Our drunken idea became a £3,000,000 business — then she learnt the devastating truth

Grieving while running a business is the hardest thing Caroline has done (Picture: Caroline Gowing) Listen to article Listen to article Your browser does not support the audio element. While on maternity leave and spending time with her child at a local swimming pool, Caroline Gowing, 52, from Cheshire, met a woman that would change her life. Vicky Matthews was there swimming with her child on maternity leave, too. They were both in their 30s, became very close friends, realised they had plenty in common, revelled in both being ‘organisers’ in their social circles, and eventually lamented at how their skills weren’t being utilised as best as they could in the workplace – being a working mother is no easy feat when flexibility feels like a dirty word. And so, they began talking about a business idea together. On a drunken New Year’s Eve, the pair started plotting possible ideas. Fresh into 2009 – with Caroline newly out of a six month contract, and Vicky on the verge of taking voluntary redundancy – they went away and started researching for what would go on to be an award winning virtual assistant company, Pink Spaghetti. Vicky and Caroline together (Picture: Caroline Gowing) ‘We had the same vision,’ Caroline tells Metro.co.uk. Once decided, they both put in £2,000 each – yes, as little as that – and used it for their website set up and logo costs. They didn’t take any loans or grants, and started the business working out of a play barn answering emails on their personal phones. Today, the business is worth £3million and has 50 franchises across the UK. ‘We wanted to be there to bring up our children, but we’re also really capable people who wanted a career and starting a business gave us that opportunity,’ Caroline says. As their business started to grow, they decided to see a business coach and realised their working styles were completely different – and they hadn’t spotted that before. Vicky loved the networking, marketing and people side of the business, and Caroline was much more comfortable with a spreadsheet in a dark room. The coach called her a ‘mushroom’. This then informed how they went about work – previously, they both would do a bit of everything, but after this call they divided duties up. When they started playing to these strengths, the business took off. Staff at Pink Spaghetti (Picture: Caroline Gowing) Playing to personal skills and getting complimentary people together is how Caroline likes all of her franchises to work. Alongside the extreme effort that went into growing the business, she also says it was partly down to ‘luck’. But things changed. In 2023, Vicky tragically died from a brain tumour. The lead up to her death was sudden – she and Caroline were on holiday together, and seemingly out of nowhere, Vicky was struggling to speak. After going to A&E, thinking she might be having a stroke, she was given the devastating news that she had brain cancer. Less than two years later she had passed away. ‘It has been the biggest challenge of my life,’ Caroline says. Not only was there the personal grief and loss to process, Caroline now had to be the face of the company and take on the work Vicky had previously excelled at. A self-professed photo-hater, Caroline recognised she needed to embrace change in order for the business to continue. ‘The face of the brand was Vicky. To come out of that in grief has been hard. But, I have developed as a person, I look at things differently, I answer things differently,’ she says. Personal and professional had been very much blended. ‘We walked a lot to talk about business. I’d talk to her about my husband, my family, and what’s going on. Everything was turned upside down.’ Caroline says she wouldn’t have ever started her business if she’d gone into it alone. Three months after Vicky’s death, she even contemplated giving it up. But legacy, responsibility and finances kept her going – to Vicky, staff, and herself. ‘I can’t afford to give up work. And I love doing this, so if I give it up, what do I do?’, Caroline remembers thinking. Caroline has grown and challenged herself (Picture: Caroline Gowing) ‘I’m a business owner through and through nowadays, so the thought of going and working for someone else… I don’t know if I could do that.’ She also believes it’s never wise to make a big decision while in a state of grief. ‘Our business model is all about playing to people’s strengths. We work with a lot of small businesses, and for people to outsource the tasks they don’t like doing or have time for. This helps them grow a business. ‘By doing that within our own business it’s helped us grow ours, and we always said we would never start on our own so that’s why the franchise model works really well for us as no one has to do it on their own.’ Caroline is passionate about her staff being supported and working with what they’re good at, just as she and Vicky had done. She’s relieved she continued their hard work – and that today the business keeps on growing.