In this episode we hear from Geoffrey Kent, who not only founded world renowned luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent, but is also credited with creating experiential travel as a concept.  I have long admired A&K for being leaders in sustainability across environmental, economic and social responsibilities. 

Geoffrey shares his stories and experiences as an entrepreneur of nearly 60 years’ experience, including a foray into space travel and why delivering a business, service or product that no one else does is paramount for success as an entrepreneur.

Geoffrey founded A&K in Africa in 1962 with little more than a refrigerated ex-Army truck, and the best tents money could buy with the motto ‘off-the-beaten-track safaris’. Nearly six decades later, with Geoffrey still at the helm.  If you’d like to get in touch with Geoffrey you can contact his team via [email protected] or A&K plus his book ‘Safari’ is also available.

Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too!

Geoffrey’s advice:

• Have passion, as you need to love what you do: dedication and hard work are what it takes
• Never give up, always aim to be Number One 
• Come up with something new, something that no one else offers 
• Give your clients all your time and attention 
• Listen to and learn from others; it helps to take notes 
• Expect a long working day, and try to start each new day ‘driven’
• Think through your decisions, write them down and consider them carefully to make sure they are the right ones
• Turn your lifestyle into your business, not the other way around 
• Plan a business cycle and commit to the years it’ll take 
• Always put yourself into the shoes of your stakeholders so you know what they really want
• Be exacting with your due diligence
• Accept that you’re responsible for the company if you’re self employed and that you are ‘the last one in the room’ 
• Never send an angry email; draft it, save it and think about it again the next day

Links:

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices. 
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening.  I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps other people find it. 

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

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In this episode we hear from Pip Durell, founder of shirt brand With Nothing Underneath.  She had the brainwave of creating a brand with a focused and particular look, one that is “cool, elegant, ethical and affordable” and she has gone on to do exactly that.  She speaks about fashion fatigue, what it really means to create a brand that is genuinely sustainable and how educating herself, as well as her customers, is paramount.

WNU was created to make the perfect everyday boyfriend shirt. Designed in London, inspired by men's tailoring adjusted for women; WNU offers an affordable boyfriend shirt - a casual luxury with scrupulous detail using the highest quality materials. 

If you’d like to leave an audio question for future guests, head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note.

Pip’s advice: 

• Behave ethically towards your team as well as your customers, and anyone in your pipeline
• Ensure your brand ‘lives up to its chat’ and that your green credentials are honest
• Remember people are happy to offer you advice if you ask for it, you don’t have to know them personally in order to ask
• Take advantage of good podcasts offering advice that can support you 
• Follow your own work ethic and don’t be distracted by others’ claims about long working hours
• Always keep an eye on other brands, but then re-centre yourself, remember who you are and where you are going with your own brand 
• Try not to let competitor pricing dictate your decisions, simply stick to your own standards
• Delegate if you can, but never expect to switch off completely
• Try not to worry too much, it won’t help you nor will it change the outcomes

If you'd like to contact Pip and learn more about With Nothing Underneath, she can be reached on [email protected] or via Instagram .

Links:

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices. 
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening.  I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps other people find it. 

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode we hear from Bahar Etminan who, having been faced with bankruptcy during the global financial crisis, speaks from the heart as a seasoned entrepreneur.  Bahar values hard work and self belief and reminds us that there’s no shame in accepting help.  She talks about how setting up a business is like being in love: if you’ve done it once you can do it again.

Rescu is a daily destination for those who want to be their own success story. The Rescu  universe is all about discovering the new, no-spin reviews, in-depth articles and truly expert advice from the brightest thinkers, doers and achievers in the business. Rescu’s world class experts and curated content will guide you to raise your game on style, substance and success.

I'd love to hear any questions you have for future guests, please leave a voice note via Speakpipe.

Bahar’s advice: 

• Be courageous and believe in yourself
• Make an audit of all your assets and abilities
• Recognise that people love to help others
• Work out a specific target and just head for it
• Be energised: momentum brings its own momentum
• Get quality legal / accounting / insurance advice, sooner not later and budget properly for this
• Always do your research before pitching, know your audience 
• Invest in building trust in the people around you 
• Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by competition on social media
• Keep your goal in sight and focus on what you’re good at
• Give yourself permission to close your business whenever you please. Do what is right for you

If you’d like to contact Bahar she can be reached at [email protected] and @rescu.com.au in Instagram. 

Links:

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices. 
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]

I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020. 

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, hosted & published by Juliet Fallowfield and edited by Emma Dewhurst in September 2020. MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

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In this episode we hear from Awon Golding who arrived in London in 2009 having left her life in Hong Kong to pursue her ambition to be a milliner.  She talks through what she has learnt about balancing being a creative that also has to run a commercial business as well as where she seeks inspiration from. 

Awon Golding Millinery is an award-winning brand specialising in fun and fresh made-to-order special occasion hats and bridal headpieces for modern women. As well as regularly featuring in international fashion publications, Awon’s ability to meld femininity with wearability has brought her a loyal following of global style icons.  Awon Golding Millinery counts Lady Gaga and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex amongst her clients. And most recently Kylie Minogue sported a custom-made lily headpiece to celebrate her new album DISCO’s release. 

You can contact Awon [email protected] or via Instagram

Awon’s advice:

• Be as skilled as you can be in your chosen field before you start
• If you are a creative, be sure to learn commercial skills too, however uninspiring you may find them
• Try to find the balance between your particular skill and the price you put upon it (don’t knock yourself out spending too long creating something if this is going to result in an unrealistic and unaffordable item)
• Keep talking to other experts in your field, study and learn from their processes
• Always be open to learning more even when you’re years into your trade 
• Keep a passion for what you do, because this is infectious and will feed through to your client too
• Know your market and your competitors
• Trust your employees. If you bring someone in, trust your decision and their talent too
• Build up personal relationships with your suppliers as not only will it build a better relationship, but there will be economies of scale too that will benefit your business
• Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and always try to keep a sense of perspective 
• Try to find something outside your immediate business that also inspires you. If you can blend the two, even better. 

Links

• Haute Dogs calendar or via Instagram 
• Google Workspace
• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform . Their support team is second to none.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]

I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020. 

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded,

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

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In this episode we hear from Nick Bridle, who having retired from the military, founded Belstone Dart International, a risk management consultancy in 2017.  Nick explains the importance of getting a client to pay for your product or service as soon as possible, as you need to qualify the concept commercially... because until that happens, it doesn’t really matter how pretty your logo is.  He also talks about how being new to the playing field can mean you’re a target for bullying tactics from the more established players, but that is ok as it means you’re a genuine threat. 

Belstone Dart is a consultancy specialising in providing advice and support for those entering or operating in challenging markets. [email protected] 

Nick's advice:

• Be aware of your communication and leadership skills when it comes to stakeholders 
• Know which strengths you can take from your previous roles and where you may need to improve certain skills
• Always do what you say you’re going to do
• Always be reliable and responsive when you’re a start up; get back to your clients straight away and make it easy for them to hire you 
• In the beginning, ask people for advice and garner opinions on your business idea 
• Write a business plan to get you in the right mindset
• Look at your financial projections and costs, know that you’ll reduce the former and increase the latter
• You just need to start doing it and the rest will follow
• At the start, get a paying client to see if your idea is viable. Someone paying you is essential to prove your concept works in reality - it almost doesn’t matter how much, you just need an actual transaction to start with
• Accept that things take longer than you might expect and map that into your plan; it can take months to win business 
• You’ll work a lot harder when self-employed but you’ll have flexibility as well
• With pricing, work out what your costs actually are and what margin is fair.  By pricing yourself fairly within the market and being able to justify your pricing clearly, you’ll win more business in the long run
• If you don’t have to take on a business partner, don’t.  If you do, be really sure you trust that person absolutely.  Question the ratio of ownership as 50/50 can lead to a stalemate if things go wrong 
• Accept even small clients as you never know where they might lead
• Growth through word of mouth is the most effective way to grow your business quickly 

Links

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.  Affiliate link here .
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory 
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets.

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]

I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020.  Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode we hear from Georgina Coke who founded By Georgie in 2015.  George explains how, having been made redundant, she took a step she would never have anticipated.  Prompted by friends she took the plunge to set up on her own and six years later she has no regrets, saying redundancy was the best thing that could have happened to her.  She is the 100% owner of a company which connects luxury travel companies to a select group of destination management companies.

By Georgie represents a select few destination management companies and boutique lodges in the UK and European market.  You can contact George on [email protected]

Georgina is also a founding member of The Conscious Travel Foundation, a social enterprise established to unite and educate owner-operated travel businesses and promote travel as a force for good, raising funds for grass-roots charity projects around the world.

George’s advice includes: 

• Redundancy is an opportunity; once you’re over the shock that is
• Practical first steps include registering your company, set up the business bank account and find an accountant
• Speak to a range of people you trust, both for practical advice and for emotional support
• Delegate to experts: don’t try to do it all yourself, but allow those more experienced to do the jobs you dislike as you’ll get a better return
• Make sure you take time off, break up the day and ensure you take holiday
• Plan your day so nothing gets forgotten; two meetings a day is enough
• Observe your work/life balance consistently in order to get it right
• Relish your autonomy and the flexibility it gives you 

Links

• Amanda McKenna's Ted Talk
• The Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship
• LastPass offer a free of charge service which I've been using. This post is unpaid however there is an affiliate link you can use here should you want to support the podcast. 
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform . Their support team is second to none.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets.

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories too and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]

I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020. Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.

MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode we hear from Uwern Jong, Experientialist in Chief and co-founder of OutThere magazine.  He talks about why being on your own clock enables a whole new autonomy in how you work, why adopting the slow road may be more rewarding in the end, and why taking time away from work can have a big impact. 
Uwern can be contacted at: [email protected]

For those who have not yet discovered it, OutThere is an award-winning luxury and experiential travel inspiration journal rooted in diversity, discovery and discernment.  OutThere specialises in curating opinion-leading content, from in-depth, first person essays on the world’s most amazing experiences – taking our readers on journeys that extend beyond the mainstream – to celebrating global cultural expressions and the people responsible for making the OutThere world so unique.

Uwern’s advice includes:

• Learn to appreciate slow travel
• Why the full, possibly long and quite hard journey you take is worth every step in your learning
• Networking is essential especially at the start: don’t forget to tell people what you're up to, get the word out and don’t be shy
• Do ask friends for help, as they may have the experience to point you in a quicker/better direction  
• Enjoy being on your own clock 
• If you find your income is irregular, try to take the long view 
• You can do more than you think you can and you will surprise yourself
• Make sure you find a balance outside work, you need to have things to talk about that are not work related. Learn to switch off
• Trust yourself at the beginning, don’t waste time worrying about things, just solve them and have confidence in yourself   
• Remember brand development is as important as the day to day business
• Big picture thinking is key, focus on: 
  • Creativity. Innovation. Stewardship. Resilience
• Identify what people need, even if it’s only a small group of people 

Links

• LastPass offer a free of charge service which I've been using. This post is unpaid however there is an affiliate link you can use here should you want to support the podcast. 
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform . Their support team is second to none.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets.

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories too and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]

I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020. Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode I speak with Will Davies, Co-founder and Director of HBD Partners. He shares invaluable advice on the importance of legally protecting your business from the start, also how to manage the pressures and responsibilities of being a new business owner and what steps you can take to look after your teams remotely.

HBD Partners is a specialist recruitment consultancy operating within the Hospitality, Leisure and Travel sectors. We focus on middle to senior management positions and work in partnership with our clients in a consultative manner and with the highest integrity. Will can be contacted here: [email protected]

Will’s advice:

• Have confidence in your brand and believe in what you do
• Map out a topline business plan and include the company ethos and culture you’d like to aim for
• Reevaluate and update it continually as your business grows
• If you are a partnership, draft a shareholders’ agreement as soon as possible, to protect the business in case of unforeseen disagreements or disasters in the future
• Partner with a good accountant who will help you run the business efficiently
• Be prepared to diversify your business offering should the market require it
• Leave a healthy percentage of cash in the business at all times
• Make sure your employees are fully engaged and feel valued at all times
• Set a clear direction and framework for your teams in order to deliver back to the business 
• Always thoroughly research suppliers before committing to any long term business
• Do not be fearful of the unknown 

Will’s recommended accountant is Vince Dalaimo Tax Assist Southwark Bridge Road and web marketing company: MBJ London.

Links

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices. They offer a free of charge service which I've been using. This post is unpaid however there is an affiliate link you can use here should you want to support the podcast. 
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform . Their support team is second to none too.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

Thank you for listening.  I’d love to hear your own startup stories and please do let me know if you have any questions for future guests as well: [email protected]
I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020. 

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track. 

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode we hear from Hugo Chance, founder of Chance Capital.  He shares his recommendation about asking advice from your nearest and dearest is not always the best strategy, and maintains that sticking to your pricing structure and building your support network from the start is paramount. 

Chance Capital is a corporate advisory firm that assists early stage private companies with business planning, pitch preparation, legal services and more specifically their capital raising requirements. With an experienced team of advisors, the team at Chance Capital are well positioned to connect growing private businesses with their strategic network of HNW, Family Office, institutional equity and debt financing investors. Chance Capital always seeks to co-invest on each transaction. Contact [email protected] also hear at Talk VC

Hugo’s advice includes:

• Learn what you’re personally, not just professionally, wanting to achieve by running your own business. 
• Success isn’t just about the bottom financial line. It can be freedom and independence too. Learn what you really value in being self employed.
• Mapping out what you’re aiming for at the end will really help plan the journey in order to get there.
• Put as much preparation into your business as you can; this includes talking to as many people as possible, including other entrepreneurs, to get advice (& they don’t have to be from the same industry either). 
• When updating your records with new contacts, note a distinctive aspect of the meeting to ensure you remember where you met and what you talked about.
• Know you’ll have to be flexible when it comes to time and task management.
• Don’t be a busy fool. Ensure you’re efficiently busy, given you’ll be spinning so many plates.
• Every meeting or call should be necessary, beneficial and have a clear delineated follow up. 
• Learn from every mistake.
• Be resolute in what you charge and know why you’re worth it.
• Late payments can be frustrating. Protect yourself contractually and ensure payments are transparent. This applies to you too.  
• Continue to talk to people in your industry, as often as you can, in order to keep motivated and in touch with your market.  

Thank you for listening, I welcome your feedback at [email protected] 
I would be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020.

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory, Fallow, Field & Mason, the How To Start Up podcast hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & License

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode I speak with Quintin Clover about how he started up Kanallan.  Founded six years ago, Kanallan facilitates tailored independent humanitarian projects for clients to help the most impoverished and neglected people and communities around the world. Using Kanallan’s established and trusted global network, they ensure direct giving with 100% transparency.  Please do get in touch with Quintin if you’d like to find out more about the charity sector or how you could support via Just Giving. 

Quintin can be reached at: [email protected] as well as via Instagram. 

Quintin’s advice includes:

• How to ask for money and fund-raise significantly
• Always be open to new experiences 
• You never know where communicating with everyone, at any event, may lead 
• Trusting your gut feeling about what direction to go in 
• How sometimes it comes from facing the hardest areas of life to show you your purpose 
• What it feels like to effect change 
• How to structure your day and find balance
• How to structure your business to make it simple for your stakeholders
• Why going above and beyond for clients builds trust for the long term 
• Why managing tight budgets actually delivers far more in the long run 
• Why sitting at your laptop doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily working efficiently

Thank you for listening, I welcome your feedback at [email protected]
I would be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020.

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory, Fallow, Field & Mason, the How To Start Up podcast hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT  Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. 
Link & License

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show