Family
BUSINESS
Family businesses have been the backbone of the UK economy for generations . Today Poundbury ’ s growing hub of businesses is home to many of these . Miriam Phillips meets families working alongside each other to find out the secret to growing a family business
Starting your own business and running it each day through its highs and lows is certainly a challenge . That ’ s why many choose to do it alongside their loved ones and build a thriving , sustainable future for their family . More than two-thirds of businesses in the UK are family owned according to the Institute for Family Businesses . Inside the shops , cafés and offices in Poundbury you ’ ll find family after family working alongside each other . Perhaps this is because in such a small area there are 180 businesses employing 2,019 members of staff , with many of these living locally and juggling work around family lives . Inside one of the most creative shops in Poundbury , sisters Nicci Campbell and Emma Hamriding run the quirky Angel Cake Company in Lydgate Street . Inside you ’ ll find the duo either creating beautiful cakes or speaking to customers who have embraced the do-it-yourself bake-off culture and have come in to choose from their collection of decorations . Before opening the shop in 2007 Nicci was already making cakes from home and decided to take
“ I can ’ t see anything changing now . We ’ ve become a good team and it certainly has brought us closer together ”
the business to the next level with mum Pauline . Younger sister Emma came on board a year later and the sisters have been working together ever since . As with most sisters their relationship is close , with both of them reporting that sparks do occasionally fly , but ultimately it is a relationship of deep trust and that is the bedrock of any successful company . “ Some days it is just us all day long , so there are times when we don ’ t agree ,” describes Nicci affectionately . “ But whatever happens one is usually calm when the other is panicked and vice versa . It works .” There is not a day that goes past when you don ’ t see this creative pair locked in their cake kitchen . They estimate they have handmade a staggering 4,500 cakes in the last nine years , which have been the showpiece for many weddings , birthdays and special occasions . Emma says the key to making family businesses work is to always play to your strengths . For instance , Emma is the cake designer and takes care of the book keeping , while Nicci is the ‘ ideas person ’ and covers the logistics .
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