Makeovers and Marriage are Recipe for Success for Lewisham Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs launch new makeover and decorating business with help from InBiz

Husband and wife team, Terry Layne and Lileeth Wright, from Lewisham, have been mixing business with pleasure to launch their interior design, decorating and home maintenance business.

The couple, both 34, were unemployed and struggling to find work, despite Terry’s experience in building, painting and decorating and Lileeth’s knowledge of interior design.

Terry and Lileeth had discussed using their complementary skills to go into business together, and decided that now was the time to make it happen. The only problem was that they knew nothing about how to set up or run their own business.

Terry and Lileeth contacted InBiz, a national organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of self employment and entrepreneurship, for help in making their business idea a reality.

At the InBiz office on Gunnery Terrace, they were assigned their own personal business adviser, Gaurav Singh, who helped them learn bookkeeping, insurance and marketing.
As they progressed with their business plan, they found that their partnership had many benefits, including being aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Terry experienced difficulty in finding new customers; whereas Lileeth loves meeting new people and networking came easy to her.

Lileeth and Terry’s business, Sugarcoat, is now up and running, doing domestic and commercial decorating, domestic maintenance, and advising on home makeovers. They have recently secured a large contract to complete maintenance and design work on a number of care homes across the region.

Terry said, “Going into business with my wife has been even better than I thought. Although we work together, we each have our own section of the business, so can focus on what we enjoy, while still spending more time together.”

Lileeth said, “Self employment lets us work around our family commitments, so we can earn a living to provide for our family, while still spending quality time with our children.”
Remi Okeshola, Avanta Operations Manager for London, said, “Terry and Lileeth’s business is a good example of the work that InBiz does in South London. They already had the skills required to launch their business, but needed the business knowledge to ensure they would succeed. Now, they are building on what they learned at InBiz to create and grow a successful business, using their combined talents to transform homes in South London.”

InBiz Preess Release