Local Mum turns Entrepreneur to have her (Cup) Cake and Eat It

When Samantha Check, 40, from Finchley, North London returned to work as a Recruitment Consultant after maternity leave, the last thing she expected was to be made redundant.

With a young baby to care for, she needed a job where she could earn money, but work around her childcare needs. She realised that the only way she could have her (cup)cake and eat it was to launch her own tea room business. Her business, Tea Party, is now up and running, based in Long Lane, Finchley.

Samantha saw a shop for rent close to where she lives, and she knew this was her future, she just needed some inspiration for an idea. Late one evening, she was enjoying a cuppa when the idea struck her - a beautiful venue for private tea parties that can be run like an event.

So, Samantha had a great idea and quickly put together a business plan but she needed some practical business support. She enrolled with InBiz, a national organisation dedicated to helping people into self employment and entrepreneurship, for help.

At InBiz, Samantha was assigned a personal business adviser, Richard Green, who helped her with the many elements involved in establishing a successful business, including tax and marketing. Richard also helped Samantha to stay on course with her business plan and to remain focused, even when others doubted her business would be successful.

Having secured a loan to rent the shop, and purchase the items she needed to get started, Samantha concentrated on creating the perfect location for private girlie tea parties, and transformed her shop into a pink party palace.

For little princesses, her business offers very grown up tea parties, including cupcakes, finger sandwiches and cream teas all served on vintage china, where children can also have extra entertainment such as entertainers, crafts and cupcake decorating. For the grown ups, she also offers afternoon tea and cupcake themed hen parties, birthday tea parties and the increasingly popular baby shower tea party. In fact any celebration or get together - with the option to bring along bubbly to get in the party spirit. Each party has individual attention, can be themed to the celebration and seats up to 20 people.

Samantha is relishing running her own business, and loves the pride she feels when she sees the joy on her customers' faces. She said, "When I was made redundant, I wasn't sure where to turn. With a small baby to look after, I needed a job with flexible hours, but with an income, I needed to earn a living. Self employment was the perfect solution. I knew Tea Party would be a success, but not everyone agreed. Having Richard Green, my business adviser on hand, who believed in me and gave me encouragement and valuable advice, made a huge difference to me.

"The satisfaction I get from seeing customers enjoy themselves is better than any other job I've had before. Whether they're celebrating a birthday tea after school, a blushing bride on her hen party, or a mum-to-be being treated by her friends, all my customers leave with a huge smile on their face, and I know I've had a part to play in making their celebration special."

Richard Green, Business Adviser, at InBiz, said, "Samantha is a great example of the sort of people InBiz helps. She needed to combine her childcare arrangements with work, and a job with really flexible hours isn't all that easy to find. She had a great idea for a business, but needed support to actually launch and run her business. InBiz provided Samantha with the knowledge she needed to make her business a success. I hope I can drop by for a cream tea and a cupcake soon."

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