This week I thought I’d re-release one of my very favourite ever episodes. If you’re a regular listener you’ll know I ask all product creators who join me on the show for their number 1 piece of advice. For episode 50, I put together a compilation of 20 of the best tips I’d heard from product creators. If you want to launch your own product or are just in need of a friendly boost this is the episode to listen to!
Listen in to hear top tips from:
- Silke Thistlewood, Raise Up Mums (02:08)
- Lauren Hampshire, the Milky Tee Company (03:54)
- Lynsey Pollard, Little Box of Books (04:46)
- Kate Tompsett, Happy & Glorious (06:02)
- Keisha Shah, Teddo Play (08:24)
- Suzanne Hemming, Thea Chops Books (10:54)
- Bee Veronica Moore, Witty Ditty Designs (12:10)
- Lau Morrachini, the Creative Upcycler (15:02)
- Alice Clover, Author (18:10)
- Dawn Friday, Girl Friday Embroidery (18:48)
- Sophie Lilley, Munchkin and Bear (19:49)
- Harjit Sohotey-Khan, Jewelled Buddha (20:48)
- Ruth Bradford, the Little Black and White Book Project (21:55)
- Becky Perry, Paper Pattern Scissors (24:44)
- Priya Khan, Little Crystal Minds (26:23)
- Monique Horrigan, The Dou-Douds (27:40)
- Catherine Marche (28:52)
- Natalia Bolek, Naboso Handmade (31:37)
- Christina Pickworth, This Mama Does (33:26)
- Ruth Bussey, Ink and Scribbles (35:22)
USEFUL RESOURCES:
Listen to the episodes in full:
Episode 4 – How Silke created her resilience cards (and a new revenue stream)
Episode 13 – Creating a products business by sourcing and curating – with Lynsey Pollard
Episode 15 – How to open a shop – with Kate Tompsett
Episode 17 – A family-run products business – with Keisha Shah, Teddo Play
Episode 19 – How to write and publish your own books – with Suzanne Hemming, Thea Chops Books
Episode 21 – Turning a passion into a business – with Bee Veronica Moore
Episode 23 – Creating Upcycled products – with Lau Moracchini
Episode 27 – How to Self Publish Your Book – with Alice Clover
Episode 29 – Selling handmade items on Etsy – with Dawn Friday
Episode 31 – Going into business with a friend – with Sophie Lilley, Munchkin & Bear
Episode 33 – Giving up the 9-to-5 to sell Artisan products – with Harjit Sohotey-Khan
Episode 37 – Selling Both Physical and Digital Products – with Becky Perry, Pattern, Paper, Scissors
Episode 38 – Adding products to your service business – with Priya Khan, Little Crystal Minds
Episode 40 – From selling on Etsy to a permanent showroom – With Catherine Marche
Episode 42 – Making every product to order – with Natalia Bolek, Naboso Handmade
Episode 45 – Selling products as a side business – with Christina Pickworth, THIS MAMA DOES
Episode 47 – Selling printables – with Ruth Bussey, Ink & Scribbles
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Transcript
Welcome to the Bring Your Product Ideas to Life podcast, practical advice
Speaker:and inspiration to help you create and sell your own physical products.
Speaker:Here's your host, Vicki Weinberg.
Vicki Weinberg:Hi.
Vicki Weinberg:, it is just before Christmas:Vicki Weinberg:You are probably super busy.
Vicki Weinberg:I'm recording this a couple of weeks in advance because I'm sure I will be too.
Vicki Weinberg:And I thought rather than give you something completely new now, because
Vicki Weinberg:I'm just not sure it's, you know, the right time to be doing that.
Vicki Weinberg:Instead, I thought I'd re-release one of my very favorite ever episodes.
Vicki Weinberg:So for episode 50, I put together a compilation of 20 of the best tips
Vicki Weinberg:I'd heard from product creators.
Vicki Weinberg:If you listen to the podcast regularly, you'll know at the end
Vicki Weinberg:of each episode, I ask all of my guests to share their top tip.
Vicki Weinberg:So I compiled 20 of those and put them into one huge episode
Vicki Weinberg:that went out, I think it must be coming up to two years ago now.
Vicki Weinberg:So you may have listened to that before.
Vicki Weinberg:You may not.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, even if you did, I think what resonated then might
Vicki Weinberg:not be what resonated now.
Vicki Weinberg:Quite a lot of time has has passed.
Vicki Weinberg:So I thought it was a great one to re-release.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, if you like this episode, you can let me know.
Vicki Weinberg:I am thinking of perhaps an updated one, speaking to different guests, um,
Vicki Weinberg:to get a fresh lot of advice for you, um, because I don't know about you, but
Vicki Weinberg:sometimes that final question where I say, what's your number one piece of advice?
Vicki Weinberg:I get some fantastic advice there.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, and I hope that, that you do too.
Vicki Weinberg:So without further ado I'm going to, um, replay, um, the episode 50.
Vicki Weinberg:First up, we have Silke Thistlewood from Raise Up Mums.
Vicki Weinberg:Silke added a whole new revenue stream to her business when Drew created
Vicki Weinberg:her resilience cards for new mums.
Vicki Weinberg:Silke was my first ever guest and the one and only guest I actually interviewed
Vicki Weinberg:in person back when that was possible.
Vicki Weinberg:hink we recorded in February,:Vicki Weinberg:pandemic and everything was shut down.
Vicki Weinberg:And yeah, this is my one and only face to face interview.
Vicki Weinberg:And, um, really hope you enjoy listening to Silke's advice.
Silke Thistlewood:Okay.
Silke Thistlewood:I think my top tip would be to, along with not being afraid of making mistakes, is
Silke Thistlewood:also not be afraid of make, not knowing everything and not be afraid of possibly
Silke Thistlewood:making a bit of a fool of yourself.
Silke Thistlewood:Um, And I remember, which is my reason for mentioning this, I remember ringing round
Silke Thistlewood:printing firms to get quotes from people.
Silke Thistlewood:And I, I could have done them by email, but I really wanted
Silke Thistlewood:to talk to people to get a gist of what their business was like.
Silke Thistlewood:And I needed people to talk me through stuff because I didn't
Silke Thistlewood:know anything about, you know, card thickness and laminating and,
Silke Thistlewood:you know, full colour, whatever.
Silke Thistlewood:Um, so I rang some printers and the way that some of them made me feel
Silke Thistlewood:was not nice because I rang up and they could tell immediately that I
Silke Thistlewood:didn't know what I was talking about.
Silke Thistlewood:And they didn't have any time for that, which wasn't nice.
Silke Thistlewood:But that is more of a reflection on how they run their business.
Silke Thistlewood:Um, and not on, you know, my ability to, to do anything.
Silke Thistlewood:But the printer that I eventually ended up using was incredibly accommodating
Silke Thistlewood:and they were ever so friendly and had lots of time to explain things to me.
Silke Thistlewood:And the first time I called, you know, they said, oh, we
Silke Thistlewood:can do all of that for you.
Silke Thistlewood:We'll explain to you how it works.
Silke Thistlewood:If you want to use us or not, that's then up to you, we might still
Silke Thistlewood:not be the right printers for you.
Silke Thistlewood:And they were just really, really lovely.
Silke Thistlewood:So, let's stick with it.
Silke Thistlewood:And don't be afraid to have a sort of beginner's mindset and just embrace the
Silke Thistlewood:fact that you don't know everything, but the people that are, you know,
Silke Thistlewood:as passionate about their businesses as you are, they'll have time for
Silke Thistlewood:you to, um, to explain stuff to you and to take you through the process.
Vicki Weinberg:Next up is Lauren Hampshire from the Milky Tee Company.
Vicki Weinberg:Lauren shared some amazing achievements that she's had, but
Vicki Weinberg:she also talked about how what you see when you look at any business
Vicki Weinberg:might not actually be the reality.
Lauren Hampshire:Okay.
Lauren Hampshire:My number one piece of advice, I think we've, we've kind of covered it a
Lauren Hampshire:little bit, is that to not rush and to make sure that you have everything
Lauren Hampshire:in place, that the product is perfect.
Lauren Hampshire:Make sure you've done your sampling.
Lauren Hampshire:Make sure you've got all the legal things in place and protected your design if it
Lauren Hampshire:is unique, and make sure that you've, got your patent in place before you make it
Lauren Hampshire:public because you don't want to launch, uh, without protecting it and then you
Lauren Hampshire:lose that right to be able to protect it.
Lauren Hampshire:And also you don't want to launch a product that there's a problem with, and
Lauren Hampshire:then you end up having to recall them all.
Lauren Hampshire:So make sure that your product is right.
Lauren Hampshire:Make sure that it's protected, um, and don't rush.
Lauren Hampshire:And yeah, then launch once everything is in place.
Vicki Weinberg:In episode 13, I spoke to Lynsey Pollard from Little Box of Books.
Vicki Weinberg:Lynsey curates rather than creates products and also offers a subscription
Vicki Weinberg:service, she had so much great advice to share and this was her top tip.
Lynsey Pollard:Um, I'd say having passion helps, like if you want it to
Lynsey Pollard:go far, like you can, you can do what you want, you can make what you want.
Lynsey Pollard:Um, but passion, kind of drive passion certainly drives me to like get it
Lynsey Pollard:to more people and get more exposure.
Lynsey Pollard:And in doing that, I think you, my main advice is to look after yourself and
Lynsey Pollard:your wellbeing and your, your own mental health, because there's something about
Lynsey Pollard:having to pick yourself up and go again.
Lynsey Pollard:Being, like I mentioned earlier, like you have to be tenacious and you have to like
Lynsey Pollard:dust yourself off and make connections and, and network and keep pushing your
Lynsey Pollard:business because you believe in it.
Lynsey Pollard:And I think one of the things that's really helped me is like having therapy
Lynsey Pollard:and, and counseling and support as I go along so I can remain robust.
Lynsey Pollard:It's kind of like, um, uh, it's like a protective thing to just make sure
Lynsey Pollard:that, you know, you take a lot of knocks and you don't, sometimes it's
Lynsey Pollard:sometimes very uncertain and it's really good to check in and just keep
Lynsey Pollard:yourself strong mentally as you go along.
Lynsey Pollard:That's my biggest thing, I think.
Vicki Weinberg:Guest Kate Tompsett from Happy and Glorious was our
Vicki Weinberg:first guest to own a physical shop.
Vicki Weinberg:Kate actually had two top pieces of advice, and if she couldn't choose between
Vicki Weinberg:them, I can't choose between them either, so we would just call this a bonus one.
Kate Tompsett:Give yourself deadlines is really, really important because everybody
Kate Tompsett:says, if I had time, I would do this.
Kate Tompsett:And these are people with proper jobs.
Kate Tompsett:As I term them, and people with all sorts of things.
Kate Tompsett:But you have to kind of make time, which is, I know sounds
Kate Tompsett:ridiculous, but the time is there.
Kate Tompsett:Time is an infinite source.
Kate Tompsett:We have it, but you just have to let something else go in order to make
Kate Tompsett:time to do the thing that's important to you and the thing that you love.
Kate Tompsett:Um, so yeah, just be a little bit determined and kind of try and do
Kate Tompsett:one thing a day that just pushes you a little further along that road.
Kate Tompsett:I think that's really important.
Kate Tompsett:And I would also say don't be afraid to fluff.
Kate Tompsett:And I think that's really, really valuable.
Kate Tompsett:I've had ideas that kind of seem like strokes of genius, and when I put them
Kate Tompsett:into practice, they just completely flop.
Kate Tompsett:But that doesn't mean that the idea was bad.
Kate Tompsett:And it doesn't mean that I was wrong.
Kate Tompsett:It could be the timing or it could be the approach.
Kate Tompsett:It could be any number of things.
Kate Tompsett:And every, every fluff up is an opportunity to learn.
Kate Tompsett:And if you put them on the back burner, it doesn't mean that you can't use them
Kate Tompsett:in the future and they will suddenly spread your wings and let you fly.
Kate Tompsett:So any, yeah, any opportunity to train and to learn or, and, and
Kate Tompsett:also, or get a business coach.
Kate Tompsett:Sorry, I'm sure this is like five things.
Kate Tompsett:Um, but I've got a business coach who is just brilliant.
Kate Tompsett:I don't use him as much as I did when I started because I find that
Kate Tompsett:the things come naturally to me.
Kate Tompsett:But it's so helpful to have someone that you can bounce ideas.
Kate Tompsett:They're positive and they're realistic.
Kate Tompsett:You can talk about your business for hours on end, whereas if you do that with
Kate Tompsett:a friend or family might have concerns about you or be careful, be cautious,
Kate Tompsett:don't do that, or I wouldn't do that.
Kate Tompsett:Whereas if you've got a coach, they will just help you work out what you
Kate Tompsett:want and how you can reach it, and then support you on the steps that you
Kate Tompsett:need to do to kind of reach your goal.
Vicki Weinberg:Teddo Play was up next.
Vicki Weinberg:Keisha has a great brand that she set up along with her
Vicki Weinberg:husband and we spoke last summer.
Vicki Weinberg:She's clearly a woman after my own heart, as her advice was all about
Vicki Weinberg:the importance of doing your research.
Keisha Shah:What I would say is, again, um, I know I mentioned this
Keisha Shah:before, but you've got to stay, um, you know, focused on your goals.
Keisha Shah:So once you have done your bit of market research, obviously you need
Keisha Shah:to start with that, um, and find out whether your product idea is feasible.
Keisha Shah:You can't just take, um, a hobby, um, and just think that, you know,
Keisha Shah:I'm going to put this up on social media and find my customers there.
Keisha Shah:It doesn't work that way.
Keisha Shah:And in today's day and age, I know social media, It's a great platform.
Keisha Shah:It's, it's great for marketing.
Keisha Shah:Great for advertising.
Keisha Shah:Yes.
Keisha Shah:True.
Keisha Shah:But there are lots of other ways too.
Keisha Shah:You know, there's, you've got Google, you've got YouTube, you've got various
Keisha Shah:ways to get your product out there.
Keisha Shah:Um, and I just feel like when I see people, um, just create something and
Keisha Shah:just start trying to find people on, on, on Facebook and on Instagram, I
Keisha Shah:just feel that that's not how it works.
Keisha Shah:Like tell me honestly how many times have you, when you've gone on social
Keisha Shah:media, do you go there with, with the intention to purchase something?
Keisha Shah:No.
Keisha Shah:I mean, you, you would, if you want, if you really want to buy something,
Keisha Shah:the first thing would come to mind would be Google or some, some, um,
Keisha Shah:you know, online stores that you know, and that's, that's where you
Keisha Shah:are going with that intention to buy.
Keisha Shah:So with social media, I just feel that people are, um, getting a little
Keisha Shah:carried away and thinking that that's where they will get you success from.
Keisha Shah:Um, but yeah, so that, that's one top piece of advice I would give is
Keisha Shah:like, um, you know, do your research.
Keisha Shah:You've got to stay, um, you know, focused on your goal.
Keisha Shah:Um, do not give up.
Keisha Shah:There's going to be hurdles.
Keisha Shah:There will be ups and downs.
Keisha Shah:There might.
Keisha Shah:Or you might even come across a complete roadblock, but don't give up.
Keisha Shah:It, it is going to be tough.
Keisha Shah:No one's ever said, you know, running a business is easy.
Keisha Shah:No one, literally no one ever said that.
Keisha Shah:So accept it.
Keisha Shah:And as long as I think you're focused on your goal, you'll make it happen
Keisha Shah:Again to bear, to bear in mind is, um, you know, we live in a very dynamic
Keisha Shah:world, so we, we got to be able to, to adapt if we need to change our.
Keisha Shah:We should have the courage to do it.
Keisha Shah:Unless you know, I've heard you would have heard the saying that unless you leave
Keisha Shah:the site of the show you, you won't know.
Keisha Shah:You know, you won't be able to, you can't explore new horizons.
Keisha Shah:So keep that in mind and learn from your mistakes and move forward.
Vicki Weinberg:Next up is Suzanne Hemming from Thea Chops, books.
Vicki Weinberg:Sue writes and self-publish rhyming children's books with
Vicki Weinberg:messages of equality and inclusion.
Vicki Weinberg:She had great advice for anyone else looking to self-publish.
Suzanne Hemming:Just do it.
Suzanne Hemming:Just do it.
Suzanne Hemming:Just have a go.
Suzanne Hemming:I don't know whether somebody said this to me or whether I
Suzanne Hemming:read it somewhere, but Right.
Suzanne Hemming:Uh, back in the early days, I can remember, well, the thing that I
Suzanne Hemming:kept told of was, the only thing you will regret is not having had a go.
Suzanne Hemming:So that's the only regret that you will have.
Suzanne Hemming:Um, like again, what is the worst that can happen?
Suzanne Hemming:You end up with boxes of books in the spare bedroom or in the garage,
Suzanne Hemming:or you know, that you have to donate to a library or a hospital
Suzanne Hemming:or schools or like, Just have a go.
Suzanne Hemming:Just do it.
Suzanne Hemming:Um, yeah, it's, it's a bit, I'm kind of seal a stealing a catchphrase there from
Suzanne Hemming:a well known sporting company, aren't I?
Suzanne Hemming:But just do it like, yeah, that's the best bit of advice I can, I can give to people.
Suzanne Hemming:Have a go.
Suzanne Hemming:That's the have a go.
Vicki Weinberg:In the summer of:Vicki Weinberg:of Witty Ditty Designs, be talks about the importance of asking for help
Vicki Weinberg:and not trying to do it all alone.
Vicki Weinberg:I think whether you are just starting out or whether you've been in business a
Vicki Weinberg:while, this is always really great advice.
Vicki Weinberg:And she also had a fantastic tip about the British Library
Bee Veronica Moore:Make sure that you find the right kind of.
Bee Veronica Moore:Help when you first start out.
Bee Veronica Moore:So if you are starting out and you, you definitely don't try and do it
Bee Veronica Moore:all by yourself, you might start off a bit by yourself, you know, at your
Bee Veronica Moore:kitchen table doing what you do, maybe with just family and friends.
Bee Veronica Moore:But when it gets to the point where you need to branch out
Bee Veronica Moore:a bit, you know, don't do it.
Bee Veronica Moore:Try and do it all by yourself.
Bee Veronica Moore:Try and find, as I was saying, try and find, um, a group or, or, um,
Bee Veronica Moore:mentoring, mentorship, mentoring groups.
Bee Veronica Moore:Um, Out there that you can join and there are some really good free
Bee Veronica Moore:ones you don't have to pay either.
Bee Veronica Moore:You know, don't get conned into paying hundreds of pounds to some
Bee Veronica Moore:consultant who says, oh, I can help you with this, that, and the other.
Bee Veronica Moore:There are some really good, um, um, networking organizations out there who
Bee Veronica Moore:are funded to help people like us who.
Bee Veronica Moore:You know, starting out and need help.
Bee Veronica Moore:The other good place is, um, the British Library.
Bee Veronica Moore:They, um, again, not so much now because of the pandemic,
Bee Veronica Moore:it's closed, blah, blah, blah.
Bee Veronica Moore:But back in the day, the British Library was really, really good,
Bee Veronica Moore:a good source of, um, help.
Bee Veronica Moore:They offer, you know, free advice on all sorts.
Bee Veronica Moore:I mean, it's them who I went to and I wanted to get my copy.
Bee Veronica Moore:Done on my logo and in my work, and they were the ones
Bee Veronica Moore:that gave me loads of advice.
Bee Veronica Moore:You know, they, you, you have to book and, and you, obviously there's
Bee Veronica Moore:a waiting list cuz it's free.
Bee Veronica Moore:But you, you could go and see somebody who would take you through all of
Bee Veronica Moore:your rights and your copyright and what you should and shouldn't do.
Bee Veronica Moore:So yeah, that is something that you definitely have to do is, um,
Bee Veronica Moore:is um, don't, don't, don't, don't try and do it all by yourself and
Bee Veronica Moore:get good advice from good sources.
Bee Veronica Moore:I think you're right.
Bee Veronica Moore:Having a network is just so important.
Bee Veronica Moore:Just having people around you, you can bounce ideas off that, you can ask
Bee Veronica Moore:questions and yeah, it's invaluable.
Bee Veronica Moore:I think that's great advice.
Bee Veronica Moore:And I didn't know that about the British Library as well,
Bee Veronica Moore:so I'm fascinated to hear that.
Bee Veronica Moore:Yeah, yeah.
Bee Veronica Moore:They're, they're brilliant.
Bee Veronica Moore:They, they, they, and they have talks.
Bee Veronica Moore:Some of the talks are free, some of them aren't, but even the ones that
Bee Veronica Moore:aren't, you know, it's like not very much to, to pay to go and see some
Bee Veronica Moore:amazing speakers are, you know, entre.
Bee Veronica Moore:Who have done, who you would know the names of, and they talk to you and say,
Bee Veronica Moore:this is how I started, this is what I did.
Bee Veronica Moore:Um, and as I say, they do, they did.
Bee Veronica Moore:And I'm sure once everything's back to normal, they will do carry on doing.
Bee Veronica Moore:So they do offer free advice, um, as well.
Vicki Weinberg:The next episode was with Lau Morocchini also
Vicki Weinberg:known as the Creative Upcycler.
Vicki Weinberg:Lau spoke about being brave enough to share your work and your goals of others.
Vicki Weinberg:In fact, she had a lot of top tips to squeeze into just a few minutes.
Lau Morocchini:Do it.
Lau Morocchini:That's the first piece of advice.
Lau Morocchini:Do it.
Lau Morocchini:Trust yourself.
Lau Morocchini:Show your work to other people.
Lau Morocchini:Whatever you're making to friends, family, uh, show your work.
Lau Morocchini:Try to.
Lau Morocchini:To have a support network sometimes, uh, talk to a friend
Lau Morocchini:or a partner or member or family.
Lau Morocchini:Uh, tell them your goals.
Lau Morocchini:Set some goals.
Lau Morocchini:Uh, tell them what you're going to do.
Lau Morocchini:Do it, show them the product.
Lau Morocchini:Accept the bad feedbacks.
Lau Morocchini:I mean the negative feedbacks because it help you growing and doing better.
Lau Morocchini:Uh, I've someone like, uh, an accountability, um,
Lau Morocchini:accountability partner.
Lau Morocchini:Anyone?
Lau Morocchini:Look, next month I'm going to, I don't know.
Lau Morocchini:I'm going to make, uh, 10.
Lau Morocchini:I'm going to learn how to solve the silver rings.
Lau Morocchini:Hope, do it.
Lau Morocchini:You don't have the money to pay for a workshop.
Lau Morocchini:Go online.
Lau Morocchini:You've got plenty of free, uh, courses.
Lau Morocchini:Jewelry, making all the products.
Lau Morocchini:Learn, practice, fail.
Lau Morocchini:Start again.
Lau Morocchini:Fail again.
Lau Morocchini:Start and fail.
Lau Morocchini:Do it you, you, and put it out.
Lau Morocchini:I mean, in the, in the air.
Lau Morocchini:Show it to people.
Lau Morocchini:Uh, for, for feedback.
Lau Morocchini:Always something very important as well is knowing who your customers
Lau Morocchini:are and, uh, Listen, listen to your customers basically because
Lau Morocchini:you're making stuff to sell to them.
Lau Morocchini:You don't, you don't make stuff just to, to please you in your
Lau Morocchini:workshop and keep them in drawer.
Lau Morocchini:So yeah, communicate a lot with your customers as much as you can.
Lau Morocchini:What else, but go line, investigate.
Lau Morocchini:Don't worry if you see, oh, I had this product in mind,
Lau Morocchini:but, oh, it already exists.
Lau Morocchini:It doesn't matter.
Lau Morocchini:Do it.
Lau Morocchini:Try to do it better.
Lau Morocchini:Try to transform it.
Lau Morocchini:Try to to add something more to it.
Lau Morocchini:Different color, different material, anywhere depending on your project.
Lau Morocchini:What else?
Lau Morocchini:Learn.
Lau Morocchini:I'm, for example, I'm, I'm a wood turn, but I'm a self taught, I
Lau Morocchini:never paid for turning class.
Lau Morocchini:Even my partner for Christmas bought me a two days ago for an advanced course.
Lau Morocchini:Since the successful advanced wound turning, I will be, I, I'll go there to
Lau Morocchini:learn more, more techniques, but I've learned a lot of things with people.
Lau Morocchini:Online, practicing, failing, doing it again, et cetera.
Lau Morocchini:So yeah, I'll go at it and you'll be better every day.
Vicki Weinberg:Alice Clover was my next guest.
Vicki Weinberg:Alice is a self-published author and her books focus on gender and equality.
Vicki Weinberg:an event in Brighton back in:Vicki Weinberg:it was so lovely and exciting to have her on the podcast.
Vicki Weinberg:Alice spoke a lot about the importance of just doing it, just
Vicki Weinberg:writing and enjoying what you do.
Alice Clover:Um, Just write, and if you're really passionate about it and
Alice Clover:you believe in yourself, you can succeed.
Alice Clover:You've just got to be patient and realize that it's not going to become
Alice Clover:a best seller overnight, or it's not going to sell loads overnight, and you
Alice Clover:might not make any money from it at all.
Alice Clover:But if you really are passionate about it and want to do it, you should just.
Vicki Weinberg:Next, I spoke of Dawn Friday from Girl Friday Embroidery.
Vicki Weinberg:Dawn was the first Etsy seller on the podcast, and I learned
Vicki Weinberg:such a lot from that episode.
Vicki Weinberg:Dawn makes all of her products by hand and her advice is
Vicki Weinberg:fantastic for creators and makers.
Dawn Friday:Um, I would say, Be yourself, um, because it shines through in what
Dawn Friday:you do, um, and create your own style.
Dawn Friday:Um, there are a lot of us on Instagram that freehand embroider,
Dawn Friday:but we all do it in a different way.
Dawn Friday:Um, our work all looks different and I think you can tell when someone is
Dawn Friday:trying to not copy, but when someone is trying to do something that isn't them.
Dawn Friday:So, yeah, I would say just, just find your own way really and find your own style.
Dawn Friday:And don't overthink it.
Dawn Friday:Just do it , which is my message to myself most days.
Dawn Friday:Um, as I said, you kind faff about and you, you think about things too much, but
Dawn Friday:sometimes you're better off just having a.
Vicki Weinberg:The next episode I want to share is with Sophie
Vicki Weinberg:Lilly for Munchkin and Bear.
Vicki Weinberg:Sophie actually went into business with her friend, which many of you I know found
Vicki Weinberg:really interesting, and Sophie's advice is all about knowing your customers.
Sophie Lilly:I would be really know what problem you are trying to solve, um, and
Sophie Lilly:really know who you are doing it for.
Sophie Lilly:Because I think there's, it's very easy, and I went through a process
Sophie Lilly:before I kind of landed here and approached Alana of thinking
Sophie Lilly:through different things I could do.
Sophie Lilly:Um, and it's easy to start from your skill set and go, well, I can make
Sophie Lilly:cushions, so I'm gonna make cushions.
Sophie Lilly:And, and that's definitely a part of that journey cuz you wanna do something
Sophie Lilly:you can do or you feel passionate about.
Sophie Lilly:But I think working out what you are selling and who is it for and
Sophie Lilly:in what moment in their life, really helps you kind of get it right.
Sophie Lilly:Um, and, and also then the marketing piece becomes a lot easier because
Sophie Lilly:you know who you're trying to talk to.
Sophie Lilly:Um, yeah, that would be my tip.
Vicki Weinberg:Then spoke with Harjit Sohotey-Khan from Jewelled Buddha.
Vicki Weinberg:I'd known Harjit a while, and was just so excited to have her on the podcast.
Vicki Weinberg:Her advice is also along the lines of trying not to do everything alone.
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:I would say if you're just starting off, get help,
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:because I think from that, you know, you get, um, , it really helps you on your
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:journey to the starting, and starting is the most difficult thing, you know?
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:Um, having help from mentors, um, and other business owners that are either in
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:your field or not is totally invaluable.
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:Yeah.
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:You know, so, um, I, I would say get help, definitely enjoying lots of Facebook
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:groups and support groups because, you know, they can help you, um, you know,
Harjit Sohotey-Khan:down the path that you need really to, you know, make a good go of your business.
Vicki Weinberg:The next episode is with Ruth Bradford from the
Vicki Weinberg:Little Black and White Book project.
Vicki Weinberg:The whole episode is focused on the importance of just going
Vicki Weinberg:for it, and Ruth's advice is all around following your own path and
Vicki Weinberg:focusing on what works for you.
Vicki Weinberg:Ruth also speaks about following people only a few steps ahead
Vicki Weinberg:rather than those that are a long way out from where you want to be.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, and I really love that is, that is what this podcast is all about.
Ruth Bradford:See, this is really hard because the, the more I talk about my
Ruth Bradford:journey, the more I realize I've got all these little bits that I want people to.
Ruth Bradford:Take on board.
Ruth Bradford:But, um, I think the biggest learning for me has been.
Ruth Bradford:There are no rules that contrary to what all these people who probably make
Ruth Bradford:millions of pounds a year telling you out of consulting or you know, that
Ruth Bradford:people set their business up around telling other people how to make
Ruth Bradford:millions and all that kinda stuff.
Ruth Bradford:But ultimately, as long as you are following the advice and tax rules,
Ruth Bradford:everything else is up for grabs.
Ruth Bradford:So there's no reason why you should be running your business as a
Ruth Bradford:carbon copy of someone else's, you know, like do this your own way.
Ruth Bradford:If you wanna grow slow, grow slow.
Ruth Bradford:If you wanna grow, you know, be a massive overnight success,
Ruth Bradford:put your effort into that.
Ruth Bradford:Whatever it is, just remember that like everyone will have advice.
Ruth Bradford:Pick and choose what works for you and what applies to you and
Ruth Bradford:what your, what you resonate with.
Ruth Bradford:Like, and discard the rest.
Ruth Bradford:You know, shut out all of those voices.
Ruth Bradford:Stay in your own lane.
Ruth Bradford:Um, and just, yes, strip it down to Microtasks to start somewhere, because.
Ruth Bradford:You can't learn anything if you don't start.
Ruth Bradford:So just have a go.
Ruth Bradford:Try not to be scared.
Ruth Bradford:Easier said than done , but I think really breaking it down into tiny little
Ruth Bradford:microtasks that just push you forward little by little and forgetting about
Ruth Bradford:the rules and just doing it your own way.
Ruth Bradford:Like I said, I super going, Hey, we'll jump in first.
Ruth Bradford:That won't work for everybody, but that worked for me.
Ruth Bradford:You know, I think I've got a business plan somewhere, but it certainly
Ruth Bradford:wasn't the first thing that I wrote.
Ruth Bradford:Um, so.
Ruth Bradford:Yeah, I think it's just throw the rule book out.
Ruth Bradford:Don't worry about it.
Ruth Bradford:Just, just have a go and see what happens.
Ruth Bradford:Is that like super old cliche about fail fast, fail cheap, but it's so true.
Ruth Bradford:Just you won't know unless you try, um, and put yourself out there and, and
Ruth Bradford:just however, however you can do that.
Ruth Bradford:So breaking it down into really small tasks or, you know,
Ruth Bradford:giving yourself many challenges.
Ruth Bradford:Finding a great support group.
Ruth Bradford:You know, whatever that is, that's gonna propel you forward,
Ruth Bradford:just take those little steps.
Ruth Bradford:Because now I'm like three years on and I look back and like talking to
Ruth Bradford:you, I'm like, I never realized I'd have so much to say, . You know?
Ruth Bradford:And it creeps up on you that all of a sudden you've got all this knowledge
Ruth Bradford:to share and, um, There are those people who are huge mega successes,
Ruth Bradford:but they're so far out of reach.
Ruth Bradford:And actually what you need to hear from are people who are few steps ahead of
Ruth Bradford:you each time, because you can go, oh, well I could be there by next year.
Ruth Bradford:Um, and you only really get that from just starting and trying and talking
Ruth Bradford:to other people and having a go.
Vicki Weinberg:Next up is Becky Perry from Paper Pattern Scissors.
Vicki Weinberg:Becky sells both physical and digital products, which was a really
Vicki Weinberg:interesting aspect to chat about.
Vicki Weinberg:Her advice is about working out what you need to do to get started and
Vicki Weinberg:about getting help where you need it.
Becky Perry:I think the the key thing realistically is working out.
Becky Perry:What, what you really, really need to get your business started.
Becky Perry:So why are you doing it?
Becky Perry:Who is going to buy it?
Becky Perry:And also what are all the components that you need to gather to get that going?
Becky Perry:I think, uh, I've had sort of really interesting conversations with various
Becky Perry:people recently because, you know, a lot of, a lot of jobs are changing and
Becky Perry:people are kind of, you know, people are losing their jobs and they want
Becky Perry:to start their own thing, and why not?
Becky Perry:You know, it's a time to.
Becky Perry:I think the more you delve into something that you want to do, the more
Becky Perry:you realize how much planning there is in there and kinda how much you
Becky Perry:know, realistically, how much money do you need to spend to get this out?
Becky Perry:Who might you need to employ on the things that you can't do yourself?
Becky Perry:So for instance, uh, I employed someone to do my branding because that's not
Becky Perry:really, I, I love having an opinion on branding and I love giving feedback on
Becky Perry:branding, but I can't design it myself.
Becky Perry:You.
Becky Perry:I wanted someone to do that and someone who knew what they were doing.
Becky Perry:So kind of employing, employing people for the right parts of different jobs
Becky Perry:that I can't do myself is, uh, is key.
Becky Perry:And just, yeah, just kind of really making sure you kind of clear on what you're
Becky Perry:gonna have to do before you can launch.
Vicki Weinberg:At the end of:Vicki Weinberg:Little Crystal Minds about adding products to a service based business.
Vicki Weinberg:Prius's advice really reinforces what you've already heard from others on
Vicki Weinberg:this episode, which I just think goes to show how important it is and how
Vicki Weinberg:much that we all do need to hear it.
Priya Khan:Um, I would say find your tribe.
Priya Khan:Find people that are going through a similar experience to you because it
Priya Khan:can be quite difficult and quite lonely.
Priya Khan:Um, and you can get disheartened quite a lot and actually everyone's
Priya Khan:going through the same process.
Priya Khan:So finding people that understand your challenges, your pain points, um,
Priya Khan:really helps because also they help you.
Priya Khan:Um, like you say, everyone makes mistakes and they've probably made mistakes
Priya Khan:and you can just ask the question and they can help and support you
Priya Khan:and guide you as well and vice versa.
Priya Khan:And it's just nice to have a community.
Priya Khan:So that would be my top tip is don't do it alone.
Priya Khan:Find your tribe, find your community to help you.
Priya Khan:And I think I've done that and I'm gonna just plug them.
Priya Khan:The All By Mama Group, um, have been brilliant for me.
Priya Khan:I've had a few communities that I've gone to in the past, um, but I.
Priya Khan:It's difficult to find.
Priya Khan:The one that you kind of connect with and just keep trying
Vicki Weinberg:Next up was Monique Horrigan from the Duo-Dudes.
Vicki Weinberg:Monique's spoke really well about following your dreams while still being
Vicki Weinberg:realistic and not putting too much pressure on yourself, which is advice
Vicki Weinberg:I think we all need from time to time.
Monique Horrigan:I would definitely say if you just follow your gut,
Monique Horrigan:if you have a dream and you want to pursue it, just give it a go, you know?
Monique Horrigan:But just be realistic.
Monique Horrigan:I totally underestimated how much time, money, and effort, you know, and let's.
Monique Horrigan:That have gone into this, it would be because I just had this
Monique Horrigan:simplified version in my mind of, oh, I can make it in concerts.
Vicki Weinberg:And I think you do have to just.
Vicki Weinberg:Be realistic with yourself and say, this is gonna be a long, hard slog.
Vicki Weinberg:It's, you know, it's taken me three years to get here.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, I think, and that's just, and I still don't feel like I'm on
Vicki Weinberg:of it yet, purely because of, and a, a second baby in the middle.
Vicki Weinberg:Like I've just sort of got myself set up.
Vicki Weinberg:But, um, yeah, it's just one of those things that just, you know, if you
Vicki Weinberg:believe in yourself, that's brilliant because you've gotta start there.
Vicki Weinberg:And.
Vicki Weinberg:Push hard and work hard, and you'll definitely make it
Vicki Weinberg:Catherine Marche, who makes beautiful handmade jewelry.
Vicki Weinberg:Catherine had some fantastic advice about staying true to yourself.
Vicki Weinberg:I also loved what she had to say about pricing and about not
Vicki Weinberg:undervaluing yourself or your products.
Catherine Marche:So I would say, um, you have to listen to yourself.
Catherine Marche:Um, you.
Catherine Marche:The only one who really knows exactly what it is that you want to do and why, and
Catherine Marche:sometimes people who are going to give you advice are going to hinder your, um,
Catherine Marche:wouldn't say your judgment, but they're going to put breaks to your, to you flying
Catherine Marche:room through Dunno if that makes sense.
Catherine Marche:I would say sometime if you're tourism.
Catherine Marche:You're going to, you know, try to tell her for the mass.
Catherine Marche:But the thing is that everybody has a specific, something special, which
Catherine Marche:is not necessarily for everyone.
Catherine Marche:And by being yourself and staying through to yourself, you're going
Catherine Marche:to attract the people who are going to love what you really.
Catherine Marche:But if you try to not be yourself, you're not going to enjoy what you make
Catherine Marche:anymore, what you're going to try to do anymore, and then it's gonna take
Catherine Marche:longer and it's, it's gonna be boring.
Catherine Marche:But the other thing I would say is also do your mass.
Catherine Marche:I see so many times people trying to make a living, but their
Catherine Marche:price are absolutely too small.
Catherine Marche:Cause they don't take into account that time.
Catherine Marche:They don't take into account, you know, everything that comes around
Catherine Marche:like insurance and, and I think that, If you really want to be serious
Catherine Marche:about something, one, do something you love the way you wanna and that is
Catherine Marche:really something that is not possible or not legal, I dunno, but, and, um,
Catherine Marche:make sure that you price it properly.
Catherine Marche:You know, it's not a charity that you're running, I mean, press properly.
Catherine Marche:There's no, I've seen people who I don't know, like meet the cardigan and detect.
Catherine Marche:Seven days of eight hours, so that's what, 50 plus hours to make the card.
Catherine Marche:And then they're going to study something like, what, 50 pounds.
Catherine Marche:And you think, does that even cover the price of the woo?
Catherine Marche:I wouldn't, you know, make 50 hours of work for one per hour.
Catherine Marche:I mean, yeah, you have to make sure that you price it.
Vicki Weinberg:Next is Natalia Bolek from Naboso Handmade.
Vicki Weinberg:Natalia makes really unique personalized products, and I loved her message about
Vicki Weinberg:knowing what works for you and not necessarily taking everyone else's device
Vicki Weinberg:on board, but really thinking about what resonates with you and what and what
Vicki Weinberg:makes sense for you and for your business.
Natalia Bolek:Never give up.
Natalia Bolek:It's like, um, Sometimes we have this voice telling us, oh, we have those people
Natalia Bolek:around us and I've met a lot of them.
Natalia Bolek:Oh, that's not gonna work.
Natalia Bolek:Or, or this for that much money.
Natalia Bolek:Or are you crazy?
Natalia Bolek:And it's like, you know, you have all these people with bad.
Natalia Bolek:Uh, advices.
Natalia Bolek:Just don't listen to them.
Natalia Bolek:Uh, surround yourself or network yourself with, uh, people who
Natalia Bolek:do similar stuff to yours.
Natalia Bolek:Listen to good advice.
Natalia Bolek:Sometimes if you have a person who's in like similar field might help you and tell
Natalia Bolek:you that you can do better pictures or use better lightings or give you small tips.
Natalia Bolek:, you know, it's you, you have to like sometimes network.
Natalia Bolek:I've met so many great people while I am doing what I'm doing, even though
Natalia Bolek:those people are selling different stuff like clothes or jewelry
Natalia Bolek:makers or they're into photography.
Natalia Bolek:It's so nice that I loved my journey through that.
Natalia Bolek:And, um, I, I, I'm learning a lot as well, so, you know.
Natalia Bolek:Just never gave up.
Natalia Bolek:Just put it on the piece of the note on the, like, on your pictures
Natalia Bolek:and, uh, um, on your mirror and just, you know, keep going.
Vicki Weinberg:My last interviews in:Vicki Weinberg:This Mama Does, Christina runs This Mama Does alongside her full time business.
Vicki Weinberg:And her advice is, I really aim at anyone want to create products
Vicki Weinberg:on the side, but I still think it's good for everyone to hear.
Christina Pickworth:Yeah, I think really you just, if there's
Christina Pickworth:something that you want to do, just.
Christina Pickworth:Go for it.
Christina Pickworth:Give it a try.
Christina Pickworth:You know, maybe it won't work.
Christina Pickworth:Maybe it will.
Christina Pickworth:Maybe it's something that can sit alongside whatever you are doing.
Christina Pickworth:Maybe it will overtake whatever it else is that you are doing, but you
Christina Pickworth:can make those decisions and decide how it can serve you in the best way.
Christina Pickworth:And that might be, Justin that it, it's just a little extra thing that
Christina Pickworth:you do because you love it and you know, it lights you up in some way.
Christina Pickworth:You know, equally, you might decide that it's too hard and too much work
Christina Pickworth:and it doesn't sit alongside other things, but at least you've done it then.
Christina Pickworth:And you know, and it's not that thing of, oh, I, I wish I'd given that a whirl.
Christina Pickworth:Just give it a try.
Christina Pickworth:Do what you can do.
Christina Pickworth:Don't beat yourself up about.
Christina Pickworth:How much time you are able to dedicate to it.
Christina Pickworth:Certainly don't compare yourself to other businesses, because
Christina Pickworth:I think that's something.
Christina Pickworth:That can be easy to do, but you've just got to remember, if it's a
Christina Pickworth:side hustle, it's a side hustle.
Christina Pickworth:You know, you can't look at other people that are, you know, perhaps spending
Christina Pickworth:loads of money on PR or marketing or social media or you know, product
Christina Pickworth:development and think, oh, but you know, they're doing much better than me.
Christina Pickworth:Well, they're just doing something different to you.
Christina Pickworth:So I think you just have.
Christina Pickworth:Go for it.
Christina Pickworth:Stay in your own lane and do it because you love it.
Christina Pickworth:And if you don't love it, then just don't do it anymore.
Christina Pickworth:That's, that's, I think that's, that's all you can do will, isn't it?
Christina Pickworth:I, you know, just give it a go and see where you end up.
Vicki Weinberg:Okay, so our final contribution is from Ruth Bussey, from
Vicki Weinberg:Ink and Scribbles, Ruth's advice is short and sweet and well worth listening
Vicki Weinberg:to, so it's a fantastic way to end.
Ruth Bussey:I think that I would say, um, going back and touching on what we were
Ruth Bussey:saying earlier, um, learn research first.
Ruth Bussey:Do your research first, but then just do it.
Ruth Bussey:Don't, um, put pressure on yourself, um, to make it one way or another.
Ruth Bussey:Just be on the journey.
Ruth Bussey:. So what did you think of that?
Ruth Bussey:If it was your first or second time, or even more times than
Ruth Bussey:that listening, I hope you still took away something super useful.
Vicki Weinberg:This will be the last that you'll hear from me this year.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, there will be an episode next week that'll be an
Vicki Weinberg:interview of me speaking for a.
Vicki Weinberg:With a guest and I really hope you've enjoyed the episodes
Vicki Weinberg:I've put out this year.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, please do continue to listen.
Vicki Weinberg:Please recommend to your friends if you'd like to join me as a guest or
Vicki Weinberg:if you have an idea of a topic you'd like me to cover, please, please,
Vicki Weinberg:please always do get in touch.
Vicki Weinberg:It's Vicki, v i c k i at Vicki, v i c k i w e i n b e r g.com.
Vicki Weinberg:So it's vicky@vickyweinberg.com, and you can also find that link in the show notes.
Vicki Weinberg:I genuinely like to know what.
Vicki Weinberg:I really want to keep it to our episodes that you are enjoying and that are useful.
Vicki Weinberg:So, um, never hesitate to get in touch and tell me what it is you need.
Vicki Weinberg:Um, so all the best and I wish you a wonderful, a wonderful New Year.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank you so much for listening Right to the end of this episode.
Vicki Weinberg:Do you remember that You can get the full back catalog and lots of free resources
Vicki Weinberg:on my website vicky weinberg.com.
Vicki Weinberg:Please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it,
Vicki Weinberg:and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful.
Vicki Weinberg:Thank