We are husband and wife team Anish and Sim (mum and dad to two handsome boys) from Nottingham and we started DEMI+CO™ an online jewellery brand for men and womenafter having our second child. Before we had our boys, we used to run a creative agency together which then became a challenge with a small family to look after. That’s when we decided to launch an online business allowing us a better work and life balance.
Initially it felt like we are doing things backwards and that wasn’t our intention but when young children come into the mix, they become the priority. We both have had experience In launching brands with our combined design, branding, PRand marketing skills and this time the launch was for us. My career started in Fashion PR and I have always had an interest in fashion, jewellery and beauty and that’s when the idea started. We also realised that although there were a few places for men’s jewellery there was a gap for high quality bracelets for men that were affordable.
Coming across copper and magnetic bracelets was accidental and after realising that how helpful they were for Anish in aiding a twinge he had in his wrist we knew that it was a great place to start. We were both surprised that there was such a lack of choice in style when it came to online and in store, so we thought why not bridge the gap and the rest as they say is history.
The DEMI part of our brand name originated from our baby name list, well a backup if we’d had a girl, it didn’t take us long to decide. I am aware that our boys will ask us when they are older why we didn’t name it after them, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it! To get to where we have right now has involved a great deal of work from web design, branding, marketing, SEO and social media and to juggle it around a family is a challenge. However, we do enjoy what we do and seeing how happy our customers are with their jewellery and getting positive feedback and reviews makes it all worthwhile.
Our 5 most asked questions about running a family business
1. How do you fit your workload around children? Having a good support network is ideal, but its not always the case for most people. We worked around nap times, bedtimes and school/nursery times. This does mean either waking up that extra early or working till late at night. You do have to be flexible and you do have use your time as effectively as possible.
2. What do you do when work is extra busy?We do have busy times like Christmas and Valentines, and we end up working much later into the night and on weekends. It’s not ideal but we try and break up the weekend so that there is a balance.
3. How do you cope with school holidays and sick days? We do have a reliable activity club and after school club which is reasonable, and it helps us out a lot during school holidays. Sick days are tricky, they are unpredictable and as we all know children come first, luckily, they bounce back quick and we just work harder to catch up.
4. What about having time off and a holiday? This one is rare and limited for us at this moment, but UK breaks and small weekends away work perfectly. Hopefully in the future we can take some longer time off as we expand the business and the team.
5. Would you recommend starting a business once you become a parent? This is a two-part answer, I would say yes and no as it totally depends on the idea, your time, your finances, drive and your skills. However if you have the drive and the passion then yes go for it, as long as you have budgeted, calculated the risks and are able to see where your idea or business would fit in the industry you want to be in then you will find a way to make it work.
DEMI+CO™ specialise in womens luxury jewellery at affordable prices. Our focus is elegant, intricate and fashion led jewellery for women consisting of heirloom inspired gold necklaces, power hoops, detailed studs and 9ct solid gold earrings, pendants and bracelets. ALPHA™ mens is DEMI+CO’s™ mens jewellery brand specialising in mens designer bracelets made from copper, magnets and leather.
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