Influenced by her military-trained mother and her father as manager for Tesco grocers, Laura Tamara learned early the value of time management - which Laura considers to this day her best resource. As an entrepreneur, Laura also emphasizes the "USP'' (unique selling point) to customers. "There is value you can create by putting quality into products'' where "clients get hooked" on the brand that is formed from using time-invested talents and offering the best services.

Laura believes in the power of networking to expand market share: "Push yourself outside your comfort zone" to increase connections, including exposure to different cultures. "You cannot plant too many seeds" declares Laura when positioning for prospective customers. She also advises diversifying revenue sources wherever possible. "Monetize the Moon if you can," suggests Laura. Her advice includes being responsible for sustainable practices - keeping supplies out of landfills.

Setting up a bespoke tailor shop using her husband's skills, Laura focuses on the best possible public relations by providing a great customer experience. That includes greetings as they enter the store, giving one-on-one attention, offering unique tailoring and gauging customer preferences for the desired product. This results in customers willing to pay for fabric quality, made-to-measure clothing and giving customers "a hand in designing their garments". However, the startup faced difficulty due to COVID, losing an entire season while not knowing when the pandemic would end. In the meantime, the couple sold a one-bedroom flat, purchased a guest house for income and worked a 9-to-5 job to satisfy the lender of the real estate loan. For new entrepreneurs, Laura recommends having 18 months of living expenses saved or working part-time to ease into unpredictable business cash flows.

Laura is optimistic about the future - forecasting more fast fashion, more retail seasons and more technology integrated into clothing. In this environment, she sees word-of-mouth referrals as the new gold standard for tailored clothiers.