A design enthusiast has swapped a senior job for self employment having built a successful interiors business in the North East.
Lorraine McGill first started Willow & Maine four years ago and has now built the interior design and styling consultancy into a busy, full time role prompting her to leave her job in the IT sector and focus entirely on a growing customer base. The initial idea blossomed from her own house renovation.
She explained: "People kept saying that I should do it for a living because they loved the house. It was something I've always been interested in and I just decided to give it a go, basically. I did start a diploma but I found I already knew a lot of the stuff and that I was learning more on the job.
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"I did a couple of free jobs for friends to start off with, and I used them as the basis of the website. Straight from there I started getting paid work and my first job was in Darras Hall - that was exciting."
Since the pandemic, Ms McGill says the business has really taken off. Although visiting clients was made difficult, there was strong demand from customers who were spending more time at home, had disposable income to spare and turned to remodelling projects.
Using her own design flare and a network of tradespeople she has now worked on commissions across the North East - from Bamburgh to Redcar - including for former England cricket captain Paul Collingwood. And her commercial nous has helped her effectively market the business, particularly online where most new customers come to Willow & Maine via Google having seen reviews.
Explaining the process behind a commission, Ms McGill said: "I try not to go mass market. I prefer more unique designers that make quality products that fit with my brand. Once all the tradespeople have been in and I've bought the items, I'll go in and put it together at the end.
"Then it's a bit like those scenes on the telly. They come in and see it and it's lovely. I've had tears of happiness quite a few times. It's always gone well."
The 52-year-old, who lives in Ryton, started her career at the Inland Revenue, before stints at Scottish Widows, Sage, Concept IT and latterly Bowe Digital where she was operations director of the IT support services business. Her experience of customer relationship management is, she says, the biggest transferable skill put to use in building Willow & Maine.
She said: "I've worked in the business world a long time and I've learnt a lot in every company I've worked in. But I think the most I learnt was when I left Sage, and moved to smaller businesses and started to understand more about the local economy. I've got some great connections and I've used them in setting up the business.
"Elm Marketing in Consett did my website, Robson Print at Hexham did my business cards and I'm going to be working with Horizon Works Marketing on Willow & Maine as well."
Ms McGill says she took her time to build Willow & Maine to the point where it can pay her a like-for-like salary for the senior role she has just left. And she now has a strong pipeline of work for around the next eight months.
The steady growth may necessitate other staff coming on board in the near future. Ms McGill said: "Even though I'm used to recruiting and have done a lot of it over the years - it's a strange one when it comes to bringing people into your business. People buy from people and I think that's true even more so when it's their homes. It'll be a careful consideration to bring someone in but ultimately I'd love to.
"I've got plans to grow the business and diversify a little bit in the future. My biggest ambition is to invest in an Air BnB through the business, and I'd also like to do some of my own branded accessories. Ultimately, I'd love to have an interiors shop."
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