Today Nicole is joined by Charlotte Pridmore, life coach, NLP practitioner and timeline therapy practitioner. They’re going to be covering a variety of topics from money, mindset, success, bankruptcy, and future goals. Listen in to Start Scale Succeed to hear Charlotte's story of going from bankruptcy to being a successful coach, a real lesson in resilience and determination.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Charlotte had been in London for 10 years working in corporate, had a relationship, and had bought a house. Life was set until she left her partner six months after having their first child. She suddenly went from being a homeowner in London with a corporate job to a single mum on benefits, living with her parents. That’s where this story started.
• Charlotte was lucky enough to get involved with the right network marketing business and was making twice as much from that as she did from her other hairdressing job at the time. But the thing she really got from the business was a love of the coaching side.
• Validation and praise make us feel good and motivate us. You don't get recognized enough in the corporate world. You don't get recognized as a mother. No one gives you a badge for being great, a great mum or really good at your job, especially if you're a woman in the corporate world.
• Charlotte was stuck in a mindset of when the money comes in, you spend it. That was fine for a while when the money was rolling in. But spending money on holidays, private school, and a nice car, left her with nothing for a rainy day. When the income slowed down, her spending didn’t.
• A lot of Charlotte’s low self-worth as a business owner came from her lack of ability to manage her finances responsibly. Financial freedom isn’t about how much money you earn, it’s a mindset.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I was like, this can't be it, and then it was almost like the universe heard me’

‘Don't take anything personally, good or bad’

‘The more successful you get in network marketing the less recognition you get because the goals get harder to achieve’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Charlotte Pridmore

CHARLOTTE Success Coach (@charlotte_pridmore) • Instagram photos and videos

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

If you are thinking that it's not possible that you can change your career, that it's too much of a risk, then today's podcast is definitely for you. Today Nicole is chatting on Start Scale Succeed with Emma Brankin, ex-lawyer and founder of the Jewellery Brand, Bauble Magpie. She decided to change everything and start her own business in her 40s.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• In her previous career, Emma found that she was banging her head against a glass ceiling feeling annoyed that people whom she perceived as being far less talented and able than her were being promoted. We’ve all experienced it and caused her a lot of frustration.
• Bauble Magpie started as a fun thing for Emma to do during the lockdown on Instagram, just to find other like-minded people that enjoy jewellery. It was purely a vanity project to showcase her jewellery and talk about her love of jewellery. Within 6 months she had made her first sale.
• Emma was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 40. She calls it her kryptonite, but also her superpower because it gives her a cavalier attitude that most people don’t have.
• Emma is absolutely astonished by the support she gets and the success she has achieved with her business. Every week she is reduced to tears by the kind things people say about her and her brand.
• Some say business never gets any easier, but if you do the right things and get your systems in place, it can become more manageable.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘Putting it bluntly, my face never fit’

‘I'm on something, but I can't cope, help, you know what, let's get the house in order’

‘At the time I didn't have that money and I had to hustle like a badass to get that money’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Emma (@bauble_magpie) • Instagram photos and videos

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by brand founder Lucy Jeffrey of Bare Kind, and we are going to talk about how she has grown her business on marketplaces, particularly Faire. So if you are interested in growing the wholesale side of your business, understanding marketplaces, how they operate, and what they look like, this episode is for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Lucy started Bear Kind in 2018 while she was working for a bank at the time, so it very much started as a side hustle. When Bare Kind first started, she was selling reusable straws because there was massive hype around reducing single-use plastic. Then she moved into recycled t-shirts, and tote bags. And it wasn't until 2019 that she started her journey with socks.
• Bare Kind sells bamboo socks where 10% of the profits are donated to the animal on the socks. They partner with a lot of amazing animal charities around the world to help conservation efforts.
• The split is about 70% wholesale for most of the year, and now it's flipped the other way where 70% is retail. This is possibly because wholesalers have kind of done their stocking up for Christmas.
• Most of the business was D to C but Lucy saw Faire were doing some crazy offers. They were offering £300 for free for anyone they onboarded, and then they could spend it on Bare Kind socks. Lucy then realised the potential there and then since then, they have pivoted the whole business to be geared towards wholesale.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I landed on socks because they're just my favourite Christmas presents’

‘I was a tiny cog in a massive machine. I just didn't really feel like I was having any impact’

‘I started with the brand name that wouldn't tie me to a product on purpose’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Linked in - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-jeffrey/

Website - https://barekind.co.uk/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/barekind/

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNdtbnciJLQmWn317WzHxxA

Faire - https://barekind.faire.com/user/sign-up 

Fulfilment warehouse - https://www.wearefulfilment.co.uk/

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Hi, I’m Lucy, the founder of Bare Kind. I love animals, and wanted to be a vet when I was younger (now scared of needles so that dream won't become reality), but now I feel like I have truly found my purpose in the work I am doing with Bare Kind. There is something wonderful about being able to have an impact on the world with the humble sock. The charities I work with are doing such brilliant work and I am so glad I can help in my own way.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

How do you grow your business? How do you budget your sales? And how do you create a strategy for your product business and what should you be looking at? If those are the questions you’re asking, then you’re in luck as today on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Claire Morris of Retail with Clarity. Claire is here to help you plan your strategy and sales.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• You need to look at not just the sales you’ve made but the profit behind those sales, what is that as a margin per cent in your business. You need to break your items down into categories and compare these numbers.
• Sell though is how much you sold as a percentage of what you bought of each product. It’s a really good indicator of a product's success. It is better than just looking at the total volume of sales for each product.
• The SWOT Analysis is a really useful tool for any business. The goal is to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats around your business so that you can use these to plan your upcoming year and beyond.
• Claire’s biggest piece of advice is to take into account the internal and external factors when doing your SWOT. Some things are within your control but some things just aren’t.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘I help them get a handle on the numbers that will be dictating their business decisions’

‘Know what happens under the hood of your business’

‘Unpicking the “why” of the numbers makes you more confident in your decision making’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Retail With Clarity

Claire | Retail With Clarity (@retailwithclarity) • Instagram photos and videos

Blog on SWOT analysis: Using a SWOT to review business performance — Retail With Clarity | Unlock your profit | Hertfordshire

Booking link for Pricing Power Hour: https://retailwithclarityconsultation.as.me/pricing-power-hour

ABOUT THE GUEST  

“I help small and medium businesses with merchandising – the numbers-and-analysis kind. People often think that merchandising is all about dressing and styling, but there’s another kind too. The kind of merchandising that I specialise in deals with collecting data about what you stock, what sells best, and how you price it – and then understanding and using that data to help your business. It’s all about planning.

For fifteen years I worked for large retailers, primarily taking care of their merchandise planning. I was based at their head offices, working closely with their buying departments. One buyer I worked with called me ‘Clarity’ because that’s what I brought to our work. I always secretly loved the nickname and it’s the inspiration for the name of my business.

Supporting small, local and independent businesses is a real driver for me. Although I loved my corporate jobs, I’d wanted to work on my own terms for a while. I started working on a side project, and 18 months later the time was right to escape the world of 9-5. I took a deep breath and launched Retail With Clarity, my flexible, boutique retail consultancy based in St Albans, Hertfordshire.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom-line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by Sarah Collins, who is an ethical production consultant and who has for the last eight years been helping businesses source and develop ethically produced products. If you’re looking to make your fashion brand more ethical and sustainable, then this episode is perfect for you as Sarah will be sharing some really great tips on sourcing and bringing down that carbon footprint.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sarah has volunteered with The World Trade Organisation, helped women's enterprise in rural areas, and has worked in ethical production for the last ten years.
• She found, people were coming up to her all the time “asking how did you find your manufacturers? How do you know they're ethical?” And they just couldn't get their head around it.
• Think about what positive impact you want to have. So think about your business values and how they translate into manufacturing. This could be to do with your ethics, human rights, workers welfare, sustainability, anything that you are passionate about you should be making part of your business plan.
• A big red flag for Sarah is if a manufacturer is not supplying you with the health and safety and workers rights information you’re asking for. If they don’t want to tell you how ethical they are, then they’re probably not very ethical at all.
• Remember that different people and different countries have different interpretations of what a living wage is. A living wage should always be above the minimum wage and give people that comfort room to not have to worry about money.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It is just such a win-win scenario, and I think you definitely have more sight over that impact you create’

‘You can do it in so many different ways, but it's about avoiding waste. It's about choosing the right materials’

‘The industry isn't going to overnight start paying everyone a living wage’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website (with sign up form to get free production tracker) - https://www.sarahelencollins.com/welcome

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/saracollins.uk/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-collins-72b6b028/

Free personal carbon footprint calculator which can be a great place for people to start seeing what areas they can focus on within their business - https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Having worked within fair trade and ethical production for 8+ years, I’m now on a mission to make mindful & ethical manufacturing accessible for independent brands.

Through my 1:1 work I connect brands who have a genuine desire to create products mindfully and respectfully of people and planet, with manufacturers who are working with this approach. Building strong relationships that are created from shared values and trust is really important to me.

I like to dig deep and get to the core values of the brand and supplier, reviewing standards and evidence based actions that impact the lives of garment workers. Supporting business models and suppliers in reaching fair and ethical standards.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Lydia Howard, a footwear designer and developer who mentors those who want to start their own footwear brands. She’s been designing and developing shoes for 20 years and when she moved to Spain she decided to go out on her own and start her own business. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When someone has a discovery call with Lydia about starting their own footwear brand they are often starting from different places, one might have an idea for a product, one might have a factory and wants to make the most out of it, or one might even just be someone with a passion. 
• The first thing you should be doing is really understanding the market for your product, what is the demand like, who the competition is, what are they doing, what are the costs involved. You should know all of this before you start getting ahead of yourself. 
• Lydia usually works with a minimum of 200 pairs as that is the least the factory will do. Lydia also tells her clients that if someone else comes in with an order for 10,000 pairs, then that’s the job the factory is going to prioritise. 
• The vegan option in leather footwear isn’t the most sustainable option as many use components that aren’t good for the environment and don’t last as long as regular leather. So Lydia has to ask her clients if they want to be vegan or more sustainable. 

BEST MOMENTS
‘Managing the expectations of my clients is usually the biggest job for me’
‘The most sustainable process is using a last that exists already’
‘I’ve had box manufacturers coming back to me saying they need an order of 1000 for a product with only 200 pairs’
‘I make sure the communication between the clients and the factory works’

EPISODE RESOURCES
Footwear Designer & Developer (@lydia.creates.shoes) • Instagram photos and videos
footweardesigninsight

VALUABLE RESOURCES 
www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach
https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE GUEST 

ABOUT THE HOST
Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.
Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)
Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 
Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email [email protected]
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by Kate Roath, founder of Wild Source, a beauty brand with ritual and meditation at its core, who are now stocked at Liberty and Harrods. Kate is here to tell her business story of going from working at her kitchen table to being stocked by massive retailers. Find out what drives her passion and why she was the perfect person to start this skincare brand. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Kate started Wild Source in 2017 using her background in skincare and aromatherapy. She wanted to make something that would feed her skin that also felt luxurious. She was having to go to healthcare stores to buy products that wouldn’t cause a reaction on her skin, and that wasn’t the shopping experience she wanted. 
• Wild Source launched with four products which covered the everyday essentials that all women will have in their bathroom. It was then from there that she was able to launch more products to fill more niches. 
• Kate’s skin is very sensitive so she wanted to make a product that everyone could use without worrying about eczema flare ups or anything like that. 
• One of Kate’s biggest worries when starting her business was that when the stress of the business caused eczema flare ups, she didn’t want to go out and meet potential stockists. She thought who would want to buy skincare products from someone who didn’t have perfect looking skin. 
• Wild Source treatments in Liberty will be running throughout November and then will be back in January 2023. 

BEST MOMENTS
‘That shopping experience didn’t feel very luxurious to me’ 
‘With time and growth your brand changes, I’m not the same person I was then’ 
‘The proof was in the pudding, my skin was transformed’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES
Kate on LinkedIn
Wild Source

VALUABLE RESOURCES 
www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach
https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE GUEST 
Kate’s own practical yet ritualistic approach to skincare can be felt through-out the bones of Wild Source.
The daily act of applying products presents the perfect opportunity for a mindful moment – but for many of us, the struggle to remain present can mean our skincare routine is sometimes mindlessly applied without a second thought for what our skin really needs.
Wild Source works under the holistic principle that mental calm and healthy skin are seamlessly intertwined. Kate is on a mission to prove that the power of meditation combined with supportive, holistic skincare is the real answer to great skin.

ABOUT THE HOST
Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 
Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 
Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 
Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email [email protected]
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by Sarah Birchall, founder of the beautiful individual clothing brand Cub & Pudding. Cub & Pudding are a unisex family brand bringing happiness to your wardrobes with hand-drawn prints created just for you. Sarah is on Start Scale Succeed to tell you her story of starting her own kidswear business and how she evolved her brand to focus on the adult market to improve its growth potential.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Sarah started Cub & Pudding after finding herself stuck in a rut when her eldest turned three and the offerings for boys' clothes became a sea of diggers and dinosaurs and navy and brown. Zero originality. Sarah loved seeing him in cheerful colours and exciting prints but there were so few options, so she decided to design for him and his little sister, despite having zero fashion experience.
• The biggest hurdle Sarah faced was just the fact that she was a complete novice in the field. Everything was new to her and she didn’t know. Luckily her coach put her in touch with another client who had a factory in Portugal.
• Instagram was always Sarah’s happy place when it came to the brand. In the beginning, she used a lot of influencer marketing which helped her initially grow. Sarah has seen an uptick in sales when she’s targeted her brand at the right influencer and her following has grown along with that. She only uses gifted promotions instead of paid ones.
• The brand started as unisex kidswear but Sarah kept getting messages asking if they would stock adult sizes. People loved the fact they could be “twinning” with their kids. It also opened her up to a bigger market, not just people with children.
• To Sarah success is still being around in five years time running her own brand, having the freedom she has now and not working for someone else.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Some people call it risk-taking, but I didn’t want to look back and think what if’

‘You put so much trust and financial trust in other people’

‘I feel when you pay someone to wear your clothes it feels inauthentic’

‘There’s so much fast fashion out there for kids’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website: Cub & Pudding

Instagram: Cub & Pudding (@cubandpudding) • Instagram photos and videos

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today the tables are turned and I am the guest and my host is Vicki Weinburg. I was a guest on her podcast Bring Your Product Idea to Life and it was too juicy an episode not to share with you here. We chat about my top tips from developing and launching your brand, to how to grow and scale your business, and common mistakes to avoid. I share a range of excellent resources I know that you will want to investigate. Whether you are starting out, or looking to take the next step in your business, there are lots of takeaway actions in this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Nicole worked as buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, MandS,Debenhams and George at Asda, gaining experience in buying, product development, strategy and leadership and global sourcing. In 2020 she established the Buyer and Retail Coach to help small businesses start and scale their product business and increase their sales and profits.
• From working with larger companies Nicole’s advice is that if something doesn’t work, and there will always be something that doesn’t, you should fail fast and move on. The quicker you can find a solution and move on, the quicker you’ll be able to bring in more money. You can then review why something didn’t work.
• Understand your customer, without them you have no business. Don’t ignore your older customer if your business changes, take them on the journey with you.
• A lot of new business owners try to do everything themselves. It’s always a better idea to bring in someone with the skills you need or outsource that part of your business to someone who can do it better.
• When sourcing the three main questions you want to ask any supplier are what their minimum order quantity is, what their lead time is, and what their payment terms are.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Know what you won’t compromise on’

‘A lot more people are using Instagram and TikTok as search engines’

‘Look at where you need to be from a price point, rather than working it out from your cost price’

‘If you’re not on TikTok, get yourself on there’

EPISODE RESOURCES

VICKI:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/productcreatorsclub (Join my free Facebook group for product makers and creators)

https://www.instagram.com/vickiweinberguk/ (Find me on Instagram)

http://www.vickiweinberg.com (Work with me)

USEFUL RESOURCES:

FREE RESOURCE: https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/questionstoasksuppliers/ (Questions

to ask suppliers when starting your business)

Brands and Resources mentioned:

Adam Frisby - In The Style

Katie Tucker | Market research | Author (@productjungle) • Instagram photos and videos

Common Objective

Alibaba.com

Pantee

https://mailchimp.com/en-gb (Mailchimp)

Klaviyo

https://www.launchrock.com/ (Launchrock)

Fiona Minett - http://bossyourpr (Boss Your PR)

Lucy Werner - Hype Yourself — The Wern (Hype Yourself)

Entrepreneur & Press Hangout – LIGHTBULB | Facebook (Lightbulb Facebook

Group)

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

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Are you in a position where you are looking for investment for your business to help you grow, scale or possibly survive? Today's Start Scale Succeed podcast is with Babs Jamieson founder of Jamieson Law, she joins Nicole to cover what you as a brand need to have in place to be investor ready. Babs has been a guest on the podcast in the past where she spoke about copywriting and trademarking, but today the topic is investments.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Babs set up Jameson Law about three years ago now. Originally in the UK and then expanded into Ireland. They are essentially helping small business owners and startups to get all their legalities in place, speaking in plain English, not legal jargon and telling you what you need to know.
• Getting investor ready is making sure that your business is in a position where an investor wants to invest in it, that the process is going to be straightforward, and that they're not going to uncover something that terrifies them and makes them run away.
• Due diligence is when investors will ask questions and root around your documentation. The length of that process and what they're going to find are going to be quite different. But regardless of where you are in that stage, they will be looking for certain things and they'll expect you to have taken certain steps.
• If they don’t like what they find then they could pull out of the deal or might try and take more equity for less money. They might offer you less money for the same amount of equity or they might pause the investment until you go and fix all the issues.
• The things investors will look for in terms of documentation is if you've registered as a company properly. You've registered with the Information Commissioner's Office for GDPR, 99% of businesses need to register with the Information Commissioner's Office. So if you think it doesn't apply to you, it does. You register at ico.org.uk. It should cost you 40 pounds a year.
• The second part is about making sure that you've got good client contracts in place, or terms and conditions. So if you're an eCommerce provider or you're selling a kind of downloadable software or something like that, an investor will ask to see your standard terms and conditions.
• A UK trademark takes about three to four months. Same for an EU one. A US trademark can take about a year. So they don't expect you to have a registered trademark if you're just starting, but they expect your application to be in and for it all to be going well.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I think sometimes people, they're afraid of that legal side and, afraid of what they don't know or think that they're gonna be bombarded with jargon’

‘If an investor is going to open the car bonnet into your business and dig in, what are they going to find?’

‘The negotiation of the legal documents could take six weeks or it could take six months, you never know’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Babs on LinkedIn

Jamiesonlaw.legal

@babsjamiesonlaw on Instagram

facebook.com/barbara.jamieson.52

Legal Leverage Podcast

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email [email protected]

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall