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 produc...
May 11, 2022•42 min•Ep. 44
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 sup...
May 04, 2022•43 min•Ep. 43
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 ri...
Apr 27, 2022•28 min•Ep. 42
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...
Apr 20, 2022•42 min•Ep. 41
True testament to starting a lean fashion business is Leigh Unwin, founder of The Style Attic which as the name suggests, did actually start in her attic in 2015 to fit around the needs of her family. This Start Scale Succeed episode is a recording of an Instagram live Nicole did with Leigh. Some of the topics discussed are: Starting a business around the needs of a family. Juggling a side hustle, full time job and family. Running the business through word of mouth and Facebook in the early days...
Apr 13, 2022•27 min•Ep. 40
As a fashion start up one of the challenges that is often faced is finding the right supplier for your business particularly one that can manufacture smaller minimum quantities. Today, Nicole is joined by one of the founders of Resource Fashion, Ziqi who has established Resource Fashion to help combat that problem. The 4 main stumbling blocks when you are starting your brand are: Minimum Order Quantity Quality Timelines Communication Tatiana and Ziqi have established Resource Fashion, an online ...
Apr 06, 2022•29 min•Ep. 39
When I worked in retail we were very fortunate to have access to numerous trend websites that were all targeted at big business from a price and a content point of view. But if you are a small business, where can you get that information and how can you interpret it to ensure it's relevant to your business and customer. The answer is the better trend company. Today I am joined by Natalie and Louise, founders of The Better trend company specifically established to support independents and small d...
Mar 30, 2022•30 min•Ep. 38
This week Nicole is joined by Annabelle Mazu, the founder of Luxurious lingerie brand Ihuoma. Ihuoma celebrates the beauty of women of colour, with exquisite, sensuous lingerie with the aim to enrich, empower, and be bold about your sensuality and the possibilities that arise from living your true self, unapologetically! Find out the challenges Annabelle faced and what advice she would give an aspiring entrepreneur. KEY TAKEAWAYS Annabelle found that the lingerie brands that were aimed at women ...
Mar 24, 2022•36 min•Ep. 37
Sarah Helppi is the founder of fashion resale platform Eskadi, which is the largest preloved boutique. 3000 designers from Chanel to Rixo, mid market to super luxury fashion. Sarah joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed this week to discuss Eskadi’s belief that a business leaves the world a better place than they found it and how Eskadi brings beautiful preloved pieces to more people more often. As well as finding out more about Sarah and the business, we are also going to talk about resale as a bu...
Mar 17, 2022•35 min•Ep. 36
As a product business are you using Tik Tok? if the answer is no then you should be listening to this episode to understand why and what works. And if the answer is yes, then listen to find out how Tik Tok advertising compares to Facebook and Instagram advertising. This week Nicole is joined by Anna Frapwell, founder of Digital marketing agency Neon. Anna has over 20 years industry experience working at one of the World's biggest ad agencies and in house for some well known household names. KEY ...
Mar 10, 2022•31 min•Ep. 35
Do you want to know how to break through your revenue ceiling? In today's episode of Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Lesley Thomas, the Money Mastery Business Coach. Lesley helps ambitious results driven women rewrite their money stories and reconnect with their business purpose to drive their success. Some of the areas discussed are understanding your own money story and how you can change that, how self limiting beliefs are holding you back from achieving the full potential for you an...
Mar 03, 2022•43 min•Ep. 34
So much of what you see on instagram is not the real story. Today's episode is a special Q&A with brand founder Emmy Pugh from Sunday & Soul. Emmy and I have chatted before on the anniversary of her first year in business. However now she is 2 years in and really exposes the nuts and bolts. Emmy also opened this up to questions on her Instagram so this is what people really want to know, but don’t know who or where to ask. KEY TAKEAWAYS If you have an idea for a business and plan on earn...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 33
Lil & Izzy is an award winning brand with sustainability and design as it’s key focus points. Katie Brandon Byrne wanted to create products that stood the test of time and didn't cost the earth. She was inspired by her daughter's sensitive skin conditions to set up her own children's wear brand. In today's episode of Start Scale Succeed Katie joins Nicole to talk about considering both the parent and the child while designing, the challenges when you are starting out and how they are differe...
Feb 17, 2022•45 min•Ep. 32
According to influencer marketing hub, for every $1 that a brand spends on influencers, they get a return of nearly $6. But how do you find the right influencer for you who aligns with your brand, your customers, and your values? This week’s Start Scale Succeed is from an Instagram live where Nicole was joined by someone who knows about both sides of the coin, Stephanie O'Quigley. Find out how to build lasting relationships, gifting versus paid, and the do’s and don’ts of influencer marketing. K...
Feb 10, 2022•46 min•Ep. 31
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. ...
Feb 03, 2022•35 min•Ep. 30
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 Thin...
Jan 27, 2022•29 min•Ep. 29
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 j...
Jan 20, 2022•37 min•Ep. 28
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 s...
Jan 13, 2022•35 min•Ep. 27
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 ...
Jan 06, 2022•31 min•Ep. 26
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 ...
Dec 30, 2021•28 min•Ep. 25
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 hers...
Dec 23, 2021•37 min•Ep. 24
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 bu...
Dec 16, 2021•39 min•Ep. 23
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...
Dec 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 22
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...
Dec 02, 2021•36 min•Ep. 21
The men's skincare industry is expected to grow to $16.3 billion in 2026 and in this episode, Nicole chats with Darren Williams, executive chairman of men's Skincare brand SCRUBD. Find out about how the brand started and went from an exclusive deal with Harvey Nichols, to now being stocked in Nordstrum in the states. KEY TAKEAWAYS When Darren joined the brand, it had never gone to market and had never had to put in the hustle to get in front of people. When they did, they found out that the pack...
Nov 25, 2021•38 min•Ep. 20
Today's topic on Start Scale Succeed is confidence and mindset, to discuss these things, Nicole is joined by guest Roo Davis who is an accredited coach who works on gaining clarity, shifting mindset, behaviour and finding purpose. She helps people understand how they’re holding themselves back and how they can gain clarity in moving forward. KEY TAKEAWAYS Roo calls that negative sabotaging voice in all of our heads our Confidence Gremlins. This Confidence Gremlin stops us from believing in ourse...
Nov 18, 2021•36 min•Ep. 19
Latched UK was born out of frustration when Natalie Ward couldn’t find activewear to wear whilst pregnant and breast feeding. With a background in sports, she knew what she wanted and set to work creating it. Natalie joins Nicole on this week's Start Scale Succeed to tell us how she went from initial concept, to launch in just 8 months and how influencer marketing has really seen business boom. KEY TAKEAWAYS Natalie didn’t outsource anything and did all the branding, design, and registering the ...
Nov 11, 2021•23 min•Ep. 18
42% of businesses fail due to lack of market need, which is a scary statistic. That number could be reduced significantly if the right market and customer research is done at the beginning when you are starting out or pivoting. This week on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Katie Tucker, founder of Product Jungle, who can help businesses do just that. KEY TAKEAWAYS When talking to customers for market research, move the discussions offline. You’ll get much better insights really talking t...
Nov 04, 2021•34 min•Ep. 17
In the UK 30% of unwanted clothing goes to landfill, so we are sending 700,000 Tonnes to recycling centers, textile banks, clothes collections and charity. To give you a visual on that that's enough to fill 459 Olympic swimming pools. This week on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Katie and Amanda McCourt, founders of sustainable underwear brand Pantee who are using fabric termed as dead stock to create lingerie. KEY TAKEAWAYS The sisters Amanda and Katie have set up their own fashion bra...
Oct 25, 2021•28 min•Ep. 16
Black Friday is one of the key promotional events of the year. This week on Start Scale Succeed Nicole is joined by Catherine Erdly, founder of the Resilient Retail Club. Find out all about how to prepare for Black Friday and what you need to think about in the lead up to the event itself. KEY TAKEAWAYS Interest in Black Friday is on the decline a little with a lot of deals not actually being the best deals of the year and the lack of a connection from the UK market to the American tradition. Do...
Oct 20, 2021•32 min•Ep. 15
