1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,720 Hello and welcome to another episode, the Winning with 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:07,400 Shopify podcast. For anyone who's watching you 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:09,720 before, my name is Nick and I don't always wear this bright 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:11,720 pink T-shirt, but it does have our logo on. 5 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,200 How exciting. If you're just listening, I'm 6 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,280 wearing a bright pink T-shirt with our logo on. 7 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,680 Today I've got a really awesome special guest. 8 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,440 We're continuing the series of talking to small solo preneurs, 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,600 solo entrepreneurs. They're one person businesses 10 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:28,560 with a few other people helping is that is the thing. 11 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,119 And all of them have made their money and made their name 12 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,320 through TikTok, Instagram and other social platforms. 13 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,200 So some really, really good insights. 14 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,240 Certainly for some of the bigger businesses that are like, we 15 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,320 should be posting on TikTok. TikTok, everybody's making 16 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,040 millions. No, they're not. 17 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:44,480 But some people are doing really successfully. 18 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:46,760 So we're talking to them to get you guys some advice. 19 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,360 As always on this piece of paper here I have the most incredible 20 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,040 list of things we've covered. Just before I read out my list 21 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,320 of things for this week's episode, please check out the 22 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,480 Growth Hub, wwspodcast.com and click the button for Growth Hub. 23 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,880 Join our community. Our community is amazing and 24 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:02,280 everybody is chatting away and we've launched a new platform, 25 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,760 which is super exciting. I'm actually recording this 26 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,800 before we launched the platform as well. 27 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,840 So I'm putting pressure on myself, giving myself a deadline 28 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,320 to make sure that the new platform is out before this 29 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:13,920 episode goes out, which I'm sure we can achieve. 30 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:15,840 We'd love to meet you. It's completely free to join. 31 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:16,960 There's tons of other brands in there. 32 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:19,800 There are no agencies or anything apart from myself, but 33 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,040 it's an opportunity in forum for you guys, talk about some of 34 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,240 your challenges, discuss things going on, and we're also 35 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,240 bringing guests to roundtable sessions as well. 36 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,040 So please go and get involved. If you haven't already, sign up 37 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,400 to our e-mail list as well. I don't often talk about e-mail, 38 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,200 but you go to www.podcast.com, sign up to our newsletter and if 39 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,080 you haven't already, hit subscribe button and leave us a 40 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,400 review. Anyway, these have been becoming 41 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,200 quite popular. I'm getting quite a few messages 42 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,320 and DMS and other stuff across our channel saying, Nick, I love 43 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,800 your intro list. Can we see a version of Naked 44 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,560 Selfie Man, who was one of the customers of my guest George 45 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,040 from Snaffling Pig a few weeks ago? 46 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,640 No, you can't. I don't want to see it either, 47 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,040 but these are becoming more and more funny. 48 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:57,800 Today we've got nothing quite as funny as that. 49 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,520 But my guest, she did mention that Bianca is the lady I 50 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,360 interviewed and she did mention it before we hit record anyway 51 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:06,040 and laughed. So she said she's going to make 52 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:07,000 sure she doesn't mention any of it. 53 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,320 So I made a point of mentioning it in this anyway, I've spoken 54 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,640 far too much about this guy anyway. 55 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:15,240 We spoke about bath bombs, giving into customer demands 56 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,400 versus what you want to do and showing how it's made videos, 57 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,760 how you can use cat videos to sell products on TikTok and 58 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,840 Instagram process videos. Again, a bit kind of like how 59 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,120 it's made, but actually how things are done, how you work as 60 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,360 a business that how to bring across a good value of product 61 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,760 to customers. So much more than just going the 62 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,400 features and functions of this product and the price bringing 63 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,080 real value to it through social media and how now she went viral 64 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,920 painting her ceiling in her house and how she sets her 65 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,880 pricing. Instagram being bigger than 66 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,880 TikTok. It's not something you hear 67 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:49,440 every day. I was quite shocked. 68 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,520 She said some really good points on it though, so make sure you 69 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,640 stay tuned in for that. Balancing being creative with 70 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,720 all of the back office stuff like managing tax and systems 71 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,360 and replying to customers, etcetera, etcetera. 72 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,320 Once she gets to 1,000,000 views, she starts to do 73 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,480 something different in how she manages the comments on videos 74 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,600 as well. And also, I asked her right at 75 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,560 the end, how are you evolving to scale up what you're doing at 76 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,640 the moment? And what she said was quite the 77 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:14,120 opposite of what I was expecting. 78 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:15,120 So make sure you stay tuned for that. 79 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,400 I hope you enjoy today's episode. 80 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,400 So Bianca, welcome to the show. How are you? 81 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:22,080 I'm good. How are you, Nick? 82 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,800 Yes, very well, thank you. Very, very well. 83 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,280 It is officially turning into winter here in the Uki don't 84 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,320 know how cold it is for you where where you're based. 85 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,400 It's getting colder, but it's actually taking a lot longer 86 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:34,920 than I thought it would, which is nice. 87 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:36,920 Yeah, yeah. I mean, when they say it was 88 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,560 going to be global warming, I've been quite surprised how cold 89 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,800 it's been getting, certainly in the Northern Hemisphere, but. 90 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,080 You know, it's just weather changing everywhere, yeah. 91 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,360 Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And there's certainly plenty of 92 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:50,240 weather disasters that have been going on the last few weeks and 93 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:51,720 months. So yeah, we're counting 94 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,320 ourselves lucky where we're based at the moment. 95 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,200 And yeah, thoughts, thoughts and prayers going out to those guys. 96 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,480 But anyway, we're going to talk about Shopify and talk about 97 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,040 your business. So why don't you give a little 98 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,040 background to yourself what business you run and how you got 99 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,840 into it in the first place? So my business is called Bella's 100 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,200 Botanicals. It actually started as a bath 101 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,880 bomb business, which I'll go into a little bit later, but I 102 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,279 make nature inspired polymer clay and resin earrings. 103 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,160 Polymer clay isn't like the usual clay you would work with 104 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:21,880 or you would think of like with ceramics. 105 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:26,080 It's actually a plastic based clay with plasticizers in it, 106 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,320 which makes it soft and then once it is baked, it's cured and 107 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,080 that's when it becomes a solid form. 108 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:36,840 So I make a lot of miniatures. I like making clay canes. 109 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:41,040 So like butterfly designs that you kind of like slice. 110 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,320 Have you ever seen those candies that have the design all the way 111 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,480 through? Yes, I have all you. 112 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,040 Know, like watch those fun video. 113 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:49,840 Yeah, yeah, it's like that with the clay. 114 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,880 Amazing. So I do a lot of that too. 115 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,560 Like I made these cherries if you're watching the video. 116 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,680 But yeah, I started in April of 2022 and it's just kind of 117 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:04,360 turned into this whole handmade business mixed with being a 118 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,480 content creator. So doing a lot of partnerships 119 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,680 with brands now to kind of supplement my income. 120 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,480 Amazing, amazing. And I'm going to ask you a 121 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,640 massive question. I don't normally dive in this 122 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,880 deep this quickly, but how on earth do you take something that 123 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,120 you love doing something you're passionate about, especially 124 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,160 something creative, and actually start paying bills with it? 125 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:24,800 Like how does it become a business? 126 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:26,440 How do you start generating some revenue from that? 127 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,240 Or how did you you do it in your story? 128 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:36,360 It's very hard, especially with all the additional taxes when 129 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,840 you're self-employed and all the fees and material costs. 130 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,200 And I did not make any profit for the first year that I 131 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,440 started. In fact, I went into debt. 132 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,600 But at that point I was so determined to make it work. 133 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,400 So it wasn't about until year in and that was only because I was 134 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,760 doing well on social media, which then marketed what I was 135 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,480 making really well. Amazing, amazing. 136 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:01,680 And I can certainly relate to that. 137 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,760 I yeah, I clocked up a few credit card debts and overdrafts 138 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,720 and stuff when I was starting my business. 139 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,040 And I remember my mom sort of saying to me like, we'll pay 140 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:10,800 off, pay all this off and get you home. 141 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,720 And, you know, you don't have to pay rent anymore and everything 142 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,520 else, but just give it one more go. 143 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,680 And I don't know if it was the same for you, but in that state 144 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,840 of desperation, it was almost, I actually think, if I'm brutally 145 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:21,880 honest, I think it was my pride that pushed me through. 146 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,760 It was like just the thought of failure. 147 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,600 I was like, no, I'm not done with this. 148 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:27,960 And it was like, just do anything I had to to get 149 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,200 revenue. I don't know if you hit a sort 150 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,000 of similar place and then something you never forget, you 151 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,320 know, you kind of continue riding that adrenaline almost 152 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,400 indefinitely. Yeah, my mom was actually very. 153 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,520 She questioned what I was doing as well. 154 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,480 It's funny, but they're really looking out for you all the 155 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:43,880 time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 156 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,960 But yeah, I didn't really, I didn't ever think I was going to 157 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:49,560 be selling jewelry in the 1st place. 158 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,640 And so the fact that I, I realized I could make it a 159 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,360 business and I could possibly make a living off of it really 160 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,680 kind of set a fire under my butt. 161 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,040 Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. 162 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:04,920 And I think when you've got a bill to pay and you're like, 163 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,280 I've got no money and it's like, but I do have products like I 164 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,680 just need to ship them. Suddenly you find the motivation 165 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,520 to be incredibly creative and almost go do you know I I don't 166 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:16,440 know if you've had this, it'd be interesting to find out kind of 167 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:17,600 how you put your brand and things. 168 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,600 But did you find it was almost AI almost don't care what I'm 169 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,240 making, how it looks. I just need to sell some stuff, 170 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,160 which actually is a really healthy place from a business 171 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,640 perspective to be in of I just need to make things that people 172 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:29,560 want. Did you, did you find that was 173 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,200 part of your branding journey or actually did you go actually 174 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,080 there are some key principles that I'm not willing to 175 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,080 negotiate on here. I definitely wasn't willing to 176 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,680 negotiate a lot of it since a lot of it or all of it is 177 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,400 handmade. So I would be putting hours of 178 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,880 my time into making it with my own hands and make something I 179 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:48,280 don't want to make is just kind of awful. 180 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,480 But at the same time, I want to listen to what your customers 181 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,920 want. And so I do, and still now to 182 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,520 this day, ask them what they really want to see me make and 183 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,040 then kind of put my own twist on it. 184 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,040 So I still enjoy it and it's still something they really 185 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,400 want. Yeah, and I really like that 186 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,160 link. So you're kind of mixing up both 187 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:07,800 worlds. Like the customer's got a need 188 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:12,320 or let's be Morris more, more Morris like a want as opposed to 189 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,560 it just being a need. But they've got a want and a 190 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,080 desire. And I think you put in your own 191 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,360 spin. I think it's a bit like the, I 192 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,840 mean, Henry Ford famously said you can have whatever color you 193 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,440 want, but it's black, you know, like we know what you want. 194 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,480 We're the car manufacturer. We're the experts here, but 195 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,640 actually it's got to start from something you kind of want. 196 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,280 And then that's what marketing and sales is, is we bring you to 197 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,640 actually what we want to sell and it becomes a win, win and 198 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,600 you buy it at the end of that. But yeah, I mean, do you find 199 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,280 you still get to put an enormous amount of your own creativity 200 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,240 into it or do you find sometimes you do get almost like a brief 201 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,760 or customers are all saying, we really want this, you know, all 202 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,440 right, fine, I'll give in to the demands and make make that 203 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,160 product if people say they want it. 204 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,080 I definitely give in to demands a lot, especially if it's 205 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:56,920 something I've made in the past and a lot of people have been 206 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,200 asking about it coming back for like a year. 207 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,560 Like with the cherry earrings that I'm wearing right now, 208 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,040 they've been like one of the most popular things I've made. 209 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:11,160 So yeah, I give in and I still enjoy it, but there's definitely 210 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,400 times when I'm working on something and it does feel more 211 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,560 like a job in that sense. Like it's a little harder to get 212 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,600 through it. But for the most part, I make 213 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:27,160 what I want inspired by what everyone else that follows along 214 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,040 with what I make wants. That's cool, that's cool. 215 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,160 And I guess if you just did exactly what they asked for, 216 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,200 there'd be no point in asking you in the 1st place because 217 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:37,840 make it themselves or just order it from a factory somewhere 218 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,200 rather than having that personal touch and also that that 219 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,520 connection with you. And how powerful would you say 220 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,720 that connection is actually then being able to engage with the 221 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,520 the individual creative person actually making the product. 222 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:51,800 You know how powerful is that for your business? 223 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,280 I think it's so powerful, I mean, because then they get to 224 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,880 feel kind of like they're part of it as well, because they are. 225 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,840 And I have so many repeat customers, like people who order 226 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,120 from every single collection drop that I do on my website and 227 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:06,920 some of these people I'm in contact with. 228 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,760 So we'll just like, keep up with each other through DMS or 229 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,640 emails. So yeah, there's such a strong 230 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:14,400 connection. I think it's very important, 231 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,880 especially for art. Like you are buying this art 232 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,440 because you love it, but also because you probably enjoy the 233 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,720 artist behind it. Yeah, yeah. 234 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,960 And I think the story is as important as the end product, 235 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:26,720 isn't it? And that's, I think when I was 236 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,040 younger and went to art galleries or looked at stuff 237 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,600 that people have made, just looking at it, I'd be like, 238 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:33,360 there's nothing particularly special about that. 239 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,800 Or it's kind of creative, but a machine could make that. 240 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:37,640 And it's always that. It's always the story that 241 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,080 really reads into life. It's the like, actually this 242 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,000 person was going through this in their life and this was their 243 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,880 way of like dealing with it was actually creating something or 244 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:47,600 making something. And that's thought, you know, 245 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,400 that's one of a billion examples of a story where actually, I 246 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:51,560 think it's really, really powerful. 247 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,160 So I guess another potentially quite tough question, but 248 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,320 something that you must be dealing with regularly is how do 249 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,160 you bring that story to life when it's just there's only so 250 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,200 many pixels on a screen that you can control? 251 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,400 You know, how do you actually bring that story to life to 252 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,240 people? So they buy into you, buy into 253 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:09,720 the product, buy into your business. 254 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:14,720 I think it's, it's definitely a combination of what I put in my 255 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,800 captions and posts, or I'll do certain videos that have voice 256 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,200 overs that kind of give like a little background behind 257 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,480 everything that I put into this, all the thoughts I put into it, 258 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,960 how many different drafts I went through for it. 259 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,320 And then I also interact with people on my story. 260 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,680 So it's just like finding so many different ways to interact 261 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:36,400 with people and let them know what I'm making and how I got to 262 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,160 this. Yeah. 263 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,520 Nice, nice. And it's such a powerful age to 264 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,080 be alive. I think to be able to just like 265 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,920 hit record and within a few minutes actually have some in 266 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:47,080 the same way we're recording this now. 267 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,400 Like we suddenly got something that to, you know, to some 268 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:51,520 people is really interesting and to others is so powerful 269 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:52,840 actually of going, do you know what? 270 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,160 That's it. I'm going to build a business 271 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,320 out the thing that I've been passionate about before and 272 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,280 listening to your story. But it doesn't kind of stop 273 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,760 there, does it? You've got, you've got half a 274 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,360 million followers, I think across social at the moment that 275 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,800 given that you've only been running, what, 2 1/2 years, just 276 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:09,720 say April 20, two, 2 1/2 years until now. 277 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,360 How have you grown such an audience in such a short space 278 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:19,480 of time? OK, so definitely the main 279 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,840 answer is process videos. Have you heard of the show? 280 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,960 How it's made actually? Yes, Yeah, yeah of. 281 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,560 Course I loved that show so much. 282 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,360 Watching like milk bottles being filled up in a factory and 283 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,080 you're like that's how they get milk from a cow to a bottle to 284 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:34,160 my house. That makes sense though. 285 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,000 And I don't think a lot of people realize how much time 286 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,720 goes behind. Just like basic things, basic 287 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,560 everyday things. But also everyone's so 288 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,480 interested in it too, I think. At least I am. 289 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:52,200 Yeah. So I, I looked at creators that 290 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,160 were similar to me or artists that were similar to me and 291 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,000 basically took their video style and made it into my own with my 292 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,800 own creations. And I also started a TikTok 293 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,080 account for our cats. We have 3 cats and it's, it did 294 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:10,640 really well. And that's when I was like, oh, 295 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,160 I could actually maybe do an online business and this is how 296 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,400 it would market it without paying for ads, which would be 297 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,080 like a huge amount of money that I just, I didn't have to spend. 298 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,240 So process videos helped me grow so quickly. 299 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,800 And the first summer that I started growing, I think I grew 300 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:32,960 like 80,000 in the summer or 100,000, which is terrifying by 301 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,960 the way. It's much nicer to have a slow 302 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:36,800 burn, but I'm really happy it happened too. 303 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:39,280 Yeah, of. Course. 304 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,240 But yeah, process video, sorry, you go ahead. 305 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,760 No, I was just going to say like I used to. 306 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:45,360 So I used to have a YouTube channel years ago. 307 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:46,760 Don't bother looking for it anyone. 308 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,520 I used to blog Rd. trips I was doing around Europe in a bus I 309 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,600 bought. But I remember like saying to a 310 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,600 friend of mine in the earlier days and I was like, I've only 311 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,200 got like 5000 views like hardly. I was watching this thing and he 312 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:00,200 was like, no, no, imagine 5000 people every day. 313 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,280 I was doing daily video, sitting down and watching that thing and 314 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,000 suddenly it was like, OK, I'm missing a trick. 315 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,720 And I sometimes use that example to clients to say when they say, 316 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,880 oh, we've only had like 1000 people on our website in the 317 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:12,720 last week. I'm like, OK, but 1000 people 318 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,280 dropped in. Only two purchased. 319 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,000 And it's, you know, small numbers at the moment, but those 320 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,920 998, we need to get in their heads. 321 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,120 We need to get in their heads quickly. 322 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,000 Why didn't? It because they're interested. 323 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,240 Exactly what did they learn from the advert they didn't get from 324 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,880 the website or what's not convincing to purchase or do 325 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:30,720 they need to come back later and we need to fax that into our 326 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,240 customer journey. But so to interrupt you. 327 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,720 But yeah, just like that, imagining that audience, 100,000 328 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,640 people, like as you say, it kind of boomed quickly. 329 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,480 But like, it's terrifying when you picture like, that's a 330 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,200 massive baseball stadium for the people. 331 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:45,480 Yeah, no, the moment when I hit 100,000, I was sitting with my 332 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,840 boyfriend and I was just like, this is kind of crazy. 333 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,840 And he's like, yeah, you realize that is 100,000 actual humans. 334 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,880 And I was like, oh, oh, no, I don't want to think about that 335 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,240 quite yet. But yeah, that's a lot. 336 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,040 Yeah, yeah. And tell you it's fascinating 337 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,360 then that you've used. And I'm more of a cat than a dog 338 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:04,800 person. So soon as you say cats, my 339 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,040 heart warms up slightly and I love dogs, but cats, I just. 340 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,760 Yeah, I love cats to bits. I can see you looking to see if 341 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:11,960 one's. Around and I'm surprised there's 342 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,440 not one in here right now. It's yeah, yeah. 343 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,120 But I think certainly with cat videos, it's something people 344 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,600 are really interested in. But how do you go from like, 345 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,920 here's a cute cat to then like, here's a product like, how did 346 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:30,080 you start to bridge that gap? Realizing that, I mean through 347 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,880 these cute videos, I would do like I would set up obstacles 348 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,240 for them or give them a new toy or a treat. 349 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,800 And I realized that once people see my cats enjoying this thing, 350 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,280 they are interested in getting it for their cat. 351 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,560 And so it's like them seeing what their life or what their 352 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,680 cat could experience and enjoy. But I didn't really go that 353 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,920 approach with my business because process videos really 354 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,960 they add value because you're you're showing the whole process 355 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,880 and you realize how much work is put behind something. 356 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,600 But they're also educational, which then draws in other 357 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,960 artists or small business owners who are doing something similar. 358 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,280 And that is why it's so such a valuable video. 359 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,920 And that's why it can grow an account so quickly. 360 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:18,040 Yeah, yeah. And I think it's well, like 361 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,000 something that sprung to mind that I think is really, really 362 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,160 key here. And there's someone who works in 363 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,520 PPC and SEO, you know, my entire career, like nearly nearly 20 364 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:30,480 years, I, I find that one of the toughest things we have really 365 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,920 is bringing value to customer or explaining the value of a 366 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,720 product. But I don't know why I didn't 367 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,600 think of this sooner when we've been looking at this series of 368 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:41,160 episodes we're doing with people like yourself. 369 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,960 But that kind of how it's made the process of creating the 370 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,120 product, the behind the scenes, the value of product when you're 371 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,440 then holding it in your hand as a customer, it must be 372 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,560 infinitely higher than just that's a nice pair of sunglasses 373 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,280 add to basket purchase and they cost me $40. 374 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,000 And when they break, they break and I buy another set and it's 375 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:02,640 the whole kind of waste culture kicks in. 376 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,079 It's so different. It must be so different for the 377 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:07,720 customers when they actually seen the product or even if it's 378 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,960 not the same one that you that they've bought, that they've 379 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,240 seen you make. But just seeing you make 380 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,160 something go, wow, she puts so much effort into this item. 381 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,800 The value of that item now is like, you know, whether you're 382 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,920 charging kind of 20 to $40 or something per product, the value 383 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,760 must be astronomical to them of going, yeah, I found this lady 384 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:26,240 online. She makes them herself. 385 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:28,680 They're so cool. It must also lead to a lot of 386 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,440 like referrals from existing customers to new customers. 387 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:33,920 They must tell their friends and say, oh, especially when 388 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:38,080 Halloween massive in it's big in the UK, it's huge in the US and 389 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:40,360 Canada. So like must be a big thing for 390 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,960 you guys where like people see stuff and go, oh, where did you 391 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:44,640 get that from? And next thing you know, you're, 392 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:46,520 you're getting emails from people saying like, oh, my 393 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:48,080 friend had these. I can't see them on the website. 394 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,320 Can I get a similar set? Are you making any more? 395 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,040 Yeah, yeah, it happens a lot because as soon as someone asks, 396 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,960 they're like, Oh yeah, this is where I got it. 397 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,040 This is how she did this little part on it. 398 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,880 And you can go watch the videos or yeah. 399 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,920 And I'm going to talk a little bit more about kind of there's 400 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,040 much we talk about like the product and the process and 401 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:09,760 social and stuff on this. I want to talk a little bit 402 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,680 about how you feel or how you felt through this journey as 403 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,760 well, because it must have been so rewarding. 404 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,920 Going back to my very first question of like, how did you, 405 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,000 how do you go from creating, you know, creating stuff and 406 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 enjoying that as a passion to then making a business out of 407 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,360 it? But how rewarding is it for you? 408 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:27,800 And, and I guess I don't know if you've run any other businesses, 409 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,840 but you it must feel so much more rewarding than someone like 410 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,000 myself who just went on Alibaba one night, purchased the crate 411 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,080 of stuff from China and started trying to sell it. 412 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,640 Oh, it's so rewarding. I mean, I, I mentioned earlier, 413 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,200 I started my business as a bath bomb business because I didn't 414 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,320 think anyone would be interested in buying handmade jewelry that 415 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,120 I made. So the fact that that is what 416 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:54,040 took off and that's what I really enjoyed was just huge to 417 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,920 me. And I because of it, I found a 418 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:00,560 community of people that were like me both online and locally 419 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,400 that I could help and also receive help from kind of just 420 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,920 like a really good support system. 421 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:13,560 And also now I can work from home and have time to see my 422 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,080 family and friends and make it to a like big events that maybe 423 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,840 I couldn't before, or I can call out of work when I'm really sick 424 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:25,280 because I'm my own boss. So yeah, it's it's really 425 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,040 rewarding. I work more than I ever have in 426 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,560 my life, definitely. But it's for me. 427 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,560 Yeah. So it's, yeah, it's very. 428 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:35,960 Nice. Yeah, yeah, it's so much more 429 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:37,360 rewarding I think as well. When? 430 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:39,400 Yeah, when you get up in the morning and go. 431 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:40,920 I'm going to start two hours early. 432 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,920 I'm going to finish late tonight and I didn't, I don't do it 433 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:45,960 regularly. My non negotiable is 5:00 PM. 434 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,440 In fact, we're finishing recording this episode at 5:00 435 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,480 PM and I've got about two 2 emails to send quickly, which 436 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,560 will take me two minutes and I'm out of that door. 437 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,120 So I kind of start early. But 5:00 PM I cut off. 438 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,560 I have to have an evening. I have to spend time with my 439 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,120 wife or actually it kind of throws me. 440 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:02,640 But but at the same time, being an entrepreneur, being your own 441 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,920 boss, it's not for everyone. Some people really struggle, I 442 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,400 think with the self motivation and yeah, and actually just you 443 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,640 have to be so organized as well. And we'll talk about that a 444 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:11,480 little bit more as we go through. 445 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,960 But yeah, certainly having that free time, but also I think 446 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,960 working more. But you know, you know the 447 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,120 rewards are coming. Going into your, your heart and 448 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:21,080 your bank account and those are the two reasons anybody goes to 449 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,320 work in the, you know, every day is actually the rewarding side 450 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:25,800 of it. But also like there are bills to 451 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,520 pay at the same time. So you've got 100,000 followers 452 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,120 at this point. You mentioned about selling bath 453 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,840 bombs first as well. How did things unfold? 454 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,360 That was the first kind of, I think you said 6 to 9 months or 455 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:39,040 whatever. How did things unfold after 456 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:40,680 that? Like what's the next step in the 457 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,400 in the journey? Well, the bath bombs didn't do 458 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,600 very well, which was funny because I put like 3 months of 459 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,800 research into them. I, I made my own recipes. 460 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,720 So I had so many bath bombs that we just are still getting 461 00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:01,040 through two years later. But so then I launched my 462 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:05,000 website in April and I was, I was building up to it on social 463 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,600 media and and making posts to let people know. 464 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,360 So I had a little bit of a following but just like a couple 465 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:13,320 100 people and the earrings to better. 466 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:18,920 So then about six months in I had my first video that was 467 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,880 jewelry related go viral. The one I had before that was me 468 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,880 painting my ceiling. It was like a 5 second video on 469 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:27,960 TikTok and I was like why this? Why? 470 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:35,840 So I finally had a jewelry video go viral and this was probably 471 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:43,480 like very early spring of 2023. Then that would have been a 472 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:44,600 year. I don't know when this was. 473 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,000 I think it was about six months in. 474 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,320 I had my first video go viral and my website sold out and I 475 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:53,040 maybe had like 20 things on there. 476 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,400 Everything was priced way too low because I don't understand 477 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:58,320 how I should price things correctly yet. 478 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,480 And I made like $300.00 in a day. 479 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,360 And I remember looking at calling my boyfriend and saying, 480 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:08,800 oh OK, I can do this for a living making $300.00. 481 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,720 I'll just live off of that. It'll be fine. 482 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:17,320 But the only reason I was able to leave my job at where I was 483 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,320 working was a brewery was because I was able to get into a 484 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:26,080 bunch of markets, local markets that I knew could support me 485 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,280 through the summer. And if I didn't grow more online 486 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:33,040 before winter, then I would go back to working in the brewery. 487 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:39,080 And I just took off online that summer and was. 488 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:41,320 Able to continue. Yeah. 489 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:42,000 Yeah. Amazing. 490 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,440 Amazing. And it, it is scary, isn't it? 491 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,680 Even if you've got all the proof in the world, like quitting your 492 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,800 day job for the first time, it's it can be terrifying. 493 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,640 But do you ever find that in your warehouse you have dead 494 00:22:52,680 --> 00:23:38,440 stock. When you say viral in a ceiling 495 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,120 painting video, I loved your comment of like, why that video? 496 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,200 What I guess in your experience, I know you kind of 10 1/2 years 497 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,400 into this, in your experience, like what, what determines do 498 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,200 you think that like to make a video go viral on kind of 499 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,080 Instagram, TikTok? What what where do you think the 500 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,360 algorithm goes? Like, OK, this is some really 501 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:00,120 good content. I'm going to push it to 502 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:03,640 everybody. Well, you know, sometimes I have 503 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,160 no idea, but. Me neither. 504 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,120 I think most of the time it's when you have something that's 505 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:11,840 really eye-catching in the start. 506 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,400 Like sometimes I like to start my process videos just like in 507 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,880 the middle of a process. So just grab someone's attention 508 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,360 or I put a title on it. I think with the ceiling 509 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:24,360 painting video, it was because I'm, you know, the views from 510 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:28,800 like below and it's looking up at me and I was just painting 511 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,320 it. I had these taped lines on my 512 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,440 ceiling because I painted like a bunch of different colors going 513 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,840 up onto it. So it was just like a weird 514 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:40,160 thing to see. And it was a short video. 515 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,280 I meant to post it as a story on TikTok. 516 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,320 And because of that, I, I think that's why I took off. 517 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,160 It was short. It was a weird angle to start 518 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,000 from and people were like, what the heck's going on? 519 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,400 And so they stayed, and that just pushed it to a bunch of 520 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,520 people. Yeah, yeah, I've certainly been 521 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,880 sold to by loads of videos going like, hey, you can make your 522 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,840 grass look really cool and the edges by trimming them like 523 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:02,080 this. And I'm like, I need that 524 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,520 product or like, I'm going to try that with my strimmer, see 525 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,680 what I can see what results I can get on the grass in the 526 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:08,560 garden. But yeah, I think, I think 527 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,520 people, I think it's going back to what you said earlier, people 528 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,240 are fascinated by how it's made, like where things actually come 529 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,680 from. I also love those. 530 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,000 I don't know if you've seen them recently, but just reminded me 531 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,640 of the where you put they put stuff in hydraulic presses. 532 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,320 So they put like a load of Skittles in and then they press 533 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,840 them and all these like this rainbow just pops out as 534 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,440 Skittles. And stuff and. 535 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,560 People are fascinated, but they always build it up, don't they? 536 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,280 It's always like Skittles, hydraulic press, down it goes 537 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,840 and then it cuts and it's like, hey, it's such and such 538 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:36,400 laboratories. We're doing this, this and this 539 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,720 and you're like trying to. Skip, I would be so mad. 540 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:41,760 No, OK. I don't like that marketing. 541 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,640 No, it works, but it is it works. 542 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,040 Frustrating. But yes, but I'm like, I want to 543 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,600 see that being squished, you know? 544 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,560 Yeah, Yeah. So I guess have you got any 545 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,960 advice then to like a bigger, bigger brand from where you are? 546 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,800 So someone's been running like 10 years, got a whole team of 547 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,720 people, big warehouse products. What are some of the things you 548 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,200 think that really start to get people to tick? 549 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,840 Like let's take a more traditional product like say you 550 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,480 were selling, I don't know, lighting for homes, like table 551 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:09,920 lamps, floor lamps, stuff like that. 552 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,560 What what kind of videos to do with that do you think would 553 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,880 really start to get some traction on TikTok versus what a 554 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,280 lot of brands do? That's just here's another video 555 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,400 of a product being turned off, turned on. 556 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,480 And it's like, why would I watch that? 557 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,520 I think showing how it can transform a space, especially 558 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,640 with lighting, like I hate ceiling lights. 559 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:30,680 I don't know how you feel about them. 560 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,200 My sister loves them, She's crazy. 561 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:35,160 But it is just so uncomfortable to me. 562 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,320 So I think like showing a room with just like bad white ceiling 563 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,000 lighting and then showing the quick transformation and then 564 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,160 being like this is how we did it with our lighting. 565 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,800 Something like that or you know, another how it's made video 566 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:49,760 showing how they make the lights because I want to know how 567 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,280 that's done. Or just even showing a little 568 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:56,920 behind the scenes of the people that work there, because then 569 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,560 you feel more connected to this brand as a customer too. 570 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,120 Yeah, yeah. I love that we always have a 571 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,240 lighting client. And I'm instantly now like, OK, 572 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,240 I need to send them an e-mail about this because yeah, a lot 573 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,560 of a lot of the videos they put out are exactly what I just 574 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,880 described that are like, here's another light, here's another 575 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,800 light. And it just kind of the video is 576 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,480 just like there's a light on a table and the camera just kind 577 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,360 of pans by and you're like, what is this? 578 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,400 Yeah, just showing the product. Yeah, it doesn't. 579 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,200 Yeah, yeah, it doesn't give it, but I think the transformation 580 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,520 as well. Yeah, I saw a really cool advert 581 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,400 about it was for paint, paint walls, similar to your video of 582 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,040 the ceiling. But what it was is the guy would 583 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,920 like, it'd show a room and go like, isn't this room beautiful? 584 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,240 And they would choose a really beautiful room. 585 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:40,520 And you look at it and go like, yeah, how you going to make that 586 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,160 any better? And he, like, clicks his fingers 587 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,120 and all the walls change color and sometimes even just subtly. 588 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,480 But they would also improve the lighting and the furniture 589 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,000 would, you know, the sofa would now be like, properly puffed up 590 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,200 and stuff so it looks really comfortable. 591 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,120 And they'd do all of that, but they would transform and you'd 592 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:56,400 go, their paint is really nice, you know, and also they'd show 593 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,760 stuff like when you're looking at a wall and you're like, Oh, 594 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:00,400 you can see a reflection of the light on this wall. 595 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,520 And then now it's a nice matte colour. 596 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:04,120 I mean, my dad is a, well, he's retired. 597 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:05,720 I mean, he was a painter. So I learned quite a lot about 598 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,000 paint over the years. But I think they, I think you're 599 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:08,760 right. I think that kind of 600 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,320 transformation we, I always use the phrase in marketing that 601 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,280 features tell benefits sell. I think so many businesses 602 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,280 start, they just go to town on features and go like this car 603 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:22,680 has four wheels, it's red, it's got windows, it's got a steering 604 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:23,840 wheel. And you're kind of like, all 605 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,480 right, fine. It's got an Apple Car plate like 606 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,080 all cars have now and then. But actually what you want to 607 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,960 say is like if you drive this car, you will feel so relaxed 608 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:32,720 around. The city? 609 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,200 Yeah, you need to. Advertise it to people in the 610 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,040 city. Make it more personal, like how 611 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,680 is it going to improve your life or make you happy in your life? 612 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,480 Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. 613 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:45,440 And what are some of the big channels that you feature on, 614 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,040 like social channels that you target? 615 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,520 Is it, do you find TikTok is like the thing taking off? 616 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,120 Is Instagram still big? Is there anything else you're 617 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,760 getting some success with? Actually, when I first started 618 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,600 growing, I first started growing on TikTok, probably because of 619 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,960 that painting video. And then shortly after I started 620 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,800 growing on Instagram and I found when I started going on 621 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,040 Instagram is when I really started getting more sales. 622 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,440 But at the time, I didn't really even know how to use Instagram 623 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:14,960 very well. I was mostly on TikTok. 624 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:17,760 And now today, I'm mostly on Instagram and I don't really 625 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,040 know how to use TikTok very well. 626 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,360 But as TikTok growth got larger and larger, I started seeing 627 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,840 sales just a lot later than I did on Instagram. 628 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,200 So I think it's interesting that so many brands want to be on 629 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,240 TikTok and. I was going to say yeah. 630 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,200 Yeah, especially like working with brands and partnerships 631 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:40,280 they're more interested in in TikTok, whereas I personally 632 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,160 feel like Instagram is better. But I think it just depends on 633 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,240 who you're trying to target. I still think TikTok has a 634 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:54,640 younger audience. Maybe like 15 to 30 is like 635 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,720 what's mostly on TikTok, whereas Instagram's a little bit wider. 636 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:02,040 Facebook I think you definitely get an older crowd and YouTube 637 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,880 you just get everyone. So it's I think maybe some 638 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,240 brands are just trying to target a younger audience and that's 639 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,480 why they want TikTok. But I definitely focus on 640 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,160 Instagram mostly. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 641 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:16,160 And I think you're absolutely right. 642 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,520 I saw quite an interesting, almost like kind of age 643 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,720 demographic tree. And at the top of it was 644 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,560 Facebook with the older audience, then Instagram, then 645 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,360 TikTok. And as you say, YouTube was kind 646 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,000 of wrapped around everybody. But interestingly, the content 647 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,520 within YouTube, it was it varied a lot. 648 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,880 Like certainly once you get above the age of like 55 on this 649 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,240 report, it said that it actually switches to much more of a male 650 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,440 demographic. And I thought, well, that's 651 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,720 interesting. So I read through some more of 652 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,400 the information in this survey they did with YouTube. 653 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,720 And the really interesting thing on YouTube was that it got into 654 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,200 like lots of how it's made, how they built this new bridge. 655 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,560 Men having midlife crisis with like their lawns, sports cars, 656 00:30:58,120 --> 00:30:59,760 you know, I don't know if you guys call it the same thing over 657 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:01,240 on the other side of the Atlantic, but we call it a 658 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,200 midlife crisis. We see a guy like mowing his 659 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,280 lawn with a pair of small scissors, you know, like cutting 660 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,480 every single play. It's like, it's like, oh, man, 661 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,520 we feel for you. Like, and he's taking up guitar 662 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:13,680 as a as a new hobby and stuff like this. 663 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,080 But yeah, it was really interesting just to see that 664 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:18,840 breakdown. And but yeah, I exactly the same 665 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:21,320 as you've just said, a lot of brands we talked to are like, we 666 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,800 need to be doing stuff on Instagram and we're like, OK, 667 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:24,720 we'll do some stuff on Instagram. 668 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:26,440 They're like, no, no, no, no, Tiktok's bigger. 669 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,120 We need to do stuff on Tiktok. And I'm like, that's not really 670 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:30,720 your brand. Like if I look at all the 671 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,240 content that just kind of comes up on TikTok, a lot of it is 672 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,200 like funny videos, pranks, products that, as you say, like 673 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,600 a 15 to 30 year old, which I'm above that bracket now, but you 674 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,720 know, sort of 15 to to 30 year olds. 675 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:46,760 Yeah. We would engage with. 676 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,720 It's really interesting to get more traction on Instagram 677 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:51,800 because we have found most brands we talked to are like, 678 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,760 yeah, just push anything out on TikTok. 679 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,920 And actually our podcast reels get more traction on TikTok as 680 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,560 well than they do on Instagram. Until we changed a couple of 681 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,360 things, which I'm not going to go into to say, but we changed a 682 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:03,320 couple of things on Instagram and we're now getting 10s of 683 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,040 thousands of views per real, which is kind of cool. 684 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,600 But I want to talk about something completely different. 685 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:10,840 Now we're talking about the world of social. 686 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,080 But I want to, yeah, I want to do almost like a complete 687 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,400 switch. Obviously all the stuff we've 688 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,400 spoken about is really fun, making behind the scenes videos, 689 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:20,960 creating your product and that sort of thing. 690 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,800 But we did mention earlier, like there are taxes to pay, there's 691 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,800 rent to pay, there's accounts to be done, there's customers to 692 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,000 reply to, there's refunds to push, there's technical issues 693 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,800 on your Shopify store that you've got to go and fix. 694 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:36,160 How do you balance your time when it's just you in the 695 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:37,960 business? How do you balance your time to 696 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,440 make sure those things get done whilst also making sure you do 697 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:45,320 the funds creative stuff that does actually bring in the sales 698 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,880 in the first place? So not very well, I'm not very 699 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,560 good at it, but I will tell you what I have figured out. 700 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,600 And I also actually now as of this year, my boyfriend 701 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,440 officially is an owner in my business as well. 702 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,120 Nice. Yeah, yeah. 703 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,640 So he takes care of. Yeah, it's really nice. 704 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,800 So he does a lot of assembling of the pieces that I make, and 705 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,160 he also does all the shipping. So I'll write thank you notes. 706 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,280 And then he takes it over from there, packs everything up and 707 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,920 ships it out. And then I also have a friend, 708 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,720 Caitlin, who deals with a lot of or handles a lot of admin work 709 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,000 for me. So replying to certain emails, 710 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,560 DM's, comments, anything that she can answer. 711 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,040 And then she lets me know what I need to check out. 712 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,080 So in the morning, I always start my morning going on my 713 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:32,040 computer. I look to see if she's left me 714 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,960 any notes and then go from there, check my e-mail, check 715 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:38,840 comments, any of that. But it's really easy to get 716 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:41,640 sucked into it and start on all these other projects on your 717 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,360 computer. So I like to at least have an 718 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:49,200 hour set for the day. And then if I have a lot more 719 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,080 computer work, I'll try to plan that all into a different day so 720 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,120 I can just be focused on it. Like especially with editing 721 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,680 videos too, so I can just sit down and do that and just like 722 00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:59,520 let my eyeballs fry out of my brain. 723 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,320 And then I find with creating things, it's so much easier to 724 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,199 set aside like a whole day or the rest of a day after your 725 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:13,199 computer work to just really focus on that project because 726 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:14,719 otherwise you're going to keep getting pulled out of it. 727 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,040 And then you can't get into a really good creative flow. 728 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,880 You say you end your days at like 5:00 PM. 5:00 I'm gone. 729 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:27,480 That is, that's it so smart. And that is really kind of where 730 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:32,560 I fail and I find myself reaching burnout after like a 731 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:34,480 month or two over and over again. 732 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,679 And I feel like I learn from it every time. 733 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,800 I learn how to make it a little easier and actually have time 734 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,400 for myself and days off and and nights off. 735 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,760 But that is a huge thing that is so smart that you're doing that. 736 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,400 And I think you become more productive and creative. 737 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,040 That's it when you give. Yourself that time, yeah. 738 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,280 Yeah, if I don't get it done by 5, it's not getting done today. 739 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,960 And and I tell you, one of the biggest things I've learned 740 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,680 about my personality as well. And my point here really is same 741 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:05,440 for you and all of you guys listening at home. 742 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:07,720 You need to, you need to work to your strengths. 743 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:10,480 And everybody says that and it doesn't make any sense until you 744 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,800 have a few burnouts and failures and stuff, I'm afraid. 745 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,680 But one of my biggest fears is letting people down. 746 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:19,240 So if I don't get that e-mail sent, I don't have that 747 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,440 conversation. I don't complete that document. 748 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,200 I don't write that marketing strategy. 749 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,280 I don't make that sales call that I need to make to a new 750 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:29,600 client. Like, if I don't do that, I tell 751 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,080 myself I'm going to let someone down here. 752 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:32,720 Someone's not going to be happy with me. 753 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:34,240 And that's the kind of thing that does keep me awake at 754 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,280 night. So yeah, if anyone that has sent 755 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,800 any hate mail into the podcast, like, it really does hurt. 756 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:41,480 I'm joking. We've had no hate mail in years 757 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,840 like. That is an interesting thing 758 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:48,360 though, like people don't want. There's such a disconnect 759 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:50,720 sometimes, and I think that's also why it's a good thing to 760 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,640 create a stronger connection with your customers or 761 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,440 followers, your audience, whatever, because I think people 762 00:35:57,440 --> 00:35:59,440 don't realize there's an actual human behind some of these 763 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,360 things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 764 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:04,200 And I whenever I'm like talking to customer service these days, 765 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,920 I do always try and almost like when I kind of give the big like 766 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,120 sucker punch, like this is my big issue. 767 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:11,840 I always try and leave with the statement like, and whoever I'm 768 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:12,920 talking to, I use their name even. 769 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,480 So like on live chat, I'll say, look, Sam, I'm sorry. 770 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:20,000 Like I know it's not your fault personally, but I am having all 771 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,000 of these issues and I'm really, really unhappy about it. 772 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,160 So at least Sam doesn't feel like I'm attacking them. 773 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:26,960 They they're like, yeah, I get that you've had these issues. 774 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,960 I'm here to help and I'll try and finish those messages as 775 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,880 well with like. So I'd appreciate your help 776 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,360 because I've, I mean, the amount of brands I've worked with and 777 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,280 also working here as well. We have had some people over 778 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,640 over the years and there'll be more in the future, I'm sure who 779 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,960 just they just lay in so hard at you and you're like, I've 780 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:44,920 personally put loads of time into this. 781 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,840 And I think sometimes, and I think a really good question to 782 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,400 ask you as someone who actually makes your product as well is 783 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:54,280 like I say to my team a lot like focus on the fact that you work 784 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,200 for our clients. Like try not to be like take 785 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,240 pride in what you do, but don't get too attached and too 786 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,720 protective. Because if the client says like, 787 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,800 I see what you've done, but it needs to be blue, not red and 788 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:07,920 you love red. It's like it's not for you, it's 789 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:09,280 for the client. We work for them. 790 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:10,440 The same with you and your customer. 791 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,720 You must have had to, like, consider that over the last 792 00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:15,800 couple of years as well. Just like making sure to go 793 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,640 like, it's for them, not me. So even if I don't love it, it's 794 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:19,640 fine. Like, I'm not going to get 795 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,160 protective, everyone. I'm going to get upset about it. 796 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,960 But yeah, it's not easy, especially in a creative space 797 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:25,880 where it's like you do something you think is beautiful and 798 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:27,880 someone's like, I don't like it. And you're like, oh, come on. 799 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:30,040 Like, you know, I put my heart in that. 800 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:33,480 There's definitely when it comes to the things that I'm making 801 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:38,200 that are handmade, like if I post a video, I won't, I'll stop 802 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,640 looking at the comments if it reaches 1,000,000 views. 803 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:42,920 I don't want to see what anybody's saying because I know 804 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,640 that sometimes I can't take it. But I also worked in customer 805 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,920 service for nine years, so I'm kind of ready for most things 806 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:55,800 too. Yes, But being empathetic and 807 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:57,880 blunt with someone I think is really good. 808 00:37:57,880 --> 00:37:59,880 Like what you're saying when you send emails and you're like, I 809 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:01,360 understand where you're coming from. 810 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:10,160 Here's how I feel, but with the handmade creations, I, I really 811 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:11,600 have a lot of creative freedom over them. 812 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:15,720 I'd say with the partnerships I do, actually recently one of the 813 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,320 ones I did, I got feedback from them and they basically were 814 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,600 like, you are just slurring your words. 815 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:22,560 We don't like the voice over completely redo it. 816 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,880 And then they listed out time stamps of everything they wanted 817 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,400 changed. And, and I was at first I was 818 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:31,320 like, oh, that's a little harsh. And I thought, oh, actually this 819 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:33,320 is really nice. It's so well organized. 820 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,320 I know exactly what it needs to do, but yeah, they were just 821 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:43,480 like very to the point like no, no coding, no frosting on it or 822 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,280 anything. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 823 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,800 Like I've definitely certainly with some of the younger people 824 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,080 that we've like hired and younger inexperienced my ad not 825 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,520 in age like the whole kind of like age stereotype. 826 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,200 I've had to like burn throw out the window like I. 827 00:38:58,200 --> 00:38:59,520 Just oh, yeah. I mean, you started when you 828 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,440 were 17, right? Yeah. 829 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,240 Yeah, yeah. So and I was managing when I was 830 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:06,560 19 in restaurants and fine dine in restaurants. 831 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:08,840 It's like you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 832 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,440 I know what you mean. Yeah, and some of the I mean, 833 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,280 just the inside this wall, I say to someone every episode, man, 834 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,960 just say this wall to my team and some of the younger guys on 835 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:18,080 my team are absolutely incredible. 836 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,760 If you if you missed, if anyone missed an episode, by the way, 837 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,120 check out she was wearing one of these bright pink winning wish 838 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:26,800 off my T-shirts boots ago. My colleague Liv running around 839 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,320 the e-commerce Expo here in London. 840 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,440 It's a mile and a half long and it's just got e-commerce stuff 841 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,400 going on every, everywhere you look. 842 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,200 And she was running around interviewing people and she's 843 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:37,600 never done anything like that before. 844 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,480 Absolutely smashed it. It's the first episode since I 845 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,960 think 2020 that I've not been in. 846 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:47,280 And I'm. Yeah, that was my first, first 847 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,240 episode I did, I think it was it's going to be 3 weeks before 848 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:51,600 this one guys, to go back a few weeks. 849 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:53,840 But yeah, my colleague lived never done anything like that 850 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:55,840 before running around. Absolutely incredible. 851 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,640 And we actually ran out of time on what we posted to put all of 852 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:01,640 the interviews that she did and we just chose the best ones. 853 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:04,600 But yeah, again, it's like exactly the same as you when you 854 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:06,000 were 19. It's like empowering people to 855 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,400 do the right thing at the right time. 856 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:10,400 But I do think, I mean bringing it back to your business, I do 857 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,120 think that like. That personal touch, it does 858 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,880 protect you in a way. There are going to be those 859 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,800 times though, where someones just like, I don't care, I'm 860 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,520 angry and it's not your fault, but it's become your problem. 861 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:23,600 I'm going to make it your problem. 862 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,960 And you just got to kind of take a deep breath and almost, and 863 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:29,520 someone said to me a while ago, it was specifically actually 864 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,160 about we're having a bit of an issue with a client and they 865 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,280 started to get quite aggressive and personal towards us. 866 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:37,000 We were like, we're just trying to help you here. 867 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,960 Like, you know, is this really how you're going to talk to 868 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,800 people And like your team are angry with you and we're angry 869 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,640 with you. Like you should be fired, but 870 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,960 you own the business. We can't get rid of you. 871 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,640 But I think at that point, someone said to me, like, it's 872 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:52,400 only people that are currently hurting that will hurt others. 873 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:55,960 And when you remember that, you're like, OK, I've, I've not 874 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:57,720 hurt them here. If I have, I need to sort that 875 00:40:57,720 --> 00:40:59,920 out. And but I do think is whether 876 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:02,080 wherever we work in marketing, we're going to, we're going to 877 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:05,240 get those comments in on social, especially, you know, it's a 878 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,400 really public forum. We're going to get those 879 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,600 customer service emails. And I think sometimes you just 880 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:11,800 got to kind of go for a quick walk, take a deep breath and go 881 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:12,800 It's. Not and. 882 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,720 Actually, if the world is that way, I'm going to try and change 883 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:19,040 it, that's what. I'm taking a moment to really 884 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,480 like, think and not just react. Emotionally is so big. 885 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,920 We've all written a message and deleted it before we sent it. 886 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,400 I definitely said some things when I was managing in 887 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:34,240 restaurants that I shouldn't have, but it got to the point 888 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,120 where I realized that just just talk to people like they're 889 00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:40,240 human and explain what's going on to them. 890 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:44,640 And most of the time they're incredibly understanding, even 891 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:46,440 if they come at you aggressively at first. 892 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,960 Yeah, One of the most incredible things a friend of mine said to 893 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:52,360 me years ago, and I've adopted this actually in both client 894 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,160 relations and certainly looking at like customer service. 895 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:57,440 And we've had clients in the past like where we've had to 896 00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:59,720 deal with bad press. Like you search their brand name 897 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:01,840 and the first thing up on Google is a news article that's really 898 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,680 bad. And it's like you do PPC and 899 00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:05,560 SEO, that's Google, like fix this. 900 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:08,800 And actually the thing to ask the person that's got an issue 901 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:10,920 or they're complaining about something is just to say, look, 902 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,680 what do you want in this? And ask them that question 903 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,360 because it completely stops them and goes, all right, these 904 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:18,920 people are actually trying to like solve something for me 905 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:20,200 here. What do I want? 906 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:24,240 Well, I want an apology or I want a refund or it's like, 907 00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:25,720 cool, we can organize that for you. 908 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:26,880 And I'm sorry for what you've been through. 909 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:28,560 And like the whole situation suddenly diffused. 910 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:31,760 There is the odd person that's not reasonable, but I do, I do 911 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,480 think like certainly in the world of social media, we've got 912 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:35,760 to be ready for this. And I think so many brands like, 913 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:38,880 you know, you get the owner or the CEO freaking out going like 914 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:41,200 we've launched a TikTok video like you said we should. 915 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:42,800 And someone said, I don't get it. 916 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:45,600 I'm they they don't get it. Like we see a whole waste of 917 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:47,280 time and stuff. Like I know it's one person. 918 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,920 1,000,000 views. So take that, take that comment 919 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:54,040 and make a video off of it. Yeah, yeah, I don't get it 920 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:55,360 right. No one, some people didn't get 921 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:57,320 our last video. So here's here's why you should 922 00:42:57,320 --> 00:42:59,080 get it and it Yeah. And then people are going to go, 923 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:01,120 oh, I'll go on and go watch the last video and they've watched 2 924 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,440 and you've got 2 views and do one and say it was a smart idea. 925 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:04,480 I like that. I like that a lot. 926 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:07,920 But look, coming into land, yeah. 927 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,120 Final question for me is where, where are you planning to take 928 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,640 things like looking forward, what are you excited about? 929 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:16,560 What do you like? This is going to be a challenge. 930 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,760 You know what, what is it that you're aiming for in the kind of 931 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,720 short to medium term from from today? 932 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:28,120 Right now I'm making anywhere from 100 to 300 handmade pieces 933 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:32,080 a month, which is not sustainable physically. 934 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:35,480 I even had a physical therapist tell me, you know what, if you 935 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:38,040 keep going like this, you will have carpal tunnel in your 936 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:41,400 wrists and your hands. And I have had a lot of pain in 937 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:45,520 my hands. So really what I want to do is 938 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:48,840 reduce how many things I'm making, maybe just do like one 939 00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:53,360 or two designs and then maybe one larger one-of-a-kind piece 940 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:55,120 that I'm working on throughout the whole month. 941 00:43:55,520 --> 00:44:00,160 And then instead moving towards more partnerships and more 942 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:03,840 online free resources for other artists or small businesses 943 00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:07,880 sharing my experience or giving them a tutorial on how to use 944 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:11,720 this art medium that will then be sponsored by a different 945 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:17,240 brand and paid for by that brand to supplement my income. 946 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:23,920 So mostly I want to go towards a more educational route and be 947 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:29,120 making more content, video content online for people, but 948 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,200 still making things just a lot less. 949 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:34,320 I love that. Way too much right now. 950 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,240 Yeah, IA friend of mine actually, his mum has been 951 00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:41,400 working, been working in silver work all of her life and she has 952 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,600 cobble tunnel which is really painful. 953 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:46,640 And it's really sad because she like sees the things she used to 954 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:48,720 make and go. I just can't make stuff anymore. 955 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,720 Or if I do, it's takes me like a month to do one thing, which 956 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,520 used to take me a few hours. So I completely hear that. 957 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:57,920 And I, I think it's for you, it's one specific physical 958 00:44:58,240 --> 00:44:59,920 challenge. But I think for everyone 959 00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:01,920 listening, there will be limitations on you. 960 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:03,920 And it's probably one of the hardest lessons that I learnt 961 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:07,720 hiring people was how to actually manage and delegate and 962 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,840 inspire and motivate and all the other things that come with 963 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,600 leadership and management. And I'm no expert whatsoever. 964 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:15,440 My team will vouch for that as well. 965 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:19,080 And but yeah, I'm, I'm no expert at it, but I think it's exactly 966 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:22,280 what you're describing is like, how do you, yeah, how do you 967 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,320 grow kind of what you're doing really well. 968 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:26,880 And I think certainly your, your friend Caitlin and, and also 969 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:29,040 your boyfriend as well kind of helping out and getting involved 970 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,840 is a is a step towards that. But then it's almost just like 971 00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,200 that physical issues now come out because that's where you're 972 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:35,240 spending a majority of your time. 973 00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:37,800 Say, yeah, all businesses have that. 974 00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:40,480 I mean, would you ever look at like doing more factory 975 00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:42,160 production or hiring people to produce? 976 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,680 Or do you think actually you want to, as you say, you're 977 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:45,920 going to just kind of stick to that. 978 00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:48,920 Let's go a bit more limited edition and do more kind of 979 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:51,280 online content and create earning from that. 980 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,760 Yeah, I don't think what I make would feel nearly as special if 981 00:45:55,760 --> 00:46:00,440 I had other people making it. So I would rather keep it to me 982 00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,520 making these handmade pieces. And maybe if I do more one of 983 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:06,360 the kind things, I could take photos of them and sell them as 984 00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:10,800 prints or do more illustrations, move more into that, because I 985 00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:16,800 haven't drawn in so long. I do every now and then, but I 986 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:20,600 want to be the one who is making the products that I'm selling. 987 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,120 So. But I've always loved making 988 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:27,520 videos so much and I really enjoy teaching. 989 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:29,640 Like, I wanted to be an art teacher when I was a kid. 990 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:33,320 I taught one semester of art and it basically broke my heart. 991 00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:36,800 So I was like, OK, so we're gonna move this to online 992 00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:38,320 somehow. Yeah. 993 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,480 So that's yeah. Cool, cool. 994 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:44,040 Well, look Bianca, I really appreciate your time. 995 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:45,320 It's been so good to have you on. 996 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:49,240 If people want to check out your all the stuff you make, check 997 00:46:49,240 --> 00:46:51,480 out the business find you on social like what are your 998 00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:54,360 handles web address like how can people get in touch? 999 00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:59,640 My handles on all social media are Bellis Botanicals. 1000 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:05,520 BELLIS Botanicals on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube. 1001 00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:08,400 I'm just starting to post more long form videos on YouTube 1002 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:10,840 that's really hard to plan in the editing time. 1003 00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:15,440 And then my website is just bellasbotanicals.com and I have 1004 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:18,560 I have been having monthly collection drops. 1005 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,000 It'll change to more every two to three months soon. 1006 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:23,160 Amazing. So yeah, if you want to get, if 1007 00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:25,080 you want to get her products, then definitely go and get in 1008 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:27,080 there soon because as you say, you're going to be making a 1009 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:28,720 little bit less. So yeah, amazing. 1010 00:47:28,720 --> 00:47:29,800 Well, look, thank you so much for your time. 1011 00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:31,600 It's been so good to have you on and say, yeah, I appreciate you 1012 00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:33,400 sacrificing an hour to come and chat. 1013 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:35,040 Yes, it's been great. Thank you. 1014 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,680 Amazing. And for everybody listening at 1015 00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,000 home, we will be back again next Friday. 1016 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,040 If you haven't already, check out the Growth Hub, hit 1017 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:44,560 subscribe, leave us a review. And if you want to ask any 1018 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:47,200 questions as well of any of our future guests coming up or any 1019 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:50,680 topics you want us to cover, go to wwspodcast.com. 1020 00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:53,160 That's WWS for winningshopifypodcast.com. 1021 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:56,360 Send us a message or fill out one of the forms on the website 1022 00:47:56,360 --> 00:47:57,080 as well. And we will. 1023 00:47:57,160 --> 00:47:58,720 We'll come back to you as soon as we possibly can. 1024 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:00,520 But thanks for tuning in. Back again next week.