst raising my children.

"I think I had completely lost myself after having my first child.

"I was supposed to do an MSc in Nursing but fell pregnant and then wasn’t able to pursue this as it was the last year that the course was covered by a grant. 

"I just felt like a failure."

Making it work

Emma now says that her business Bobbin and Bumble is like her "third baby".

She said: "I got two part-time jobs to fund the business, but once the business could run itself I was able to quit my two jobs, I didn't pay myself a penny until 2021.

Profits have been on a steady incline since Emma started the business and she has gradually added in more products.

She said: "During lockdown it took over my entire house and 2 sheds I purchased specifically in the garden.

"I got my first commercial property in 2021, which is over 1,700 square feet.

"‘I now turnover in excess of £250,000 per year.

"I honestly thought when I started that one sale a week would be amazing as it would just give me something to do."

Emma's advice to other people who are thinking of starting their own business is to "go for it".

She said: "Don’t wait. If it's something you truly want then you will get there and figure out a way to make it work."

Top Tip When setting up a business

Make a business plan.

A good idea isn't always a great business idea.

Consider what your business is for and what differentiates you from the rest of the market as well as the costs and how much money you could make.

This is helpful so you know what you are working towards and also can be used if you are applying for a loan.

Bryn Glover, editor of small business website Startups.co.uk, said: "Whatever your business, you need to know your market like the back of your hand.

"An entrepreneur I know once spent three months working as a waiter in Brighton to get a better feel for the market before he launched his own restaurant on the beachfront."