Between the legacy of the Coronavirus pandemic, ballooning energy costs, rising levels of inflation and strikes left, right and centre, I think it’s safe to assume that some of you might be feeling a bit drained, exhausted even. Maybe you’ve had issues sourcing your products or materials, perhaps your online sales have dissipated dramatically post-lockdown, or maybe everyone around you seems to be succeeding whilst you’re struggling to make ends meet. Whatever your situation, when things get tou...
Aug 25, 2022•25 min
E-commerce can be very demanding. It takes enough energy and focus to create, source, produce and manufacture wonderful products - finding the consistent motivation, correct strategy and optimal platform on which to then sell can feel like an exhausting and elusive endeavour at the best of times. That's why in episode 107 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to fashion brand consultant Elizabeth Stiles. Equipped with over 15 years of experience in the retail industry, Elizabeth focuses on ...
Aug 18, 2022•45 min
As the summer sun continues to beat down harder than ever, for some of you, it might seem like your sales have dried up along with the nation's rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and whether you’ve been seeing steady growth throughout the year or not, it’s all too easy to let panic set in when you’re confronted with a sudden drop in sales. But fear not! In today’s podcast, I’m here to remind you that, unless you're a summer brand, August is typically a quiet time for many businesses - and that actual...
Aug 11, 2022•23 min
In today’s episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Emily Canino, founder of Doodlemoo, a UK-based independent lifestyle brand offering art prints, homewares, stationery, jewellery and gifts. Doodlemoo has been featured in numerous magazines and has also found fame on the small screen, having been included on programmes such as ‘The Circle’ and ‘Tattoo Fixers’, but, as you can imagine, it’s not all been plain sailing! Emily has had to learn everything about running a business from s...
Aug 04, 2022•29 min
With the immense number of businesses out there and the sheer amount of products available the world over, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything and everyone is catered for, but you need only go as far as your local supermarket to discover that from fashion to tech, cosmetics to stationery and everything in between, that there are plenty of instances of design biases and blindspots when it comes to diversity and inclusion. In episode 104 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Che...
Jul 28, 2022•26 min
One of the consistent trends I’ve noticed throughout the many conversations I’ve had with small business owners is that a great number of their journeys into the product business world marked the end of an often well-established and successful career - sometimes completely unrelated to their current independent endeavours. My guest today is no exception. Gayle Mansfield could have gone back to her role as a project manager for a social housing partnership after her maternity leave, but instead f...
Jul 21, 2022•30 min
Whether it’s businesses reappraising their supply chains or ditching plastic, HR departments extending their range of opportunities for more inclusive leave, or customers shopping more consciously, we’ve seen a real shift in recent years regarding attitudes towards environmental, human and social impact. But for every brand with a genuine desire to use business as a force for good, there’s a large number out there greenwashing their brands in pursuit of pure profit. That’s where B Corps steps in...
Jul 14, 2022•35 min
We’re not quite post-pandemic yet, but the shops are open, trade shows are back and retail, for the most part, has got back into the swing of things. This doesn’t mean however that anyone’s seeing anything approaching ’normal’ when it comes to sales. With the shift from shopping online in lockdown to the current desire for consumers to hit the high street, many businesses have seen their sales plummet and with the cost of living crisis reductions in spending are expected to continue. With all th...
Jul 07, 2022•34 min
After almost exactly two years since it started and with over 53,000 downloads at the time of recording, I’m incredibly pleased to say that we’ve reached episode 100 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan. It’s been my pleasure and privilege to have had so many amazing guests join me on the podcast, and I’m deeply grateful for the time and expertise they’ve all shared, but this wouldn’t happen without you, the listeners, and I can’t thank you enough for tuning in, getting in touch and coming on this ...
Jun 30, 2022•35 min
As the fourth largest social media platform in the world, Instagram has undoubtedly become ubiquitous with the way we connect, interact and for us as product business owners, how we market and even sell our goods. In my conversations with other founders and throughout the course of my consulting, the subject of ‘the ‘gram’ comes up with great regularity - there are plenty of success stories to share from the platform, but more often than not it seems that a lot of small businesses have a relativ...
Jun 23, 2022•26 min
In episode 98 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Vicky Simmons, founder of the brutally honest, sarcastic greeting cards company, Mean Mail. Inspired by the way friends talk to each other and Oscar Wilde’s famous quote “True friends stab you in the front”, Vicky’s designs are available in over 100 stockists internationally and have been commissioned by some of the world’s biggest brands. From the importance of originality to starting and staying sustainable, Vicky and I cover the ins ...
Jun 16, 2022•36 min
From content recommendations tailored to viewing habits, to refilling prescriptions via a smartphone, the growing convergence of tech and personalisation continues to provide consumers with more and more specific options in an ever-increasingly efficient package. We’re used to Amazon suggesting additional purchases based on our previous orders and are likely all familiar with being offered something to ‘watch next’ on Youtube - but there are now a number of industries outside typical retail that...
Jun 09, 2022•27 min
In episode 96 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to the founder and CEO of Grind Coffee, David Abrahamovitch. Since starting with their first high-street space in Shoreditch back in 2011, Grind has expanded across the capital and into the homes of coffee lovers everywhere, with their amazing home compostable coffee pods and subscription service. After nearly a decade of hard work building their brand and refining their products, the footfall at Grind’s physical shops (as did everyone’s) ...
Jun 02, 2022•31 min
Whether it’s via 1-2-1 calls or strategy meetings, through my mentoring sessions or community chat, or in-person and at live events, as you’d expect, I speak to many, many product business owners on a daily basis. And when you literally ‘talk shop’ day-to-day, as I do, you begin to not only start seeing patterns in the way that businesses operate and the ways in which the industry works, but you also gain important insights into the personal experiences of founders - and the main thing I’m heari...
May 26, 2022•25 min
When everything’s going well and your top-line sales are growing, it can be easy to forget to keep an eye on your actual profitability. I hardly need to remind you that the last few years have been, in a word - turbulent, and the current economic climate is by no means balmy and pleasant, with rising costs and low customer confidence abound. Despite all this instability, some businesses have seen real growth. But as retail conditions continue to change and in some cases begin to stabilise, many ...
May 19, 2022•22 min
When it comes down to it there are just four core ways to increase your sales - to get more people to buy your products, to get those people to buy more from you, to have those customers spend more with you than they will have done previously, and finally, to get those customers to come back and buy more often. But as we all know, making any one of these things happen, let alone consistently, is a lot easier said than done. That’s why it’s imperative, as tempting as it might be, to not get caugh...
May 12, 2022•23 min
Websites have come a long way from the bare-bones HTML pages of the early 90s to the slick world-wide-web we inhabit today. Affordable DIY platforms, ranging from the drop-and-drag simplicity of Squarespace to the well-built infrastructure of Shopify have allowed small business owners to access the tools of the trade that were typically the reserve of big brands and flourish. Whether you’re running your business from an Etsy page or have coded your own storefront on WordPress, your website plays...
May 05, 2022•32 min
You need only take a quick scan of the apps on your smartphone to see how dramatically the landscape of social media has changed since Facebook got the ball rolling in earnest all those years ago. Social media has not only been at the forefront of adopting and trialling new tech but in many cases platforms like Instagram and TikTok have been the change-makers themselves, tweaking their platforms, prioritising content and harnessing data in an effort to win the fight for your attention (and cash!...
Apr 28, 2022•28 min
When it comes to the world of e-commerce, the name Etsy has become pretty much synonymous with small businesses, especially in terms of hand-made products and independently-crafted gifts. Since its foundation in 2005, the platform has changed a great deal on its own terms but has also kept pace with the shifting landscape of the internet, the rise (and dominance) of social media, and the general advances in digital tech. For all these reasons, Etsy remains an invaluable tool in the selling kit o...
Apr 21, 2022•30 min
Throughout the course of this podcast, as part of my many presentations and in discussions with numerous clients, I’ve talked a lot about the importance of multiple income streams. In a world that’s constantly changing and with ever-evolving technology that repeatedly lowers the barriers to entry in regards to reaching your current and future customers, it’s vital that we all keep on trying out different things and looking at different ways of promoting our products - in doing so we can all hope...
Apr 14, 2022•30 min
The shift we've seen in recent years in regards to conscious consumerism and sustainability is encouraging - even some of the largest and historically wasteful retailers are coming to understand that if they want to survive into the future that they need to take a good, hard look at the way they operate and how they relate to their customer base. The ecological issues confronting us can seem insurmountable at times, but as business owners big and small, we can all play a part in shifting the dia...
Apr 07, 2022•30 min
It’s been a strange few years and it doesn’t seem like we can expect an end to the unexpected any time soon. Off the back of a pandemic, we’re now experiencing a rise in the cost of living, climbing inflation and even further instability created by ongoing geopolitical events. It’s no surprise that all this is affecting consumers and retailers alike, and when things get tough and your sales slow down it’s sometimes hard to identify what the root cause might be, and all too easy to start feeling ...
Mar 31, 2022•27 min
As digital and social platforms have continually matured and as our use and dependence on them has grown, we’ve seen incredible advances made in the democratisation of retail. Through ever-evolving interactions of apps and the wide accessibility of online tools, we’re now at a point where commerce and content are becoming one - where creators are able to operate beyond continental boundaries, attract global audiences and design and produce niche products for loyal customers without leaving their...
Mar 24, 2022•32 min
The internet, and by extension retail, has come a long way since 1983. From the first tentative purchases made over dial-up to today's lightning-fast one-click purchases made on the go, the speed at which e-commerce has grown has not only been exceptionally fast but the retail industry’s successful harnessing of technological trends has completely changed the way business is done. Whether you’re a boomer, a millennial or part of Gen-Z, you’re likely to be familiar, if not completely comfortable ...
Mar 17, 2022•32 min
Writing a book has been on my to-do list for quite a while now, and nothing lights a fire under your feet and gets a project moving than telling people you’re working on something - so here I am, sharing an excerpt from the unedited first draft of my yet to be released book! My goal has been to make a practical book that covers three main objectives: To allow readers to self-diagnose their businesses and to help highlight the challenges that are unique to product businesses To help readers under...
Mar 10, 2022•23 min
In today’s episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Taymoor Atighetchi, CEO and Founder of Papier, an online e-commerce stationery brand that flips traditional supply chain methods on their head. Alongside their own in-house collections, Papier collaborates with bright, upcoming artists, iconic brands and exciting fashion labels to produce personalised journals, notebooks (and more) on-demand for those who are passionate about paper. Selling direct-to-consumer, Papier creates one-of...
Mar 03, 2022•22 min
If you’re not already feeling the pinch yourself, you’re no doubt aware from the news that the cost of living is increasing across the board. From household energy through to groceries, as well as the seemingly exponential rise of fuel costs, the hike in national insurance contributions and the shift in variable-rate mortgages it’s no wonder that people are looking more closely at their outgoings and are managing their costs more carefully. Outside the household, this is of course impacting busi...
Feb 24, 2022•27 min
In episode 81 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to Thalia Caddy. As a theatre manager hit hard by the pandemic, Thalia wanted to create opportunities for the moments of escapism that were all but stripped from the national playhouses by numerous lockdowns. Enter Wild Books, a business with circularity and community writ large from page one, where Thalia bundles pre-loved literature with hand-made candles that immerse you in each book’s location. In today’s episode, we talk about getting...
Feb 17, 2022•31 min
Between the ongoing climate crisis, a global pandemic and waves of continent-wide lockdowns, the last few years have seen marked shifts in consumer behaviours and attitudes, with more people considering the sustainability of their shopping habits and the ethics of production and manufacturing, than ever before. Things are moving in the right direction but it’s often the case that we don’t respect or care for products when they’re inexpensive, which inevitably results in a more disposably-incline...
Feb 10, 2022•36 min
In today's episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to the founder of jewellery brand Astrid & Miyu, Connie Nam. Dissatisfied with a market of impersonal jewellery brands sold by uninspiring stores Connie made it her mission to create her own range of innovative jewellery products, delivered via a personal, engaging and empowering experience. From being stocked in Selfridges to counting Jessica Alba amongst her customer base, it’s important to remember that Astrid & Miyu’s wond...
Feb 03, 2022•29 min
