Hebden Design

Business name
Hebden Design Ltd

Location
Thatcham, Berkshire

Your name
Paul Gomm

What does your business do?
Hebden Design Ltd is the home of the LAPDESK - the most versatile and innovative business & leisure folder anyone could ever wish to own.

The Lapdesk is a light weight portable folder which converts into an angled writing surface designed to sit comfortably on your lap - a “Desk for Your Lap”.

Perfect for meetings and when travelling, ideal for wheelchair users who need to take their desk with them and brilliant for keeping children quiet on those long car journeys.

The Lapdesk looks like a neat briefcase and can accommodate most modern laptop computers too. Once “assembled” the angled surface keeps the laptop keyboard at the best angle for comfortable typing, helping to minimise wrist strain.

What is its annual income?
Circa £5,000.

When did you start?
July 2007.

What were you doing before?
I am still a practice manager for a doctors’ surgery, but in my spare time I like to invent useful items to make my life run smoother.

The Lapdesk helped me overcome the perpetual problem of always sitting in uncomfortable positions at meetings just to get my pad of paper at the best angle on which to write.

Now, I simply place my Lapdesk on my lap and it’s unique and innovative internal support system creates the perfect angled surface on which to write, by attaching one side of the folder to the other side - Simple and yet superbly effective.

Wheelchair users also find the Lapdesk’s creation of the “Desk for Your Lap” an invaluable aid. The Lapdesk has an all-round zip which keeps the contents secure and it is easy to use, lightweight and completly portable - take it anywhere!

What made you think of this idea?
Repeatedly sitting uncomfortably in meetings - I found that I had to cross my legs to get my pad of paper at the best angle on which to write.

This is fine until your foot “goes to sleep” and then one usually fidgets for the rest of the meeting trying to achieve a comfortable position in which to sit AND to write.

So, I decided to invent the solution to this problem and ended up creating a solution which also meets many other people’s needs too.

How many people work in the business?
One.

How did you finance the start up?
Mainly from personal savings.

Have you had to refinance?
Not yet - but when people become aware of this unique and versatile product and the business takes off...

What next?
I would like to try to bring the Lapdesk to the attention of as many people as possible - hence I am seeking an investor similar to a BBC “Dragon” who can help me promote this clever yet simple concept and perhaps even share in the success with me!

What tip would you pass on to other home business owners?
Research, plan, execute and above all keep persevering.