Business Startup

After identifying a growing demand for clothing and lingerie for women with bigger busts, Nikki Hesford, 24, was keen to address the gap.

Having decided to launch her own stylish but affordable range to celebrate women with large chests Nikki had no fashion experience under her belt and no finance and realised quickly that, in order to succeed she would need help and guidance to make her dream a reality.

Nikki contacted the Rural Lancashire Development Fund (RLDF), a scheme operated by Lancashire County Council's economic development department, which supports high growth business activity in rural areas of the county. Nikki was awarded £8,000, which was made up of a £4,000 grant and a £4,0000 loan.

Nikki says: “RLDF worked with me to understand the clothing range and what I wanted to achieve from the business and the money I was awarded allowed me to set up Miss Fit UK, my dream of a unique, contemporary range of clothing and lingerie for ladies with bigger boobs, which is affordable but doesn’t compromise on quality.

“I currently have around fifteen clothing products including gorgeous blouses and stylish dresses, which are supplied to some big brand names including BeCheeky.com, and I also have a sub-brand of lingerie, 2wenty8, which is about to go into a major department store.”

Nikki has also just been approved for a £10,000 Kick Start loan to assist her in expanding the business. This involves exporting 2wenty8 lingerie to the US, Canada and Australia. To help ensure she successfully achieves this, RLDF has enlisted her on a High Growth Scheme to help her learn more about key business issues, including financial management, marketing and sales.

Nikki adds: “I absolutely could not have made this much progress without the help and support I’ve received from RLDF. Without it I would probably still be trying to get enough money together now to manufacture the first few products.”

As a mum to a six year old little boy, Nikki is now able to work more flexible hours, which allows her more quality time to spend with her son.

She said: “I have no family nearby to help me take care of my son, and with the schools having 12 weeks holiday a year, and regular jobs only offering four weeks annual leave, I needed a more flexible role, which was another reason why I wanted to set up my own business. I’m thrilled to be finally trading as Miss Fit UK.”

A typical day for Nikki now includes financial planning and management, updating the Miss Fit UK Twitter and Facebook pages, writing content for the website, updating product details and testing prototypes.

Nikki concluded: “As with any new small business, its hard work and there’s no guaranteed wage when you’re just starting up, plus the pressure to make the repayments is always a worry, but so far these have all been met. So I feel the pros out weigh the cons - my quality of life is far better as I’m able to plan my hours around my son, without the stress of the rat-run and gloom of working nine to five.”