A New Life:A passion for pyjamas and the cosy side of life enabled Deirdre Williams to create a new career. Michelle McDonaghreports on how an accident sparked a life-changing idea.
When Deirdre Williams was given a bag full of goodies including pyjamas, slippers and books to cheer her up after she was involved in a minor traffic accident, she was also presented with the seeds for a new business idea.
Having worked in the IT business for 17 years, Williams had been feeling that it was time to move on and try something new, but she just didn't know what that something new was going to be - until her sister-in-law presented her with the ultimate "duvet day" gift.
She explains: "It was happenstance that somebody drove into the side of my car that day. I was fine but there was a big drama because I was taken to hospital. I went back to my parents' house afterwards and was in bed feeling sorry for myself and shook up when my sister-in-law arrived with a bag of goodies containing pyjamas, slippers, books and a Toy Story DVD.
"It was such a nice feelgood thing to do that I started to think about it more and it began to gel together as an idea for my new business."
As a self-confessed "cosy freak" who loved getting into her pyjamas when she came home from work in the evening and snuggling up to read a book or watch a movie, Williams went on to pack in her day job and set up online gift boutique PJs and Prose.
Williams had fallen into the IT industry when she couldn't find a job after graduating with a BA in English and history. She started working as a PA for an IT company with the intention of staying for only a few weeks but she ended up moving into sales where she stayed for 17 years.
Although she enjoyed her job and got on well with her work colleagues, Williams felt it was well past time for a change. She was interested in the idea of setting up her own business, but had no clear picture of what she wanted to do.
"I did a start-your-own-business course and read books on starting your own business. I had no firm idea of what I wanted to do, but I knew if I kept thinking about it, something would come up and it did the day I had my little accident. If I hadn't been thinking of starting a business, the opportunity would have passed me by but my antenna were up."
After spending some time researching the online gift market, Williams made the tough decision at the end of 2005 to give up her sales job and concentrate on building her own business.
"It was a big wrench giving up my job, obviously I had no idea whether the business would be financially viable and I loved the gang at work but I knew I couldn't do both. My job in sales was very time consuming and intense so I had to give it up."
Naively, Williams initially thought that once her business was launched on the internet in February 2006, lots of people would see it and customers would start to flood in but she quickly realised that the hardest part was trying to get the word out about the new website.
She started off with her core products of pyjamas and books and over time added a range of duvet day essentials from bath oils and candles to soothing music.
"I thought that because I was running an internet business out in cyberspace, I would be quite anonymous and not have much interaction with my customers and I was worried about that as I was so used to dealing with customers one on one. It has come as a huge surprise to me that people are contacting me all the time about all kinds of stuff. They ring and e-mail to tell me they received a gift and love it or to suggest adding bed socks or DVDs to the site. People are very good," Williams says.
At the moment, her main customer base is Ireland, but she has just launched a new version of the website which is open to users in Britain. She plans to continue to increase her target market and the functionality of the site.
Williams describes the pyjamas she sells as "traditional with a stylish twist" and she stocks brands such as Cyberjammies and Hey Sister.
Although her new career is a big change from her old one, it still encompasses a range of her interests such as sales and graphic design.
There was no outlet for her interest in graphic design in her previous job, but she has enjoyed being heavily involved in the design of her website, promotional material and packaging.
She comments: "On the practical side, the very fact that I have more control over my life, I think, relieves a lot of stress. Although starting my own business has brought stress, particularly in terms of the financial pressures, I had completely underestimated the positive changes it would bring. I can physically work from home now and don't have to face the M50 nightmare every day. In fact, I have the flexibility to work from anywhere once I have my laptop with me and that is fantastic."
Living in Dún Laoghaire, Williams is also enjoying the freedom of being able to get out to walk the pier during the day instead of being tied to a desk and stuck in heavy commuter traffic.
"When you work for yourself, you tend to work harder but you don't mind especially when you are doing something you absolutely adore. And at busy periods like Mother's Day and Christmas, I can rope in plenty of help from family and friends. This business fits like a glove."
