Start Scale Succeed

How do you grow a beauty brand?  In today's podcast I am chatting with beauty expert Faye Speedie, founder of new platform The Brand Book and founder of  Beauty Bulb. The Brand Book is a trade show - without the show, where beauty brands can link with retailers and buyers and showcase their products digitally and make amazing connections. With several years in the industry Faye and I chat about: the issues both brands and beauty buyers are having right now. What brands can do to help them grow their business . What trends to focus on. And how to build relationships with buyers and much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Beauty Bulb is a dynamic concept that was launched by Faye Speedie in 2017 to support beauty, personal care and wellness brands with their sales and business growth in a flexible way. Beauty Bulb has delivered substantial sales growth across numerous sales channels.
• They've opened dozens of new markets and made hundreds of beauty business introductions for over 40 brands since launch.
• They are experts driving sales growth through retail, online retail, international distributors, home shopping, The USA and China. Faye is passionate about working with founders, owners and their teams at all business levels.
• Faye’s team grew quickly and after just six months she had a team of herself and two others. The brand is now split in half between the Beauty Bulb and The Brand Book.
• If you’re a start up your brand, it’s about knowing where to invest your money. Is it going to stock, or product development, or marketing, or is it social media?
• Nail your USP. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, stay focused and know who you are. Your USP is what will get attention from your target market.
• Buddy up with partners who don’t work in your space, you’ll find you can learn from other business people who’ve been there and learned from their mistakes.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It was the biggest success story the Dragons didn’t invest in’

‘When the logistics guy was on holiday, we’d be there packing boxes’

‘There was no one size fits all’

‘The trade shows are amazing but so hard. Buyers often find it hard to choose’

‘Supercharging their sales is what we set out to do for them’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.thebrandbook.co.uk

www.instagram.com/beautybulb

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

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

Louise has been in the skin health and beauty industry for 26 years from a Saturday girl in a beauty salon to launching her own brand, Louise Thomas Skincare. Louise joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to talk about her journey from developing a skin condition, making skincare formulas for other people, to finally going out on her own and making her name a brand. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Louise is actually quite thankful that she developed bad acne. She thought it would be the end of her career before it even started but in fact it gave Louise the focus and passion for skin health as well as an empathy for understanding the psychological effects of skin conditions. 
• Quickly recognising that her own skin battles were making her fascinated about skin health, Louise’s column became dominated with clients that also had skin issues and facial treatments and it became what she was busiest with all day every day.
• Louise’s obsession with ingredient technology took over and she stepped away from the treatment side of things for a few years as a new career path led her to work for International skin care and device brands for five years. This took Louise all over the UK, developing and training other therapists, doctors and nurses in high level skin care products and machines and benefitting from an expanse of postgraduate skin health knowledge.
• Having her daughter made Louise not want to lose herself and her dream, it became a case of either she started her own business now or she never would. 
• Louise is so grateful that her business evolved organically from working in skin therapy, it meant that she knew her target market and was an expert before she even started. Her specifications for manufacturers were the most detailed they had ever seen. 
• When things were going bad during the pandemic Louise couldn’t launch in the way she wanted, she had everything done and empty bottles waiting to be filled. It was her daughter who gave Louise the determination and she didn’t want to set the example of giving up when it gets tough. She then went out and found a smaller manufacturer who could produce one product to put on sale instead of the five she originally wanted. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘My heart is in helping people getting over their skin conditions, and I think my heart is a little bit in business’ 

‘I had to find what was my message, what was I trying to get out there’ 

‘Because I had all this experience I knew exactly what it needed to be’ 

‘We had 25,000 bottles and jars ready to go, but suddenly we had no money to fill them’ 

‘Recognition drives me, being known for being good in the industry’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.louisethomasskincare.co.uk

Louise Thomas Skincare on Instagram

Louise Thomas Skin Therapy on Instagram

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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 are you feeling about your social media? Should you be on Tik Tok, Instagram? Are you feeling a bit deflated and confused? What should you be doing? This week on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is talking to Abby from Dirty Work Digital, a social media marketing expert. So if you want to know how to get visible on Instagram and engage with your audience then this episode is for you. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• After being made redundant during lockdown, Abby found people coming to her for social media and marketing advice. That’s when Dirty Work Digital was born, to help you stand out in a crowded online marketplace. 
• Some people have said that Instagram is dead, but it’s actually just changing. It’s not just photos now, it’s evolved to take on Tik Tok with more video based content. Abby see’s Instagram as a place to nurture the followers you already have. Reach is a lot lower than it used to be but original content is pushed more than it used to be. 
• To grow your audience or gain a new audience all together is to use Tik Tok, it has a huge reach. It should be at the top of your funnel. Think of Instagram as your shop front and Tik Tok as your behind the scenes with relatable funny content. Get them interested with Tik Tok, and then take them over to Instagram. 
• Keep Tik Tok at a very surface level, on Instagram you should be showing off the benefits of your products. 
• Since Covid, people want to connect with the person and the story more than just the product itself. That’s why you can be more yourself on Tik Tok than traditionally you needed to be on social media. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I love content that’s a bit original and that’s what caused my rapid growth’ 

‘Create content for the audience that’s there, because they’re there for a reason’ 

‘It’s about building a community of people who want to know the story’

‘Consistency shows up in so many different ways’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/dirtyworkdigital

https://www.tiktok.com/discover/dirtyworkdigital

https://linktr.ee/Dirtyworkdigital

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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 Jen Fuller, founder of award winning childrenswear brand Etta Loves. The brand started off in 2017 with a range of muslins that stimulate the sensory development of babies visual and cognitive development. Etta Loves is now an award winning brand with stock in Selfridges among other retailers. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Jen had the idea for Etta Loves when she noticed her daughter, Etta was feeding better and for longer when she was wearing certain clothes. This got her interested in what babies find visually interesting. 
• The first piece of outsourcing Jen did was fulfilment and warehousing. She found that she was spending all of her free time packing and it wasn’t something that would actually grow her business. She could spend her time being a mum and working on things that would add value to the business, rather than printing postage labels. 
• You never know who is watching your business, there might be a buyer who is a fan of what you do but they’re waiting for your brand to be ready. Keep in touch with people you make a connection with and if and when the time is right they will come to you with an answer. 
• Every review is hugely important, you can use them to show off your products on social media. 
• If you’re running a product business you need to work out what that minimum viable product is. The frills will just slow you down and there can be a benefit to getting speed to market. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘The great thing about our products is that they’re not use it once and throw it away’ 

‘Make things really clear for your buyers’ 

‘You went back and your negotiated and managed to get the win’ 

‘It’s a lonely journey so you need to find cheerleaders’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.ettaloves.com

www.instagram.com/ettaloves

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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.

Pop up shops are one of the key ways to attract a new audience and increase the awareness and exposure to your brand.  Today Nicole is joined by David Blakely, business & store development director of Sooks, which provides access to flexible and affordable digitally connected spaces in the UK and around the world.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Have a clear objective – what are you trying to achieve with your pop-up shop?
• Budget – How much are you able or willing to spend on a pop-up shop in order achieve those goals? You need to be clear as to how much you are going to spend and what you are going to get back from it.
• Location – Which country, city and neighbourhood provides the best option for your business to achieve your goal? Consider footfall and foot traffic as well as branding and behaviour. Where is your ideal audience most likely to be? What kind of person are they?
• Venue – what does the space need to have in order for you to achieve your goals? What utilities do you need? (wi-fi, video equipment, or kitchen space, for example) and how will you use them? Most spaces include this in the price, but always double-check. Will you need storage? Will you need storage in the store or will you need storage elsewhere?
• Design – how do you want your pop-up store to look? What will most appeal to customers and foot traffic alike?
• Digital and offline synchronisation – understand how you’re going to couple your offline sales with your digital sales and ecommerce set up. Is it the same customer currently standing at the till who ordered something online last week?
• How are you going to promote it? Making people aware of your pop-up store is very important as you may not be able to rely solely on footfall (depending on where you’re located). Think about the social platforms your audience uses. 
• Success? You should have an understanding of what success will look like and what factors will affect it. Is it a revenue target? A customer engagement target? Number of social media likes or sales?

BEST MOMENTS

‘Pop ups are the best way to get your brand out there’ 

‘They give you a really easy way to test out your brand’ 

‘Understanding the area is key’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.sookspace.com

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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 serial entrepreneur Hayley Southwood, founder of Southwood Social, Southwood Living, a lifestyle & interiors ecommerce business and Hayley has just recently created a beautiful events space that can be hired in the Norfolk area. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hayley opened her very first Ice Cream business in 2002 but when her mum was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer her world turned upside down. A year after she sadly passed away in a moment of madness, Hayley bought an old ice cream van off eBay and started the business in 2009. Doing up the van became a form of therapy for Hayley. 
• Hayley won Country Homes New Business of the year in 2010 after scribbling on an application form and the prize entailed £6000 worth of PR and marketing and 6 sessions with a business coach called Jessica Rogers.
• That little van changed her life forever. Hayley was featured in over 100 publications and had the best time attending parties and weddings all over the UK. The van was used for films, massive brand campaigns in the summer and in the winter, Hayley started helping other brands with their social media strategies.
• Southwood Stores was born on Hayley’s kitchen table in 2013 and then progressed to a lodge in the garden. Whilst this was very fulfilling, she often felt huge waves of loneliness and felt overwhelmed and often out of her depth. Hayley didn't have anyone to vocalise her concerns and challenges to. She had created an amazing job but didn't have anyone shey could connect with who could identify her journey.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It all looks like stepping stones now I look back on it’ 

‘Schools don’t do enough to harness that entrepreneurial spirit’ 

‘It felt like a reflection of who I was, not just a business’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.southwoodliving.co.uk

www.southwoodsocialhub.co.uk

www.instagram.com/southwoodsocialhub

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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.

Are you neglecting your email marketing? Not really sure what you should say or how to engage with your customers. Then today's podcast is for you. Nicole is joined by Loren Nally, who has 25 years experience in ecommerce and digital marketing. The topics they cover include email marketing, why you need it, how to use it, how often to use it, what makes a good email that converts among other things. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Email marketing is important for all businesses but especially retailers and product businesses. It can make up to 20% of your overall sales and is so easy to set up. Social media marketing has the problem of algorithms changing all the time, but with email you just go directly into their inbox.
• You can be emailing your prospective customers before you have even launched your product. 
• A nurture sequence is an automated series of emails that someone receives when they subscribe to your email lists. It starts to build trust with your subscribers. Loren recommends having more than one different welcome email because sometimes people purchase before signing up, and this avoids then getting the same email twice. 
• The best kinds of welcome emails are one that shows who you are, one that shows your values, and one that might offer a discount, but remember it’s not always about sell sell sell. 
• Loren’s tips for getting people engaged with email marketing and converting are. 1. Just start, but do it in the right way, being GDPR compliant and double opt in. 2. Have your welcome email, if you do nothing else, get this right. 3. Clear out your lists 3 or 4 times a year, it’s quality over quantity. 4. Segmentation. Get the right message to the right people at the right time. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I don’t think I could even convey how important email is’ 

‘I find welcome emails having the highest conversion rate of any email’

‘If they’re not clicking on Black Friday type sales, they’re not going to buy from you’

‘You must preview what it looks like on a mobile version’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website - https://www.retailmarketingacademy.co.uk/

Free masterclass on the 18th May 2022   https://www.retailmarketingacademy.co.uk/accelerator-masterclass/

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

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theretailmarketingacademy/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

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.

The fashion industry is worth 31 billion in Africa and there is a rise in the number of UK and European retailers importing from Africa. Jacqueline Shaw is an expert in African sourcing and founder of Africa Fashion Guide and new platform Fashion Africa Trade Expo. She joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to tell you everything you need to know about sourcing from Africa.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sourcing from Africa differs from the Asian market because of the processing supply chain. In Asia supply chains are common but in Africa they are much more limited across the continent with the raw products shipped out before being processed.
• Big retailers such as Gap, Tesco, H&M, and TK Maxx have been sourcing high street products from Africa.
• The main challenge with sourcing from Africa is logistics, it’s not set up in the same way most of us are used to and is highly priced in comparison. If you want some samples you have to order enough to make it worthwhile with the high cost of shipping with reputable carriers.
• Another issue is to do with access to materials, you might think it was a quality issue, but the access to the right materials is more complex. You might have wonderful fabric, but the zips they can source are of a lower quality or maybe the fabric is only available for a limited time.
• A lot of sourcing to Africa is from Dubai so you’ll see a lot of African manufacturers set up over there.
• Places like South Africa, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Mauritius will typically do the 3000 minimum piece orders.
• Jacqueline’s platform Fashion Africa Trade Expo serves small to medium sized businesses. The Fashion Africa Trade Expo (the F.A.T.E.) is the African clothing, textile, leather and accessories go-to sourcing platform for B2B users. It provides an opportunity for producers from the African continent to showcase their product and trade their services to new markets, creating exposure for them to new markets.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s about sourcing in Africa, making in Africa, trading with Africa, and building in Africa’

‘You get wonderful African print fabrics that you don’t find anywhere else’

‘Unless you’re going to do the quantity, you will be challenged’

‘People think oh poor Africa, it’s going to be cheap’

‘Going to the continent is going to be a major thing’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.africafashionguide.com/

https://fashionafricatradeexpo.com/

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Masterclass training

https://jacquelineshaw.lpages.co/4-step-framework-webinar2/

Free guide to get started

https://jacquelineshaw.lpages.co/7-top-african-fashion-business-ideas-guide/

www.jacquelineshaw.co.uk

Author: Fashion Africa published by Jacaranda Books available on Amazon.com

Director: www.africafashionguide.com

B2B sourcing agency: 

www.fashionafricatradeexpo.com

Coaching and training:

www.fashionafricabusinessacademy.com

Business trips:

www.fashionafricasourcingtrips.com

Events 

http://www.fashionafricaconference.com/

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/

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.

As a small business owner you are the one that is often spinning all the plates, you’re the social media manager, the content creator, the designer, the buyer, the packer, but what about when your business starts to grow and you need to think about hiring staff? Today Nicole is joined by Mandy Hamerla, founder of modernhr.co.uk, the go to hr expert for when you are scaling your business when the business can’t function with just you anymore. We are going to talk about how you know if it's the right time to hire staff. What to look for in your new hire. And what do you do if it doesn’t work out?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You know it’s the right time to hire staff when you have too much work on your plate and are reaching burnout, when you need to match your ambitions, and when you need a skillset you don’t currently have. 
• People often ask if they can afford to bring in another person, but you should ask yourself how you can afford not to bring someone in. If you outsource one thing, how much time is that saving you and what can you invest that time into. 
• There are three types of people you can hire, a freelance contractor who is self-employed, employees which can be full time or part time or fixed term, and there is a worker which is in the middle of the two. 
• When thinking about hiring someone be really clear about what the outcome will be. Where is that return on investment going to be? 
• Make your contracts easy to understand. Make sure it is clear to everyone involved what is required and expected. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Just because you outsource something once doesn’t mean you have to do it every time’

‘Some people see hiring as a cost, I see it as an investment’ 

‘Hire your weaknesses’ 

‘You need to hire to grow’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Free Hiring Cheat Sheet - https://go.modernhr.co.uk/free-hiring-cheat-sheet/

Popular Hiring an Employee Bundle - https://www.modernhr.co.uk/products/hiring-toolkit

Premium Contract Templates - https://www.modernhr.co.uk/collections/contract-templates

https://www.modernhr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/modernhruk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhamerla/

https://www.facebook.com/ModernHRUK/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

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/

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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Social media ad specialist Aggie Meroni works with ecommerce businesses to grow their customer base and increase their revenue through ads. She joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to discuss how to create ads that work and what you need to have in place to give them the best opportunity for success. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Aggie found her love for social media ads after retraining in digital marketing. 
• You need to make sure you have everything in place before you even spend a penny. Don’t be put off. You can figure everything out, yes the techy side can seem like a minefield but you’ll get on top of it eventually. 
• You need to have your Facebook pixel installed on your website. If you use shopify then this is reasonably straight forward. 
• Your conversion rate should be at least 2%. Anything under 1% then you shouldn’t be advertising. 
• To increase your conversion rate make sure people have an easy experience. Have multiple payment methods that suit the user. Have genuine reviews posted on your website. And have all of your delivery info and returns policy easily accessible. 
• You should invest in a product photographer because good photos will help sales. 
• People don’t decide if they want to buy from a Facebook ad, they decide on the website itself. The ad is just there to get them onto your site. 
• Make sure you know if there is a demand before you advertise. You should already have sales to prove it’s a product people actually want. 
• There are five things you need to do to have a good ad. Building the ad itself is the easy part, it’s the planning that's hard, these tips should help you in that stage. 1. What’s your messaging and your hook? 2. Is your ad creative? 3. What is your objective? 4. What is your offer? 5. What is your budget?
• Grabbing attention is key. User generated content is a great marketing tool, it’s like word of mouth but in a visual medium. Aspirational photos and unboxing videos can also help grab attention. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your website has to be a high converting machine’ 

‘It’s not how many followers you have, it’s how engaged they are’ 

‘Ads don’t work forever, you need to be proactive’

‘The lifetime value of customers is the most important thing’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

Link to freebie: https://whitebeedigital.com/free-facebook-ads-set-up-checklist/

Website: https://whitebeedigital.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitebeedigital/

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/

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.