Ealing Homebiz Apr2013

Ealing HomebizHandbook for local home-run businesses

^

{

What makes your home business tick?

I get a real buzz and satisfaction by helping people make choices that can either save them money or make them money

I’m doing something I love. If you don’t love what you do, you will be fighting yourself all the way

Ealing is the best area in London... It’s like a small village. I love living here, I love working here

ContactusHere’s another

publication

April 2013 / Vol1 No1 FREE – PLEASE TAKE ONE

• page 6 / Photo Album: the aromatherapist

• page 15 / Home staging to party planning

David McCaffrey business ownerBelfrey Secure

see page 8

Joanne Sumnerindependent consultant

Arbonne Internationalsee page 10

Jose Rihanlocal distributor

The Utility Warehousesee page 4

‘‘‘‘

www.contactusealing.co.uk


^

{

ContactusBooklet directory of Ealing businesses

Featuring a different shopping parade in each issue, Contactus Ealing promotes the benefits of shopping locally. Contactus Ealing listings are also a quick way to find out about products & services on your doorstep

Find local shops you never knew existed

Get in touch with us:Twitter: @ContactusEalingEmail: [email protected]: www.contactusealing.co.uk

Ealing Homebiz offers a showcase for the kinds of businesses that are operated from home – e.g. life coaches, graphic designers, micro-industries. Also in Ealing Homebiz: local information, columns & tips for homeworking

Look for these A5-sized handbooks in your Ealing library

Contactus Ealing: out in June and December Ealing Homebiz: out in April and September

*made in Ealing, for Ealing*

Ealing HomebizHandbook for local

home-run businesses

^

{

Affordable print

advertisingfor Ealing’s home-run

businesses

ContactusHere’s another

publication

April 2013 / Vol1No1

FREE - please take one

• page 4 / Diary of a homeworking dad

• page 5 / Networking nightmares

• page 8 / Four start-ups? Is she mad?

Launch issue / 1 December 2012 / Vol 1 No1

www.contactusealing.co.uk

Getting Ealing customers in touch with local traders

Independent shops, plenty of history, incredible eating options – is it any wonder Ealing shoppers love Pitshanger Lane?

What’s it like in:Pitshanger Lane W5

Contactus

• starts on page 8

• Next issue: June 2013, featuring Northfield Avenue W13

OK SO CALL ME A MUMPRENEUREsther Needle, home-office mum, flits between housework and ‘work-work’:

Local business and club listings: Twitter, contact numbers and web homepage info

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

A-Z of Ealing websites

Directory of Ealing businesses FREE

• page 14

• p 4-7

Two new mini-magazines

for Ealing

Home ground: Old Actonians Sports Club, Gunnersbury Drive Ealing W5 4LL

• Four Saturday XIs & friendlies on Sundays (players welcome for all sides)

• Ladies XI & thriving junior section

(beginners welcome)

• Top quality nets (ready for 2013 season)

• A sociable club, playing competitive cricket

(with added F.U.N.)Contact: Clifford Pile 07999 929834

Email: [email protected] contact: [email protected]

Visit our website: www.oldactonianscricket.comFollow us on Twitter: @OldAs_CC and @OldAsLadies

cricketcricketFancy

playing

this summer?OLD ACTONIANS CRICKET CLUBis looking for new members

Old As Club Open Day:Sat 20th April 2013from 2pm

www.oldactonianscricket.com

We deliver leaflets across the whole of West London, concentrating on Ealing and its surroundings, door-to-door, hand-to-hand to the general public, and business-to-business.

Leaflet distribution is a great way of getting the message about your business or organisation across to your potential customers, and letting people know about what you have to offer. This is especially useful if you do not have a high street address where people can find you easily.

We provide a totally exclusive service, tailor-made to suit your particular needs.

Let us help you to grow your business or organisation.

We are LetterboxLovers Leaflet Distribution

Website:www.letterboxlovers.comEmail:[email protected]

07927 711600

Web Design

Digital Print & Copying

Full Colour Printing

Graphic Design & Branding

where colour matters

30years

celebrat ng

[email protected]

160 Broadway, West EalingLondon W13 0TL

(020) 8567 8727

CONTENTS Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 / Page 3

HelloYour shop window to Ealing customersWelcome to another new Contactus publication – this time, ‘Ealing Homebiz’ is all about businesses run from home rather than from dedicated office premises. Start-ups, sole traders, micro-industries. Or graphic designers, musicians, inventors. Quite often mothers. Not necessarily earning a fortune but still deserving of lots of exposure. Without a high street window to entice passing customers, these businesses can sometimes struggle to thrive. That’s why ‘Ealing Homebiz’ is here: to act as your shop window so that people in Ealing can see you... and become your customers.

All the best,Carlene BenderEditor-publisher, Contactus magazines

Web: www.contactusealing.co.ukEmail: [email protected]: @ContactusEaling Tel: 07960392677

If you would like to advertise with us, our next publication is ‘Contactus Ealing’, due out in June 2013. Special invitation to Northfields W13 businesses. Booking deadline: 31 April 2013

‘Contactus Ealing’& ‘Ealing Homebiz’Content, design & layout: Carlene Bender

Distribution: 3000 copiesPrinted at: Express Print LtdProduced in Ealing, for Ealing

Business finder See page(s)

Belfrey Secure 9Divine Souls 5Express Print 2Fabulous Women 5House-in-Order 15Letterbox Lovers 2Old Actonians Cricket Club 2Spa Maroc 14Symbiosis Aromatherapy 6, 7The Athena Network 11, 12, 13The Training Pack 14The Utility Warehouse 4Trish Pead Party Staging 15Urban Retreat at Home 5

The latest from local biz 4-5– news for your home bills – networking explosion – home spa treatments to try– where to meet like minds

What to expect... 6– a visit to the aromatherapist

The big issue 8– work-from-home safety – Ealing Homebiz Survey results

Three businesses?! 10– Jo Sumner explains how

From Morocco with love 14– handmade skin remedies

Alice in Wonderland 15– party planning with a fun theme

Next ‘Ealing Homebiz’ issue: September 2013

Inside

Ealing Homebiz

^

{

My name:

Business name:

URL: www.

Phone:

Twitter: @

Get in touch with me right away so I can supply you with the information you need for my ad

c Please invoice me [OR]c I’ll pay you now (cash/cheque)

Signature:

Yes – I would like to advertise my business in Ealing Homebiz magazine

This size advertisement suits my marketing budget (please tick):c 1/4 page £50 c 1/2 page £100 c full page £200 c Back page £400

Want to see small business owners smile?

Say that you saw them in

‘Ealing Homebiz’

Congrats, your start-up is all set up, so...

Are you ready to show off your business?

Advertising booking deadline for September 2013issue of ‘Ealing Homebiz’ is 31 July

Home Phone Mobile Gas ElectricityInternet

Distributors WantedRun your own business without the usual risks… and help people save money!

• choose your own hours • full training and support

• up-front bonuses • earn a second income

• on-going commission • no stock to carry Earna secondincome inyour sparetimeFind out more!

D13L

Jose Rihan

07899 792778

[email protected]

moneyeveryday.co.uk

Page 4 / Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Save on bills; earn cash too

Good news for customers of home utilities provider the

Utility Warehouse – you can now add a mobile phone, with no upfront payment, to your chosen list of services. Local distributor, Jose Rihan, was happy to report the news from the Utility Warehouse annual conference last month. There are now five services on offer to householders looking to switch from the big providers and save money on their home bills: gas, electricity, broadband, mobile, and home phone. “It makes it so much easier for the customer,” Jose says. “All their utilities with one company, and all their bills on one sheet of paper.” Customers who could only

take three services previously can now, by adding a mobile phone, bump it up to four, and qualify for the Utility Warehouse “Gold Status”, which carries even more discounts. Jose adds that, “There are all sorts of added benefits, such as savings on insurance, £200 to help you switch, and there’s the wonderful CashBack card for shopping discounts. Plus you get me: a local person to deal with.” Part of the reason why the Utility Warehouse, with nearly 450,000 customers since 1997, can offer guaranteed savings on home bills is because it is run by “referral marketing”. So, not only can you save money, but if you become a local distributor, you can earn money too.

Jose, who has been spreading the word about the Utility Warehouse for three years now – and earning a steady commission for doing so – is looking to build her West London team: “If you want to earn extra money for your pension, holiday home, or children’s education, then this is the route to take.”See advertisement (this page)

Jose Rihan: ‘If you want to earn extra money, become a

Utility Warehouse distributor’

Here are some of the networking groups in Ealing.

• Fabulous WomenFirst Friday of every monthContact: Kirsten Brown@Fab_Women

• Athena (Ealing) NetworkThird Tuesday of every monthContact: Jo Sumner@AthenaWLondon

• The Best of EalingEvery six weeksContact: Hazel Hutchinson@TheBestofEaling

• Ealing Chamber of CommerceConnect4LunchContact: Yolanda Cogan@EalingChamber

• 4N EalingBusiness BreakfastContact: Emma Renton@4N_Ealing

If we missed out your networking group, please email details to [email protected]

HOMEBIZ NEWS Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 / Page 5

Caroline Carter, mobile beauty therapist for Urban Retreat at Home spa experiences, is excited about the salon’s three newest pamper treatments – the GlamGlow Facial, Pure Lochside Body Treatments, and the Meder Wrinkle Corrective Programme. “We are getting great feedback on our new treatments,” says Caroline, rushing off to another client’s home appointment somewhere in Ealing. “GlamGlow is definitely the must-have product at the moment!” If forced to choose her favourite from among the three treatments, she would go for the Pure Lochside Luxury Highland massage using the ‘calm and soothe’ body balm. “The combination of essential oils and relaxing massage techniques really do transport you away from all stresses,” she says. “Also, having a massage at home has to be the best way to end the day!”Contact: [email protected] 07733 323 386

NETWORKIN EALING

Fab and flourishing

Get glam for spring

Caroline Carter: ‘We are getting

great feedback...’

It seems that nearly every week there’s another Fabulous Women group starting up somewhere else in London. Recently the small business networking group’s buzzing success in Ealing – due in no small part to the charisma of life coach and author Carole Ann Rice, who leads the group – started the trend for more groups in West London. In the last month alone, new groups started in Chiswick and Hounslow/Brentford, with imminent launches

set for Uxbridge and Notting Hill Gate. Regional manager for Fabulous Women London, Kirsten Brown (at centre in Ealing pic above), says, “This is a truly fabulous community with a very different feel to it. “The first group only started in April last year so for it to have grown now to nearly 50 groups in less than a year shows that there is a real desire for this type of networking.”www.fabulous-women.co.uk

!!

DIVINE SOULS

!

Divine souls provides a unique holistic healing service blending together techniques of Reiki, colour therapy and crystal healing. Healing sessions work to restore energy balance within the body, helping to ease physical, emotional and mental stress. Book your session now [email protected] 07772 816 175

!

Bring this advert to receive 10% off your first session. !

Holistic healing

Tarot Readings

www.divinesouls.co.uk

Page 6 / Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 HOME BUSINESS

What to expect on a visit to the...

AromatherapistLeila Denison-Pender –

Symbiosis AromatherapyEaling W5

“I am amazed by how effective

essential oils can be for everyday

ailments, and also for

more subtle, emotional issues”

1. Leila welcomes you to her home, and you go upstairs to the treatment room. 2. Before settling you down on the massage table, she conducts a thorough consultation.3. Then she chooses the most appropriate plant extracts (essential oils) that apply to your needs. For example, thyme, tea tree or ravintsara can help ward off infections.4. She mixes the massage blend.5. You’ll also be able to take home some wonderful smelling products.

Continued...

1 2

3

4

5

HOME BUSINESS Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 / Page 7

“Essential oils are applied in most cases via massage. Inhalation is another method of absorption”

6 7

8

9

10

Continues...6. Pre-mixed products.7. Leila is a member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA) and of the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)8. See our mini-video of Leila giving Dominic “the giggles”: ‘http://tinyurl.com/symbiosis aromatherapy’.9. Leila mixes an anti-anxiety inhaler for ‘Ealing Homebiz’10. Leave with a warm glow.

See advertisement [this page]

Page 8 / Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 HOME ISSUES

Working safely from home

It is just before 10am and I am walking up South Ealing Road looking for an open café

to have a business meeting with a new client. I’m lucky that the person I’m due to meet is sympathetic to the search, because he too is a home-run business. This is a regular part of our work day: trying to find somewhere suitable to meet. As home-run businesses, we are both aware of the dangers of holding meetings at our homes (see box, below). Luckily Nevin’s is already open and we spread our files open on the table while our hot drinks teeter at the corners. David McCaffrey owns Belfrey Secure locksmiths, operated from his home on Ealing Road. Being in the security business, he agrees that for start-ups and sole traders who don’t have business premises, safety while working from home should be a major concern.

Property protectionThis applies to personal safety as well as protecting your equipment from burglaries: computers, smartphones and printers, plus more

specific tools of the trade such as massage tables, jewellery stocks and implements, cooking utensils and gadgets. Not to mention the worry that if someone breaks in to steal your work equipment there’s nothing to stop them grabbing a handful of your children’s games consoles or the family heirloom mantelpiece clock.

Advance planningDavid insists that “it might be a cliché, but prevention is

always better”, and shares an anecdote about a company he’s recently supplied with new locks and security gates. “It was a web development company, a home start-up. Obviously they had a lot of

electrical equipment. Some people will be forward-thinking and will get a professional in to make sure the home business is secure. This company was reactionary, unfortunately. We ended up putting in security gates and extra locks, but only after the robbery.” Meeting unfamiliar clients at your home feels inappropriate and is best avoided, which leaves many small home-traders at a loose end – and searching for

quiet cafes and meeting rooms around town. According to this month’s ‘Ealing Homebiz’ “Quick questionnaire” of 20 networking home businessers (18 women and two men), 12 said they were “comfortable” letting a client know that they worked from home. Two respondents weren’t, and four

Who’s watching your clients come and go?

“A thief may pose as a client

to gain access to your home”

Reasons to be careful• Beware of someone watching the comings and goings of people and parcels at your residence. A thief may realise you’re running a business, and plan a break-in in the hope of making off with your cashbox, or worse – your computer and other valuables.• A thief may also pose as a client, or work with someone posing as a client, to gain access to your home. The 2011 Ealing riots showed that criminals have fewer scruples about targetting businesses; there is the notion that we have “big insurance” to cover a loss via burglary.• The majority of home workers in Ealing are women, and we have to be careful of our personal security, especially if we are home alone.

YOUR LOCAL, TRUSTED AND VETTED LOCKSMITHS

• 24 hour service • Burglary prevention and repairs • UPVC door and window locks • Grilles and security bars

• Safes supplied and fitted • Insurance approved locks • Garage or Outbuildings secured • No call out charge

*** Senior Citizen discount 10% off total bill ***

** Loyalty Discounts and Incentives **

“IT’S NOT FULLY SECURE UNTIL IT’S BELFREY SECURE”

Find out more at - www.belfreysecure.co.uk

Email us - [email protected]

Call David on - 07743 711 850

Follow us - @BelfreySecure

KEEP SAFE

THE E.H. SURVEY

would only admit it “under certain conditions”. But when asked “if you could have business premises, would you want it?”, more than half of the respondents replied “yes”. This may be related to the number one “problem with home businessing”, as the majority (9) complained about the difficulty of meeting clients: “lack of professionalism”, “can’t bring clients in” and “lack of waiting area” being some of the comments. (Remaining problems centred around coping with distractions, isolation, and housework). See Survey results [below]

So how do we manage these problems? Here are some options to consider:• Protect your home address: get a Post Office box (prices start from £126 for six months), or use MailBoxes Etc (new outlet open on Springbridge Road, W5)• Meet clients at a café, library or local hotspot. Or in one of Ealing’s famous green spaces.

“Walking meetings” are the new power-ups, excellent for brainstorming, according to www.walkingforhealth.org.uk (‘Walking the Way to Health Initiative’). • Use a work hub – look out in September’s issue of ‘Ealing Homebiz’ for news on a coworking hub being set up in West Ealing. Participate in their feasibility study: email Jelena, Beth, Kitu and David at [email protected].

HOME ISSUES Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 / Page 9

Belfrey Secure’s top tips for working safely from home:

1. If you have just moved into a new property, change the locks. Someone else may have a set of keys. Even if you’re sure the previous owners have given you all copies of their keys, their former cleaner, or gardener, or neighbour, may still have keys, and can enter your property without breaking in, which then leaves your insurance invalid.2. Similarly, if you’ve had to dismiss an employee, even if you remain on good terms, it’s wise to change the locks.3. Are the locks on your doors adequate to your insurance; are they British Standard? If in doubt, call David on 077 4371 1850 – a free home security check is available to all readers of ‘Ealing Homebiz’.See our mini-video of David sharing some advice at: tinyurl.com/EalingHomebiz-Belfrey

0" 2" 4" 6" 8" 10"

1"

2"

3"

4"

5"

Series1"

1"

2"

3"

Yes45%

Maybe15% No

40%

Would you want business premises?

Problems with home businessing (31 comments)

meeting clients (9)

distractions (7)

isolation (3)

housework (6)

other (6)

Top problems with home working:

“not appropriate for meetings”

“clients can’t stop by”

“lack of professionalism”

“housework tends to come first”

“negative attitude from clients”

“keeping regular hours”

“cost of insurance”

“lack of office space”

“distractions”

David McCaffrey: ‘Make sure the home business is secure’

Page 10 / Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 GUEST COLUMN

How does she do it?

Hi, my name’s Joanne Sumner and I’m a local business woman running

three businesses from home: A yoga and holistic therapy studio on the Hanwell/Northfields border (www.joannesumner.com), a network to support female business women and entrepreneurs in West London (www.theathenanetwork.co.uk/JoanneSumner) and a growing business with Arbonne International (www.joannesumnerglobal.myarbonne.co.uk). Carlene asked me to share how it’s possible to juggle the businesses with a home and social life without losing my sanity or my sense of humour! So here are my top tips and observations... 1. Do something you love. This has to be the most important tip because if you don’t love what you do, you will be fighting yourself all the way. People ask me how I motivate myself to do so much, and my answer is I don’t have to. Because I’ve been lucky enough to choose three things I love, I love to do them.

When help is needed2. Get organised. This makes me smile. If you want to run multiple businesses – or have a business around your work or family – then getting organised is a must. Either you do it yourself or you get an assistant to help. Make sure you have a dedicated space

which is business only (even if it is only a corner of a room) and get it as physically useful for you as possible. Thereafter, two particular things I’d recommend are: (i) look at what you can systemise, so that processes that are repeated are automated where possible; (ii) block out time for the important proactive work so that you don’t get sucked into firefighting, checking email, and being reactive. You have to be the master of your business not the servant – so you decide when and how much time you spend on creating products, accounting, sales and marketing, building relationships, and so on. 3. Find the right support. One of the greatest challenges

of running a small home business is that you will need to develop such a wide range of skills. You will need to keep your books, develop your products or services, promote and deliver them; you will become graphic and web designer, social media expert, and diva of

administration and sales. My advice is work out what you are good at, and outsource the rest. 4. Be kind to yourself. You absolutely will make mistakes. Rather than being afraid of that, welcome it. We can learn from mistakes and improve ourselves and our offerings. If you don’t try, you won’t succeed. If you

try and fail, pick yourself up, learn everything you can from the situation, and MOVE ON!

Take time away5. Find a balance. Make time for some of what you love that is not business related. What gives you energy? What soothes or uplifts you? It doesn’t matter what it is, it matters that you make time for it every week. I have a massage every two weeks, take lunches with friends during working hours, take long walks. Ealing has so much to offer in this regard, we’re incredibly lucky! Carlene asked me how I can get away with working a 4.5 day week. I ask, how could I get away with not doing so? That’s when I really would lose my sense of humour and/or my sanity!

Jo Sumner’s top tips for running multiple small businesses from home

“You have to be the master of your business

not the servant”

Joanne Sumner (far right): ‘Work out what you’re good

at and outsource the rest’

What could the Athena Network mean for you

SUPP

ORT

SUPP

ORT

POSITIVE

POSI

TIVE

INFORMATIVE

BUSINESS

BUSI

NESS

REFERRALS

REFE

RRAL

S

INSPIRING

INSP

IRE

MOTIVATINGCA

MARA

DERI

E

IDEAS

IDEA

S

CONN

ECTIO

NS

CONN

ECTIO

NS

SUCC

ESS

RESU

LTS

LIKE M

INDS

COLL

ABOR

ATIO

N

FUN

SAFE

NURT

URIN

GCOMMUNITY

SHAR

ING

SUCCESS

RESULTSCOLLABORATION

ENER

GISI

NG

FUN

SAFE

NURTURINGCOMMUNITY

POSSIBILITIES

OPPORTUNITIES

INVIGORATING

GROW

TH

WOMEN GROWTHCLIENTS

WOMEN

CLIENTSSUPPORT

POSITIVE

INFORMATIVEBUSINESS

REFERRALS

INSPIRING

MOTIVATING

CAMARADERIE

IDEAS

CONN

ECTIO

NS

SHAR

ING

SUCC

ESS

RESU

LTS

COLL

ABOR

ATIO

N

ENER

GISI

NGFU

N

SAFE

NURT

URIN

G

COMM

UNITY

POSS

IBILI

TIES

OPPO

RTUN

ITIES

GROWTH

WOMEN

CLIENTS

RESULTS

IDEAS

SHAR

ING

FUN

MOTIV

ATIN

G

IDEA

S

INSPIRE

Here are some of the women in our Ealing Athena Network

Nicola GaughanPhotographerIconic Creative

“Capture your precious memories through quality, relaxed, informal,

professional photography”

m: 07753 413005e: [email protected]

Shereen PreskyVirtual PAMulberry B

“Clients hire Shereen in the knowledge that they will be able

to focus their energies on building their own businesses whilst Shereen

focuses on the tasks at hand”m: 07809 667548

e: [email protected]

Sarah BennettAccountantBennett & Co.

“We are a family-run, friendly and proactive practice which

provides accountancy, tax and bookkeeping services”

t: 020 8567 3236e: [email protected]

Sara McCrackenBusiness lawyerViaLegal

“Practical and flexible legal assistance and support for managers,

directors and owners responsible for the management of legal risk and issues in their business”


• driving instructor• jeweller

• insurance provider• estate agent

• event organiser

Esther NewallCounselling, psychotherapy & personal development

“I am a UKCP-registered psychotherapist, counsellor and

transactional analyst. I offer 1-to1 psychotherapy and counselling and

also personal development coaching”m: 07932 116171

e: [email protected]://psychotherapyinealing.co.uk

Maddie CunnaneGraphic designerMLC Design

“From logos, corporate identity and literature, to flyers, posters

and wedding invitations, I make it stand out with a bespoke design”


Carlene BenderPrint advertising entrepreneurContactus Publishing

“We put out two local magazines: Contactus Ealing and Ealing Homebiz,

designed to promote all types of Ealing business, and to help shoppers

find products and services righton their doorstep”m: 07960 392677


Damaris WollenRosen Method Bodywork

“Rosen Method seeks to liberate our capacity to experience more of

ourselves – to move more easily, to breathe more easily – to express our

creativity, pain, joy and love more openly. Essentially -

to be more fully alive”


Michelle FinniganOsteopathZest Osteopathic Healthcare

“Zest Osteopathic Healthcare is a home-based clinic which offers a relaxed and friendly approach to

osteopathy and massage”


Leila Denison-PenderAromatherapySymbiosis Aromatherapy

“We offer bespoke aromatherapy massage treatments in Ealing, using

the principles of traditional Chinese medicine to identify areas of physical

or emotional imbalances, and select essential

oils accordingly”


Natalie GardinerLeaflet distributionLetterbox Lovers“We provide a completely tailor-made service, so the advertising material is delivered to the appropriate areas, at the appropriate time. We concentrate

on reliability and making sure the leaflets get delivered”m: 07927 711600


Clare WeeksInterior designerMy-Studio

“My-Studio specialises in contemporary residential interior

design. We help folks who put design first, share a strong sense of style,

but don’t know how to get there themselves”t: 020 3294 6679

e: [email protected]://theluxeminimalist.wordpress.com

Ruth McCarthyThink It Through

“I’m a great advocate for our ability to break through stalemate and create

new solutions for ourselves when given the chance, the time and the

undivided attention of another person”m: 07776 242005


Professional vacancies in Ealing Athena Network include:

• florist• caterer

• gifts and crafts• language tutor• music teacher

Hania Aouad is a walking advert for her Spa Maroc range of skin care

products. With a face shining like a 1980s teen magazine model (remember when they were asked ‘what makeup wouldn’t you dare leave the house without’, and they answered ‘moisturiser’, just to show off how naturally beautiful they were?), it is hard to believe

that she suffered from facial acne as an adult. She credits her own handmade, organic, argan-oil anti-age remedies with the transformation in her skin. “I have chosen the best raw materials in my products. You can see the difference from the first time

you apply it – it is all made with love,” she says. Hania started Spa Maroc in 2009, building on beauty and wellbeing knowledge she gained in her native Morocco. She now plans to expand her home business by returning to her former training in physiotherapy.

“You have to feel the fear and do it anyway,” she says of her business ventures, run from her home in Ealing Common. “When I started I couldn’t speak English. Every day I’m doing something a bit better; taking another step forward.” Highlighting the downsides of homeworking, Hania explains that: “People don’t expect it to be so hard to work from home. I began to suffer from isolation after two years. Networking really helped with that.” And while she would love to open a shop one day, she does realise that, “for a start-up, working from home is the best way. You can’t afford a shop,

you can keep your job, and once the business is settled, then you can quit your job. “Also it’s hard these days to find a job so this is the advantage of doing your own business. “You wouldn’t start a business if you didn’t have a passion for it, so belief like that will make it happen.”See spa-marocshop.com

Page 14 / Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 HOMEBIZ FEATURE

Spa Maroc: ‘all made with love’

Are you sending the right marketing messages to the right people, at the

right time?

The smartest businesses have a marketing plan which defines strategy and tactics to keep existing customers and win new ones. If you don’t yet have a marketing plan we can help. ‘My Marketing Plan’ is available in three versions depending how much help you need. Visit www.thetrainingpack.co.uk/products for more information or call Glenda Shawley on 020 8991 2767 now and take the first step to joining the smartest businesses.

Hania Aouad: ‘People don’t

expect it to be so hard to work

from home’

“It’s hard these days to find a job so this is the advantage of doing your

own business”

63mm x 95mmEaling advertisers:

Missed out this time?Not to worry, book now for our June 2013 issue of Contactuswww.contactusealing.co.uk

ContactusMagazines about Ealing businesses

House& party

HOMEBIZ FEATURE Ealing Homebiz / April 2013 / Page 15

BEFORE: This West London living room awaits a House-in-Order makeover

AFTER: A few key changes makes such a difference...

See www.house-in-order.co.uk

Trish Pead: House-in-Order

& Party Staging

ThemedParty Staging

Contact:Trish Pead07785 922 [email protected]

www.house-in-order.co.uk

Hello Trish, what’s new at House-in-Order? Finally, estate agents are recommending House-in-Order to their clients. They recognise that a professionally staged property really stands out from the others on the market and that they sell much quicker and often for more money. We make small stylistic changes in the presentation of a property, in a way that highlights all its positive aspects, which is key to a quick and successful sale.

Now you’re staging parties? The Party Staging side of things started when a client asked me to stage her house for a Winter Wonderland

party over Christmas. It looked amazing and a person who went to that party asked me to do a James Bond theme party at New Year.

Do you do any other themes? I was asked to plan a birthday party for a seven year old and Alice in Wonderland became the theme. My creative side was able to go into overdrive and the props were fantastic [See advertisement below]. It was a huge success and I’m now promoting the Alice theme for spring and summer. I’ve always loved to theme my own parties – even my wedding 15 years ago had a medieval theme!

Q&A

“your dream

party come true”

Photos from the “Alice in Wonderland” theme

check out our website: www.contactusealing.co.uk give us a call: 07960 392677send us an email: [email protected] us: @ContactusEaling

need more info?

ContactusBooklet directory of Ealing businesses

Calling all Ealing advertisers Reach thousands of local customers with a 6x6cm full colour listing. Cost: £50. Are you in?

Next issue of Contactus: June 2013: Northfields W13Advertising deadline: 31 April

booknow!


^

{

Affordable printadvertisingfor Ealing’s run-from-home businesses

£50 per quarter-page

(6.3cm wide x 9.5cm tall)

Here’s another Contactus publication:

Get in touch with Ealing Homebiz via:

Contactusemail: [email protected]

telephone: 079 6039 2677

Next issue:Sep 2013Booking deadline:31 Jul

Documents

Ealing Homebiz Apr2013