Growing Your Business Organically – the best decision for Neve’s Bees…could it work for you too?

“..and the winner of the Blenheim Palace Start-up Competition 2018 is Neve’s Bees!”

Having launched our 100% Natural Skincare Business just a year before, this was a lovely boost to our start-up journey! Neve and I thoroughly enjoyed the post event party and the many congratulations we received. What we were less prepared for was the plethora of consultants, banks and organisation who pestered us for weeks afterwards telling us we now needed to become ‘investment ready’, to take a bank loan or pitch to a group of venture capitalists. I’d seen dragon’s den and had worked with small businesses for long enough to know that this was not what I wanted for our business!

Have you experienced this, felt that pressure to take a loan, to sell shares…to lose control! Starting a business is exciting—you’re full of ideas and ambition. It can be difficult to resist this stream of consultants, venture capitalists (VCs), and business angels eager to invest in your company. The promise? Quick growth and big opportunities—but at a price: giving up control.

But what if I told you it’s possible to grow your business without giving up equity or relying on external investors? We grew Neve’s Bees organically, at our own pace – perhaps this might be a good option for you too?

The Allure of External Funding

It’s tempting to take external funding, especially when you’re just starting out. The extra cash can help you expand quickly—hiring staff, developing products, and reaching customers. But here’s the catch: with that funding often comes a loss of control. You might have to answer to investors and share decision-making.

While this path works for some, growing organically—relying on your own profits to fuel growth—can offer long-term sustainability and freedom.

When Neve and I started the business, back in 2017, she was still at school and I was working part-time as a facilitator running workshops for small businesses and business start-ups, so I perhaps knew a bit more about the landscape than most start-ups. However, I was determined that I did not want the stress and responsibility of interest on a bank loan nor a board of investors to answer to.

The Shift in Business Investment

Historically, around 30% of UK businesses relied on external funding, according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). However, with the recent challenges in the economy—rising interest rates, uncertainty, and market shifts—fewer businesses are seeking outside investment. In 2022, only 20% of UK businesses sought external finance, showing a clear trend towards self-financing and organic growth.

There is a train of thought that says businesses need to ‘grow, grow, grow’ and entrepreneurs need to ‘get rich quickly’. Fair enough, if this is your thing…however, it’s not the only way. I continued to work part-time for the first 3 years of running Neve’s Bees, cutting back on household expenditure and investing where we could:

• We hired a professional graphic designer on a day rate basis – much of my spare income went on paying her (and we continue to work with her 8-years later!)
• We invested in an effective, but basic, website (which we’ve since upgraded twice when we had the funds)
• We bought £3,000 worth of gift boxes so we could sell into the lucrative gifting market

What Does “Growing Organically” Mean?

Growing organically means using your profits to reinvest in your business, scaling it at a pace that works for you. This method allows you to maintain full control, avoiding the pressures and compromises that come with outside investors.

Our vision from the start has been to create a range of skincare that is waterless and therefore doesn’t contain the processing chemicals (such as emulsifiers, preservatives, stabilisers etc.) required in ALL water-based creams and lotions. It would have been easy to deviate from this path and join the 99.9% of other skincare products who (basically!) are selling water and chemicals, but I’m determined we stick to our vision – and am very happy that we have had no pressure from a VC or bank to downscale our ambitions and cheapen our products.

How to Grow Organically

Start Small, Think Big: Build a solid foundation first. Test ideas, refine your model, and gradually scale up. When we first started out, we did lots of face-to-face events, watching customers interact with our products, asking them what they liked, what we needed to change, what new products could we launch. We continue to do select events now and this feedback in invaluable.

Reinvest Profits: Use what you earn to fuel your next steps—whether it’s product development or marketing or new gift boxes! I was lucky enough to have a husband who also had a job and could take on more of the household expenses initially. Now we both work in the business

Build Relationships: Focus on customer loyalty. Happy customers will recommend you, helping your business grow sustainably, and from this strong base, it’s easier to grow profitably in the future

Smart, Steady Growth: Avoid rushing. Embrace slow, steady progress and adapt as needed. We’ve never aimed for doubling our sales every year or blowing our competitors out of the water. Instead, using the above principles, we’ve enjoyed steady year on year growth AND really importantly, because we don’t have bank loans, or investors to pay back, we make a good and growing profit!

The Bottom Line

Organic growth isn’t easy, but it allows you to maintain control over your business. It may take longer, but you’re building something sustainable, and arguably more profitable—without giving away your vision.

So, what’s your take on it? Do you prefer organic growth, or is external funding part of your plan? Let us know!

Neve’s Bees creates a range of 100% Natural, Soil Association COSMOS certified natural skincare and gifts. Waterfree and with none of the processing additives in ALL skin creams and lotions, their products are not only kinder on our skin, but kinder on our environment. Their bright and cheerful packaging is recyclable

What’s more, they donate 10% profits to nature recovery causes to bring back the bees and other pollinators

They’re also offering a 15% discount to Woman’s Bible readers for all sales through their website – with code: coup15 https://nevesbees.co.uk/

By Julie Macken

About the author

After graduating with a Chemistry Degree and subsequent MBA, Julie spent 25 years ‘in corporate life’ working in Sales and Marketing for companies including Unilever and GSK. Her ‘aha moment’ came whilst running a marketing workshop in Brazil persuading South Americans to eat plastic-packed frozen chips instead of fresh potato.

Realising there were more fulfilling ways to utilise her skills, Julie founded Neve’s Bees a family skincare business – creating a unique range of waterless skincare, using only natural and sustainable ingredients blended with Oxfordshire beeswax, promoting healthy skin and a healthy eco-system. Following a lifelong passion, Julie is also studying part time for a degree in Traditional Herbal Medicine.

Julie lives in Rural Oxfordshire with her husband, 2 children, 3 cats, 4 hens, 5 beehives, 6-acre wildflower meadow…and Bella the Dog.