Scotsman.com has just interviewed Fiona Mclean, the co-founder of lingerie boutique Boudiche in Edinburgh.
I had just moved back to Edinburgh after finishing university and was working as an accountant at KSCL, a software company in the telecommunications sector.
How did you get to where you are now?
After working as an accountant for seven years, I realised that wasn't what I wanted to do so I took a year out and went travelling. I discovered a passion for lingerie after finding some amazing boutiques in Australia and thought about opening my own boutique. When I got back, I took another job as an accountant to pay the bills and met my now business partner, Clare Thommen. Within two months, we were already hatching a plan to leave as we had discovered we shared the same passion for lingerie.
What was your greatest triumph?
There have been several at Boudiche. Both boutique launches had an amazing sense of achievement about them. We have also won the Drapers Award for Lingerie Retailer of the Year twice. We beat Harrods this year and Clare and I celebrated for about a week.
What was your biggest low?
It was probably a few months after we launched in 2005 and sales hadn't been what we had hoped. They then picked up for Christmas and we found ourselves short of stock. We needed cash fast, but the bank was not being supportive and refused a seasonal overdraft. For a while, we couldn't see a way forward but, luckily, we were supported by the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust, which fast-tracked development loans.
What is the hardest decision you have had to take since 2000?
Leaving my secure job at KSCL to go travelling. It was a complete leap into the unknown, but it turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.
Who has particularly inspired you over the past ten years?
My parents, who taught me to not look back with regrets, but also my business partner Clare without whom Boudiche would not be where it is today. There's also our investor, who has a wealth of retail experience behind him.
Where do you hope to be in 2020?
Hopefully, I'll have a better work-life balance. I'd like Boudiche to keep heading west and hit America, then New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. More realistically, I think we will have opened more outlets in the UK and have our own brand.
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