A young woman called "mad" for quitting her job during the coronavirus pandemic has successfully launched her own clothing business.
Sophie Stevens, from Southport, decided to take the plunge after being put on furlough gave her plenty of time to think about her future.
Her online store, By Sophie Louise boutique, stocks women's clothing in sizes 6-16, and Sophie says she sells items you can't find elsewhere.
The 23-year-old told the ECHO: "I worked full time at a car garage in the servicing department and I did enjoy it, I loved my colleagues, but I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do forever.
"I've always loved clothes and loved boutiques. I love that feeling when you go in and see a few unique items you'd love to wear.
"Quitting my job was a huge risk, not having a guaranteed income each month, but I just thought if I don’t do this now, I never will.
"People have said I'm absolutely mad leaving a job in these times, but this is my passion and it's the best, scariest, thing I've ever done."
Sophie, 23, handed in her notice in November.
Soon after, she launched her online clothing store By Sophie Louise Boutique.
She continued: "I found there was a niche in the market because a lot of the time I try to find clothes and they don't have what I would want to wear.
"Getting stock was a lot easier at first because I could visit places in person and check out the quality. If I wouldn’t buy it myself, I'm not going to sell it.
"There's been some trial and error. Some items have sold fairly well, others absolutely flew off the shelves.
"I stocked some leggings I'd seen on Tiktok and they've been my fastest-selling product so far, definitely.
"I've been trying to follow trends but it's quite hard at the moment because nobody is going out, but I’m looking forward to things reopening and I've just launched a Beer Garden collection."
Sophie says she has used her savings to launch the business and is proud to have not had to ask anyone else for a handout.
She added: "I would like to grow the business, open my own store and be able to employ people, but equally I am very proud of my small and independent setup.
"I have a chat facility on the website where I can help people with size queries and things like that, and I make sure when things are packaged they're done so nicely with tissue paper, confetti and sweets.
"Little things like that can really make a difference."
