A spirit of independence

Natasha admits that it is perhaps in She also realised that walking back into the family firm was itself a potentially tricky situation. “Here I was, walking back into it with no experience, no expertise – nepotism at its worst, if you like.” Nevertheless, Natasha walked in at the floor level – as junior sales staff working on the counter. “That counter, that’s the rock face,” she says. “If you don’t know your products, God help you. And builders, generally, don’t pre-plan – they fire-fight. They wait for something to go wrong, or to need something, then they come in, and they want it right away. The don’t want some little girl – as they would see me – standing there going: ‘You want a what..?’” Not helping the situation in those early days was the manual price book – her bible on the counter. “I said: ‘Is this in alphabetical order by product?’ They said: ‘No.’ So I said: ‘Is it grouped by product types – plastics and so on?’ ‘No.’ It was actually listed by the names of suppliers that we bought from. So I had to know, for example, that underground drainage came from Polypipe, and was not listed under ‘u’ for ‘underground’ or ‘d’ for ‘drainage, but actually under ‘p’.”

It was this baptism of fire that prompted Natasha to push for the introduction of the computer system.

When I brought in the computer system – which was a joke, really, because I knew nothing about computers – I had been at the company about 18 months. That was good, because by then I understood the people and the products. I just knew there had to be an easier way than writing out every item, then getting a calculator and adding it all up and having five carbon copies… Because I’m an inherently lazy person, I always think ‘What’s the easiest way to do something?’ That’s been my whole approach!

Lazy? Well, maybe Natasha’s being a bit modest there – she was the one who personally put every stock item onto the computer system.

“I did it using codes that I knew would be intuitive to our staff, and grouped them together in a way that would make sense to them – and to someone who was just starting.” To achieve that, she also adapted what was really an accounts package to make it a selling tool. “The system was already being used for the wages, and I just kind of cheated it, because no one wanted to spend any money on software. It had its limitations, but it did the job.”

Ironically, the introduction of the computers also reduced counter staff from three to two – effectively wiping out her own job. “Luckily, at that time, they needed someone in transport – which was great as it meant learning another skill. Then, I went upstairs into the sales office, because someone left. Basically, every time someone left, I got shunted into a new role. But I didn’t mind, because I was learning. I’ve pretty much done everything within the company other than drive a lorry

There was certainly a great deal of experience from which to benefit. On that counter was a guy who had been in the industry for about 13 years, and another who had been doing it for 24. In transport, the Operations Director had 18 years experience. When Natasha went  upstairs into sales she was within earshot of our Purchase Manager, Sales Manager and MD. “I basically soaked it all up like a big sponge.”

Then, the Finance Manager left to have a baby. “Typical for a family business, they said to me ‘You can do that!’ Luckily for me, my stepmum had been the Finance Manager at Rose Plant Hire, so
I pulled her back from Spain and said ‘Teach me everything…’” For the next month, she literally sat beside Natasha, showing her the ropes. “In finance, once you’ve cracked a month, you’ve cracked everything, because you’ve done everything once – apart from a VAT return.” When Natasha did her first year-end audit, the accountants were in for six days. Now they’re there for about two. “So you can tell I probably made a few mistakes in my first year…” she says, “but I got there – and it was something that I really enjoyed.”

She’s quick to acknowledge the help she has had along the way – and the true family nature of the business soon becomes clear.

Like I say, my stepmum was the Finance Manager, and now my sister-in-law is the accounts person. My dad and his brother, Michael Rose, worked really closely – they built up the three companies. Both of their wives worked in the business. My husband works in the business, and so does my brother and his wife. So does my stepdad. In fact, my mum is the only one who doesn’t want to join the party – but she works at the nursery that looks after all our children whilst we work in the business. It’s kind of become a prerequisite that if you join our family you also have to work here!

By bizarre coincidence, Natasha’s husband also gave her the surname “Andrew” – which, because of its similarity to the name of the company, recently prompted a rather rash assumption from a casual observer. “Oh, you married the boss?” they quipped. “No,” replied Natasha. “He did.”

Now, Natasha’s main focus is the new venture, Rose Landscapes. “It’s my baby…” she says (she does also have an actual baby – though he’s not yet employed by the company). “It’s really part of Andrews Building Supplies, so effectively our first branch, even though it’s rather close!”

With this, Natasha is building on the demand for hard landscaping supplies, which has remained unaffected by the recession – partly because people are moving house less, and doing up their own properties more. “I wanted to do something that was a lot more retail focused, and that was a bit more…” She hesitates. “Feminine is the wrong word, really – but just something that had a little bit less testosterone!”

So, what’s next?

I would love to go a little bit south – Cambridge/Ely way – and also into Norfolk. There are very few independents there, and the big chains are making a killing – charging essentially London prices. But yes, maybe two more branches

Whether they are Rose Landscape branches or Andrews branches will depend how well the new business goes – but this is certainly a growth area, as recent nationwide developments have shown.

I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Next are getting into this. You can imagine the buying power they have…

While Rose Landscapes may not be able to match Next for macho business muscle, their more subtle approach may yet win the customer over.

I’m actually buying my water features from the same people Next are buying from, but their markup is quite extravagant, whereas ours won’t be. It’s trade price. And when you walk in, I think we can offer better knowledge

Independence is clearly something that Natasha is passionate about – something she is determined to make work, without the need for compromise.

I come from an independent family business, and I will always support those kinds of businesses. I want to see specialists on our high street. It would be crazy of me to be part of a business like this and not support others like it

And that, perhaps, is an example of how our landscape comes to be changed for the better – one brick at a time.

www.roselandscapes.co.uk

www.andrews-bs.co.uk

www.roseplanthire.co.uk