How we've helped All You Can Eco

Growth Hub case study

Business overview

All You Can Eco sells a range of refillable store-cupboard essentials and hand-picked, locally made Cornish eco-conscious gifts.

We have this strong business community in Cornwall and that really can be the difference between you taking your business forward or stumbling at the first step. It’s important that you reach out and give yourself that community.

George

How we helped

The owners of a sustainable lifestyle store have been given the tools and knowhow they need to help their business thrive.

George Carter and Lara McShee set up All you Can Eco in Perranporth as a post lockdown venture.

The shop sells a range of refillable store-cupboard essentials but also offers hand-picked Cornish eco-conscious gifts, made by local artists, crafters and producers.

Former lecturer George and Lara, who spent years working in local government, contacted Growth Hub in the early days of their year-old business because they wanted to start out on the right path.

“We knew it was important to get as much help as we could,” said George. “This was a new venture for Lara and me. We bring a wealth of different skills but we needed to harmonise that.”

The pair - who had already built a close working relationship during lockdown – shared a vision to start an eco-friendly store in a place close to the sea. When a shop become available in Perranporth (just 30 minutes before they rang the estate agent to ask about commercial properties in the town) they knew they had to go for it.

“It all came together in a perfect storm,” said George. “It was – without sounding a bit sad – like a cosmic alignment!”

With a building and a workable idea in place, the business partners contacted Growth Hub for support.

“The main thing we got from Growth Hub is that it’s an ideas exchange, it’s meeting people on the same journey,” said George, adding that being an entrepreneur can feel isolating at first. “It’s just having this massive hive of information you can tap into and help you sidestep the pitfalls in life.

“It just gave us that extra support and extra confidence to know that in our business journey, there were other people suffering and succeeding in the same ways.”

As well as advice and information, Growth Hub helped George and Lara to go on a series of courses to help them get to grips with the basics of business, including finances.

“Having had a lot of training with Growth Hub, it’s an invaluable tool to have somebody who’s got your back,” said George, adding that she would recommend Growth Hub to other businesses, however well-established.

“There are so many wonderful aspects you can learn,” she said. “We have this strong business community in Cornwall and that really can be the difference between you taking your business forward or stumbling at the first step. It’s important that you reach out and give yourself that community.”

All You Can Eco already supports more than 45 local firms by stocking their goods or gifts. There are plans to spread the word to even more local suppliers, as well as new customers.

“We’re a year old and we know there will be new challenges ahead,” said George. “We know that the Growth Hub will be there for us and will support us.”

 

 

funders logos

 

 

 

The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub from May 2016 -  June 2023 was part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership.  The project received £2,848,591.49 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. 

Business name All You Can Eco
Website https://allyoucaneco.co.uk/
Contact number 01872 719467
Contact email [email protected]
all you can eco logo
Quote small
It’s just having this massive hive of information you can tap into.