Catch up on the latest episode of Made in Kent with Arthur Navarro-Allen.
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00:00I'm Arthur Navarro-Allen and this is the show introducing you to original and unique makers
00:26from across the county.
00:28And this week, we're exploring the world of start-ups.
00:31Working from couch to campus, we'll be meeting a whole host of inspiring entrepreneurs.
00:36But first, we asked people in Chatham how easy they believe starting a business from
00:40home could truly be.
00:42Well, starting one is really easy.
00:45You obviously just need to have an original design or an original idea and go for it.
00:49The difficulty is keeping it going because it's something like 50% of small businesses
00:54will fail in the first year.
00:56There is no advertisement, you're not going to get to know where the business is.
01:00The lack of material and also the space, and also is it going to offer a comfort for the
01:05people that are going to come?
01:08Because it's not really comfortable to come to someone's house.
01:11It's quite easy to run a business at home, particularly due to the rise of Amazon, eBay,
01:17etc.
01:18I don't have to go to my business physically and I can manage all my things at home using
01:22internet and stuff like that.
01:25I think it's pretty easy and cool for me.
01:27I think it's much easier than it was back in the days.
01:30The hardest part for a small business, especially when starting, is exposure.
01:34It's getting your name out there and getting well known.
01:37When it comes, in terms of school, when it comes to school, like, because we study like
01:42from nine to six, so I really can't have time.
01:44That's the time when most people are awake, most people are doing things, you can't really
01:48run a business at home, but also to try to run a, I mean, try to do study.
01:53I'll just manage myself to plan everything and make it very organised so that I wouldn't
01:59have to struggle all the time and to feel, like, overwhelmed with my business and also
02:06my studies.
02:07So it's just about time management, I think.
02:10That can be the challenge, is finding the right time for it.
02:12And often it will lead into a personal time.
02:14So if you're going to start your own small business, be prepared to work some evenings
02:17and some very early mornings to get it going.
02:19But it's a matter of passion as well.
02:22It's going to be quite difficult for me, but still, it's worth it.
02:26You can, you don't even need a warehouse.
02:28You can stock small items in your own room, like phone covers, screen protectors, such
02:34things as that.
02:35Also, when there is family, family may not understand your type of business.
02:40Well it certainly seems that there are some mixed opinions on whether home businesses
02:43are easy to run.
02:44So let's look deeper at what it's really like.
02:47Elisa Jaffer, who previously worked in healthcare, decided to leave her job in order to pursue
02:52her passion in glass shaping.
02:55She now sells her artwork and teaches classes all from her living room.
02:59Brandon Knapp reports.
03:02For Elisa, owner of Glass Elisa, glass isn't just a hobby, it's a business.
03:06After going along to a workshop similar to this one, her interest in glass artwork was
03:10sparked and she decided to turn her creativity into a platform to teach and practice the
03:15craft from the comfort of her own home.
03:18So the advantages of working from home is that it's the convenience, mainly, and being
03:23able to work around family, which is very important to me.
03:28I mean, I love people coming in and being able to, I suppose, help them achieve something
03:37really, really beautiful without having to try too hard, because glass is very forgiving.
03:44It's therapy and people like the whole atmosphere when they come here and, you know, I offer
03:52cake.
03:53It's very much a well-being package, if you like.
03:57My family does have to work around people coming through and they have to be discreet
04:04and respectful because I'm trying to provide a safe, intimate environment in which to learn.
04:11It impinges on my space, but I have the space and I have always really taught from home,
04:19so my family are quite used to that anyway, that kind of environment.
04:24Elisa kindly gave us a house tour and an explanation of what some of the equipment does and how
04:28the process works.
04:30So the method that I use for creating things from glass is called glass fusing, which is
04:37a process of stacking or layering glass together and melting them in a kiln oven.
04:45Which is one of those.
04:46Which is one of these, I've got two in here.
04:50It's to create a design or a pattern with that glass using lots of different formats
04:56or accessory glass, which could be in the form of, or just different sizes, different
05:01pieces, different transparencies and colours.
05:04Now that Elisa has shown me the process of glass shaping, she will now demonstrate how
05:09to do glass bending and I am going to have a go myself.
05:12What you can do, and it's what they used to do with, and still do, with lamp working,
05:17is that you can bend and shape the glass and it's quite fun to do and you can do it just
05:22over a candle flame.
05:24Inside the candle flame it gets to about 900 degrees centigrade, which is why it's a great
05:29thing to be able to do.
05:32And you can bend the glass to create shapes like spirals and 90 degree bends or slight
05:38curves, whatever you need for your project really.
05:42So you can, you can just, you know, it's like toffee, really.
05:51There we go, perfect.
05:53Nice.
05:54Got your glasses there.
05:55Well, I have to say, it might not look it, but that was absolutely shattering.
06:00Brandon Knapp for KMTV.
06:02Oh, well, we've seen an example of working from home, but what about working from campus?
06:10That's what student business owner Kelsey Njoroge is doing at the University of Kent,
06:16cooking up sweet treats for the county, all from her accommodation.
06:19And we sent reporter Azaria Gayle to meet with her.
06:23I really enjoy managing my business from home.
06:25I actually prefer doing it here because it's much more easier for me.
06:30It's much more comfortable, you know, if I want to do it in my pyjamas, I can, like,
06:33I enjoy doing it, like, from the comfort of my own space as well.
06:36So today I'm joined with Kelsey and she's going to show me how to make cinnamon rolls.
06:40Our main bowl.
06:43And then we add our yeast.
06:48So yeast goes in first with the milk.
06:52So right now, since the yeast is paired with the warm milk, it will kind of like come together
06:57and it will, it's called blooming.
06:59So once the yeast has bloomed, that also allows the dough to, like, rise and it also
07:02allows it to, like, expand when it goes in the oven.
07:04So next we add our melted butter to the yeast mix jar.
07:11We then add our sugar.
07:19And then we add our egg.
07:25So often I'll add the dough as well, but I've doubled in size, so that's how you know it's
07:37time to start warming it up.
07:55It's not as easy as it seems.
08:25And this is the finished product.
08:27So this is a Biscoff cinnamon roll with Biscoff crumbs and caramelised biscuit spread.
08:33And this is an Oreo cinnamon roll with Oreo crumbs and chocolate hazelnut spread.
08:39Cheers!
08:43These are really good.
08:47Do you see your business expanding in the future?
08:50Yes, hopefully I do.
08:53One of my lifelong dreams has been to open my own bakery, so in the future that will
08:57definitely be, like, one of my goals.
08:59Well, now that we've seen a few examples of home businesses, it's time to dive a little
09:05deeper into self-employment.
09:07Joining me now is Jake Turner.
09:09Jake, we usually think of start-ups as quite a modern thing, but that isn't true at all,
09:13is it?
09:15No.
09:17Well, when you look at the origins of start-up businesses, not just in Kent, but in all of
09:19England and Europe, the majority of them were pivotal in building what's called pre-industrial
09:24economies in towns and villages that were referred to back then as the cottage industries.
09:30And just like the small businesses we looked at today, they were all run from home, they
09:34sold local goods to their community and built a steady economy in their area.
09:40And would you say that these smaller beginner businesses benefit more from having a direct
09:45connection with these local communities?
09:48It's quite interesting, actually, since we still see this model of business thriving
09:52today.
09:54As we've seen, a lot of these cottage businesses have a very communal aspect and have a very
09:59large kind of presence in their local community.
10:03If you look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, when all the superstores and industries were
10:09closing, consumers turned to their local businesses for goods they wouldn't have done otherwise.
10:14And when you especially look at the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme back in 2020, the
10:21public proved their willingness to do their bit for local restaurants and pups.
10:26While the success of this scheme is up for debate, it's undeniable that the communal
10:31aspects of this whole scheme really helps family-run businesses thrive in a time of
10:36struggle.
10:37And this sense of community, is there any evidence that it can really help these businesses?
10:42Yeah, so consumers still prefer to have local options rather than just the big franchises.
10:48Local family-run businesses offer a personal experience that you wouldn't really get anywhere
10:52else.
10:53And it's also quite interesting to note that a study commissioned by the Platform Zero
10:59stated that 75% of British consumers say that they feel a sense of loss when a local business
11:06closes in their community.
11:09And two-thirds of those asked in the study say they feel personally responsible to help
11:13out when they see a small business struggling.
11:1639% of consumers acknowledge that they shop small to contribute to their local community.
11:2238% say that it's just for convenience.
11:24And 32% say that it's the personal connection that they have with the staff of these businesses
11:30that really draw them back in.
11:31Well, thank you.
11:32I'm afraid that's all we've got time for here tonight.
11:34You've been watching Made in Kent live on KMTV.
11:37There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
11:40But from me, from everyone here, have a very, very good night and we'll see you soon.