Working From Home: The Survival Guide

You've decided to take the plunge. Hooray! But it's been a few months of working at home now and you're feeling a little blue. There's nobody to talk to, you've eaten everything in your fridge, emptied your laundry basket and organised your DVDs. And there's still a bunch of things you really, really ought to do but the days roll by and somehow they're not getting done. How do you kickstart your working from home motivation?

1. Don't work in your pyjamas.

Start your day like anyone else - jump in the shower, get dressed, grab some breakfast and then get going. In the time you spend getting ready, you'll be structuring your day in your head (showers make the best thinking spots!) so when you get to your computer, you'll be ready to make the most of it. Think of it like your morning commute. Jumping ahead can be overwhelming and by the time you've gone through your emails and figured out what you've got to do, it's already halfway through the morning and you haven't even washed your face yet. Another good way to get round this is to organise all your meetings for first thing in the morning, which also negates the temptation to lie in.

2. Join a club.

Especially if you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit. Without the office buzz around you, the silence of your living room can soon get pretty deafening. Your motivation dies a slow, agonising death and suddenly, the washing up has never been more enticing. So, how do you keep on chugging, when you're on your own?

Joining a local entrepreneurs group can be really helpful for a motivation boost, building a network and just getting out of the house. One of the friendliest and most constructive meetups I've ever been to is run monthly by Enterprise Nation. If you're a social enterprise, Step and Stone run amazing (and unique!) sessions that give you the chance to talk about what's on your mind and there's plenty more on Meetup.com if you're after something more specific, such as Food Tech Wednesdays where techie food businesses gather once a month.

Meetups make me feel more energetic and give me that 'can't-wait-to-get-going' feeling again. People are super helpful and you don't have to be a networking pro to get involved, as everyone's in the same boat - working on their own and looking to make new friends.

3. Have a break.

As any teenager with looming GCSEs will tell you, it's really important to take regular breaks (KitKat optional). But how do you make sure that a break doesn't turn into the rest of the afternoon?

Getting into a routine really helps, so you know when you'll be taking your next break and when it's got to end. This gives you something to work towards so you can set small, achievable goals and make progress, instead of working halfheartedly throughout the day towards a huge goal that keeps slipping further and further away.

Take a walk, so you know that as soon as you get in again, you'll be going back to work. Don't take breaks at your computer. To stop you heading over to Facebook every ten minutes, try using keepmeout.com, which gives you a slap on the wrist if you're checking in too often or the ominous selfcontrolapp.com which cuts you off your chosen websites for a set time, even if you restart your computer or delete the application. Erk.

4. Love your workspace.

Create a space for you to work in that suits you. Get a chair that you like and a keyboard that clicky-claks the way you prefer it to. Have a jug of water and a glass on the table, as well as all the stationery you need, so you aren't tempted to get up every ten seconds. Keep your space neat and tidy - invest in one of those dorky in/out trays so your paperwork isn't all over the place, distracting you away from what you're supposed to be doing, and a big box to put everything away in when you're done for the day.

Something that really helped me was buying a big screen, so I could see what I was doing. Peering into a laptop doesn't do much for your neck, back or eyes and screens are relatively cheap, coming in at about £100 if you're not after an Apple Thunderbolt Display, and being flat, are pretty easy to slot behind a bookshelf when not in use.

5. Don't start thinking you haven't got a 'real job'.

Because you do! When you start working from home, suddenly everyone thinks you're unemployed, watching daytime telly in your pants and eating Crunchy Nut straight out of the box. While that might have been true once or twice, (we get it, you're human) most of the time you've got loads to do. Set clear boundaries between work and play and stick to them - firmly decline spousal requests to collect things from the post office or do the weekly shop and resist the temptation to joke about how everyday is a weekend, which in the long run can make you start believing it for real. Don't forget: you had the cojones to quit your job for some pretty serious stuff - doing what you love!

By Tara, Kitchen Table Projects Founder

Pictures by Flickr user Dana Robinson

Industry Insiders: Kate Finch

This week we've been chatting to successful foodie entrepreneur turned business consultant Kate Finch. She's got loads of experience working in the industry, so it was great to talk about all things start up and grill her on her top insider tips.

Tell us a bit about yourself who are you and what do you do?

My name is Kate Finch and I’m the founder of a children’s food business called Junior’s Pantry. I started the business after spotting a gap in the market for wholesome nutritious meals for primary school aged children – I built the business from scratch whilst being a mother (of sorts) to my two girls then aged 7 and 9.  I launched the meals into Ocado within a year of starting the business and then into Waitrose a year later.  I took the decision to walk away from my supermarket contracts ('what, are you mad?' I hear you shout) [and] I now concentrate on helping other small emerging businesses achieve their new business dreams. For some it's shaping their idea and understanding how their idea could become a business, for others it's how to move to the next step or  how to look at distribution, or how to develop marketing ideas.  I can offer advice on all aspects of running a business having faced pretty much every single issue myself!

What is your business mantra?

When I was struggling and feeling like I was going nowhere I use to remind myself that not everyone could start a business from scratch so my mantra became “If it was easy everyone would do it”!

How important is a good business plan?

I think a business plan is really important if only if it’s for you to focus your thoughts about your business, it is very good to revisit the plan from the heady days of optimism to the reality of real life as a small business producer.  Obviously anyone looking to invest in your business will want to see your plan so from that perspective it’s worth focusing on. Setting down in writing what your financial expectations are is very good for scenario testing, best, medium and worse case expectations – you have to know how you will manage financially if there are any hiccups (and there will be).  Always build in a contingencey for unforeseen events.

What do you think are the three key things that make a strong food brand?

1. Being different

2. Outstanding packaging

3. A great back story

Do you have any predictions on what will be trending in the foodie world in the next 6 months?

Gosh, this is a tough one – when I started, all the food shows were awash with Popcorn, which does seem to have made it into the mainstream and will probably stay as a healthy alternative to crisps. More recently the shows have seen more than their fair share of Tea and Coconut water.  I think the core elements will be health driven, I think low sugar or no sugar will be very important and brands promoting positive health benefits like vitamin fortified foods will probably have more of an opportunity. The key is to have a discernibly different product from what already exists in the category.

How do you think small artisan food producers should be supported?

I often think that small artisan food producers should focus on what they do best, producing great food.  The logistics, distribution, marketing all get in the way and often these are areas where they need help and advice.

What do you think is the toughest part of starting a small food business?

How long have I got??!!  I think of all the businesses you can start food has to be in the top three of most difficult!   Food has a number of issues that make it tricky, but the key one; food handled badly could make someone very ill or worse kill them, therefore regulation around the storing, preparing, cooking, packaging, distribution, etc are all governed very rigorously.  From a consumers perspective this is brilliant from a producers side this is a minefield ensuring that you or your suppliers comply with said regulation.  So I would say understanding what you need to do to produce your products and be compliant is tough.  I would also say understanding how scaling your product into larger volumes without compromising on quality is something that all small food producers have struggled with at some point.

What are your words of wisdom for anyone thinking of starting a new business?

Really think very hard about it; you cannot go into a new business half hearted, you need to be absolutely convinced your product is brilliant and is going to fly off any shelf it appears on.  Running a business will impact massively on your life, your partners, your children’s, in fact everyone around you so be prepared for giving up everything for it (no I’m not exaggerating and I would argue if you’re not giving up everything for it in the early days you’re not working hard enough).  Running a business is a bit like having a baby, you have no concept of what it’s going to be like until the baby arrives and it will absorb every waking hour and keep you awake at night, but like that first smile, seeing you product on a shelf or in someone’s shopping basket is worth all the hard work.

What do you think about our big ideas and what we’re trying to achieve? 
I think it’s a great idea to create a hub.  Food is an interesting sector where you can speak to “competitors” in the food sector who are not direct competitors to your product.  This makes the food world a really helpful and friendly network – finding a mentor who is the same boat as you, but not exactly, is immensely helpful. For me, it was a Pie producer: we both had chilled, short shelf-life products so had the same issues on production, distribution etc, but we were not competing for the same customers.

Looking to get in touch with Kate? You can find her on tweeting here, or on her website here.

Are you an Industry Insider who wants to be featured on our blog? We'd love to hear all your foodie insider tips and tricks- drop us a Tweet @KitchTablePro with the hashtag #IndustryInsiders or send us a message to hello@kitchentableprojects.com

Industry Insiders- Jo Densley, Co-Founder of Relish Food Marketing Club

At Kitchen Table Projects, we understand that whilst starting a business can be the most exciting adventure you'll ever go on, getting there can sometimes be a hard, scary journey. We don't want it to be this way- we want to give artisans the support and advice they need to help them realise their dreams. This week at Kitchen Table Projects HQ, we've been chatting to Jo, co-founder of Relish Marketing, who told us her hints, tricks and tips for starting out in the foodie world. Like us, she loves foodie start ups- read on for her foodie words of wisdom

Tell us about yourself – who you are and what you do?

‘My name is Jo Densley, co-founder of Relish Food Marketing Club, an online subscription club set up in 2011 to provide resources, marketing and retail advice to smaller food & drink producers  in a budget-friendly way.

What is your business mantra?

‘Helping small food producers get from recipe to retail.’

How important is a good business plan?

‘A business plan doesn’t have to be a lengthy document but it is critical to have one for many reasons. Firstly if you are seeking any investment or looking to work with contract manufacturers they will want to see your business plan. Secondly it enables you to have clear targets and growth plans. Plus it helps partners and staff buy into the same vision and goals and strategies.’

What do you think are the three things that make a good food brand?

‘Really understanding your consumers, getting under their skin and targeting your brand directly to them; Focus on one key message- build a story that creates an emotional link with your audience; Consistency– and by this I mean consistency of your key message (don’t try to communicate too much) and consistency of your brand personality and story throughout (on pack, social media etc)’

How do you think small artisan food producers should be supported?

‘From what Relish members tell me it is often the loneliness and not having a network or team of people around you to check out your ideas on that is hardest, especially when you are starting up. So I think providing network groups, both online and face to face are really important.  I find most food producers are more than willing to help out and offer their advice; everyone has benefited from advice at some stage so are generally willing to pass that on. Plus a mentoring service where people can just pick up the phone to someone to ask for their advice and support is invaluable.’

What do you think is the toughest part of starting a small business?

‘Knowing where to start!   Plus it’s sometimes tempting to want to run before you can walk– but I always recommend creating a sound business plan, and carrying out sufficient research and testing your idea before you progress any further. Also knowing where to turn to for advice and support can be tricky.’

What are your words of wisdom for anyone starting a new business?

‘Don’t expect it to be easy!  Make sure you have the determination and motivation to carry on even when you are faced with setbacks.  People have the tendency to think successful brands had it easy- they didn’t!  You need to work hard and have bags of persistence to grow a successful brand. Then I would say don’t be afraid to ask other people for advice – the worst thing that can happen is they say no!  Finally, I can’t stress how important it is to start looking at your costings early on.  It’s all very well to have a fantastic product and brand – but if you haven’t done accurate costings factoring in everything at the beginning, it might be that you have a business that doesn’t make any money!’

What do you think of our big idea?

‘I love the idea of Kitchen Table Projects. Bringing artisan food producers together in a community is so important and giving them a space on the high street to sell their products is critical as this is often the stage that they struggle with. It is vital to start selling to consumers as soon as possible – not only to make money – but to start hearing feedback about your products so you can develop your brand and product range.’

If you’re interested in Relish Marketing, you can find their website here, or you can follow them on twitter here.   

Are you an Industry Insider who wants to be featured on our blog? We'd love to hear all your foodie insider tips and tricks- drop us a Tweet @KitchTablePro with the hashtag #IndustryInsiders or send us a message to hello@kitchentableprojects.com