Kelly Purvor remembers exactly where she was on her birthday in 2017: attending the opening of Daisy’s Dog Deli, a store dedicated to handmade canine treats and accessories, at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. Purvor’s self-appointed role that day was to stand outside, drumming up business by flyering passersby or ushering them into the shop where owner Lisa Gosling was busy serving customers. “Her support, as always, has been amazing,” says Gosling of the helping hand at the launch of her store (renamed Daisy’s Dog Empawrium in 2019).
Purvor’s relationship with Gosling and her business extends far beyond acting as, appropriately enough, a de facto “barker” that special day. Because she also happens to be Gosling’s local business manager at the Maidstone store of Metro Bank. It’s a working relationship that has grown over two decades, having begun in 2000 when Gosling won a competition for small businesses in the area. Gosling had traded in her long-term career as a chef to launch a business that combined her culinary skills and love of dogs by making hand-crafted canine treats, suitable for pooches with sensitive stomachs who have difficulties eating commercial dog food – such as her own dog, Daisy.
Daisy’s Dog Empawrium in Bluewater; Metro Bank business manager Kelly Purvor
The competition prize included a rent-free stall at a mall in Bexleyheath, advice from Tim Campbell (the first-ever winner of The Apprentice), and a business bank account along with a manager. Which is how Purvor arrived in Gosling’s life.
Within a few years, the business was too big for the stall and it was Purvor who suggested the next step: to expand the range of goods that Daisy’s sold, and to open a shop – she had even spotted a unit available in Bluewater. By then, Purvor had moved along too and was now working at Metro Bank.
Taking on the unit was scary, says Gosling, as it was such a big commitment and shop rents were high. “The business had grown organically up until then.” With Purvor’s encouragement, a six-month lease was secured with a view to extend. Not long after, Gosling was opening her dream shop.
Purvor says her role as a local business manager is all about “sitting down and listening to concerns, and just being that support ... You get to know exactly what keeps your business owners awake at night,” she adds. “So you can say: ‘OK. We can take that worry away.’”
Accessories and a loyal ‘customer’ in Daisy’s Dog Empawrium
She has about 1,000 customers who she is responsible for – from startups to SMEs in all sectors imaginable, from the likes of a waste management company to a recruitment firm to a cleaner.
In Gosling’s case, she would regularly meet up for chats, which became brainstorming sessions. While Daisy’s had “cracking” turnover, underlying profit was not as high as Gosling wanted, so Purvor proposed some creative ideas. The ones Gosling adopted range from introducing a customer loyalty card to increasing stock levels on popular items.
Then, in 2020, just a few months after the rebranding, the future began to look uncertain when the pandemic hit. Within weeks, Gosling’s shop had been mothballed. At which point the phone rang. “Kelly called me up and simply said: ‘What can I do [to help]?’,” recounts Gosling. “I thought I was going to lose everything. To have that backup was phenomenal.”
Owner of Daisy’s Dog Empawrium Lisa Gosling and some canine treats on sale
Purvor advised Gosling to seriously think about the government’s bounce back loan scheme (BBLS), which she could use to grow her online operation and social media presence. These 100% UK government-backed loans, worth up to £50,000, were offered to businesses with no interest charged or repayments needed in the first 12 months. Gosling hadn’t taken funding like this before and needed convincing over a virtual coffee, but she hasn’t looked back.
She says building an online presence helped her to connect with customers and generated sales, “which grew month-on-month, with a record-breaking December”.
Gosling recounts that when lockdown forced the temporary closure of the shop, Purvor told her: “This is not the end, this is just another chapter.” Luckily enough, she adds: “For me, it has been.”
Having ridden out the worst of the retail shutdown, and with pet ownership in the UK soaring, Daisy’s Dog Empawrium has ambitious plans for the future. They include eyeing up a larger retail outlet and looking at a franchise model. The ever-ebullient Purvor has even loftier ambitions for Gosling and Daisy’s. “World domination,” she says.
To find out more about what Metro Bank can do for small businesses, and go behind
the scenes with Lisa and Kelly as they record their very own national radio advert, go to metrobankonline.co.uk/start-up-stars
