Pete Kelly saw an opening in Asia for a cosmetics firm - so he took the plunge and started up Taxi Cosmetics. Find out how he's getting on in our Startup profile.

Name: Pete Kelly
Age: 45
Business: Taxi Cosmetics (London) Limited
Type of business: UK Colour Cosmetics brand
Start date: June 2004 (Product available December 2005)

When did you first decide you wanting start your own business?
I was made redundant and so it was kind of a ‘natural development’!

Tell us about your business
Taxi was conceived just before I was made redundant. I knew something was happening so started working on a ‘plan B’. All my previous experience has been in the cosmetics industry so it seemed natural to stay in it but create a brand for sale as an export to Asia and developing countries who love UK fashion and popular culture.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?

Previous experience meant working with ‘start up’ brands like Bobbi Brown, Pout and Stila. I had seen them do it from a small range of products so knew I could!

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
The cosmetics industry is very competitive but as a new UK brand we feel we have found a ‘niche’ in terms of positioning and a USP in one of our products.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
Research, research, research! This was done by visiting stores, trade shows in UK and overseas plus potential markets such as China and Japan. We also contacted Business Link who have been amazing advising and helping with grants etc.

What research did you do?
Looked at competitors, researched supply, trademarks, barriers to entry in certain target export markets.

What advice did you seek?
Business Link have been great and more than helpful!

What other help did you get?
Local financial support from government/EU agencies such as help for website and buying computers.

Does the government need to provide more help to people trying to start a business?
In our opinion no, we have had so much help but then we’ve asked for it. Some start-ups may feel there isn’t much available but you have to research to see what you qualify for first – then ask!
Being in an ‘objective 2’ area has helped us.

Talk us through the process of writing your business plan.
This has been the hardest thing! We wrote the plan from guidance found on the web and books. We didn’t use professional help - too expensive.

How useful has your business plan been and do you think you’ll stick to it as your business begins to grow?
Sore point! The plan is being continually re-written to ‘flex’ as the business changes in terms of customer and our product.

How much did it cost to start the business?
Over £100,000.

How did you fund this?
It was funded from own cash savings, redundancy pay off, re-mortgage and bank overdraft facility. Although it’s risky putting the house up for the business, we own 100% of the equity and have resisted ‘angel’ investors to date so we can keep control.