When 'lifestyle' is the real bottom line

Small Business: When ‘lifestyle’ is the real bottom line – Times Online

SMALL is beautiful for a new breed of entrepreneur keen to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Meg Geraghty set up The Cake Lady last year as demand for her custom-designed confections rose like a soufflé.

The former civil servant gave up her initial career after the birth of her second child five years ago. “I had always made cakes as a favour for friends, and what had started out as a hobby gradually grew into a part-time and then a full-time job,” she says. “Setting up the business just seemed like a natural progression.”

Geraghty is not alone. According to research from a UK-based small-business development agency, there has been a marked growth in interest from entrepreneurs looking to set up lifestyle businesses. Often arising out of interests or hobbies, the new companies feature job titles that were practically unheard of five years ago, such as life coach, wedding planner and events manager.