Start Scale Succeed

Fiona Minett is an award-winning expert and coach who helps female entrepreneurs do their own PR and make it accessible, affordable and effective for every business no matter what size you are. Fiona joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed this week to discuss what types of PR generate the best results. Why you should also be talking to the press about your story, not just the story behind your products. What you need in your PR tool kit. What to do if you have hit a wall and your PR has plateaued. timelines for PR and publications. How to choose the pieces the press are going to love. How to approach a PR strategy, and when to decide if you will use an agency or do it yourself.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sometimes the most powerful PR coverage a product business can have is one where you’re sharing more about yourself or your business, rather than a product itself. A profile of a founder or business owner is often the most impactful for your sales.
• The “so what” test helps you peel back the layers and get to the core of what matters. Keep asking yourself “so what” so that you can get deeper answers you can use in your PR and marketing.
• At the bare minimum you need in your ‘PR Toolkit’ before you’re looking for coverage are a functioning website, content, and imagery. Nobody will want to feature you if your website doesn't work, or if your imagery isn’t to a professional standard.
• Look to see if you can involve any of your products in lists that journalists will be compiling throughout the year. Also make sure you have the quantities to back that up.
• Long lead magazines will work 6 months ahead of publication. Short lead magazines work 2 to 12 weeks in advance.
• Keep and eye on the Lightbulb Facebook group (linked below) and #journorequest on Twitter for journalists looking for someone to help with a story. See if your story, business, or product would be right for their request and if you can get yourself in an article you have free PR.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Don’t neglect telling the story of you, your product, and your business’

‘If you want to be in the pages of those magazines, you’ll need to be doing it 6 months early’

‘There’s nothing a PR agency can do that you can’t do yourself, it’s about time’

‘Start small, you do not have to take over the world on day one’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.bossyourpr.com

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

https://www.bossyourpr.com/the-pr-warm-up

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lightbulbhangout/

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.

Today I am joined by Laura Briggs, founder of ladies petite clothing brand The Shortlist. This is my second time chatting with Laura as we spoke before the brand was launched and you can catch that in episode 7 of the Start Scale Succeed. Now we are about 8 months on and today Laura and I are going to be discussing the highs and the lows, the real behind the scenes of when a brand launches and the following months. Not just the glossy highlights that people share on Instagram. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Things will go wrong. The important thing is to keep calm and keep your customers informed. Don’t let adversity knock your confidence. 
• Launching multiple large collections every year is very full on and time intensive. But having a more limited release of new products you can learn what your best sellers are and gives you the opportunity to test and repeat. 
• Some of your mistakes will be seen publicly and some won’t. It matters how you ride that wave and deal with the issues with a positive mindset. 
• Not everybody is ready to buy when a new collection goes live. Laura has learned that people shop in different ways and there is a balance between keeping things in stock and creating hype on social media. 
• Laura had a short spell of spending £35 per day on Instagram advertising leading to around 400 new followers. She is hoping this converts to sales when the new collection drops. 
• You have to make the people on your email list feel like they’re getting some value from it, not just what’s on your instagram. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Making mistakes is the best thing I’ve ever done’ 

‘I see the brand as separate to myself’ 

‘If they’re on your email list they want to be part of your world’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.shoptheshortlist.com
www.instagram.com/theshortlist

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.

Today on Start Scale Succeed I am chatting with business strategist & consultant Dominique Mullally and we are going to be chatting about setting goals, how you can make sure you achieve them and what to do when it goes a bit wrong.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You want to make sure your business is a stable, sustainable profitable business. This is from an energy level and a financial level. Stable foundations will avoid feast and famine cycles. 
• Understand the motivation behind your goals. You shouldn't just pick an arbitrary number and aim towards that. You need to set a realistic goal based on your values  with an emotional attachment between the goal and you. This attachment helps you push through when times are tough. 
• Start with setting an income goal for yourself. Then work out the break even costs of the business. Next add your tax obligations and make sure you understand them. Then finally look at what a good annual bonus at the end of the year would look like. That’s how you get the number you should be aiming for. Break this down into 90 day sprints to achieve the yearly goal. 
• Habits that help people achieve their goals are accountability, understanding your weekly KPIs. People think too big so you need to break it down into smaller goals, then those milestones can be broken down into action steps and items. 
• As business owners you need to outsource those things that aren’t revenue generating as soon as you can. These are things like admin and packaging, leaving your time free to work on those things that will make you money. 
• Try time tracking your last working week. What are you spending your time doing and how much time did you spend doing each item. You’ll be surprised about the amount of time you spend on things that don’t help the bottom line. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Create stability and predictability’ 

‘Always be focused on the revenue generating tasks’ 

‘Don’t invest where you are, invest where you want to be’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.dominiquemullally.com
Instagram: @dominiquemullally
Facebook: @dominiquemullally1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominique-mullally-24058a91/?originalSubdomain=uk
Toggl
Asana

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.

Fashion Designer and Creative Consultant Lottie Woods joins Nicole on this week’s Start Scale Succeed to discuss what to ask a designer when deciding which designer to work with. What a designer will need from you.  Find out about the most common mistakes people make when starting out. How to be sustainable in your design process and thinking about sustainability throughout the whole process and at the end of a garment's life. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When you’re thinking of starting a clothing brand, you should have your brand vision ready before speaking to a designer. If you can bring inspiration images, some sketches, and an idea on the size of lines and shapes, you will have a headstart on the design process. 
• Keep in mind that different designers have different specialities, for example someone who already has experience designing swimwear will be a better fit if that’s your brand. 
• Always bring any ideas back to the original vision. A good designer will keep working with you to do that to keep it on brand. 
• One of the biggest mistakes you can make is working without a tech pack. It is an initial investment but if you cut corners early on then it can lead to problems later on in the design process. 
• Another mistake people make is not to plan in advance as much as possible. People can rush into things to hit a certain season, rather than waiting a year and really putting the time into the design and planning phase. 
• Sustainability should be built into the design of the clothing. A good quality product will be kept for longer and is more likely to be handed down or donated to charity shops. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s important to know that you can get along with your designer’ 

‘You’d be amazed how the most simple sketch can be helpful’

‘The most sustainable product is a well designed quality product’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.lottiewoodsdesign.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.

From Dragon’s Den to her own start up. Jewellery designer Jane Aspel from ‘Emma By Jane’ joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed to talk about sourcing and funding, and starting a business. Some of the topics covered are investment, exporting, the creative process, and so much more. Find out about small testing the market and then going for it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Jane forgot about accounting for customs fees when she made her first jewellery order so was left having to change her pricing plans. 
• Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from people who have been there and done it. Jane’s Grandad had experience in business and was able to lend his ear and help out for free when Jane was just starting out.
• Because it’s just Jane involved in the approval process, she can adapt to trends and get products developed quickly. 
• The factory Jane uses closed for three months last year, but luckily they had just received a large order to tide them over until it was back up and running. Make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket supplier wise. 
• Awards can do great things but if you don’t have people voting with their wallet then it doesn't mean much. Getting the recognition and the word of mouth from winning awards will help sales. 
• You don’t get anywhere without messing up a few times, in business and in life. The trick is to see it as a lesson rather than a mistake. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s so important that you trust your gut from the beginning’ 

‘When you own your own business all these problems become your own’

‘Customs are a massive hit and nobody wants to pay that’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.emmabyjane.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.

Hannah Saunders has gone from the RAF to starting her own children’s skin care brand ‘Toddle’, and recently receiving funding from Steven Bartlett & Deborah Meadon . After finding that there wasn’t anything on the market suitable for under 3 with chapped lips, she decided to start her own business to solve that problem. Hannah joins Nicole on this week’s Start Scale Succeed to tell not just her business journey, but her personal journey too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hannah took the transferable skills she learned in the RAF such as project management and the confidence to undertake difficult tasks and put those into her new business venture.
• Hannah doesn't have any expertise in running a product business but thinks that as a consumer you should be able to reverse engineer that into a product people would want to buy.
• The most difficult part of getting your product business off the ground is the initial finances. It’s hard to get someone to believe in you from the start.
• If you have a big social following, you might have a chance of succeeding through the Kickstarter route. If you don’t have the initial following, then private investment is much more likely to work out for you.
• Hannah brings in consultants to do the high stakes jobs that she admits she would not be able to do herself. For example she gets support for pitching to large retailers and also with her Amazon store.
• Hannah tries to get new products on the shelves as quickly as possible so if they don’t sell, then she hasn't invested a lot of time and money in the development stage.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘Anyone can do this if you keep going’

‘Screaming at a wall doesn't help because it doesn’t talk back’

‘If you really want growth in your business, then pay good people to do what matters’

‘If you’re going to fail, fail fast’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.toddlebornwild.com

www.instagram.com/toddlebornwild

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.

Today’s Start Scale Succeed is a recording of an IG live with Ali Mcleavy, who after 20 years working in buying and most recently as head of buying for Topshop has launched her own children's footwear brand Zig and Star. Join host Nicole and Ali as they chat about how the brand came about and how Ali built the brand and established relationships with wholesale partners. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ali had lost passion for the job she was in and found that passion again creating her own brand and throwing herself into it. 
• By finding the right people who bring their own level of experience to the table, as a new business owner you can really plug some of the gaps in your own knowledge. 
• Ali spent more time bringing people on board, developing and sampling, and working out their brand story before launch. She could have launched in 9 months but decided to wait 2 years. 
• One of Ali’s pieces of advice is to learn along the way while you’re small enough to learn. 
• Zig and Star only work with partners who they think bring something to the brand, it’s not a case of trying to stock them in every single shop on the high street. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You can absolutely have kids and have a career like this’ 

‘Even though I’m not very entrepreneurial, I have belief in myself’ 

‘When you’re a small brand, certain collaborations don’t feel right’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.zigandstar.com
www.instagram.com/zigandstar

ABOUT THE GUEST

Ali, mum of 3, felt frustrated at how the kids wear market directed her to buy one type of product for her daughters and another for  her son. An avalanche of pink unicorns on one side of the shop and an army of dinosaurs on the other. Shoes were no better: boys’ shoes were built for adventure, but where was the colour or the fun? Whilst girls’ shoes were sparkly or impractical...

After 20 years working in fashion and footwear, she decided to tackle this head-on. To create the shoes she wanted to buy for her own children. Unisex styles in cool colours, that not only looked great but were good for their feet and for the planet. Designed in collaboration with a Paediatric Podiatrist, the styles are designed to adjust to each child and grow as they grow.

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.

Today's podcast episode is a recording of an Instagram live with Emmy from Sunday and Soul who are a casual wear brand Inspired by sunny places, with comfort, joy, and confidence at its heart. Join Emmy and host Nicole as they chat about how Emmy went from a marketing career to establishing her own successful fashion brand during a pandemic, the highs and the lows and tips for those wanting to follow in her footsteps.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Emmy's biggest piece of advice is that you will make mistakes but you’ll learn quickly and move on.
• Lean in to your brand when things are slow, revisit your vision and keep working towards that, engaging with your community and remaining visible.
• Trust yourself and your vision. It can be helpful to have an advisor, Emmy’s advisor didn’t let her lose sight of this.
• Emmy’s first business plan was a lot bigger than what it ended up being. She tried for investment but when pitching she felt like she already had a boss, which is the opposite of what she wanted.
• Emmy spent about £4000 on her initial stock as well as £1000 on branding and the designs. She built the website herself using shopify.
• The sales of online brands during the pandemic have gone up because it’s been harder for people to visit physical stores.
• Work out what problem you’re solving for people, and why you’re the one to solve it. This is all part of your vision as a person and a business.

BEST MOMENTS

"The things you can wear in London, if you wore them in Bristol you’d get looks"

"I saw women who ran their own businesses as rock stars’ "

"It’s hard to manufacture confidence because confidence come from experience" 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.sundayandsoul.com

www.instagram.com/sundayandsoul

ABOUT THE GUEST

Emmy Pugh is the founder of Sunday and Soul, a casual wear brand inspired by sunny places, with comfort, joy, and confidence at its heart.

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.

For every single one you buy, they donate one, it’s a good brand strategy that can do some good in the world. Sarah Martin Clarke is the founder of Please & Thank You, a soap brand that offers a one for one offer donating one product for every one you buy. Sarah joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to tell her brand story and why being a business that gives back is so important.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Please & Thank You partnered with The Hygiene Bank who donate hygiene products to women’s shelters and people in need. Please & Thank You also want to raise the awareness of hygiene poverty in the UK.
• When talking to people at trade shows, you can assign a number to each person you speak to so you can score how likely they will be to make an order from what they’ve said during conversation. Then that’s the order in which you follow up on potential leads.
• One of the first pieces of feedback Sarah got form a customer was them saying that they don’t buy luxury products often, but when they do they want it to go to companies like Please & Thank You who do give back.
• Sarah admits she was a little naive launching direct to consumer as a product brand from scratch with limited marketing investment. Some people build an audience first before launch to create at least a small base of people who might be interested in your brand.
• It’s harder to grow on social media now without having to pay a load of money.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I love competitor research as it’s an excuse to buy lots of products and try them’

‘I’ve learned things about the depths of Facebook I didn’t think I’d need to know’

‘If you’ve got the idea and are prepared to put in the graft then go for it’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

pleaseandthankyou.co.uk

sarahclarkmartin.com

Sarah on LinkedIn

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

thehygienebank.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sarah is an experienced brand consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing industry. Strong professional skills in brand strategy and management, product and portfolio strategy, with end-to-end brand management capabilities from consumer insight and project delivery through to in-store execution and through-the-line marketing activities. Extensive beauty brand and retail experience.

Please & Thank You is a Luxury hand soap with in-built kindness.

“Beautifully natural British soaps designed to bring joy whilst keeping hands safe. Our soaps are vegan, sustainably packaged and gunk free. But that’s not all. For every one you buy, we donate another to someone in need.”

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 business owner, how do you make the task of posting on Instagram enjoyable for you? Founder of Grow & Glow and Instagram expert Vix Meldrew joins host Nicole this week on Start scale Succeed to discuss that very topic. Get tips on visibility, reels, finding your rhythm, and being intentional with your content. Also find out about the work Vix does with Grow & Glow where she provides digital learning and training.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You should be utilising all of Instagram’s features such as ‘stories’, where you can tell the story behind your brand and build a connection. You can do ‘lives’ to talk about everything behind your business and products. Then with ‘reels’ you can showcase your products, behind the scenes, and mailing out.

• Instagram is not your business, it’s a tool. Yes you can grow faster if you post more content, but the more time you spend doing that then the less time you’ll have for other work. If you can set a goal for 2 posts per week then you know you can do it regularly and stick to a schedule.

• When you’re just starting out you should be exploring what content you like to post and see who your audience is and what they want you to post.

• Your posts are your shop window, but the other things you do like ‘lives’ and ‘reels’ are you talking to those customers who are visiting your shop.

• Your Instagram is a tool to get someone who doesn't know anything about your brand to know your story and become a customer. You need to be targeting the right people with the right kind of content for your business.

• Look at other small businesses and what ‘reels’ they’re posting on their page. It doesn't have to be all singing, all dancing. There are so many things you can do for different niches. You can take the same idea and apply it in a different way.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You have to make Instagram a positive habit’

‘You’ve been doing it for two minutes, chill out!’

‘Sometimes we forget that the only people who care about our Instagram is us’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/vixmeldrew

www.instagram.com/growglow.co

www.gramandgo.com

www.growglow.co

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE GUEST

Vix Meldrew:

“After 4 years, juggling blogging whilst teaching, finding myself single, then dating, then loved up and going through the grief of losing both my parents in a short time - I decided to leave my school and much-loved role as primary school teacher to: ‘Give this full time content creator thing a go’

After a year of working with brands, and then being asked by fellow bloggers and influencers for guidance on how THEY could work with brands… Grow & Glow was founded. And we’ve done so much with Grow & Glow!

In the almost 3 years since, we’ve helped over 1200 online business owners and personal brands grow their online presence, we’ve partnered with Pinterest on educational events and we’ve established ourselves as a go-to resource for learning how to use content to get yourself out there.

Personally, in this time, I’ve moved from London to the quiet Kent countryside, gotten married and been blessed with stinky-puppy kisses from our first angel Olive (who sadly passed in 2020) and Ruby, our red (and silly) cockapoos.

I didn’t like how Ruby was ripping through her toys and accessories, which were made from plastic and felt like a waste throwing away, so…

In early 2021, I wanted to try a new challenge - e-commerce, and founded Ruby & Olive, originally a marketplace showcasing the UK’s best eco-friendly and home-made pet businesses. It felt exciting to find these incredible brands who were doing so much to fight against pet-product waste and working towards bringing sustainability to this industry.

But juggling two businesses, scaling beyond what I was ready for and tackling personal health issues meant I had to put it to one side.

Luckily for me, my dear Beth, who was once one of my mentees and then a part of the G&G team came on board as co-founder/owner and we are excitedly working behind the scenes on creating our own range of eco-friendly (and gorgeous) dog collars, leads and accessories, with the aim to relaunch Ruby & Olive in 2022!

But something else has always stuck with me… And that’s my love of teaching. Whilst I’ve infused elements of ‘being a teacher’ into Grow & Glow - by hosting workshops, webinars, creating courses and designing educational content, I realised I my fulfilment really comes from creating light-bulb moments and helping my students become more confident in their abilities - and I wanted more of this.

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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