From banker to fashion - Libby London

Libby Hart, founder and owner of clothing line Libby London, launched her first fashion line in 2011, while she was still working in banking. Her career was rocketing fast and she was promoted to a senior directing role at the age of 28. She soon realised a massive gap in the market: good quality dresses that weren’t cheap looking, too expensive or uncomfortable.

“I hated dressing in suits and whenever I found dresses, they were either too mumsy, too boring, too expensive or too booby,” Libby says, explaining how she began to get annoyed by the low selection of quality business wear.

“If I didn’t want to spend a small fortune in a dress, the only options for proper business wear were basically places like Zara, but sometimes those dresses can be a bit inappropriate for a woman who wants to be taken seriously and works in the highest level of the game. They are a bit booby.”

Libby Hart

Tackling the problem first hand

“In my extreme naivety,” she laughs, “I decided that if I can’t find myself dresses, there is a gap in the market and I should try to fill that gap.” And so she did. 

She spent up to 5 years working as a banker by day and fashion retailer by night, until the growth of the business was too much for one woman to handle. Libby had to face the decision of either letting her career in banking, or her business go. We know what she decided to do.

“I really loved my career in banking and I had always been determined that I would be a chairman of Goldman & Sacks one day, but while doing this fashion business on the side, I started to realise that I could be a chairman of my own company and really give it a go.

“During my last year in banking the fashion business really started to take off and I was struggling to find the balance for both. It caught me by surprise,” she says adding that no-one really starts a business thinking that it will be the 'next big thing overnight.'

Positive attitude

Taking the final step of becoming an entrepreneur could feel daunting for some, but not Libby. Her positive attitude is without a doubt the reason she has done so well in everything she has put her mind into.

“I have always been almost stupidly ambitious thinking that everything is achievable for me. Not in an arrogant kind of way, more like thinking that there are always people who will make it as well, not only those who fail. 

“There are people who start and run successful businesses and I truly believed it could be me who can do that.” And she was not wrong.

Libby says that perseverance is the most important thing you need when starting a business and that resourcefulness is a great quality which will keep you going when you think you have hit the wall. 

“You will grow a thick skin over time for sure which is a painful process, but you need perseverance to succeed."

“People will help you in different things, but ultimately, you need to do things yourself and at first every little thing you don’t know is a massive challenge, but you learn along the way,” she assures.

Inspiration from powerful women

During her career Libby has both mentored, and been mentored by powerful women who have in time formed a close network which she often turns to for help and advice. 

“I have had some amazing mentors who have been senior people in the industry with a lot of knowledge and resources. I can’t say who they are, but they have been a tremendous help and an inspiration to me,” she says. Her own mentoring is also important to her:

“It gives me a lot to be able to mentor someone. It makes me appreciate where I started and how far I have come in a very small time.” The very tight network of other business women has helped her many times along the way. 

“Sometimes we share information like factory details, and sometimes I just need someone to talk to about my emotions or about some challenge and they have all been there. They know how it feels like and can support.”

Mums in Business

Mums + Business

Esthers passion is to help other mums to fulfil their potential by starting businesses

Flexible working

Mothers these days are continuing the trend of having children at an older age than previously. According the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average UK mother is now almost 30 (29.8 to be exact).

“We live in a society where we want to accomplish everything, so it is natural that some mothers build their career and then have children. It is just a shame that in general the workplaces are not flexible enough to cope it,” says Esther Radnor, who got the idea for her company, Mum Plus Business, whilst on maternity leave from her first son.

“After becoming a mother I didn’t want to return to a full time job and decided to set up my own business,” explains Esther,

“Although I had experience in PR and Marketing I felt that I needed to work with someone who could complement my skills and also provide support where necessary for the start-up. There wasn’t such a service out there that would help mothers connect to team up or work together in order to launch a successful business so I set up Mum Plus Business,” she says adding that she had noticed that there were so many mums in a comparable position to her. 

Mothers that wanted to develop their career and themselves but not being able to find suitable jobs that would give them the flexibility they needed.

Still hard to compare career and family

Esther feels that it is still generally harder to find flexible jobs compared to full-time jobs in London, even though the capital seems to have more knowledge around flexibility, probably because there are a greater number of mothers here voicing their demands.

“Most companies, in fact 98% do offer some form of flexible working, however very few actively advertise and promote the possibility of flexible working. Particularly more senior roles are mostly not advertised as flexible. 

“There is a barrier that needs to be overcome for many employers but flexible working can offer many benefits to businesses and shouldn’t be regarded as a hindrance,” Esther says.

Even though new technology means that many jobs can be carried out from home office, including meetings with Skype or other software, many businesses still don’t use enough of these options.

“Businesses should certainly take a look at the benefits of flexible working for their employees. Employers who work flexibly are for example generally less stressed and feel more in control of their work which results in better work outcomes,” Esther says. 

Amanda Rees

Helping mums with businesses

Mum Plus Business is the leading website helping mothers develop flexible careers trough a free collaborate program, enabling members to swap skills or find a business partner. The website also offers a job board, dedicated to flexible work opportunities for mothers. 

Esther helped both Judy Parris, who started her crafting business EK Buddy Blanquilts, and Amanda Rees, who founded Pumbaliciouc and sells pregnancy clothes online, to take their first steps into the world of business. 

Amanda Rees says that her inspiration to start a business came from trying to create better life balance to her family. Both she and her husband worked as lawyers. 

“Being a parent totally changed my priorities. My husband is also a lawyer and works very long hours. 

"I wanted to work but I also wanted the time to be a hands on mum. Setting up my own business gives me much more flexibility to work when I want," she says 

Judy Parris emerged herself from difficult times by focussing on her creativity.

“I re-found self worth through entrepreneurship,” she says. “I find crafting refreshing and therapeutic and it just feels right for me. I love what I do.”

Before starting her own business Judy worked as a beautician. She was also a full-time carer, which, she says, made her feel down at times. 

“You can feel a sense of helplessness and isolation when you witness a loved one in that kind of situation. But my work gave new purpose for my life,” she says.

At the moment Judy is working on a project that glows in the dark which makes her very proud of herself. You can see more of her products on her website here:

“Balancing work and family commitments can be difficult, whether you are pregnant or already a mother.  Working full time may be too much, but not working at all can become quite dull and make you feel isolated especially if you were used to going to a busy work place,” Esther says, adding that her number one advice to starting businesses is to plan their success.

Interactive map about live births by age group of mother in England and Wales between 1938-2013. Source: Office of National Statistics:


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