In April, we took time to
celebrate some of the great businesses we had the opportunity to support in the
Excelerate Labs ‘Celebration of Success Awards’. We caught up with Sarah
Freitas, the founder of De Freitas Design and our winner of ‘Creative
Industries Business of the Year’, to find out how her business is doing in the
thriving Manchester design economy.
Sometimes choosing what type of
business to set up can be a frustrating task for somebody wanting to delve into
self-employment, but for Sarah it was a no brainer as to which industry she
wanted to start her business in.
Born
and raised in Cheshire, Sarah knew her perfect career would fall within one of
her passions. She said: “I struggled academically but really enjoyed
Art and Sport, so I always had an idea that my career would fall with one of
the two. I didn’t specifically know it would be interior design, but I studied
it at university and have loved it ever since!”
Having graduated from Salford
University in 2010, Sarah’s first design job took her to Australia. One year
later, she returned to the UK and began a new role within a
Manchester-based interior design company which she worked at for over 6 years. With
this experience under her belt and an ambition to start her own company, Sarah
decided it was time to make a change and put her skills to the test.
She said: “By this point, I had
been at the company for six and a half years, I really enjoyed it and I had
creative freedom, but I was ready to move onto something new. I had always
wanted my own company, and it just felt like the right time to start that”.
Now with a studio based on
Manchester’s South King Street, two staff members and a turnover which is
increasing year-on-year, it’s safe to say that De Freitas Design is making its
mark in the North West’s design world.
Reflecting on her success, Sarah
puts it down to building positive relationships and word of mouth
recommendations from happy clients: “Each project I complete has been
successful and my clients are always happy, my network has been growing purely
through word of mouth. Up to now, this has to be one of my greatest
achievements”.
With more and more interior
design companies cropping up around Greater Manchester, Sarah told us what
makes her business stand out from the rest: "
Never one to rest on her laurels,
Sarah decided to take up support from Excelerate Labs to help grow her
business. Working with the Excelerate labs programme, Sarah received 1-2-1
support and was able to get the head space she needed to decide on the next
steps for her business.
Talking about her Excelerate Labs
experience, Sarah said: “I have had some great support from Excelerate Labs.
I’ve had help putting together my business plan which has helped me start to
set targets for my company, inspiring me and giving myself targets to work
towards”.
As any business owner will know,
juggling your personal life with your business venture can be incredibly
difficult. This is why it’s so important to take time out to focus and
strategize.
And this is something which Sarah
herself is currently working to manage: “I struggle most with having time. One
part of me wants to prioritise my business, especially because it’s in such a
new stage and I want to put my all into it. But equally, I don’t want to affect
my relationships and the time spent with people I love. I am finding the
balance and know there are times when I have to step back from work and
prioritise my family and friends too”.
So, what would Sarah’s key piece
of advice be for someone wanting to grow their business? “Just do it! Be
prepared to work hard and put your all into it, but if you really want it then
you will succeed”.
We definitely agree! To find out
more about how the Excelerate Labs programme can help your business grow,
contact exceleratelabs@thewo.org.uk.
If you would like to find out more about De Freitas
Design, you can visit www.defreitasdesign.com or follow the team on
Twitter at @De_FreitasDsgn. Or you can contact Sarah directly via email at info@defreitasdesign.com.
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