Big Interview

CLAIRE INSPIRES

FLEXIBLE WORKING

CLAIRE TUCKER spent many years working for large corporate firms but, like many entrepreneurs, she got the urge to fly solo and launch her own venture. Now she’s the CEO and co-founder of HOMEWORK WORKSPACE, a fully serviced local workspace with all the facilities you’d expect from an office but with all the flexibility you’d have if you worked from home.

Claire says: “I qualified as a chartered accountant and worked for 14 years at PwC, having joined on their graduate scheme. I enjoyed it as it gave me the opportunity to spread my wings. I moved to Australia with PwC before leaving to work for an investment bank. Then I returned to the UK and went back to PwC.

“PwC was a fantastic place to start my career but I didn’t imagine myself being there forever. I reached a tipping point in my career and took a career break in November 2017. At the time, my husband worked for a private equity firm but had also worked at PwC for several years. There we had had the flexibility to work from home but it was difficult because of the distraction of my kids!

That’s when we spotted a gap in the market for a more local, flexible work space and the idea of HomeWork was born in 2018 over a few glasses of wine.

“We felt passionately that the existing co-working offerings didn’t quite hit the mark, particularly in London, and we wanted to do something that would better support individuals and smaller businesses.

“Big co-working sites still require long commutes to central locations and cater better for larger businesses than individuals.

Working from home may lack facilities or feel isolated and working from your local café has inherent limitations.

Fundamentally, for a nation of people who are supposed to be working flexibly, options on where we can work remain limited! With HomeWork, our high street locations make it local and convenient, and desk space is available on an hourly or a monthly basis – and various options in between.

“Fundamentally, for a nation of people who are supposed to be working flexibly, options on where we can work remain limited!

“With HomeWork, our high street locations make it local and convenient, and desk space is available on an hourly or a monthly basis – and various options in between.”

The company currently has two workspaces: one in Putney and another in Southfields. The former opened its doors in 2019, while the latter was operational from last summer.

Claire recalls: “The Putney space was a shell when we first saw it. We scraped some money together and undertook a comprehensive fit-out of the building in 2018 before opening the following year.

“We didn’t undertake a huge marketing campaign. We did some introductory offers and were completely full within five months. It has everything you need: a dedicated workstation, Wifi, private phone booths, meeting rooms and complimentary filter coffee and tea.

“It’s only £4 an hour or £20 a day to sit at your desk, so it’s affordable for micro-businesses and freelancers. Since covid we’re accommodating a lot more corporate employees as well now that so many are working remotely. Essentially, we can cater for everyone who works at a desk!” Southfields has a similar offering although with 5,800 sq ft of space it’s three times larger than Putney. Claire and her 20-strong team of staff are planning to open a third site in Fulham Broadway this spring and a fourth site in south west London is also in the pipeline.

“COVID has helped our business in that it accelerated the move to hybrid working,” says Claire. “Staff often don’t want to work from home for large chunks of the week and instead want an affordable, convenient space where they can carry out their day jobs. People who’ve enjoyed flexibility in the pandemic want to retain that flexibility. For employers, the hybrid model appeals because it allows them to save money on rent and rates. Also, they can’t be heavy handed about getting people back into the office five days a week because nowadays staff will leave to work for a company that offers more flexibility.

“In the future I’d love to expand geographically and get a decent foothold in the south of England. We’re also recruiting in advance of the opening of the Fulham Broadway site.

“I’ve always been a hard worker and I am passionate about what I’m doing. This passion rubs off on my staff, who are all super-engaged in what we’re trying to achieve. I firmly believe that local workspaces are the future for all of us and I’m excited to see where this journey takes us.”

the inside story:

Favourite food?

Wagamama takeaway – edamame, gyozas and yaki udon!

Favourite tipple?

A cold glass of pale rose. Favourite holiday?

An amazing little guest house in Tuscany called Locanda Al Colle. We went there on our honeymoon and my husband is taking me back there later this year for our ten-year wedding anniversary. I also love skiing!

Describe your family life?

I live in Earlsfield with my husband Sam, two children, Jack (8) and Isabel (6), and a puppy, Tilly (a fox red Labrador). Family life is hectic and noisy! It’s also lots of fun; my children go to the local primary school which is a few minutes’ walk from our house so life is generally centred around the school day. We spend the weekends walking the dog, seeing friends and family (lots of whom live very close) and running around between various clubs or birthday parties!

How do you spend your downtime?

Downtime? What’s that?!

What are your key strengths as a manager?

Having loads of energy and passion, always being receptive and empathetic, and getting stuck in with absolutely everything.

And your limitations?

Getting stuck in with absolutely everything! I have a brilliant, infinitely capable team; I need to let go a bit more.

Best thing about doing business in the borough?

I particularly love the local business community and I’m delighted to have a business that can support this community.

Famous person you’d most like to spend dinner with?

Adele. I reckon she’d have a few stories to tell and would be a great laugh on a night out!

Most interesting fact about yourself?

I trained as a ski instructor in my twenties. I also have an art foundation in fashion design which I did after my degree in maths and before I started my graduate job as a chartered accountant. email: georgie@homeworkworkspace.com claire@homeworkworkspace.com website: www.homeworkworkspace.com tel: 020 8051 6980