Lesley Roper – Home-based Business Owner

Lesley Roper’s parents were born and raised in South Africa in the Cape Town Area. Shortly after they were married, they moved to London, England. Lesley was born four years later and when she was five, they all moved to Montreal with hopes for a better life and the chance to see her relatives there. She vividly remembers her transition period as a young immigrant in Canada. “GTA This Month” is pleased to feature Lesley in our June personality profile where she shares stories of her childhood, her chosen profession, her family and her own home-based business. Lesley is the proud owner of ‘Mom and Kid Stuff’, a gift basket business for all occasions. (www.momandkidstuff.com) She and her partner George Wellsbury, also support small and home businesses through a free networking group of over 150 small business owners. (www.smallbizhomebizunited.com).

At the time I was setting up an appointment for an interview with Lesley, she was busy and very excited because her son had just come home from a six-month gig as a dance performer on a luxury cruise liner. She was recreating Christmas for her son who had missed the holidays when he was away, and as she said, the party was complete with all the trimmings. For sure, I was awed and thought it was the sweetest thing that a mother can do for her child. It is apparent that Lesley gives family her top priority and her role as a mother/wife, takes precedence over anything else. It is no surprise that she has chosen a home-based business working side by side with her partner George and the whole family. Lesley is content that she is now living her dream of running her own business that allows her the flexibility to work and take care of her family at the same time. “Even while working at my computer, my son and daughter both send me an IM (instant message) from their bedrooms asking for food”, she said. Of course, because she creates her own hours and does not have to report to a ‘boss’, she can just go right ahead and prepare food. Indeed, many mothers can only dream about a career like this, but only a few will have the privilege to do so.

It has not always been like this from the beginning of Lesley’s career. With her certificate in Early Childhood Education from George Brown College, she first worked in a childcare setting as co-owner/operator as well as a pre-school and junior kindergarten teacher. She was also an artist/art instructor for “Art and Soul”, an art school and gallery where she taught art theatre classes to children for a few years. Later, she worked as a Home Visitor/Inspector for “Wee Watch” where she also taught Child Development Workshops to childcare providers. The reason she chose to be in early childhood education was because of her huge passion for children. “I love every aspect of working with children. They’re such fascinating little beings. I think I have probably learned as much from them as they did from me”, she said. Her passion for babies and kids is the reason she called her business, ‘Mom and Kids Stuff’. Somehow, the business keeps her connected with them. Although she no longer works in childcare settings, she is still involved with children. Until now, she continues to support many of the parenting groups and donates gift baskets for their fundraisers.

Lesley’s decision to shift from childcare settings to owning a gift basket business may have been apparent. With her artistic ability and creative flair coupled with twelve years of experience in the business, it just made sense that she would go into it. While she was with ‘Wee Watch’, she also worked part time as a gift basket designer and assistant manager for a gift basket business. When the business moved to another location, she had taken a few months off to decide what she wanted to do with her time. She said, “While I was on a break, I received quite a lot of requests for gift baskets and so I thought, why not just go ahead and start my own gift basket business?” That was her defining moment, and so she plunged full speed ahead. “At first, I didn’t know anything about running a business but I learned fast”, she said. She was already familiar with the day-to-day dealing with the customers and was very knowledgeable with the creative aspect. She just needed to learn the business part of it. Her partner George has helped her every step of the way and continues to work with her in the business. She also learned a lot with the networking group that she and George run because it’s a supportive group that helps each other with their businesses.

As Lesley said, “The first year was a lot of learning, a lot of growth and a lot of stress. My biggest challenge then was getting customers. Having just left the gift basket business, I didn’t want to step on my previous employer’s toes so I tried to get my own customers.” They tried all sorts of marketing strategies – internet advertising, radio shows, newspaper ads, flyer drops, and tradeshows. In fact, last August they ran a tradeshow for small businesses. They also participated in a Sears promo during the celebration of their ‘diaper days’. Lesley did a ‘diaper cake’, (one of her best selling items) and a ‘wedding cake’ made of towels for their raffle draw. Now, close to finishing their second year, the business has really grown. She has corporate clients who are very consistent throughout the year and many loyal customers that have been using her for many years. “I like almost everything about the business, except the paperwork. I thrive on designing baskets and that’s where my passion is but I also realize the importance of knowing how to deal with all aspects of running a business. As an artist, it’s a creative outlet for me and working for myself gives me the freedom to make my own decisions. The one challenge I face is not being able to say ‘NO’ to customers that are on a limited budget because I like to be able to provide service for everyone,” she said. She has to work within a budget and provide something beautiful. She also considers it very important to have a lot of creativity; very good people skills and having the patience and readiness to spend a lot of time with clients when helping them decide what they want.

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