Entrepreneur Alice Hall turned £90 into the online fashion success that is Pink Boutique. More recently, she has turned her attention to Rowen Homes, a business set up with her husband in 2020. That business has also seen momentum, growing into a 30,000 sqft warehouse and office space in Gateshead as well as its first retail store at the Metrocentre.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? My first job at 16 was working in a self-service video shop, which at the time was so progressive! It had little ATMs where you could choose your DVD, and the robot from behind the machine would drop your chosen movie into a hatch for you to collect. I was mainly there to sign new people up and sort out any issues. It was a pretty cool gig because I got to watch movies when there was no one else in. I remember I used to get a bus and a metro after 10pm to go home which was a little scary but character building! I was paid minimum wage - whatever that was at that time - probably about £4.50?
I absolutely loved working and, for the first time, having my own money and bank card to spend it. I felt like a real grown up. To me at that age, working was like playing shops or libraries. In my head I was a secretary, using the number pad on the keyboard and tapping away. It was the start of me falling in love with work and realising I could maximise the hours in my life to push forward with my career
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What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? We were lucky enough to be listed three times in the Fast Track 100, which was an index of the 100 fastest growing companies in the UK. One year we reached number 13, and got invited to an event where Richard Branson, Cath Kidston and some other super-inspirational entrepreneurs were speaking. Cath Kidston was so down to earth on stage and recalled a really stressful time - I think maybe some stock was delayed or something. She was getting herself het up, and someone in her team turned to her and said 'Cath, we sell canvas bags, it's not life or death'.
I remind myself of this all of the time - it's really helped me treat situations with an importance hierarchy. What impact is this issue really going to have on our business? Is it the end of the world? Is it worth shifting your focus and energy on to for hours, days? It's so easy to get distracted and take your eye off the ball when you're operating a small to medium sized business where you're super involved. And I think as leaders, we're so responsible for constantly looking forward, optimising, and being a beacon of hope and direction for our teams. So if we start catastrophising, it can have a worse impact than the actual issue in hand!
I asked Richard Branson 'with so many businesses, how do you possibly fit everything in?', and his answer was along the lines of 'by the time you get to your second business, you just do'. At the time I didn't get it, but now, on my second business, I absolutely understand. Becoming a master of delegation is essential to growing a business without burning out.
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? Our business Rowen Homes is luxury homeware - and it's been ever-changing since we entered the furniture sector. When we started, homeware was booming because everyone was locked in, staring at their home and wanting to redecorate. At the time, we got comfortable with eight month repeat order times, because it's all we knew. Containers were coming in at £13,000 each but we worked with it, pivoted, and it was an interesting challenge. Certainly very different to the challenges of fashion, where many of our manufacturers were in the UK and delivered within three days of order.
As the price of shipping settled and the restrictions lifted, people went back to work, so demand softened, and then we saw challenge after challenge; energy price hikes, inflation rising, cost of living crisis, and the housing market was paralysed for a time while mortgages couldn't be granted. But this is the reality of business, and the challenges keep it engaging. If it's not socio-economic factors, it'll be a competitor innovating into new areas, outbidding us, our designs getting copied, or a new social media algorithm. We talk every week about the changes around us, and the people in our business are very used to change.
I read an interesting book recently that said, if you ever have a period of no challenges, make some up. The greatest innovation results from the hardest challenges.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? There's definitely been a shift with people wanting to enjoy what they do and feeling they have a real impact and sense of togetherness in the organisation they work in - which I think was important before, but is even more widely important now. And that extends to us as leaders too - our company culture is centred around the premise that life is too short and anything could be around the corner. Our company has an enterprise management incentives (EMI) scheme where we allocated 10% of the business in share options to our team, so we're all building it as big as it can be and having fun while we do it.
Our strong culture has also led to us changing our recruitment processes. I am more focused than ever on ensuring that our appointments enable, rather than disrupt, our teams. So we have a two stage interview process for all roles, and discuss how a new person and role will affect the wider business and enhance the current team dynamics. This takes longer, but has been very successful so far.
Who is your role model in business? I don't have a role model as such. I don't think there are many well known entrepreneurs out there; most stay under the radar. But I take inspiration from many sources. I look at my daughter and see the childlike approach of not worrying about the past or the future, and just being in the moment. I go to events and see the remarkable progress of other businesspeople and charities in our region which is a real shot in the arm. I watch and read lots about technology; most recently AI is my obsession. I follow sector news to understand how our market is trading and the movement in the industry. I visit retail and hospitality which is progressive, driven by amazing creatives. I listen to our teams, who come up with the most fantastic ideas and feedback. So rather than having one key role model, I'm taking inspiration from many areas which are driven by incredibly innovative people.
What would your dream job be? With a couple of recent hires I've been fortunate to move into my dream job, which focuses on creative direction and innovation. I feel very fortunate to have been able to surround myself with brilliant people in their own fields to empower me to focus on my own passions.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? I'd highly recommend doing a profiling exercise so you can understand your key strengths. This will help you choose a role that feels natural to you. If you are working in a job that doesn't play on your core strengths and the way your brain works, it will feel like really hard work.
If you're incredible at running projects, roles like marketing co-ordination, buying and digital management will be amazing for you. If you could come up with new ideas day in and day out, you'll probably flourish in a design or brand ideation role. If you could socialise until the cows come home, business development and customer experience could be fab for you. There are so many different roles to suit different personalities.
If you are able to do so, pick a company that aligns with your core ethos and career goals. How did you feel at interview? Are you inspired and fired up? Read books and take in information about your own development prospects. Make yourself indispensable so you are last to go if the business needs to slim down on overhead. Bring new ideas to the table. Understand your colleagues' working styles and take an approach that helps them progress too. Move on if you're not enjoying yourself.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? Where do I start? The Geordies are well known for being canny - so most are very willing to help - and customers are pretty lovely too. People love a Geordie voice on the phone. As it's our hometown, we're able to feel we are making a real impact on the economy in the region by providing jobs and opening retail that brings people to the area.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? I think it's really important - I don't think I realised before how big an opportunity we have as business owners to impact people's lives and the wider wellbeing of the region. From partnering with charities to knowledge sharing and just generally openly promoting core values that other businesses might hop on - it's a butterfly effect. I also think it's a tough job now to stay ahead of the curve to ensure you know what's front of mind for the people that work for you and your business - as social trends are cycling and taking effect so quickly due to social media. So I believe leaders should be taking in information from the same platforms that their people are; whether that's on TikTok, LinkedIn, specific news sites and reading forecasts, to focus groups.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I've been perfecting the art of switching off from work! I'm still not great at it, but I got myself a 'dumb phone' with no apps on it so I can leave my work phone locked away for the weekend. It helps me feel so much better when I'm actually working, because it has novelty. I want to be as present as possible at home when I'm with my family - I know these years will pass quickly and I don't want to look back and feel I missed out or wasn't there to support my little girl. For me, balance is key to avoid burnout and I remind my team of this too.
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