In late March, ambitious new businesswoman Vicki Gardner came along to Meet a Mentor at Exeter Castle. Afterwards, we caught up with her to find out about both her business and the event.

After 20 years of working as a freelance photographer, Vicki Gardner teamed up with friend Jane Hill to establish Gardner & Hill. This online retail business sells items like tea towels, placemats, coasters, and glass platters printed with Vicki’s own botanical images. Currently producing four distinct ranges including British Wildflowers and Sea themes, Gardner & Hill sell both to individuals and in bulk to other retailers.

The pair set up their official business bank account in early 2014 and while Vicki works full time for the business, Jane still has a part-time position as a vet. Vicki, who has never had a mentor before, told us why she decided to attend Meet a Mentor:

“I’m up for anything. It is a very steep learning curve for me and Jane, so we take all the business support we can get.”

Vicki chose to work with a partner because of her inexperience as a business owner and she also felt the time demand may be too much for her along with her parenting duties to 12-year-old Amber, nine-year-old Leila and Phoebe who is just four. However, she attended Meet a Mentor alone and admits she was a little nervous on the day:

“It’s always slightly weird when you’re going into a situation where you don’t know what to expect. I didn’t even know whether mentoring was what I wanted but, equally, I thought, ‘I could learn from this.’”

So, what was Vicki looking for in a potential mentor?

“Someone with experience in online retail and someone who could guide us. I just thought that if a mentor would help our business to work then I’d get a mentor.”

Vicki met plenty of new people on the day including Andy Copp, who is the director of Business Mentors South West. Having taken Andy’s contact details and shared a little about what she hoped a mentor would mean to the fledgling business, the photographer waited a while before taking the next step:

“I sat on the fence for a week or two, then I thought ‘no, I do want a mentor, I think it will really help.’ Because I’d met Andy at Meet a Mentor, I contacted him and he said they can find me a mentor on a voluntary basis. So he’s currently looking for someone to mentor me.”

Vicki is absolutely determined to make her business work. Asked where this attitude comes from, she explains:

“As a mum I organise the holidays, school pick-ups and drop-offs. Trying to find any job to fit around that is nigh on impossible so I knew that working for myself would give me that freedom. I also absolutely love photography and creating nice images. Finding a new way to sell my images and be creative is my job from heaven.”