Author

Ellie Kime

Patchwork Perspective

New Business Showers: Wiggly Mirrors with Lotta Blobs

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

For the final instalment of our blog series interviewing brilliant women business owners to celebrate the launch of our brand new business shower templates, we’re talking to the fantastically talented Shantelle, the creative genius behind Lotta Blobs. You’ll probably know Lotta Blobs if you’ve spent any time on instagram in the past year or so: her wavy sculpted mirrors have taken the world by storm, selling like hotcakes every time they’re released – and rightly so! With their aim of ‘adding some joy and colour to your reflection’, we love Lotta Blobs very much – and we also loved hearing how Shantelle’s first year of business has been.

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Shantelle and I am the creator of Lotta Blobs, a small business I run part-time sculpting colourful wavy clay framed mirrors.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

I began Lotta Blobs during the pandemic in 2020. I was on furlough and was interested in keeping active by working on different creative projects during my time off of work. I was particularly interested in working with my hands as a lot of my full-time job as a Graphic Designer is digital and I missed that element of creativity. After some time exploring different art forms I started working on the prototype of my blob frame from some clay I had laying around and that is how Lotta Blobs was born!

What do you wish you’d known when you were starting out?

I wish I’d known that stressing out about everything doesn’t solve anything so you should just relax!

What’s the one (physical) thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

A bigger desk to work from! For so long I was working on a tiny desk and didn’t invest in a bigger one until months after running Lotta Blobs as I didn’t know how long I’d be going for and just didn’t think I deserved one! I finally invested in one and it makes a world of a difference. Now I just need to treat myself to a comfy desk chair!

What’s the one thing you wish you’d asked for help with?

I struggle a lot with asking for help as I don’t like feeling needy and I’m a bit of a perfectionist! However, I’ve learnt to pass on small jobs to friends and family to give me time to focus on the bigger jobs on hand and prevent me from overworking myself.

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

Lotta Blobs is turning 1 in September! I can’t quite believe it! I’d like to celebrate the milestone by going self-employed and getting a studio. I’ll also be treating myself to a colourful blob themed birthday cake!

What’s your one piece of advice for someone starting a business?

Just be original and your creativity will come naturally!

Thank you so much Shantelle for chatting to us about the Lotta Blobs journey so far – if you want to cop your own Lotta Blobs mirror you can do so on her website. Make sure you’re following her on instagram too, so you can be notified of the next drop. Plus, if you’re feeling inspired to start your own business, you can check out our new business shower templates here.

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Patchwork Perspective

New Business Shower: How to Confidently Ask For What You Want

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Our ethos at Patchwork is about getting the things you really crave – and a major part of this is actually being able to ask for what you want. That’s why we’re so thrilled to be talking to Tiwalowla Ogunlesi, life coach and founder of Confident and Killing It, on the blog today, as part of our series interviewing women in business to celebrate our new business shower templates.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Tiwalola Ogunlesi, I’m a life coach specialising in positive psychology, international speaker, podcast host and the founder of Confident and Killing It. After struggling with self-doubt and a very negative mind as a teenager, I’m now on a mission to help women and girls love and believe in themselves. Making a positive impact in the world, showing up as my true authentic self and prioritising my wellbeing are things that I really value in life. When it comes to my personality, I like to say if Oprah and Beyoncé got together and had a baby, I would be the result of that powerful combination.

My business Confident and Killing It is a purpose driven organisation that wakes women up to their worth so they can be confident, unstoppable and dare to live the life they truly desire. Through engaging workshops, coaching sessions, podcasts and community meet ups, I equip women with the tools they need to overcome fear and self-doubt, programme their minds for success and take action in life. Since starting in 2017 I’ve upskilled thousands of women all over the world and delivered engaging experiences for brands/organisations such as Google, Facebook, The Times, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, UN Women UK, and The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

In 2015, months into that first job after university, I felt a bit lost and unfulfilled. I was working in an industry I was not passionate about and it began to affect my mental health. There was deep unfulfillment that came from being stuck in a job I hated. In the back of my mind, I knew there had to be more to my life than living on autopilot.

In a search for a more fulfilling life, I began volunteering as a Youth Leader with a group of twenty 15 year old girls. As I was mentoring these girls, I realised they all had the same issues I had as a teen. And then it struck me – there’s this generational cycle of low self esteem in women and girls and something had to be done about it.

I started my self-love journey at 21 and I saw the immediate impact it had in my life. I got access to so much love, peace, joy and CONFIDENCE that I wanted every woman and girl to have access to that same power that comes from believing in yourself and owning your story. I started off making inspirational videos on instagram for about a year and when I saw how valuable people found it, I started putting on community events in different countries and then a movement was born.

Fast forward to December 2019, I made the big decision to quit my day job to run Confident and Killing It full-time. My original business plan was to run in person workshops with organisations and personal coaching for women in my community. When I left my job, I had no bookings or clients lined up but I gave myself 3 months to build my reputation and secure the bag. Things were going well until March happened, lockdown happened, and everything got cancelled.

I started getting cancellation email after cancellation email after cancellation email. People were just nervous and scared. No one knew how this was gonna play out. And so every single thing I had booked got cancelled. I had quit my full time job with three months worth of savings and I was quickly coming to the end of my savings. March was meant to be one of my busiest months ever, with International Women’s Day coming up, but everything got cancelled. And I really hit rock bottom. At that point I was like, “What am I supposed to do now? Do I get another job? Is this the end? Am I a failure?”

But because of all the work I have been doing on my mindset when I hit rock bottom I knew the only way out was up. So I said “People can cancel my opportunities but they can’t cancel my creativity and my hard work.” In the midst of all that uncertainty I said 2020 was the year I’m going to see the most growth in my business and that’s exactly what happened. I put a note on my vision board that said “Whatever goes down, must come back up, I am unstoppable.” So I decided to put on a free webinar series called Killing It As An Entrepreneur where every Sunday in lockdown I held panel discussions with entrepreneurs to talk about everything from wellness to money to personal brand. I started it because I was an entrepreneur and I was freaking out, so I knew there would be others out there feeling the same and I wanted to support them.

Killing It As An Entrepreneur exploded the brand. I had thousands of women join from all over the world. Someone in the Philippines even stayed up to attend at 3am. I’d never had numbers like that before at an event. Some of these women then started recommending me to their companies which led to corporate bookings. So in 2020 I gained about 10k new followers and worked with the world’s biggest companies and brands like Google, Facebook, Deloitte, Tiktok, Depop, UN Women and others simply because I refused to let my circumstances dictate my future and decided to bet on myself and create my own opportunities.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

I’ve learnt it’s so important to reset and ask yourself: am I living at my own pace? Or am I just trying to keep up with the rest of society? The work does not stop and burnout is real. I didn’t think you could burn out doing work you love but you absolutely can. So I wish I had known that it’s ok to go slower and decide for yourself how you want to live your life, what rules you want to live by, what pace you go at and then be unapologetic about it. I also wish I had defined success on my own terms a little earlier. For the longest time I was obsessing over numbers and comparing my growth to similar brands. That made me miserable. But now I know success isn’t about numbers, it’s about liking who you are, liking what you do and liking how you do it, as Maya Angelou once said.

What’s the one physical thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

I wish I had a cuter work space. I’m someone who is really inspired by an aesthetically pleasing environment and so beautiful offices and workspaces really motivate me to dream bigger.

What’s the one thing you wished you’d asked for help with?

I wish I had asked for help with the admin and logistics side of my business. I’m a very organised person so I tend to just do things myself because it’s quicker than teaching and explaining it to someone else but before I knew it I was doing finances, email creation and scheduling, social media content creation, running workshops, coaching clients, hosting events ALL by myself. That came with an immense amount of pressure and burnout. Ever since I hired Ruth, my amazing virtual assistant, it’s taken so much pressure off me and I’m getting better at delegating tasks and going at a more comfortable pace.

Why are we scared to celebrate ourselves?

There’s 3 main things that come to mind, firstly I think society has created negative connotations around celebrating ourselves. We’re often sold a lie that we should be humble and put our heads down and let our work do the talking. So we grow up seeing celebration as arrogant or boastful when it really isn’t.

Another reason why people are scared to celebrate themselves is due to the deeply ingrained self-doubt where they believe they are not good enough or they don’t measure up to the people around them. When you feel like everyone else is better than you, you often feel you aren’t worthy of a celebration because there’s nothing significant about what you’ve done.

And finally many people don’t actually know how to celebrate themselves. We live in a society that celebrates hustle culture and so people don’t actually know how to pause, reflect and appreciate the journey that they’ve been on. They are constantly striving for one goal or the other and forget to take a moment to appreciate themselves.

Why is it important we celebrate ourselves?

It’s actually scientifically proven that when you own your accomplishments, and you celebrate yourself, you actually programme your mind to be more positive. It makes you feel more confident and optimistic about the future. You remember all the times you’ve been killing it more than the times where you’ve made mistakes, or you failed at something and that motivates you to keep going. Also when comparison and imposter syndrome creeps in it’s important to remember all your key achievements so you can challenge that voice that tells you you’re a fraud.

I love celebrating myself and I use my Monthly Wins Tracker which is a free tool on my website to keep track of both my small wins and big wins. If I do something good that I’m proud of, I will celebrate myself because I am always worthy of a celebration. Period. People always tell me that my joy and confidence are infectious and that’s because I am unapologetic about shining my light and celebrating myself. When I show up in that way it inspires another person to also celebrate themselves. So celebration doesn’t always have to be arrogant. When I win another woman also wins because she can look at me and go if Tiwalola can do it, I can do it too. It’s not bragging if it’s based on facts so if you did it…OWN IT!

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

I usually don’t need a milestone to celebrate myself, I’ll celebrate for absolutely any reason. Signed on a new client? I’m off to brunch, hosted a successful event? I’m booking a massage haha. But my next big milestone is launching The Confident and Killing It Academy which will be a private club for members to learn, get coaching and build community. I will most definitely be celebrating that by booking a very relaxing holiday for myself.

Thank you Tiwalowla for taking the time to chat, for all the amazing work you do, and also, for the most brilliant sentence we think we’ve ever read (about being Beyoncé and Oprah’s baby.) Make sure you’re following Tiwalowla here and Confident and Killing It here. And if you’ve been inspired to create a patchwork of your own to celebrate your new business, you can check out our collection of templates here.

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Patchwork Perspective

TEDx speaker Sonya Barlow on the importance of diverse leadership

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Our new business shower templates are the perfect way to commemorate and celebrate the launch of new businesses – if we do say so ourselves – and who better to celebrate with than the women in business we admire? (And yes, that includes you!) We spoke to Sonya Barlow, an award-winning entrepreneur, TEDxSpeaker, diversity coach and much more, about what it takes to set a business up, and what advice she has for people venturing into it. You can read her brilliant advice below!

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Sonya Barlow, and I am a Pakistani British woman with a tech background. I am an award-winning entrepreneur, TEDxSpeaker, diversity coach, author, and recent host of ‘The Everyday Hustle’ show on BBC Asian Network.

I am also the founder of LMF Network, a social enterprise that is enabling and empowering women and underrepresented groups. LMF is also helping businesses build diversity and inclusion strategies.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

My business journey started with LMF Network, then Like Minded Females, as a side hustle while working full-time as a senior consultant in the technology industry. I was always interested in all things related to diversity, inclusion and equity.

My experiences as a South Asian woman in the tech sector impacted me. They made me realise I wanted to go beyond creating a space for women and people from diverse backgrounds to connect and share experiences.

I wanted to make a social impact and encourage inclusion and diversity in workplaces. So I left the corporate world, and that’s how the ‘business’ or consulting aspect of LMF Network – and later on, my own business – started to take shape.

First, I started by providing empowering workshops for the LMF community. But I realised that companies were in real need of business, diversity and inclusion services. So I began offering workshops and learning opportunities for companies as a diversity coach.

Now, I can proudly say that I have launched my own business and diversity consultancy.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

I would have loved to know the true meaning of the word resilience and what success really is.

It took me some time to change the way I saw failure. At first, a setback made me think I was not doing enough or I wouldn’t achieve my goals. But, now I see failure as nothing but a temporary disruptor that forces you to learn and adapt.

On the other hand, I have also reframed the definition of success. It has nothing to do with a job title. It is about being the most truthful version of yourself and being true to your calling and mission, whether that is championing a cause within an organisation or starting your own business.

What’s the one physical thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

Does a team of passionate people count? Across the years, I have found how incredibly important to surround yourself with people that share your same vision because you can all thrive together.

LMF Network grew because of a network of amazing volunteers who put their extra time into growing and supporting the community. And, now, LMF’s consulting branch is growing because of having teammates that are working towards encouraging businesses to make a fundamental change in their workplace.

What’s the one thing you wish you’d asked for help with?

How to navigate the corporate world. I first experienced this when I finished university and then again when I started my own business. It is one thing no one teaches you at school, and having that knowledge can ease – to some extent – your immersion into your first job.

In my case, I learned it the hard way. From negotiating pay rises to dealing with workplace toxicity and bad managers, these are skills that are essential for your personal and career development because they can impact your confidence and sense of self.

That is why I have tried to give others the stepping stone I didn’t have. For example, at LMF, we provide career and personal skills workshops, and we have a mentoring programme, the largest virtual mentoring scheme in the UK. These initiative help bridge the skills gap for our diverse community.

What’s your one piece of advice for someone starting a business?

My main piece of advice is to make failure your best friend.

The reality of starting a business is that at some point, you will fail, you will suffer a setback, or you will have to rethink your approach to your vision. Unfortunately, that is constant and unavoidable.

But instead of focusing on the negative aspects, you need to learn to use those challenges as opportunities and ask yourself: ‘What did I do’ and ‘What can I do differently?’

You always have to stay focused on your vision and what comes next. Sometimes you will have to just roll with the punches, and some other times you will have to take a step back and start again.

But, the good news is that you won’t start from zero. Instead, you will begin from experience.

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

My next business milestone is to grow the consulting business side of LMF Network, and I already took the first step.

My first move was to bring on a global team, including a communications lead, project manager and outreach intern. It was important for me to make sure that my team members were remote and identified themselves as part of diverse backgrounds to ensure that our mission and our practice was reflected within our team.

I believe that when you are an entrepreneur, you celebrate the small and the big things, from signing a contract with a new client to sending that one email. So when there are important news and updates, I make sure I bring everyone into the conversation.

Though I do admit that when there is a significant milestone or great news, I do three things: 1) celebrate with my team, 2) go for a walk, and 3) remind myself that the journey I took to entrepreneurship – the hardships and the failures – were definitely worth it.

Thank you so much Sonya for your brilliant advice! If you want to see/hear/read/digest more from Sonya, you can find her on instagram @sonyabarlowuk, and on her website. If you want to make your own new business shower patchwork, you can find loads of templates to kickstart you here!

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New Business Showers: Self-trust as a business owner

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Continuing our series of interviewing inspiring women to celebrate the launch of our new business shower templates (and hopefully inspire you to host a new business shower of your own!) we’re today chatting to the brilliant Sasha Glasgow, founder of Frank+Feel. She writes and shares beautifully on the themes of life, self-doubt, and self-trust, which all seem especially relevant for the journey of setting up your business! We chatted to Sasha about what she’s learnt in her first year of lockdown, and what we can all take away from that…

Who are you + what do you do?

My name is Sasha and I’m a freelance creative writer. I write under the personal brand, Frank+Feel, about life, self-doubt and self-trust. I combine my love of words and concrete belief that women can do through doubt, by treating myself as somewhat of a working example. I make the stuff that usually sits behind the scenes, very much a central part of my business story and offering. I do this through what I call RemindHers – words to remind women of what has always been there. And I bring them to my audience through my writing, journalling workshops, podcast, and freelance role as a content and community coach.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

My business journey started at the beginning of 2020, when I think I frustrated myself into action, really. I had written in some guise since the age of eight, but never called myself a writer. At the start of 2020, I still didn’t. Initially, I created Frank+Feel because I wanted to start a candle brand and wedge words in there somewhere, but it quickly became apparent that the words wouldn’t and shouldn’t be pushed to the periphery.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

That every time you follow your curiosity (even if you don’t know where it will lead, and you constantly question your why), it will lead you a little closer to where you’re meant to be. You don’t have to know. You just have to start.

What’s the one (physical) thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

The right stands, lighting and apparatus to assist with lives. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve attached my phone to tin cans for lives, or had some very interesting set ups to ensure my laptop was at the right height and you could see me.

What’s the one thing you wish you’d asked for help with?

All the stuff to do with tax and whether I should register as a sole trader or limited company. I’m clearer on it now, but I’m still figuring it out.

Why is it important that we celebrate ourselves?

Because if not us, then who? It feels like a trait of Britishness to excel at self-deprecation. So much so, that we immediately diminish any compliment received or milestone reached. We think it’s a great show of humility, but sometimes I feel we lean so far that way that it actually does more harm than good. We push down the things that we do as small and surprise, surprise, never feel like we’re doing enough. I think it’s also dangerous to rely on compliments and celebrations (you know, the ones we bat away anyway) to come solely from somewhere outside of yourself, because what if those plaudits don’t come, one day? I refuse to hold celebration at arms length from myself like that any more – only celebrating myself when I’m celebrated by others.

What’s your next business milestone and how will you be celebrating?

I think that’ll be bringing out some physical products with my words on. I’ve done things in collaboration with others, but this will be all me. I’ll likely celebrate with some kind of letterbox sweet treat and happy tears of pride.

You can find more of Sasha’s brilliant words on her website, on instagram @frankandfeel, and on her podcast This Is Your RemindHer. And if you’ve been inspired to set up your own Patchwork to celebrate your new business shower, you can find some templates here, or get started from scratch here.

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New Business Showers: Becoming a Candlemaker

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

2020 was the year of, among other things, the pivot – with new businesses being born left, right and centre as people had to find alternative ways to make a living. (In fact, it’s exactly for this reason that we’ve created our new business shower templates – because we think setting up a new business is a milestone worth celebrating!) One such brilliant pivot was from wedding and events designer Callie Pettigrew, who founded playful candle brand Studio Dine at the back end of last year. In between drooling over her block colour candles, we asked her what it was like setting up shop in 2020, and what new business life looks for her currently…

Who are you and what do you do?

Hello! I’m Callie – A creative event stylist & designer for modern, style-conscious brands & individuals. I also founded Studio dine at the end of 2020 – Currently a playful candle brand, but soon to be a one-stop shop for modern dining.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

Last year during Lockdown when my event styling work came to a standstill due to Covid, I decided to start Studio dine. Always on the hunt for exciting tableware and props, I thought, why not make my own, starting with a range of playful dinner candles perfect for adding some personality to interiors, or making those tablescapes extra special. I’d always wanted to do it, and Lockdown 2.0 was the perfect time! It gave me the space to experiment in a non-pressured way and just see where it took me.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

That running a product based business is TOTALLY different to the service based biz I’m used to. There are so many more risks and upfront costs involved in order to get started that I hadn’t fully considered – Materials, packaging, TIME. It’s all consuming and a lot of work.

What’s the one (physical) thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

A label printer – Still don’t have one but OH the time it would save.

What’s the one thing you wished you’d asked for help with?

It’s still very early days for me. From the get-go people loved what I was creating, so it really took off quite quickly, but actually it’s only now I’m really starting to think about outsourcing and how others can help me to grow the business. I’m lucky that I have an amazing community of business pals around me that are always up for giving me opinions or answering questions. It’s so important to have those people around you who just get it. Now that I’ve built the foundations myself, I’m all for asking for help from experts – I have big plans so stay tuned!

Who are the people that helped you the most in the early days?

Like I said, surrounding myself with pals who were really supportive, were there to answer my questions, listen to my ideas, and cheer me on was and always is totally invaluable when you run your own business. It’s so easy to get in your own head when you work alone 95% of the time so it’s important to check in with other humans every once in a while! Also shoutout to my fiancé Sam! Whether it was packing orders or washing up candle moulds (THE WORST PART) he’s always there to help. I still make the candles from our kitchen so his patience with me is greatly appreciated too!

Why is it important we celebrate ourselves?

BECAUSE WE’RE AMAZING. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day (I know I do it!) but we totally deserve to take a step back and recognise all the incredible things we’re doing. Running a business is NOT easy so I find taking a moment every so often to look at what I’m doing and celebrate the wins (however small) is a great way to build up confidence!

What’s your next business milestone coming up, and how will you be celebrating?

6 months I guess? When you’re so busy working in your business it’s easy to forget to celebrate these little milestones, but no milestone is too small. I’ll definitely be having a drink to celebrate and look back on what I’ve achieved so far!

You can check out Callie’s gorgeous candles here, and follow her on instagram @studiodine. And if you fancy making your own new business shower template to celebrate your pivot, you can do that here!

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New Business Shower: Setting up as a photographer

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Sometimes, you’re not starting a new business from scratch. Sometimes, you’re starting a new business with one already under your wing. This is what the uber-talented Leesha Williams (from Onyx Branding Company) did this January, when she set up a sister brand to her wedding photography business. As part of our series celebrating our new business shower templates (which help you throw – you guessed it – new business showers to celebrate setting up a – you guessed it again – new business), we asked Leesha about the highs and lows of setting up a new business; what she’s done differently this time, and what she’d perhaps do differently again.

Who are you and what do you do?

Hi I’m Leesha, I’m a portrait and product photographer based in the midlands! I own Onyx Branding Co. a female owned branding and product photography business helping small indie businesses elevate their photography content. As a black owned business, I have a special focus on helping other black/brown owned businesses.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

Onyx really started in lockdown. I usually work as a wedding and event photographer but because of COVID-19 we weren’t able to photograph any weddings. After the events last June and the rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, I began to realise that like me, other Black/Brown owned businesses didn’t feel as if they had a safe space to create and be their true authentic selves, especially in the creative industry. I’ve worked as a wedding photographer for the past few years, but lockdown meant that both my business and income disappeared almost overnight.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

So one thing I really wished I’d known before starting out is that running your own photography business or any creative business for that matter is that you really only spend about 30% of your time doing your actual job. The rest is spent wearing all of the other hats! I never planned on working in the photography industry in the way that I do now so I wish I’d done more research in the beginning because for businesses to be successful, you do have to run them like a business so that includes all of the admin, marketing and everything else that goes along with it!

What’s the one (physical) thing you wish you’d had when you were starting out?

One physical thing I wish I had when starting out would definitely have been a good working laptop for editing! When I started out photographing weddings and events, I never dreamed that it would’ve been my full time career. This meant I didn’t necessarily invest in anything early on, so now having a computer solely for editing has increased my productivity so much!

What I would say to anyone wanting to start a photography business is to get to know your equipment and what you have first though and get good at using that. Having the right equipment does help but you don’t need fancy equipment to make you better at your job, your equipment should grow with your business.

What’s the one thing you wished you’d asked for help with?

If there was one thing I really wish I’d asked for help when starting my business it probably would have been help from someone with admin, time management and prioritising tasks. Running the two businesses simultaneously can get quite overwhelming so I find that I can often get burnt out easily!

Being a creative person also means that I can get distracted very easily so I find that having someone like a virtual assistant or even just coworking with a friend or a really good organiser system like Trello super helpful for my business and for staying on track with tasks.

Who are the people that helped you most in the early days?

My friends and family were so helpful in the beginning, I’ve been lucky in that everyone has always been really supportive, sometime working in a creative industry or opening a small business, you don’t always get the support you need or people think that it’s “just a side hustle” or it’s not a “real job” so if you’re ever feeling that way, my advice would be to try and find online groups or communities for other like minded businesses or networking events. Being around other people who are in your industry is such an amazing thing because they understand what you’re going through.

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

I’m very goal orientated so every year I like to write down a set of goals for each business and how I can achieve them, I like to set myself some goals that I definitely must do and then also a set that would be amazing to achieve with a little action plan on how I can go about doing it. If you’re like me and you like to work towards specific goals, I find that way works really well and you can print them off and put them in your office/workspace.

Onyx was only launched in January and it’s been crazy since then so my next milestone for Onyx is to gain five repeat clients before the end of the summer. It doesn’t sound like a lot but because I have such a niche ideal client that I want to work with, I think it’s achievable and will still allow me to focus on my other business goals as well.

Thank you so much Leesha! To check out Leesha’s branding work head to Onyx Branding Co.; to see her wedding photography you can head here. And if you’ve been inspired to throw a new business shower, firstly: congratulations! and secondly: you can find loads of templates and inspiration here.

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New Business Shower: Setting up a craft business from home

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Without romanticising the past year whatsoever, the pandemic has forced a lot of us to slow down, and explore different hobbies and creative endeavours that we might not have had time or inclination to ever explore before. And then, true to form, we might have found a hobby we really liked, and made it into a business! That’s what the wonderful Aiza did with By Coya: she started out making polymer clay earrings as a creative outlet in summer 2020, but the popularity of her super cute designs quickly meant she set up shop. To celebrate the launch of our new business shower templates, we reached out to Aiza to chat about setting up a product based business, and what kind of things it requires.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Aiza, a creative based in East London and I run By Coya, a handmade jewellery business from a corner of my living room. I make earrings you can almost eat! Specifically, I make food inspired statement earrings by hand using polymer clay.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

I started making earrings during the summer of 2020. I needed a creative outlet and had come across a polymer clay earring tutorial. Once I touched the medium, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop making earrings! I gave away things I made, and after a while, my friends had too many. Since I have experience running creative businesses, and am surrounded by amazing maker friends, I decided to start By Coya.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

When I started out, I really wished I knew how to manage my time better. I would start making, and the next time I looked up, it was 3am! I’m a bit better now, and being able to manage my time means I can accurately cost and price things accurately, while paying myself a decent working wage.

What’s the one (physical) thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

I wish, and still wish for a nice jewellery/working bench. I have a small, slightly wobbly round table in the corner of my living room and it’s not ideal.

What’s the one thing you wish you’d asked for help with?

The help that I would’ve asked for when starting out was to understand how to take photos of earrings in my ear. I’m still not great at it but I’ll keep practising!

Who are the people that helped you most in the early days?

Definitely my friends who also run small businesses. They’ve been my biggest fans, and encouraged me every step of the way.

Who did you tell about your business when it started?

Mostly my friends in the small creative business world. My family but they don’t really get it, so I talk to my friends about it mostly.

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

My first business birthday is coming up! I’m not 100% sure how I’m going to celebrate yet, but I will definitely have fun earrings and probably CAKE.

If you fancy bagging a pair of good-enough-to-eat earrings from Aiza, you can get them at By Coya – make sure you follow her on instagram @by.coya too. And if you’re looking for a way to celebrate your new business, product-based or otherwise, you acn see our new business shower templates here (but follow Aiza’s lead: cake is a must!)

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Patchwork Perspective

New Business Showers: A Guide To Living Audaciously

by Ellie Kime
written by Ellie Kime

Sometimes, the internet helps you find wonderful people that you otherwise might never have come across – and that’s what’s happened with Keri Jarvis, The Audacity Coach. Keri’s reclaiming ‘Who Does She Think She Is?!’ – err, yes please – and so we knew she’d be the PERFECT person to chat to about our new business shower templates. They’re all about setting up your own business, celebrating your decision to do so, and having the confidence to ask for what you need help with: things Keri is all about too.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Keri Jarvis and I’m The Audacity Coach, leading a reclamation of ‘Who Does She Think She Is?!’. I work mostly with women with young businesses, seeking to do some good in the world whilst carving out vibrant lives for themselves.

Audacity has 4 key facets for me…
– Acknowledge and ask for what you want
– Availability for abundance
– Appearance ambivalence
– Alliance with others

…and I believe that when more women embody these ideas, which go against everything they’ve been taught, the world will get better.

My style is a blend of coaching, mentoring and consulting, and I am informal AF. I’m a feminist, socialist, mother of 2, and a Northerner, living by the sea in Essex.

Tell us about the start of your business journey.

Well. Before all this, I was in store management with a major high street retailer- sprouts and knickers were my life. When my eldest son was born 8 years ago, we used hypnobirthing techniques, and this was the beginning of both my business, and my feminist adventures.

I decided not to go back to employment, and trained to teach hypnobirthing myself. The first incarnation of my business was called HypnoBirthdays (cringe), and involved me teaching people in their living rooms, then small groups in mine, and eventually hiring spaces.

By 2018, I’d opened a studio space, under the revised brand, Do It Like A Mother (much better, right?), and had begun mentoring other women through some of the mindset and marketing elements of their small businesses.

I sold Do It Like A Mother at the start of 2020, and after such a tricky year, it’s a fricking pleasure and a half to see it being reinvigorated by its new owner, at the start of a whole new journey for the business.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

That the failures/ mistakes/ screw ups that feel monumental and all consuming at the time will usually form the funniest, and most affirming parts of your story in the end. The money, time and energy I’ve poured into projects and connections that have been fruitless are beyond measure (because I’ve blocked it out, haaaa). But, cliché though it is, I wouldn’t have the life and biz I have now without those experiences.

What’s the one physical thing you wish you’d had when you started out?

A decent printer (and a lifetime supply of ink and paper and clips)! Oh my gosh, I can’t tell you how many hours were spent stressing over paper jams, ink issues and the rest whilst I was teaching people in person. And I still love to print things off if there’s a lot to read – anything to get the screentime down a shade.

What’s the one thing you wished you’d asked for help with?

Whilst I don’t really do regrets, I wish I’d asked for more help to get my head around email marketing sooner. I have shed many tears over a major email marketing provider over the years, and resisted committing to emailing my community because every moment I spent on there reinforced my sense that I was incompetent! These days I have a different system, plenty of help from my business manager, Dawn, and I look forward to connecting with my audience in their inboxes.

Why are we scared to celebrate ourselves?

Heaven help a woman who deems herself worthy of praise or recognition! Woe betide her. Seriously – our entire lives we’ve been shown that being self deprecating is the way of a good woman. If we should become FULL OF OURSELVES… well, it’s a sin. But babes, what else would we be full of?! Know this- when you acknowledge your brilliance, you give other women permission to do the same. Normalise women loving themselves. “She
proper loves herself, and I like it.”

What’s your next business milestone coming up and how will you be celebrating?

Ooooo this is such a good question! I’m gonna say the survival of my business through the Panny D. Because of my company structure, I’ve not been entitled to any financial grants or furlough, etc. I had 2 residential retreats to cancel, countless episodes of anticipated work falling through because of other people’s businesses being impacted, not to mention 2 children at home for an eternity. But I am still here, gaining momentum again. I can’t help but feel this is a BIG FRICKING DEAL.

I am celebrating by integrating what I’ve learnt – that I don’t have to be BUSY with my business for it to be successful. I’m allowing myself much more space for rest, hobbies and community care.

Also, new journals. Loads of ‘em… And redecorating my hall, stairs and landing with pink paintwork- babes, I work ALL OVER THE HOUSE, so it’s basically an office upgrade. I’ve also put a disco ball up in my main workspace. And I’m gradually gifting myself an indoor jungle. Oh, and some more feminist books. And I got new photography done. Ok I am very good at this…

THANK you Keri – for your wisdom, of course, but also for the idea of putting a disco ball in our offices…If you’re similarly inspired to set up a business on your own terms, you can find a new business shower template inspired by Keri here. You can find out more about Keri here, and find her on instagram @keri_l_jarvis

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