Lone Parents

We have created a special area for Lone Parents on Mum and Working - inspired by the huge response we have had about work that is suitable for one parent familes.

Founder of Barefoot Books - Tessa Strickland

Tessa set up Barefoot Books in 1993 - in the same year she left her full-time job, left her husband and moved from London to Bath..all with three children under 5! We hear how she's managed running a hugely successful business and being Mum to her family.

The Interview

Name - Tessa Strickland

Location - Rural Somerset

Family - Francis (19), Rollo (17) Zoe (15).

What inspired you to set up Barefoot Books?

I think there were three sources: first, my memories of being transported by stories as a child and an awareness as I moved into parenting of the ways in which I was half-consciously continuing to use them as a source of nourishment; secondly, my awareness of the central place of story in therapeutic circles and the relevance of this to sane parenting; thirdly, my children and my desire to get away from a corporate lifestyle and run a business in a way which included them.

What is your background?

I was brought up in the wilds of Yorkshire, in a large and semi-dysfunctional Catholic family. From as long as I can remember, I have loved to travel and explore other cultures and their languages so I have always looked 'over the fence' at other traditions, first through books, later by putting a pack on my back and heading for the hills. I was educated at Cambridge and worked as a teacher in Japan before entering a career in publishing, first with Penguin Books, then with Random House.

You set up Barefoot Books with Nancy Traversy - how did you meet Nancy? Do you think it makes life easier having a business partner?

A lot of people assume that Nancy and I were friends before Barefoot started. In fact, we met through the good offices of one of my brothers, Anthony, who is a long-term friend of Nancy's husband. I was going round trying to work out how to start a business and Anthony said, 'you need to talk to Nancy', Nancy having just resigned from her position as MD of a design group in Covent Garden following the birth of her daughter. So we met and talked and liked each other and realized we had complementary talents and it went from there.

How did you find the first Author/Illustrator for your first book?

I was lucky enough to have the support of many authors with whom I was already working at Random House, so this was fairly straightforward.

Was it hard getting the first books published?

It is quite a culture shock going from a multinational to a start-up - no-one has heard of you. However, one of the wonderful aspects about the publishing world is that people tend to be very supportive and generous with their knowledge. You just have to keep asking questions, and questioning, and looking ahead, and sticking to your values at the same time.

Did you have a good support network around you when you were setting the business up - in terms of childcare?

No! I resigned from Random House, left London, left my husband and started Barefoot all in the same year, with three children under five. I found a dilapidated farmhouse north of Bath, packed up everything and drove west. The house was beautiful but isolated, with no central heating, crows in the chimney and weeds in every direction. It was all very character-forming for all of us! I got help in the form of a friend with whom I had trained as a yoga teacher - he helped out with the kids in return for free accommodation in the freezing farmhouse, and has remained a close family friend ever since.

How does running the business fit round your family now?

It's much easier now that the children are older and now that the office is no longer in my home. We had a watershed year in 2001 - until then, Nancy had run all the management, sales and marketing functions of the business from her home in north London , while I looked after product development, foreign rights and contractual issues from my home. We opened an office in the US in 1998 and three years later Nancy, who is Canadian and married to an American citizen, said she wanted to move to the US because it was next-to-impossible to manage the North American business from a distance. At this juncture, there were too many people to fit into my farmhouse and anyway, I was ready to move on from renting and to move into offices. We now run the business from offices in Bath, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

What research did you do, to know the business would work?

I think it is impossible to tell if a business will work - you just have to believe in what you are doing and believe that it will resonate to other people too and ensure that your product is as good as you can make it and that you look after your relationships with everyone - from authors and artists to retailers and educators and of course, the people you work with.

Financially, how did you set up Barefoot Books - did you have any grants/funding?

We applied for the Business Expansion Scheme and met the criteria, which made it a lot easier, as investors could recover part of their investment on their next tax return and also enjoy tax-free dividends if the business survived for more than five years.

You offer the fantastic Stallholder opportunity for Mums to work selling Barefoot Books - was this always the aim of the business, or did this element grow organically?

In the early days, this wasn't our aim. However, in 1998 we conducted quite an extensive survey among our mail order customers and one of the questions was, 'would you like to sell Barefoot Books as an independent distributor' and so many people ticked that box that we thought we'd better do something!

What has been the biggest hurdle you've faced in setting up the business?

I think for me it was about plucking up the courage to acknowledge what I didn't know and believe that I could go out and find out enough to 'join the dots' and get started.

What has been the best bit of PR/Marketing you've had?

The five-year-old daughter of one of our top Stallholders saying recently: 'When I grow up I am going to be a Mummy and I am going to sell Barefoot Books'!

Before you set up your own business had you looked into finding a job with an employer?

I had been an employee for twelve years but I'd say that one of the experiences that radically affected my perception of what I wanted to do with my life/how I wanted to use my abilities was becoming a mother. When my first son was born, I realized the full force of what it means to have a dependant child - to become a mother and a provider. Somehow that created a significant inner shift for me.

Do you think single parents face extra challenges when thinking about work?

Yes and no. I think a lot depends on your circumstances. If there is conflict in a marriage, it can be very suffocating. I know one of the reasons I left my husband was that he would have destroyed my emerging confidence. Having said that, whatever the differences between us, he has always been a committed father to the children and this has been immeasurably valuable. We remain good friends and I shall always be grateful to him for his ongoing dedication to the children.

If you hadn't set up Barefoot Books do you think you would have returned to work? Had you had any ideas about what you might do?

I was in full-time work when I decided to start Barefoot - I looked at my life and realized I didn't want to hand my children to someone else every morning, and get home when they were in bed. If I hadn't started Barefoot, I would probably have done more writing and supported myself and my family that way.

What is the biggest benefit to your family of you being self-employed?

The flexibility it offers and the freedom - this is more psychological than practical, as there is always masses to do, but knowing that you can choose what books to develop, and with whom, is very liberating.

Any advice to lone parents who would like to set up their own business, but aren't sure how they could manage to juggle running a business and looking after their children?

Go for it! You will almost certainly need help, and you will find it, and you will have a lot of fun and learn a lot along the way. You only live once, so why not make the most of all that talent you have tucked away inside you? And let your children know what you are doing - my children have been a huge support to me and continue to be so.

Find out more about the Barefoot Books Stallholder opportunity in our Job Directory