Start Scale Succeed

There's been a lot of doom and gloom about retail recently, and one of the most important things that you need to do is change your browsers into buyers. That’s what today’s guest Elle Williamson, the E-commerce assistant, is here to do. Elle joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed to help you convert traffic into sales.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Elle created the e-commerce assistant to help busy small business owners learn how to create great Shopify websites and use Klaviyo for their email marketing. She does that with a mix of training, one-to-one, consultancy, and a ‘done for you’ service.
• One of the top things for Elle for small businesses, specifically on their websites, is about building trust. A big brand will already have the trust of the consumer but as a smaller brand you have to show that you are genuine.
• You need to make sure your website offers a good user experience and is an easy, frictionless experience where someone can land on the site and instantly know who you are and what you do. Then they need to be able to get to what they want in a simple way.
• Your website is not a once and done thing. You need to constantly improve and evolve it along the lines of optimising for the customer and utilise new technologies.
• When you’re looking at your statistics and data, you need to make sure you do it often and keep your own spreadsheet. Shopify has its own analytics page which you can use to track numbers.

BEST MOMENTS

 ‘It is hard to dilute everything about you down into an image and a few words, but obviously that's what we need to do’

‘Simplicity is key’

‘Looking at analytics can be scary’

‘Whatever you sell, is there something that you can use as that basket builder’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.theecommerceassistant.com

www.instagram.com/theecommerceassistant

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Having spent over 10 years working in ecommerce, within small to big brands, my superpower is showing independent businesses how to get the most out of their online shop and to maximise their ecommerce sales”

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you wondered about what the costs are involved in starting a fashion business or what you should be doing first? Today on Start Scale Succeed Nicole is chatting with Alison Lewy MBE, founder of Fashion Angel, mentor, consultant, and author of ‘Design Create Sell – a guide to starting and running a successful fashion business’.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Fashion Angel is a fashion industry support service offering business mentoring, events and access to funding, to fashion start-ups and established fashion business entrepreneurs. Their mission is to give fashion designers and entrepreneurs the tools to enable them to connect their creativity with the entrepreneurial skills they need, to start up and grow sustainable fashion businesses.
• A lot of people come into fashion thinking it's quite a sexy, glamorous industry and they don't realise what goes on behind the scenes and that you need quite deep pockets to make it work.
• Things don't happen by accident, so you need to have a really clear purpose for what you are trying to do. A strong, unique selling point for what, whatever your brand is and you need to research the market and understand where your brand is going to sit amongst your competitors.
• A business plan doesn't need to be war and peace, but there are certain key sections that you would always be thinking about. What is the unique selling point of what you're trying to do? What is the purpose of it? Can you explain it in a couple of sentences because you've got to get your message over really quickly.
• For a fashion brand, the biggest cost to start with will be your sampling development, to create your new styles, patterns, and prototypes that can be very costly. What is your budget for your initial stock?
• When it comes to sustainability, you often have amazing ideas and you've got a particular idea of how you want to do something. But then when you try and source that sustainably, that can be challenging.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘I realised that there was some amazing talent out there and lots of people with great ideas, but there was a big gap between the creative bit and the business side’

‘So many brands we come across just literally run out of money before they really get anywhere because they haven't done the planning’

‘People don’t buy products, they buy stories behind brands’

‘Product and marketing costs are the two biggest ones’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Fashion Angel

ABOUT THE GUEST

Alison Lewy is a social entrepreneur and founder of Fashion Angel. Alison ran her own design and manufacturing business for 15 years producing under her own label as well as consulting on sourcing and production for designers including Matthew Williamson and Preen.

Alison became the Commercial Director of the Fashion and Textile Museum in 2006 which she positioned as a hub for the fashion and textile sector, and continued to run mentoring and business support programmes as part of the museum’s offer, as well as setting up the Shop@FTM to showcase new designers.

In 2016 Alison was awarded an MBE for founding Fashion Angel and in recognition of her services to the fashion industry. She is also the best-selling author of Design Create Sell – a guide to starting and running a successful fashion business.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Nicole is chatting with serial entrepreneur, Amanda Perry, who has started, scaled and sold several brands and also works with several founders to help them grow and achieve their goals. Listen in for helpful tips from Amanda on how you can grow your own business, dealing with ADHD as a business owner, and the importance of having the right people around you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• From having a business go bankrupt, Amanda has learned that you have to have the right people in giving you the right support. She had people involved in her cake business, but they weren't necessarily the right people and they didn’t give her the right support.
• If your business is a mess and you’re spending all of your time putting out fires, you need to remember that sometimes, there really is a point where the chaos is unsalvageable.
• Are things really hard now or we just had them really easy for a long time? We've had access to data, we've had plentiful sales, everyone's had disposable income. We've had access to social reach on social media and engagement that we don't have so much now.
• Amanda has a new way of planning, which is RE-SMART, based on the SMARTER system. She thinks relevancy is the key and should go first, not last. Think, is it still relevant? And not only is it still relevant, is it actually your goal or is this something that I've picked up?

BEST MOMENTS

‘I remember leaving my job and people saying, are you absolutely mad? And I thought, Yeah, I think I am’

‘You really find out who your friends are when you're going through tough times’

‘I try and base my businesses on the positives and outsource the negatives’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Amanda Perry

Amanda Perry (@amandaperry) • Instagram photos and videos

Heydotta

ABOUT THE GUEST

“I’ve been in business for 15 years and in that time I have started, scaled and sold 4 of my own brands, as well as worked with over 1000 founder-led brands on scaling their revenue through training and 1-1 services.

I use my experience to help founders build a business that looks as good on the outside as it feels on the inside, and navigate the change that comes with it.”

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Nicole is joined by Julie Peelo, founder of the Irish contemporary bag and accessories line Peelo. Julie has worked with designers such as Dior, Marni and John Galliano, creating and overseeing their handbag divisions. In 2020 during the pandemic, she launched her own brand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Julie left her good job in Ireland to move to Italy to pursue her dream. Without speaking a work of Italian, she rented a sofa to stay on and hit the streets to hand out her CV to all the top brands. She eventually found work with Marni with her office in the picturesque Como.
• After working in New York, Julie finally decided to return home where after 6 months she met her husband and had three children together. After her third baby, Julie decided to set up in business on her own as a new challenge.
• When creating her own brand, Julie set her price point at 150 to 450 in the contemporary market. It would still be a luxury product for most people but not out of their price range. Sue didn't want to go up against the huge luxury brands with million in funding behind them.
• When she decided to set up her manufacturing in Portugal, Julie called the Portuguese embassy for information and advice. This is such a great tip because the embassy wants to create commerce for their country.
• Because of Covid lockdowns, Julie had to do the photography for her products in her back garden with herself as the model and with no hair and make-up.
• Julie has found that there is a lack of control over the output you get when gifting to influencers. You never know if they're going to really post about the product and get on board, or if you're just wasting stock.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I accidentally became a big designer director, I suddenly had a team'

'I had planned to be away for a year, it had been 11'

'You have to be strategic over which retailers you use'

EPISODE RESOURCES

Peelo Accessories

PEELO (@iampeelo) • 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode of Start Scale Succeed Nicole is joined by Joanna K, founder of JK Creative Company, which is a branding, marketing and digital company that helps you with your business. Joanna is here to give you advice on branding, creating a brand, and re-branding. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When it comes to branding Joanna likes to take a big picture approach and work backwards to reverse engineer the brand. She asks her clients where they want to be in 5 or 10 years and keeps that goal in mind when branding. 
• Questions you need to ask yourself are, what are your goals? How big do you want to take it? What problem does this solve and how are you helping people? That last question should always be linked back into your marketing. w
• When you’re deciding on a name for your brand you need to remember to consider how it will look on packaging. The same goes for the logo too. A long name or something that's more than three words is just going to be a bit of a nightmare later down the line when you’re trying to fit it on the logo. 
• You want your brand name to explain what you do, but don't go so niched that you've then not allowed yourself the room to expand it further in your marketing. Hint at what you do but don’t constrain yourself into just being one thing and one thing only.
• When naming your brand make sure it's not trademarked already, which you can check on Gov.uk. Find out if the domain name is available and are the social media handles available.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s no point startin small if your goals are massive’ 

‘That gap that you've highlighted is probably what makes you unique’

‘Shorter names are more memorable’

EPISODE RESOURCES

JK Creative Company

Joanna | Brand Design Studio (@jkcreativecompany) • 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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