Blog to Boutique with Wear Lemonade
Meet the woman who’s building an empire
Following the major success of her fashion and lifestyle blog Make My Lemonade, Parisian entrepreneur Lisa Gachet set up online store Wear Lemonade to sell garments, accessories and DIY patterns. We met with Lisa and she told us how she expanded her blog into a boutique, talked about the importance of packaging, and who she’d share a lemonade with.
Tell me about your blog
I studied fashion and following a short career within fashion styling and journalism I set up my blog as an outlet for my interest in styling and designing. At the beginning, it was just brand content and collaborations. I branched out and organised workshops with my readers, it was so cool to meet people in person and see the way they gained confidence with styling and making clothes.
What made you launch the online shop?
I was missing my job as a designer and wanted a way to reconnect with this passion. I had also learnt a lot from the workshops and events – there was a genuine appetite for making things. Wear Lemonade started out only selling sewing patterns, but after three months we started to sell clothes too. Today, you can either buy the final result or buy the pattern to do it yourself! We started alone on my couch, and now there’s seven of us working in a super cool studio in Paris.
How have you grown such a strong brand?
Right from the start, it was important the “lemonade spirit” is something fun. Over three years, without thinking about it actually, we have created the Lemonade universe through the content on our blog. Our clients speak about the “lemonade touch,” something fun and fresh, colourful and playful. This is flattering, I guess it’s about staying true to your values and not forgetting the details, like packaging.
Why do you think packaging is important?
The unboxing experience is so important to me! It has to feel like Christmas. It’s a huge thing for someone to order something they can’t touch. I use Lemonade-branded Postcards and Letterheads for inserts. I think of them as little soap bubbles: a lucky dip full of surprises. We use it as a gift for people who order through our shop – a way of saying thank you for shopping with us. Our packaging is full of original goodies, and we change everything every three months with our new collections!
What’s next for you?
I’m hoping Wear Lemonade will continue to grow as a lifestyle brand. I envision us growing into a brand with stationery, homeware, accessories… kind of like a French MUJI – fun and colourful!
Finally, who would you share a lemonade with?
Beyoncé – I’m sure she’d be glad to share a lemonade!
Are you starting a business? Tell us in the comments below!
Solveiga Pakštaitė is the girl behind the glasses at product design house Design By Sol. Her revolutionary product Bump Mark has won design awards, piqued the interest of major food retailers and could change the face of the food market.
Firstly, what exactly is Bump Mark?
Bump Mark is a label featuring plastic ridges covered in a gelatine solution which models the decay rate of the food it’s stuck to, meaning the ridges can be felt more clearly as the food’s freshness wanes.
How did you develop the product?
I’ve always been interested in using design to problem solve, and during my sandwich year at university, I was working on a brief for charity Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. I got to ask lots of blind people lots of questions, so I talked to them about things that I was curious about. One day I was looking at a sell by date on something, and I learned that the blind didn’t actually have an easy way of knowing when their food goes off.
So I back to university to finish my course and developed the idea for my final project. Quite quickly I realised it’s not just blind people who are blind to expiry dates. I applied for and won a James Dyson Foundation Scholarship to help develop the project, but because the materials used are really cheap, I didn’t spend any of the money, so decided to use it to file a patent. I just thought it would be a good learning experience. But that’s how I ended up protecting my idea, by accident really.
You now have a team of seven, how did you tackle growth?
I got onto an incubator programme called Climate-KIC. The whole idea of the programme was to equip you with the business skills to take your cleantech idea forward, but I was still running the company on my own from my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house, which made it all feel a bit make believe.
Shortly after this I was accepted onto a brand new accelerator programme. There are manufacturing experts in-house acting as mentors, there’s a state of the art workshop for prototype building and there’s a fixed desk system which meant I could actually start growing my team. Right now there are 7 of us on the team.
What advice do you have for people starting their own business?
At the end of the day, even if you fail, you learn so much. There are benefits, you get to manage your own time, sometimes you get to travel, sometimes you win competitions. But the day to day life of running a start-up involves a lot of uncertainty – I’m learning so much but it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. Get out there and meet people too, I am not a big fan of stuffy organised networking events, but there are lots of interesting talks and socials where you can meet other entrepreneurs and people who can help your venture. People say that my Business Cards are memorable which also helps!
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt so far?
You have to be really careful too that your relationships don’t suffer. I have started to be really careful about using the phrase ‘I don’t have time’,because everyone has exactly the same amount of time. It’s just up to you what you choose to do with it. Saying instead ‘I didn’t make time, I’m sorry’ makes you re-evaluate the choices you’ve made.
Are you developing a product? Share your experiences below!
Written by Katrina Vines
Many successful businesses often start from projects worked on when the 9 to 5 day job is over. Meet the five entrepreneurs – and true ‘6 to 11 heroes’ – who have built brands in their downtime and blazed new trails. Experts at the balancing act involved in managing more than one job, they have reignited their careers.
Kathryn Minshew, Founder & CEO, The Muse
“I worked on my idea in my nights and weekends”
Kathryn Minshew is described on The Muse website as ‘number one swashbuckler’. We’re not about to dispute this – her impressive career means she’s probably number one at a lot of things. Minshew founded online career resource The Muse while working as a management consultant, “I was still working a full-time job. I worked on my idea in my nights and weekends, slowly sketching out the early business model and attending networking events to meet other technology founders. By the time I started The Muse, I was all in.”
While the thought of having two careers would make a lot of people run for the hills, Minshew found this suited her; “I’m the type of person who thrives when tackling a variety of challenges, so I loved the fact that my early startup experience let me learn new things while also succeeding in an existing role.”
Her advice to those thinking of taking on a second career centers around mitigating the risks, ”Think about what you’ll need financially to make ends meet in your new career. Understand the impact that your new day-to-day will have on the rest of your life.”
Elana Reinholtz, Founder at Bird + Stone
“It was definitely thrilling and tough to have a life with two jobs”
Elana Reinholtz was working as an FX/commodities specialist for Bloomberg when she found herself wondering whether her skills could be used for a greater good. Through an organization called Village Volunteers, she found an opportunity to donate her time in Kenya. After fundraising travel costs by selling handmade jewelry, Reinholtz began teaching accounting and business planning classes to widowed women. “Once I met these brave 70 widows, I vowed to do everything to help them have a chance at a better life,” she says.
When she returned home, Reinholtz launched a business based on the handmade jewelry she’d sold to fund her trip. Bird + Stone donates part of its profits to help female entrepreneurs in Kenya start businesses and lift their families out of poverty.
For a time, Reinholtz balanced Bird + Stone alongside her nine-to-five, tackling business responsibilities at lunch, in the evenings, and on weekends. “It was definitely thrilling and tough to have a life with two jobs,” she says. Eventually, though, she decided that the business had enough traction from press, live events, and sales, and could support her as a full-time gig.
Andrew Yung, Co-Founder, Marketing & Partnerships at PINTRILL
“Don’t overthink – it’s better to do something than nothing”
Andrew Yung has always been the type of guy who follows fashion closely — so when a friend came to him with the idea for PINTRILL, an accessories brand that makes pins inspired by pop culture, joining the team just felt right.
Yung had already learned a thing or two about marketing during his time at Thrillist and Jack Threads, and besides, he was ready for a new challenge. “Living in New York, you’re surrounded by inspiring people who started their own business or are looking to do their own thing,” he says. “The dream is always to end up working for yourself.” He signed on to help out after hours balancing both his careers and a very busy schedule, but eventually, PINTRILL started taking up more of his time, and from there, he says, “the decision was a complete no-brainer. There was no turning back.”
PINTRILL has since opened a retail store and earned media coverage in several major publications. Looking back on his transition into startup life, Yung describes the experience as both great and intense. “The stakes are much higher [now], but I wouldn’t change it for a thing,” he says. “I get a lot of people assuming I have more time now that I can ‘make my own schedule’ — but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.”
Cesar Vega, Founder and Owner at Café Integral
“There’s no such thing as a typical day”
Photographer Cesar Vega had a fairly flexible schedule, which he used to his advantage when it came to pursuing his passions. “Coffee is an incredible thing in all its forms,” he says. “It’s a deeply complex beverage that comes to be through an extraordinary coordination of hundreds if not thousands of individuals.”
It was this fascination with the beverage that inspired him to open Café Integral, a coffee company that works with small producers in Nicaragua through every phase of the production process.
It was an ambitious plan, so he started small, focusing first on building relationships and helping Nicaraguan producers import their coffees for other roasters. Eventually, though, he felt the need to take Café Integral‘s involvement even further, focusing on roasting and serving, too. “It was important for us to see the product to fruition, creating a feedback loop all the way back to our producing partners at home in Nicaragua.”
Today, Café Integral has cafes in New York and Chicago, and Vega works with the company full time, wearing a variety of hats. “There’s no such thing as a typical day, but generally my role includes tasting coffee, working with baristas, clients and customers, and hopping around to a few locations.”
Natalie James, Founder at NJinLA
“Only start your second career if you’re really committed.”
Natalie James is the “NJ” in NJ in LA, a Los Angeles-based blog covering food, travel, music, and culture. Before starting her adventure as professional blogger, James was a social media manager at a design and brand consultancy, with a second job handling social for CitySearch LA. The pay was great, but something felt missing.
“I found myself fantasizing about all the things I could be doing with my time had I not been chained to my desk,” she says. “I had been covering the LA food scene for Refinery 29, and decided it was time I finally carved out my own digital space where I’d discuss the places I experienced and had the privilege of eating at.”
NJ in LA began to gather momentum, and in 2014, Instagram made James a featured user. “My followers blew up, which ushered in new opportunities as my work was exposed to tens of thousands,” she says.
These days, her weeks are typically filled with a couple tastings, a few live shows, and many nights on the dancefloor. James says the biggest difference is that she no longer has to wait for the weekend. “I work seven days a week, but I call the shots and have never experienced something so powerful as owning my time. It’s made me a happier person and in doing so has strengthened all of my relationships, both personally and professionally.”
Are you thinking about taking the second career plunge? Hopefully these 6-to-11 heroes have inspired you to take the next step — because you never know where that side hustle could take you.
It’s time to find your 6 to 11
Written by Katherine Leonard
Photo of Kathryn Minshew by Frances F. Denny
Meet Archie Proudfoot, a self-taught artist and traditional sign painter who creates custom signage for some of the biggest brands in the UK. His practice emerged from an interest in street art and a love of great typography. We met him and chatted about his method, his approach to freelancing and the importance of confidence.
Were you predominantly self-taught?
Definitely. Once somebody’s told you the basics of sign painting it’s then a case of finding out through your own hands. I found a few YouTube videos and practiced day by day, mostly alphabets and repetitive actions because that’s how you really get the muscle memory down. I tell people it’s similar to playing an instrument. You’ve got to learn the notes, tempos and scales before you can express yourself. Eventually, things begin to click, like how you pull a curve in an S.
What was the very first signs you produced?
A family friend saw one of my practice pieces, and before I knew it I was painting the sign for his antique shop. It was my first real chance, it was also January, cold and an incredibly long name – “The Society For The Protection of Unwanted Objects”, a real baptism of fire. It’s still one of my favourite things I’ve done.
What’s the response been to your work?
It’s been great! I get told by locals how much a sign adds to an area and that’s big part of what I love about sign painting – the opportunity to add something to a space, to make a street feel nicer, an area feel softer and more human as opposed to plastic and reproduced.
How do you find social media influences you as an artist?
I use it for inspiration and research more than self-promotion. When you go on Instagram feeling happy with your own work, it can be great to find new techniques and styles. The flip side is that when you’re not feeling too great about your work, social media can heighten those feelings; we all get insecure doing this kind of job. You’ve got to be able to take the right things from social media and not become too dependant on it.
Any tips for somebody looking to go freelance?
It’s easy to get wrapped up in your own anxiety of doing a good job. You’ve got to remember if you’re on the path to doing the thing you want to be doing it’s always good, and you’re always learning. Try to keep confident – no client wants to see an anxious artist.
Are you freelancing? Share your experiences and advice in the comments below.
Written and photographed by: Josh Fray
Each day, millions of people go beyond 9 to 5. While the rest of us are kicking back, the 6 to 11 gang spend their evenings pursuing a second career – designing, making, coding or baking their way to success. And for some of these home-time heroes, what begins as a hobby eventually becomes the new day job.
It was time to turn my passion into my full-time gig.
“While working for a media company, I realized that my true passion was building brands from the ground up. It wasn’t until we started PINTRILL that things started to click into place. When we launched, I was still working at my full-time job and continued to do so for the next year and a half until I reached a “make it or break it” point. By then, the decision was easy – it was time to turn my passion into my full-time gig.” – Andrew Yung, Co-founder, Head of Marketing and Partnerships, PINTRILL.
And it’s not just Andrew who’s blazing the 6 to 11 trail. Natalie James founder of NJinLA, Cesar Vega owner of Cafè Integral, Kathryn Minshew founder of The Muse and Elana Reinholtz founder of Bird + Stone have all built solid businesses outside their regular jobs.
90% of people say career satisfaction contributes to personal happiness
It goes beyond commercial success too. 90% of people say career satisfaction contributes to personal happiness, so committing to a hobby can be a way to get us all feeling a little more zen.
If you’re yet to discover your second career, don’t worry, we’ve created a short quiz to inspire you. So whether your next chapter sees you becoming a writer or you work out to be a fitness instructor, find your 6 to 11 with us.
With their t-shirts flying off the shelves like hot cakes, creating an in-demand brand is what Johnny Cupcakes does best. We met Johnny himself to find out his own recipe for success.
A self-described “lifelong entrepreneur,” Earle designed his first cupcake-and-crossbones T-shirts for fun back in 2001, selling them out of his beatup ’89 Camry to friends. Fifteen years later, the brand has expanded from its flagship Boston store – which is accessed through a huge retro oven – to a series of buzz-generating pop-up shops around the globe. We sat down with the Willy Wonka of T-shirts to find out how he’s building a brand that fans still can’t get enough of.
The force behind the brand
“My job is to come up with new ideas and drive this pirate ship of a brand into uncharted territories,” Earle says. “I sit down with a calendar and map out the entire year, using holidays, sports events, and movie releases as inspiration to remix the Johnny Cupcakes brand.”
From there, Earle focuses on “making the T-shirts more than just a shirt” — a process that takes a variety of forms. “We’ve been in business for 15 years and I’ve spent little to no money on traditional advertising. I’ve mostly taken my advertising budget and put it into building unique experiences around the brand — from renting out coffins, hearses, and ice cream trucks to buying pizza for people.” Earle was kind enough to share some more of the unconventional approaches he’s used to grow his following and develop a fiercely loyal fan base.
1. Generate demand with limited editions
Nothing gets a collector’s heart racing like a limited commodity. Riding the wave of hype for the recent Ghostbusters movie, the Johnny Cupcakes team designed a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man inspired t-shirt — but they didn’t stop there. “After those were released on our website, to bring foot traffic and excitement to the flagship shop, we thought it would be fun to release 50 shirts,” says Earle. They flew off the shelves, with fans offering to pay double price just to get their hands on one of the limited edition tees.
2. Go all the way with every concept
Take the company’s ice cream-themed T-shirt release, when Earle and team rented and completely rebranded ice cream trucks in New York City, Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. “We had a giant push-pop with a rolled up T-shirt inside, giant ice cream container packaging, and we even gave away real ice cream with every purchase of these ice cream-themed T-shirts,” Earle says. “We didn’t tell anyone where we were going to be until very close to the event, on social media, so our customers had to chase us just like little kids chasing an ice cream truck.”
3. Pop-up here, there, everywhere
While the flagship shop in Boston always attracts a crowd, Earle also experiments with themed pop-up shops. “It’s been a great way to constantly reinvent the brand while introducing it to new people,” he says. “Many companies, stores, farmers markets, and cafés love having pop up shops — especially when they know that you’re going to bring some new customers to their space.”
4. Know your fans (social media helps!)
“Some people think it’s crazy that I’m doing our social media, but I learn the most valuable things by being on the ground with my customers,” Earle says. Once, when he had a few hours to kill in San Francisco, he invited the brand’s social media followers to join him at a local pizza joint. To sweeten the deal, Earle offered to buy lunch for anyone who came dressed in a Johnny Cupcakes T-shirt.
He expected four or five diehard fans to show — but when more than 400 people lined up, he had to move the shindig to Union Square Park, where he spent the day giving out slices and learning about his customers. “For me to spend a few hundred dollars on giving out pizza — that is way cheaper than spending 10, 20 or 30 thousand dollars on a full-page ad.”
OFFF Barcelona 2016, image by Carla Step
5. Share the knowledge
These days, corporations, conferences, and colleges are inviting Earle to share his insights on what it takes to grab the attention of distracted consumers. “Almost every week I’ll do lectures on entrepreneurship, building brand loyalty, and innovation — anywhere from Gillette’s headquarters to MIT,” he says. Earle loves to travel, and these events give him the opportunity to meet both new followers and lifelong fans — including the more than 2,000 people around the world who proudly sport Johnny Cupcakes tattoos.
What do you think about the Johnny Cupcakes approach to brand building? Do you do anything special to make your brand stand out in the hearts and minds of customers?
Written by Katherine Leonard
Images courtesy of Johnny Cupcakes
Irish-born illustrator Claudine O’Sullivan has been making a thunderous roar with her illustrative animals. She’s managed to build a successful freelance career and has networked her way to a client list including MTV, and Apple. We spent an afternoon with Claudine and discussed freelancing, hard work and the importance of leaving your comfort zone.
How did you come to find yourself in the world of illustration?
I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, but I never considered it as something I wanted to do when I grew up. I was really academic at school and always thought I’d have a normal job – or whatever I used to think that was. I found out after a year of studying media and journalism at University that I wasn’t very good at writing. I decided I wanted to apply to an art course. I put together a portfolio and was accepted into fashion school in London. After realising that also wasn’t for me, I applied to study graphic design, specialising in illustration. Drawing has been the thing I’ve done the whole way through my life, I’m only realising now “hey, this is my job”.
You’ve worked on some pretty exciting projects recently. What’s been your favourite job so far?
I love jobs that make me do work that I wouldn’t usually think of myself. I did a live art event for Tiger Beer last year – a 7×7 ft mural in a busy pub in Dublin. It was great, but the time pressure was immense. I had to illustrate 36 little squares which were then given out at the end. It’s something I would never have done on my own.
Do you think being taken out of your comfort zone is important?
Definitely. Most of what I think is now my best work has come from being taken out of my comfort zone. My fox is one of my most popular illustrations, and it’s funny when I think of how much pressure I created it under. I was doing an exhibition for the London Design Festival. They asked for some last minute illustrations and they’re not somebody you can say “let’s push it back” to. I stayed up all night and created the fox. I didn’t have a minute of sleep. The next day it was in a frame and it was everybody’s favourite piece.
How do you promote yourself?
I have my website which is a portfolio of my finished work, but I think social media is the perfect way to put a face to my work. I also get out there and network – I share my Business Cards wherever I can as they’re an extremely visual reminder of my work.
What advice would you give to somebody wanting to go freelance?
I’d love to say “yeah quit your job, go do what you love” but that would be wrong of me. It’s important that people know there’s a massive amount of hard work behind it. You have to be willing no matter what your situation to work as hard as you possibly can. Be wise about it. It’s scary, but it’s an amazing feeling when you do it.
Any parting pearls of wisdom for us?
It’s important to not over work a piece, learn to let something be finished.
Written and photographed by Josh Fray
Australian startup Ruby Slipper is a digital agency with a difference. Made up of a group of writers that have a particular talent for content and digital strategy, they go beyond the sales pitch. In fact they avoid it. “We instead try to focus on building relationships and creating a feeling between the audience and the brand,” said founder Iolanthe Gabrie. We met founder Gabrie and talked career changes, branding and building a business.
Early days
Gabrie launched Ruby Slipper eight years ago after six years as a real estate agent and auctioneer. “That actually gave me some great experience. It’s a difficult profession and it’s made being an entrepreneur seem like a walk in the park.” she said. Gabrie said that as much as she disliked those real estate days, they really did prepare her to be able to pick up the phone and cold call at any time, an often underrated skill.
“I’m not bothered if people say ‘no’, it’s fine. So being given a phone and a desk and figuring out the rest really allowed me to build a lot of skills that are essential to being in small business, like being able to prospect creatively, like being able to talk about money, like being able to negotiate. It taught me everything, it was the ultimate boot camp. I’m quite fond of real estate, so that helped,” she said.
Moving direction
After six years in the property sector, Gabrie knew that she didn’t want to continue in that industry, wanting instead to use her literature degree and her natural ability to communicate. “I wanted to monetise that, and in my last couple of years of working in real estate, social media in its most nascent stages had come into being,” she explained.
“Facebook business pages didn’t exist yet, but I began using Facebook in my prospecting to introduce potential clients to me or to a semblance of me. I think that would have shortened the pipeline. The clients felt that they knew me; they knew a semblance of me courtesy of social media, and it meant that that sense of rapport and trust developed much faster. I thought this had legs, that it was valuable and that I would begin to sell both traditional copywriting and social content to brands.” Gabrie said the first couple of years were “pretty hard yards.” The business had a couple of early adopter clients, which it still represents today, but in the last four years or so Gabrie said that the appetite, as well as the value and the respect for Ruby Slipper’s form of communication has shot up.
We try to focus on creating a feeling between the audience and the brand
Building a team
In terms of the team, Ruby Slipper is now home to three people; Gabrie said that one of the milestones that she is most proud of is being able to bring on a staff member full time. “Being at the stage with my business where I can have a full-time person who works for me, in addition to my own workload, that makes me very proud because not only am I able to take care of myself, do an honourable, high-quality job for my clients, I’m also able to provide employment to someone else in a beautiful collaborative studio,” she said.
A standout brand
The studio she speaks of is indeed beautiful and is right on brand with the way that Gabrie presents the rest of the business to potential clients. Ruby Slipper rebranded last year and used our products to print all of their marketing materials like Business Cards and Postcards. Gabrie said the fast service provided by the innovative print house came in handy last year when she decided to go through a complete head-to-toe rebrand.
“I felt that, although the earlier iteration of our brand certainly suited where I was then, we’d really matured. The original iteration of my brand was quite feminine and it definitely played upon ideas of magic and that certainly did very well, but we’ve now developed into something sleek and much more mature and I needed graphic art to reflect that, so I had that done,” Gabrie explained.
We’re on a mission to find out all the wonderful ways you’re promoting your latest projects, dreams or business schemes. So what do you do when you hit an awesome festival overseas and it turns out there’s nothing like it back home? Organise one yourself of course! Which is exactly how what SNAP Photo Festival came about.
Hi Laura! Can you tell us a bit about SNAP?
Hi! Sure, SNAP was inspired by a photography festival in the US. It’s a Bath-based wedding photography festival. On the schedule are talks and workshops to develop business skills and inspire ideas, interspersed with beach trips, wild swimming and of course, cocktails with new friends.
I follow my heart. I wanted to set SNAP up, so I did.
Since quitting my job in social housing for full-time photography six years ago, I’ve become a vocal member of the wedding and lifestyle community, networking voraciously on Twitter and founding the Facebook group London Wedding Club.
Just like that, you launched a festival?
Pretty much! Of course, it was a huge amount of work the first year. No one had ever seen anything like it before, and I was really just finding my way. But I found a speaker agreement online, I found a sponsorship agent, and convinced them to help me bring in partners like MOO, which was great as I don’t have a clue how those things work.
How important was it to build those relationships early on?
Really important. Outsourcing as much as possible to people who knew what they were doing was a good move and has created the template for how we’ve developed the event in subsequent years.
I have a small team – I work with a wedding planner called Alexandra Merri on the logistics, and my husband Pete handles a load of the admin stuff. Most of the risk is mine though. And the programme I’m really passionate about managing myself, as I think it’s a really important part of what makes SNAP.
You sound fearless.
I follow my heart. I wanted to set SNAP up, so I did. It’s not that I don’t think about the practicalities and it was literally the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. The first year there were points when I was thinking I’d have to call the whole thing off, that we’d lose the deposit on the venue. But I worked really hard to promote it; I advertised via Facebook and to existing networks of photographers. In two years we’ve essentially doubled in size. And for next year, even though we haven’t even announced our line up, we’ve already sold a third of the tickets.
How do you get the word out about your businesses?
I use Luxe Business Cards to promote SNAP, and for my own business (Babb Photo), I always send handwritten notes to clients on MOO Luxe Postcards when they book me, and also after their weddings to congratulate them.
Any words of wisdom for people who want to start an event?
Making connections is the most important thing. Set up a Facebook group and try to meet face to face with people in your local market. Not just for referrals, but to bounce ideas around.
You also need to get your business processes in place to support your customers, have a marketing plan, and a financial plan. That said, I ignored most of the advice I got and just went for it! Bear in mind that any creative success involves a certain amount of luck, and in the first couple of years you can’t expect to have much of a profit. If it wasn’t such a rewarding experience I probably wouldn’t have carried on. Ultimately the feedback we get from people is why we do it. I cry when I read it!
What’s next?
We’ve tweaked and changed things along the way based on our own experiences, and the feedback we seek from our attendees after each event. As we move into our third year, I’ve really focused on gender parity and diversity. I’m really excited about this year’s lineup. Tickets are on sale now.
Spiffing work Laura! Nothing like fire in your belly to get a project off the ground. If you need a touch of inspiration or help promoting your work take a look at how MOO could help.
Whether you’re a #pro realtor or just setting out, marketing is a key part of what you do. Here are some simple marketing tips to promote your small business, maintain the edge over the competition and make sure you’re always top of mind.
1) Keep in touch
Once someone has bought or sold their home, the fact that you’re a realtor is way back in the file cabinets of their brain. Staying in touch after that initial transaction helps past clients remember you – and a whopping 75% of a realtor’s business comes from referrals and recommendations. Send monthly or quarterly email newsletters. Have a new property on your books? Sold a house? Let people know! Position yourself as an industry expert by including helpful information about the current market. Follow up with potential buyers too. Call them regularly and see how their real estate quest is going. Not only will you get valuable feedback about their housing needs, you’ll remind them that you are willing to work hard to make them happy.
2) Get social
Maintaining a strong social media presence is another way to stay top of mind with customers. With 72% of adult internet users on Facebook, it’s a must-have for most businesses, while Twitter is better for engaging with followers on a daily basis – just be sure you make the time to post regularly. Post useful content and plan ahead, we’d recommend having 1-2 months mapped out – there are loads of free scheduling tools you can use such as Buffer and Hootsuite. If you’re unsure what to post, think about mixing up listings and company news with helpful advice and local events. Include images whenever you can – posts with pictures get more clicks.
3) Don’t forget the details
As a realtor you’re no stranger to good presentation – thinking about the details can really help sell a property! Don’t forget that this concept applies to selling your services too. Everything from what you wear to the look and feel of your business card can make a big difference. An eye-catching design that reflects your branding is crucial for nailing that first impression.
Written by Jillian Richardson
We know you love TED talks, but don’t always have time. So here’s a two minute lowdown of “How to make work-life balance work” by Nigel Marsh, to help you beat stress in your day-to-day life.
At 40, Nigel was “the classic corporate warrior.” He says, “I was working too hard and neglecting the family.” For the next seven years, Nigel set out to identify the thorny issue of the work-life balance. This is what he learned.
Be honest about it
Nigel found that while things like dress-down Friday really help towards improving culture and “flexi-time” gives people a little more freedom, he feels they “mask the core issue”. Certain career options are incompatible with having a young family or other time-demanding commitments. So when we are honest about the reality of our work lives and our wider situation, we can start to make the right changes.
Start to take control
Most of the time, working for someone else means we can’t control how we spend most of our time. Nigel says that even the nicer companies with great cultures are interested in maximising productivity—that’s just how businesses work. Taking control means “enforcing the boundaries we want in our life” to make time for the things that enrich us. “If you don’t design your life, someone else will for you… and you might not enjoy their idea of balance”.
Set a realistic timeframe
After writing down his idea of an “ideal balanced day,” Nigel realised it’s impossible to fit everything he wanted—and needed—to do into 24 hours. This pressure to be everywhere and do everything at once causes stress. We need “a middle way,” a longer timeframe of weeks or even months in which to judge our how we balance work with the things we love. That could be a family vacation or progress on a personal/professional project.
Approach balance in a balanced way
Nigel found that keeping in shape can have impact on work-life balance, but it could become a time drain too. He says we need to make time to address all of the areas of life including our intellectual, emotional and spiritual sides and firmly believes the small things matter. Small, manageable changes, like making the time to pick up your kids from school once a week can have a major impact on your work-life balance.
In summary
Taking control of your time can help you “radically transform the quality of your relationships and the quality of your life.” Start mapping out the ideal balanced day and then start to work towards it. Make time over the coming weeks for the things on your list. “If enough people do it we can change society’s definition of success. Away from the notion that the person with the most money when he dies wins, to a more thoughtful and balanced definition of what a life well lived looks like.”
Like our Ted Talk summary? Check out Amy Cuddy: Your body language may shape who you are and Scott Dinsmore: How to find the work you love.