Committed to the business and Each Other: Hoobynoo World and a Bloke Called Dave

Written by Michaela on July 6, 2015. Posted in Committed to the Business and Each Other

In my Committed to the Business and Each Other series, I speak to a range of couples and families in business to find out what they feel is the secret to their success.  

Today I’m speaking to David & Chiara Stone, a husband and wife team from Ramsgate in England who work together to run two very different businesses. 

Elevator pitch time! Please tell us about your business. 

They’re very different businesses, but we work both for and with each other! Chiara runs Hoobynoo World, an acrylic jewellery brand of cute, cartoon fashion accessories and phone-covers that also houses Hoobynoo Pet Shop, a company that produces quirky, illustrated pet tags, bowls and dog hoodies. David is a children’s author who publishes books with Hodder in the UK and Disney & Penguin in the USA, but he spends the lion’s share of his day writing the popular comedy lifestyle blog ‘Bloke Called Dave’.

Thinking right back to the beginning, what prompted you to go into business with your partner? 

Chiara worked for me, initially, running my author website and arranging meetings. Then, as her business grew and overtook mine, both financially and as a demand on our time, the roles reversed and I now spend most of my day fulfilling the orders for Hoobynoo World. I then write in the evening and she completes the first edits of my manuscripts.

Did you consider how your relationship would be affected by being in business together? 

We thought it would be hard, especially with two small children. Certainly, we were worried about the divide of time, being in such close proximity for entire working days and also how we were going to share the drop off/collection of our children or how we were going to manage them on the days that they weren’t at school or nursery.

What kind of business planning did you do? 

Chiara is a meticulous planner, but the business grew at a slow and steady rate. In this sense, we weren’t taken by surprise and could snatch the time to do strategic planning week by week, ahead of any large events that might take place (for us, being a gift company, these include all the ‘special days’ of the year).

Would you say that you and your partner member have similar strengths or different ones? 

Completely different. David suffers from depression and freely admits that he needs time alone and has to frequently make the effort to stabilise his mood before shifting through large amounts of orders, whereas I am an inherently happy person who rarely stops smiling and dancing through each day… even as I’m packing!

What has been the biggest challenge to you for working together? 

Fitting the day together, and also switching off. David and I both frequently work until midnight and have to make a special effort in order to ‘take time’ for ourselves. Any movie we watch is usually accompanied by the sounds of ripping sticky tape!

What do you consider your biggest achievement so far? 

Growing our new business together so significantly while keeping David’s book career on track (he has a new series out with Hodder in the UK during 2016).

Has working together changed your relationship outside of the business? 

Definitely. We now consider family time to be the break from work and it often takes both children to be in the house, running around, for us to remember that we are, in fact, a couple and not just a business.

Have you made use of any outside resources e.g. business experts to support you? If so, were they helpful? 

We have had success funding, which was a huge boost. We’ve also had a lot of freelance consultancy help and, of course, David has a terrific literary agent.

What advice would you give to other couples/families who are thinking of starting a business? 

Really think about it, the good and the bad. It’s great financially if things take off, but in some cases this means you have to be a terrifically strong couple to survive it. We’ve known marriages to survive unsuccessful businesses and a few that has dissolved as a result of successful ones! There’s always a sacrifice to be made.

What’s next for your businesses?

Hoobynoo World is growing at an alarming rate and we now attend events like the London Pet Fair and run online Market nights. We’re always adding new breeds to the list, so our news is basically to keep watching! David’s blog, Bloke Called Dave, now has newspaper syndication and we’re in discussion with all the major publishing houses, including Bonnier, Orion and Hodder, about turning the blog into a book. David has also started vlogging.

If you’d like to find out more about either Hoobynoo World or Bloke Called Dave, you can find them online http://www.hoobynooworld.co.uk Twitter: @hoobynooworld Facebook: hoobynooworld or http://www.blokecalleddave.co.uk Twitter: @davidgrimstone Facebook: blokecalleddaveblog

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