Samantha Scott was one of thousands of workers that lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic last year – but she fought back in desperation, and is now a company owner.
The single mum-of-one was furloughed when the job retentions scheme opened up last year but before she knew it, she was made redundant by the retailer she worked for.
Lost and forced onto Universal Credit, Samantha, 29, said it was her unwell son that inspired her to keep going because she needed the money to pay for his specialist care.
“I had been signed off sick with anxiety and stress and was furloughed from Covid. I then was made redundant from my retail role,” Samantha told The Mirror.
“I needed to make extra money to pay for private healthcare for my son's severe eczema and allergies, so I could not give up."
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That’s when she came up with the idea of By Bonhomie – a company that specialises in dried flower bouquets.
“Dried products were the game changer! I saw a gap in the market and made it my own - all from my kitchen counter,” she said.
Samantha combined her last few pounds to invest in three bleached bunches of pampas flowers.
She admits she then took a gamble when she approached Stacey Soloman on social media. Just weeks later in June 2020, she sold her first bouquet to the TV mum.
“I had absolutely nothing and spent all the money I had on those bunches,” Samantha said.
“Stacey posted it on Instagram and from there it went viral,” she added.
“Her house is now full of our dried products.”
Samantha’s social media following started exploding– now she has near 75,000 fans.
“I started in my living room, making bouquets and packing huge boxes,” Samantha recalls.
“But it was so busy that I had to move into the spare bedroom and then swap bedrooms to find more space. After around nine months it became impossible getting everything up and down the stairs all day every day,” she said.
This year Samantha moved into her own head office in Poundbury, Dorset.
“It was originally just for space but it is a beautiful area and I will be turning it into a studio and walk in customer click and collect area too,” she said.
While By Bonhomie is self-funded, it’s turned over £180,000 in just over a year.
“Everything I make goes back into stock and I invest more each time.
But Samantha says a common misconception is that being your own boss brings you freedom.
“I have the flexibility to work around my son which is what I had always wanted, but I've had to sacrifice a lot of that to keep the business running.”
She says time management has been her biggest challenge.
“I find it very hard to switch off, the pressure can be extreme at times.
“I wish someone had told me that I don't have to struggle on my own and accept help.”
Fourteen months on and Samantha now has three employees.
“My job title is director but I still oversee everything including, admin, stock, shipping, marketing, social media, photography, website building, packing and selling.”
“I feel so full of pride that my business is able to pay wages to my employees and support their little families too as I know how much it means to be able to provide for your children.
“I hope to be able to employ more members of staff soon to really step it up a little, we have so many ideas and not enough hands.”
Speaking on Covid, she said: “Last year I was finally was able to give my son the help he needed which was funded from running this business and his quality of life has been completely changed, he can do all the "normal" things that little boys can do without suffering and being in pain! It's a dream come true.
“Having the time at home being on furlough it was either now or never, I was given a chance and grabbed it for all it was worth!”
You can browse Samantha's online shop, here.
