Peter Hake and Andy Whettem started Goodwood Bathrooms back in 1986. From their site in Chichester they manufacture custom-made bathroom, kitchen and bedroom furniture and offer an installation and design service selling directly to business and retail clients. Peter Hake takes time out from his busy schedule to tell us about a typical day at Goodwood's...

6:00am   I live in the Sussex countryside and am fortunate enough to have little bit of land with a small holding, so on a normal day I'm up at around 6am so I have time to help out with the animals before I leave for work. If everything goes to plan I usually get just enough time to get myself ready and have a cup of tea before I leave for work at 7.30am. I live just a short drive away from the showroom and factory, and arrive at work a little before 8am every morning.

 8:00am   I mean it when I say there really is no typical day here but if you had to pin me down on the tasks that need doing my day would go something like this. Generally I'll spend about 15 minutes first thing checking my emails and planning my day or week ahead. We manufacture bespoke bathroom, kitchen and bedroom furniture so we are not a retailer in the traditional sense. Our main business used to be manufacturing furniture for the merchant industry and supplying independent retailers, which we still do, but over the years we have built up a strong consumer client base and do a lot of work on producing and installing furniture for the general public.

 10:00am  The showroom and factory site is based on an industrial site in a rural village just south of Chichester. It's approximately 2,500sq ft and have around 15 displays. Because of the nature of our business and where we're situated, we don't get much walk in off the street business, people tend to hear about us through recommendations or through our national adverts. However, we do get customers in the showroom, but they are generally by appointment only.

 11:00am   My business partner Andy and I make a point of catching up around mid-morning so we both know what's on the agenda for the day ahead. I'm now very involved with running our design projects from the installation aspect so some of my mornings, and afternoons if needs be, are taken up with a consultation appointment at a client's home.

 1 2:00pm   Lunch consists of the sandwich shop's finest, which I always eat on the hoof. We never, ever, take an actual lunch break. It's mad here all of the time, and there's always something more important to do than eat lunch, simple as that really.

 3:00pm   Every meeting with a potential client is different - there is no set format. When we visit a home we take the necessary measurements and get an overall client specification of exactly what they are looking for. Then we prepare CAD drawings and put them together with a full quotation and feedback to the client. This often leads on to more detailed meetings once they have decided whether to go ahead with the project. From placing an order, we aim for a four-week turnaround, with two additional weeks for installation. This has remained the same working practice since we began trading. 

 5:00pm   The site closes at 5pm every evening but business is business and if someone wants to make an appointment for after hours we don't hesitate in staying late. I tend to be here on an average day until about 5.30pm just finishing bits up before heading home. Although, if I'm working out on site or we have an appointment booked in it's a different story altogether. On some occasions I have been known to get home at 10pm.

 6:00pm   I get home by about 6pm on an average working day and after dinner it's a case of taking care of the livestock; walking them and putting them to bed etc. There is always something to do whether I'm at work or home.

 10:00pm   I have a very busy home life and a busy work life and often squeeze over 50 working hours into my week. But not a day goes by where I'm not grateful for what I've got. I'm a keen squash fan so when I am free I try to play. I'm also a big football fan so I try and get to a few games per season. In fact Andy is a season ticket holder at Portsmouth so I go to a few of their home games but my passion is Arsenal and I try to see them at the Emirates when I get the opportunity.