12
WORK
LIF E
9 3
A�ONE-DAY�DIARY��
FROM�MORNING�LATTE
TO�LIGHTS�OUT
Jo Behari,
creator of
Home Jane
Jo Behari, 31, lives in Bethnal
Green with her husband Ian, 34,
a marketing consultant
When most little girls were planning
their weddings and drawing white
dresses on their school books, I was
plotting how I could be my own boss.
I was utterly determined. My plan
came off nearly four years ago when
I started Home Jane, a company
that supplies female tradespeople
all over London.
I was bored in a marketing job but
retraining was too expensive. I’d always
been a tomboy – I grew up with two
older brothers – and was a DIY nut.
I also knew that some women found
male tradesmen intimidating. So
I decided to use my marketing
experience to turn my DIY hobby into
a business. I quit my job, remortgaged
my flat and using £5,000 of the money,
I set up the business from my living
room. I’ve never looked back.
I don’t get out of bed before 7am.
I do some meditating in my spare room,
����WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK
6
JO’S LIFE-LONG OBSESSION
WITH JAPAN BEGAN WITH
THE KARATE KID
15 minutes of stretching, then shower,
get dressed, and grab a bowl of Alpen
before I cycle to our rented offices
in Waterloo, London.
Home Jane supplies handywomen
and tradeswomen to cover a whole
range of jobs across London; anything
from putting up flat-pack furniture to
full kitchen refits and refurbishment.
When I started I only had four workers.
I would help out as an extra pair of
hands, lugging a bath up the stairs or
carrying timber to a site. Now I have
JO BEHARI, 31, CREATED
HER WOMEN-ONLY
BUSINESS FOUR YEARS AGO
50 tradeswomen on my books.
In the beginning it was just me in my
pyjamas. I used to answer the phone,
then put myself on hold and run into
the next room and pick it up again to
make the company sound bigger. Now
we make around £20,000 profit.
“One of my first clients
was sceptical, she kept
asking me if a ‘girl’ could
do the job properly”
MY�PLAN�B��THE�KARATE�KID
I get into the office around 9am and
deal with any calls: if the materials
haven’t arrived for a job or if the trader
is running late, things can be very hectic.
At 9.30am, Pam, my office manager, gets
in. She does most of the client admin
and I order the office materials: liaising
with timber merchants, bathroom
and kitchen suppliers. They are often
surprised to hear a woman negotiating
with them but they soon get over it.
I drive a hard bargain!
I grab lunch in between jobs.
I make a big batch of soup on a Sunday
night then eat it throughout the week.
I spend my afternoons either
overseeing jobs, meeting clients or
suppliers. We do a lot of work with
Age Concern, Rape Crisis and various
women’s shelters. Vulnerable groups
sometimes prefer female tradespeople,
although it can be difficult persuading
elderly clients that girls can be good at
a physical trade. My favourite client
is an old lady called Mrs Cooper.
When she first booked us she was so
sceptical, she kept asking me if I knew
how big the job was and if a ‘girl’ could
really do it properly. I told her if she
wasn’t happy she didn’t have to pay us,
but she was so ecstatic that she’s
booked us again and again since.
Whenever we go over she bakes a cake.
I try to finish work by 7pm. I go to
a lot of networking events so I quickly
apply some make-up, throw on a
pashmina to cover the paint splotches
on my T-shirt, change out of my
Caterpillar boots and put on some
earrings to make myself more feminine.
As a female businesswoman it’s
important to make industry links.
If I’m not working, I’ll go home and
crash on the sofa with Ian and be in
bed by 10pm. In my old job, I would
work a 10-hour day but not be able to
tell you one thing I’d done. Now I fit so
much into one day it’s amazing.
I’ve got big plans for Home Jane.
I want to roll it out nationwide eventually
and increase our range of services.
We started running DIY workshops in
response to the recession. They were so
popular I need to think up some more.
The best piece of advice my dad ever
gave me was ‘just go for it’. I’m glad I did.
home-jane.co.uk
I’ve been fascinated by Japanese culture ever since I was little. I saw The Karate Kid and desperately wanted
to be in it and to meet Mr Miyagi. It’s stayed with me even as an adult. Japan is such an ancient and historical
place, just when you think you’ve found out all you need to know, something else crops up. I’ve learned the
language and I went to Japan on my honeymoon. Ian and I travelled around Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima but
two weeks just wasn’t enough. I can’t wait to go back, I’m already planning my next trip. I used to do lots
of martial arts, Tae kwon Do and Karate but I’ve stopped now. I still read lots of Japanese literature though,
and would love to teach English over there and live in Tokyo for a year.
WORDS��AMY�GRIER���PHOTOGRAPHY��DEAN�BELCHER��REX�FEATURES���HAIR�AND�MAKE-UP��ROSIE�VON�SPRECKELSEN�AT�CAROL�HAYES�MANAGEMENT
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