Today’s podcast marks the first in a series of discussions about building your business on a budget and in episode 138 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan I speak with Laura Schofield, the founder of Otto and Ivy, a specialist shoe brand, who incredibly had never spent a penny on marketing until the third year of running her business. Having initially cultivated a career in television presenting, she felt something was missing after working for several years as a shopping channel host. It was thro...
Mar 23, 2023•46 min
Product photography has changed a lot since the days of a single image on a white background in a 500-page catalogue. As the advertising and marketing worlds have evolved, we’ve seen increasing complexity in the way businesses present their products to their audience, such as through multi-layered storytelling and creating cultural context around their products, and with the continuing growth of online retail, good imagery has never been more important in communicating the qualities and value of...
Mar 16, 2023•37 min
So, the inspiration for today’s episode came out of a conversation I was having with fashion brand consultant, Elizabeth Stiles. We chat often over WhatsApp, sometimes about the things that drive us crazy about small businesses - and on this occasion we both found ourselves bemoaning the recent trend of founders posting negatively framed content about their businesses. Now, this episode is definitely not about shaming you if you’re having a tough time, or indeed if you’ve recently shared posts o...
Mar 09, 2023•24 min
Branding at its core is rooted in psychology and human behaviour - it’s how your customers think and feel about you, your products and your business, and more than ever with so many brands out there, we, as founders, need to be able to cut through the noise, set ourselves apart from our competitors and build trusted relationships with our customers if we want to grow. In episode 135 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to brand consultant Cara Bendon. With 10 years experience of running he...
Mar 02, 2023•36 min
My first book, “Tame Your Tiger: How to stop your product business eating you alive“ was finally released this week and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you! To really celebrate this momentous occasion, I’ve decided to spend this episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan sharing an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look into the book, where I’ll discuss my writing process, who the book’s for and why I wrote it, as well as the key learnings and takeaways small businesses can hope to find wit...
Feb 23, 2023•36 min
In today's episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to give you my expert support in order for you to understand better the figures that can ultimately make or break your small business. We’re already barrelling towards March and 2023 is looking no less uncertain for independent retail - that’s why we need to embrace and closely monitor our numbers to help us stay in control and lay out a clear and confident strategy for the future of our brands. This subject is actually the basis of a ...
Feb 16, 2023•28 min
It may still be a whole six weeks away but Mother’s Day is the biggest gift-giving event in the UK outside of Christmas, out-selling both Valentine’s and Father’s day! The cost of living crisis and the ongoing recession are still presenting plenty of challenges to the retail industry, so all the while that we’re seeing less impulse purchasing and less discretionary spending, it’s important that small product businesses are ready and prepared to make the most of the somewhat spending-protected gi...
Feb 09, 2023•28 min
Coming off the back of my 5-day challenge, across the various conversations, questions and queries that arose during the week, I noticed some commonalities and a number of reoccurring themes when it came to the real-life experience of running a small product business. In episode 131 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’ll be using those stories and discussions to elaborate on what I consider to be five essential traits you need to thrive as a small product business this year. In this podcast, we...
Feb 02, 2023•25 min
January is a funny month in retail - starting back up after the highs of the Christmas selling season can make the new year feel exceptionally tough-going, and with Christmas never being as restful as you’d think, for many business owners January is the first time they’re really able to recuperate and have a think about the year ahead, all whilst trying to shift stock throughout the post-Xmas lull. Over the years I’ve noticed that a lot of the advice available about planning for the year ahead i...
Jan 26, 2023•12 min
Valentine’s day, one of the first annual holiday occasions of the year, is just over the horizon, and it may surprise you to hear that its popularity is actually on the rise. As a seasonal retail event, Valentine’s day has always seen some considerable spending, but as people spend less on themselves and make fewer impulse purchases during this economic downturn, we can expect to see more of people's disposable income directed towards gifting, making occasions like Valentine’s day all the more i...
Jan 19, 2023•20 min
So, we’re well and truly into the new year now and just as the pains and challenges of the Covid pandemic are starting to fade gradually, we’re now stuck looking for ways to deal with a whole new set of challenges in the form of a cost of living crisis and the fact that the UK economy is now officially in a recession. It all may sound a bit bleak, but in episode 128 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to use my in-depth research and share with you the conversations I’ve been having with a ...
Jan 12, 2023•37 min
So, we’ve made it - 2023 is here! Times have been tough for the retail industry for a good, long while now and who knows what unforeseen events lie ahead as we enter a new year, but against the odds and throughout the uncertainty I still believe the most important thing I can recommend you do for your business this year is to plan, plan and plan! Now, you may well be asking, “Catherine! Why make a plan when things are always changing?”, and it all comes down to perspective - we’re a very outcome...
Jan 05, 2023•24 min
That’s it! Christmas Day has come and gone, and with any mercy, you can take some proper time out in these few days before 2023! It’s been a tough year, with the combined challenges of post-pandemic life, postal strikes and the cost of living crisis (to name a few!) hitting small product businesses hard and no doubt causing founders and business owners alike untold stress. That’s why in this episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, we're doing something a bit different as I speak to my incredi...
Dec 29, 2022•30 min
Christmas finally arrives this coming Sunday - the finish line, if you and your small product business aren’t already over it, is almost in sight. I hope you can make the time (I implore you to!) to put your feet up and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back during the holidays, but as the new year approaches, I know that as founders and business owners that your thoughts will inevitably start to turn towards Q1 of 2023 - that’s why for episode 125 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan I want...
Dec 22, 2022•22 min
With the postal strikes looming and the adverse weather conditions currently affecting travel across the whole UK, there’s a good chance many of you will have moved your final Xmas posting day forward, or maybe you’re ahead of the curve and have already got your feet up, eggnog in hand, after dispatching your last order for 2022. Whether you’ve already stopped or are just about to break for Christmas, these weeks and typically January are quietest for most businesses. You may have some small ite...
Dec 15, 2022•26 min
Good stock management is important all year round but now as we arrive about a week into December, at the annual peak selling period, it deserves special consideration. From your year-round bestsellers to your short-term seasonal selects, you’ve no doubt got a lot of stock on your hands - so, in episode 123 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to share my thoughts on stock processes specific to the Xmas period to help keep you and your business nimble and cash-rich in these uncertain times....
Dec 08, 2022•27 min
*Resilient Retail News Flash* I'm very excited to share that my new book " Tame Your Tiger: How to stop your product business eating you alive " is now available to preorder at https://uk.bookshop.org/ . In the book, I'll show you how to easily apply big business tools and perspectives to help better understand your business, as well as how to get clear on what you need to do to grow profitably, and, ultimately, tame your tiger. On to today's episode! In episode 122 of The Resilient Retail Game ...
Dec 01, 2022•32 min
In today's episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to marketing professional and web designer turned illustrator and small business owner, Natalie Bent. After working in head offices at large retailers such as Marks and Spencers and Woolworths and tiring of the corporate world, Natalie, inspired by her daughter, set up Little Scholars Playground in lockdown with her husband, (who works in the aerospace industry), with a mission to create inclusive books and learning materials to encou...
Nov 24, 2022•29 min
We’re now into the golden weeks, the period where we see people spending the majority of their Christmas budget. With many ongoing economic issues, the increased cost of living and ballooning inflation plaguing the public, we can expect to see reduced spending this Christmas in contrast to last year - but after recently visiting the “Spirit Of Christmas” fair and attending “Stylist Live”, as well as a number of other markets and smaller events, the bustling crowds and the sheer number of carrier...
Nov 17, 2022•28 min
Whether you're setting up shop at a small-scale Xmas craft fair, getting ready for one of the big branded seasonal showcases, or are yet to sign up for a festive event, it’s time to think strategically about maximising your sales at in-person events this Christmas Events aren’t just about sales, they provide great opportunities for promoting your brand, making connections and gaining important insights from your customers face-to-face - but when Christmas accounts for such a large percentage of ...
Nov 10, 2022•23 min
As a small business entering the ‘golden weeks’ - the six-week run-up to Christmas - you’re no doubt looking for ways to maximise your sales at a time that can represent more than 50% of your annual turnover. I’ve spoken before of the only four fundamental ways to grow sales - getting more people to come, getting more people to spend when they do come, getting customers to spend more each time and getting customers to come back more often. These strategies still apply when it comes to Christmas,...
Nov 03, 2022•21 min
In the age of Amazon and next-day delivery, it is heartwarming to see a growing push towards people shopping local, investing in sustainability and consuming more consciously - with a more compassionate outlook shared by independent retailers and customers alike. Where the lumbering dinosaurs of high-street retail have failed to evolve or capture the imagination of their customers, we’re seeing more creative, engaging and meaningful products and brands slowly take their place, and with the stron...
Oct 27, 2022•35 min
We might still have Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving ahead of us but as we all know the festive event that we really need to set our sights on is Christmas. Now, we’re all very familiar with the red sale signs of the high street, and with the yearly routine of seasonal discounts offered by large retailers you’d forgiven for thinking that slapping a “20% off everything” banner across your website might put you in good stead come the end of Q4 - but this week I’m here to tell you to hold your horses (o...
Oct 20, 2022•24 min
We’ve come a long way since the days of Don Draper and the post-war triad of print, television and billboard advertising. The advent of the internet, the growth of social media and the ubiquity of mobile devices have transformed the advertising landscape, and the changes to the way we advertise and are advertised to are only getting more significant and more rapid as technology and our relationship to it evolves - it’s a lot to keep up with! That’s why in episode 115 of The Resilient Retail Game...
Oct 13, 2022•32 min
In an ever-increasingly digital world, real-life markets might be one of the purest and oldest forms of ‘offline’ shopping. Mainly operating historically unchanged as a selling format, the average market has had to weather some considerable shifts in the retail landscape in recent years, from the lockdowns of the COVID pandemic, and financial insecurity across the board, to the growing numbers of consumers shopping online. We’re living in the era of hybrid retail - if markets and stallholders wa...
Oct 06, 2022•33 min
To run a truly resilient retail business, amongst many things, you definitely have to be adaptable. From the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic and the knock-on effects of unforeseen global events to the recent rise in costs and impending recession, the last few years have required all of us to be flexible in the face of ever-changing circumstances. As business owners, we’re subject to an onslaught of competitors, the whims of transitory trends, and ever-evolving technology - if we want to stay ...
Sep 29, 2022•24 min
Recession! After the last few years we’ve all had, as small business owners, it’s the last phrase we want to hear cropping up on the news and in the papers - but unfortunately, a perfect storm of rising costs, increasing interest rates, ballooning inflation and falling wages all point to an imminent downturn in economic activity. But not all is lost - far from it! I want to help you prepare for and weather the coming economic storm, as well as put into context what it actually means to be in a r...
Sep 22, 2022•37 min
In episode 111 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I speak to jewellery designer and founder of Good Daze (formerly Mood Good), Rosie Greener. After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2015, Rosie landed an incredible opportunity to design for some of the top high-street stores such as Topshop and relished working across multiple brands and departments in the fast-paced world of commercial retail. But it wasn’t too long before she wanted to exercise a bit more independence and creative freed...
Sep 15, 2022•34 min
As the days of summer sun start to shorten and we start to pack up our parasols and barbecues, it’s time, of course, to turn our thoughts to Christmas. The festive season is of colossal importance to almost every business’s sales calendar, but with a seemingly endless torrent of global uncertainties, economic unbalance and rising costs across the board, it’s become increasingly difficult to forecast sales, plan ahead and make the best of one of the most lucrative times of the year. So, in today’...
Sep 08, 2022•28 min
Everyone has that one story (well, one at the very least) of a time that their customer experience with a business fell short of their reasonable expectations and landed somewhere between being mildly disappointing and exceptionally infuriating. Mistakes, breaks and being late are facts of life, but sometimes businesses drop the ball and the whole retail relationship turns sour pretty quickly. As much as we might like to ‘dine out’ on a bad sales story with our friends - lambasting the rude staf...
Sep 01, 2022•35 min
