Removing friction and making it easier for your customers to buy is key if you have a product business. This weeks episode I chat with Mel Eilers a Many chat expert where we talk about Chat funnels and why you should be using them and how they can benefit your business 

Benefits of Using Manychat

    - Mel breaks down what Manychat is and its compliance with Meta, highlighting its approval and the rules to abide by.

Use Cases and Examples

    - Nicole and Mel discuss successful use cases of Manychat, including Instagram Live events and story mentions that drive engagement and increase sales.

Components of a Chat Funnel:

    - Key components are discussed, such as personalization, the importance of re-engagement and pivoting conversations to maintain customer interest.

Integration with Existing Strategies

    - Mel provides insights on how to integrate Manychat with your existing marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement and conversion rates.

Analytics and Measuring Success

    - The importance of analytics in Manychat and how brands can track the effectiveness of their chat funnels to optimize their strategies.

Preparing for High-Traffic Seasons:

    - Mel discusses the importance of list-building and strategic planning using Manychat, especially heading into high-traffic sales periods like Black Friday.

Guest Mel Eilers  

The “Manychat queen” – Mel Eilers is a Manychat Messenger Expert and Agency Partner who works with coaches, personal brands and retailers to help them maximise their sales and leads from Instagram, all whilst freeing up the to-do list and saving time in the DMs.

Mel helps brands personalise their connection with followers through Manychat automations, helping to boost reach and engagement, leading to higher conversion rates through a seamless customer journey.

She has shared the online stage with Amy Porterfield and Michael Hyatt at the Rise Above Summit; spoken on the Chat Marketing Podcast and also delivered various masterclasses and webinars.

Mel is recognised as a go-to expert for Manychat, building automations for clients such as online business coach Teresa Heath-Waring, mentoring site Photography Farm and the Resilient Retail Coach, Catherine Erdly.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/socially_sound/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieeilers/

Website: www.sociallysound.co.uk

Email: mel@sociallysound.co.uk

Freebie: Manychat Starter Kit - https://sociallysound.thrivecart.com/ig-chat-funnels-starter-kit/

NEW: Manychat Beta Course

https://sociallysound.thrivecart.com/manychat-ig-accelerator/

Host 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

Host Nicole Higgins 

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store?This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, the agency dedicated to helping kids’ and family brands achieve explosive growth with high-performing digital marketing campaigns.

Neon’s new Runway to Results programme is a revolutionary paid-advertising service that will help you understand your brand’s true potential and reach the heights of success you dream of.

Over the course of 60 days, Neon’s expert team will test and optimise your Meta and Google ad accounts to establish your business KPIs and optimum Cost Per Acquisition. 

At the end of the Runway period, they’ll analyse your data to establish what profitable scaling looks like and arm you with knowledge, confidence and a clear plan for the next phase of your growth.

If you’re ready to elevate your e-commerce game, Neon is the navigator you need on your flight deck.

Today's episode of start scale succeed delves into the intriguing world of crowdfunding with our special guest, Danielle Wallington, the visionary founder of Flock here, 

Join us as Danielle reveals her journey of raising over £20,000 in just over 30 days through crowdfunding.  Discover how she turned her idea, stemming from co-working meetups and the need for recommended workspaces for women, into a successfully funded project.

In this episode, we unpack the essentials of launching a crowdfunding campaign, including setting precise funding targets, choosing the right crowdfunding model, and crafting a strategic marketing plan. 

Danielle provides insights into 

Her top tips for crowdfunding 

The importance of mindset and positivity 

Setting funding targets 

Planning the campaign. 

Post campaign  

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner looking to explore crowdfunding, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you achieve your fundraising goals. 

Guest 

Danielle Wallington is the founder of Flck here a coworking and community app, she is a  business mentor  &  tech founder 

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-wallington-22a13234/ 

https://www.instagram.com/flock_here

/https://www.instagram.com/danielle_wallington_/

Host 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

Host Nicole Higgins 

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store?This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, the agency dedicated to helping kids’ and family brands achieve explosive growth with high-performing digital marketing campaigns.

Neon’s new Runway to Results programme is a revolutionary paid-advertising service that will help you understand your brand’s true potential and reach the heights of success you dream of.

Over the course of 60 days, Neon’s expert team will test and optimise your Meta and Google ad accounts to establish your business KPIs and optimum Cost Per Acquisition. 

At the end of the Runway period, they’ll analyse your data to establish what profitable scaling looks like and arm you with knowledge, confidence and a clear plan for the next phase of your growth.

If you’re ready to elevate your e-commerce game, Neon is the navigator you need on your flight deck.

Head to www.runwaytoresults.com to get the journey started and prepare your business for take-off!

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

How do you inject more personality into your brand, help keep customers engaged and tell a story? One of those ways is by using stop motion in your creative socials, videos and reels. And today I'm chatting with Alice Loveday, founder of Loveday Social and the queen of Stop Motion. 

Highlights include 

- **Introduction to Stop Motion:

  - Definition and magical elements of stop motion.

  - Why it’s so engaging and valuable for marketing and sales.

- **Business Applications:

  - Distinguishing your brand and telling stories through stop motion.

  - Highlighting unique selling points (USPs) and product features.

  - The power of stop motion in social media and paid ads.

- **Common Misconceptions:

  - Debunking the myth that stop motion is time-consuming.

  - Tips for creating quick, effective stop motions using minimal equipment 

- **Practical Advice:**

  - Recommended apps: Life Lapse and Stop Motion Studio.

  - Top five must-have stop motion content types for product businesses.

  - Step-by-step process for coming up with stop motion content.

Guest Alice Loveday 

​​https://www.lovedaysocial.com/

https://www.instagram.com/loveday.social

Host Nicole Higgins 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Watch the full episode on You tube 

https://www.youtube.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach/podcasts

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store? Want to do it without having to wear yet another hat and become a digital marketing expert? This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, THE paid-traffic partner for family and women’s e-commerce brands wanting to scale their stores from five figure to six figure months using Meta, Google and Klaviyo marketing services.  

Neon is offering listeners a FREE scaling audit worth £3000! 

So whether your sales have plateaued or you

’re looking for growth, this is a great opportunity to lift the lid on your biz and identify where the opportunities are hiding. 

Head to scaleandglow.com to discover just how much revenue you could scale your store to this year. 

https://scaleandglow.com/

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

This week’s guest is founder of Empwr Botanics, a CBD and wellness brand, Natalie Meredith. Natalie joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed to talk about how her personal journey and experience lead her to creating this brand. Find out about the benefits of CBD and the challenges Natlaie has faced going from working in property to starting her own business. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In 2018 Natalie was diagnosed with restless legs syndrome, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, a common condition of the nervous system that causes an overwhelming irresistible urge to move the legs. 
• This affected Natalie’s sleep and being someone who prefers a natural alternative to over the counter drugs. She decided to try CBD and had the best night's sleep of her life. Natalie also found that she felt calmer and had fewer symptoms of anxiety. 
• When deciding to start her business, Natalie looked at the market in the US which is around five years ahead of the UK in terms of laws around CBD products. She thought if the country who started the war on drugs made it legal, then the UK wouldn’t be far behind. 
• CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a single compound of the Cannabis plant. In the world of health and wellness it is best known for its anti-inflammatory and stress reducing properties. It is non-toxic, non-psychotropic and unlike THC - it will not get you high.
• CBD is good for your skin too so Natalie wanted to use CBD in her skincare products. She ran into problems with regulations, beauty trends, and supply chain issues for her CBD facemasks. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m so happy that I pivoted and repacked and renamed the brand’

‘After my first session I literally couldn’t move, I was wondering how I could go back’

‘I’m such a gung ho person I just went for it’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.empwrbotanics.co.uk

www.instagram.com/empwrbotanics

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Dreaming of starting your own fashion business? This week's episode of Start Scale Succeed is a recording of an Instagram live with Sinead Kearns from Arlo Blue. Tracy and Sinead chat about the why and the how of starting the brand and what made her go for it. Moving from a side hustle to the main focus, the challenges she faced and how she reacted and decisions she made. Listen in to find out about growing organically, Sinead’s future plans for the brand as well as advice and tips for those starting out.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Arlo Blue was founded because Sinead was finding it difficult to find basic pieces for her wardrobe. She wanted pieces that could be worn time and time again and avoiding having to throw away her cheap fast-fashion items that need replacing every few months.
• Arlo Blue’s mission is to make it easy to find great quality white t-shirts that are going to last a long time. They do this through durable, quality and 100% cotton clothing.
• Four months into the business Sinead made over £1,000 in sales and was ecstatic about it. Her expectations weren’t that high. It was also at that point of the business where she was getting good feedback and returning customers who wanted more styles than Arlo Blue currently had.
• There has been so much support for Arlo Blue that Sinead is planning to expand from womens t-shirts into also making a limited range of mens products.
• Sinead’s advice for anyone wanting to go into business is just to do it, don’t worry about making everything perfect. If you’ve done your research then you’re ready to go. Perfection is procrastination.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I ordered 80 t-shirts and I was petrified that they weren't going to arrive’

‘That person might just fall into your path’

‘Don’t wait until it’s perfect to start, it never will be’

‘It’s much harder to grow on Instagram now, you have to be consistent’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Arlo Blue

Arlo Blue on Instagram

The Custom Crew on Instagram

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Are you hiding from the numbers in your business or not sure how you should manage your stocks and the numbers that really matter in your business? Then today's Start Scale Succeed episode is for you. Nicole is chatting with Sarah from Flourish Retail, merchandising expert who has over 20 years experience working for retailers like ASOS, River Island and Debenhams. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There are two aspects to sales, firstly your total sales which would be what you’ve sold in a period. Then your net sales, which includes returns. Returns are an important number for your business because it impacts your profit and the customer experience. 
• With clothing a 20% return percentage is pretty good but it can fluctuate depending on the product. Something fitted will have a higher return rate. 
• Maximise your profit as much as possible from every unit of stock you’re selling. Be aware of how much stock you have and how much of your money is tied up in that stock. 
• If you don’t try and negotiate with suppliers on minimum order amounts then you might be left with too much of your cash invested in stock. Remember that you’re also paying for storage on your stock too. 
• Understand what’s working, what’s actually selling well for you, the numbers don’t lie. Don’t be afraid to get rid of products that don’t make you money and take up your time. 
• Review your pricing, with costs going up then profit margins begin to slide. Look at your competitors' prices regularly and make sure you’re missing a trick. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Sales are vanity, profit is sanity’

‘It’s important to trade in season’

‘Add the context to the numbers’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.flourishretail.com

www.instagram.com/flourishretail

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

How do you manifest the life that you want? Today’s episode is a recording of an Instagram live where Nicole chatted with Chloe Slade, a manifestation and mindset coach and founder of Vibe and Flow. Some of the topics we covered include what is manifestation, how and where you should start. If you're a product business what kinds of affirmations and thoughts may help you in your business. What daily habits can you include to help raise your vibrations and increase the momentum in your life. And much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Manifestation is where your dominant thoughts, feelings, actions, and beliefs create an aligned reality. It’s about intention. 
• Your positive thinking should be focused on the next best feeling thought, for example if you were in debt you won’t get out of it by trying to become a millionaire. It’s about manageable steps not huge leaps. 
• Be clear on what it is you want, getting more money isn’t a clear goal because we’re not attached to our bank balance, it’s the things that we can do with it that motivate us. 
• A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. Everyone experiences limiting beliefs, but learning how to identify them can help you proactively prevent these beliefs from limiting you.
• Have a morning formula. Prepare yourself for the day through actions and movement, it’s not a routine, it can be flexible around your time and isn’t set in stone. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I thought it was just a hobby for me, I didn’t know I could do it full time’ 

‘If the positive thinking doesn't align with your self image it’s going to cause problems’

‘You have to take the action’ 

‘Be the version of you, start showing up’

EPISODE RESOURCES

1-1 Coaching Application 

The 90 Day Manifestation Journal 

Money Manifestation Cards 

Membership

Free 3 Part Money Series + Workbook 

Free Daily Money Prompts 

@itschloeslade

@vibe_and_flow

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Half Baked London is a beautiful sustainable swimwear brand and today on Start scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by founder Kim Fraser. Find out all about Kim’s story, how she pushes through her challenges, and what’s next for the brand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Kim doesn’t have a background in fashion and decided to start the brand when she found that when she was travelling she was struggling to find swimwear that she could afford, was good quality, and made her feel good. She started from scratch doing all the research and trade shows, all of which took about two years.
• The biggest challenge Kim faced, especially in the beginning, was a lack of knowledge. She had a good cash flow but just didn’t know what the next step was. To overcome this Kim spent a long time doing research and discovered that when you make one contact, they can introduce you to someone else who can help you.
• Surrounding yourself with people who are on similar journeys to you really helps you feel supported while you’re taking each step.
• When setting up the brand, it was important to Kim to bring comfort first but not compromise on style.
• Instead of saying no to things, Kim has decided to say yes more and be open to opportunities even if they scare her, for example coming on this podcast isn’t something Kim’s super comfortable doing.

BEST MOMENTS

‘If you don’t believe that you’re smashing it, nobody else will’

‘I’m aware of when I’m self sabotaging and I snap out of it because it’s not helpful’

‘I wish that I’d released the fear a little bit sooner, then I’d be further along’

‘I wanted to make pieces that first and foremost make you feel good’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://halfbakedlondon.com

www.instagram.com/halfbakedlondon

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Have you thought about selling your brand on Amazon, or maybe you’re already on there but not getting the sales you want. With over 2 million brands listed on the platform, how can you stand out and make sure your products are visible and taking the sales that you want. This week's guest on Start Scale Succeed is going to be able to answer those questions and more. Vicki Weinberg is an expert on helping brands grow and sell on Amazon. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There are some products which you cannot sell on Amazon, this list of items changes regularly. These can include things like CBD, cars, and used clothes. 
• Your product may not be right for Amazon for a number of reasons, for example an item with a small profit margin won’t make you any money when you take into account the Amazon fees. 
• With a free Amazon selling account you can’t do any advertising there and you have a cap of 35 sales per month, whereas with the professional account for £30 per month you can advertise and have unlimited sales. Both offer unlimited free listings. 
• If you’re selling a product with lots of competition, it can be hard to get onto the first page because Amazon promotes the ones with good sales and good reviews. 
• You might get more profit on sales from your own website, but you will get a much higher volume on Amazon. The customers are already there. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You want to be on page one, we’re not going to page two, three, or four’

‘You need to have something that helps you stand out’

‘Once you’ve put your listing on Amazon you still have some hard work to do’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.vickiweinberg.com

How to successfully launch a product on Amazon or rescue one that’s not selling: https://mailchi.mp/f213741a23ee/amazon_listing_optimisation

Selling on Amazon Checklist: https://mailchi.mp/0adac0163554/product_creation_steps

A podcast episode all about dealing with (and preventing) issues that might arise on Amazon (as per your last question): https://vickiweinberg.com/captivate-podcast/common-amazon-issues-and-how-to-resolve-them-with-vicki-weinberg/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Born from an idea whilst searching for the best mascara to use to an app now with 80,000 products and 17,000 brands. Beauty Buddy was created by two sisters Wendy & Tracy and today Nicole chats with co founder Wendy Slattery on how they have created what they call the “Trip advisor” for beauty products, where consumers who have used the brands whether they love it or hate it they rate it. Which allows consumers and brands to get real feedback from real people. They discuss the initial research they did and how they engaged with people that really made them see that they had an idea that was viable and useful. To a whirlwind trip to New York drawing on every and any connection to meet advisors and investors, creating a minimum viable product without spending millions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We’ve all been the overwhelmed customer going into a store. When Wendy and Tracy went into a store and asked the assistant if a makeup brush was worth the money, they were told “I don’t know, I only work here Saturdays”. The pair then went online and googled the item, all that came up was sites trying to sell the product, nothing about if it was good or not. So that’s when they thought wouldn’t it be great to just be able to scan a barcode and see relevant information on a product.
• From focus groups Wendy discovered that in terms of product reviews, people are least likely to trust reviews on the brands own website or store. When it comes to influencers reviews it was a balance between trusting some and not trusting others. The reviews that people trust the most are those given by a friend.
• The pair found success with their Facebook group for beauty product reviews but the problem was that it was impossible to keep track of. They found people asking the same questions weeks apart because the information they had got on the previous post was just too hard to find again.
• Never take no for an answer. You don’t open doors with one email, you need to be calling, LinkedIn messages, everything. Just be persistent.
• Beauty Buddy is currently valued at £3.6 million after the latest round of investment.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’ve said yes to dates…but it’s in America!’

‘We know where we’re going. Either you’re interested in being on the journey with us or you’re not’

‘When you’re that small, you need to find investors who are passionate about the industry’

‘You will always make mistakes as a startup’

‘The worst you can do is fail’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.thebeautybuddy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thebeautybuddyapp

Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeautybuddy

https://proto.io/

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

How can you create that connection with your customer that will help sales? On today's Start Scale Succeed podcast, Nicole is joined by copywriter Emma Griffin, who is going to share her top tips for creating copy that connects and converts. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Emma works with coaches, consultants and small business owners, she specialises in website copy, sales and launch copy, email marketing, and tone of voice support. 
• Emma’s top five tips for creating good copy are: Make it about your customer. Do your research. Keep it brief, but vary your sentence length. Drop the jargon. Build authority through things other than just expertise.
• In your copy make sure you’re using the word ‘you’ far more than you use the words ‘I’ or ‘we’. 
• Your headline is the first opportunity you have to connect with your customer. It could be a question that will hook your customer and make it about them and not you or the product. 
• Read the bad reviews for other people offering a similar service to yours, this is the best way to really understand what a potential customer is looking for and where you can go wrong.
• If users can’t imagine what you’re saying, they won’t buy your product. Use words that create a clear picture in users’ minds instead of being vague. Always remember, people buy what they want, not what they need.
• Dedicate more time to editing what you’ve written than you’ve spent on writing it in the first place. Leave a night's sleep between the writing stage and the edit stage. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Copywriters are marketers who help you to sell through compelling words that connect you to customers’ 

‘When you know a lot about your customer that’s when you can write really good copy’ 

‘70% of a copywriters job is research’ 

‘Be brutal with what you’ve written’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Emmagriffinwrites.co.uk

@emmagriffinwrites

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

As consumers we’re all trying to be more conscious and buy and shop in a more sustainable way. An increased number of brands are looking at products in a more innovative way, one of those brands is Billi London the world's first biodegradable hosiery brand. Today Nicole is joined by Billi London co-founder Sophie to find out more about this eco-friendly brand. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• After ripping a pair of tights while she was getting ready for work, Sophie threw the old pair in the bin and went to get new ones. It was then that she started thinking about how wasteful it was to have a one use product that couldn’t be recycled into another pair, they would just end up in landfill. 
• Every year in the UK alone there is over 7000 tonnes of waste just from tights in landfill. Globally that’s 8 billion pairs of tights being produced just to be thrown away. They will take over 100 years to decompose. 
• Sophie needed to surround herself with people who know about sustainability. Her co-worker Marie came on board to be the other co-founder bringing her background in sustainability in fashion and biodegradability. They were both trying to solve the same problem at the same time.
• Billi London tights biodegrade in around 5 years when in landfill, compared to up to 100 years for other hosiery brands. 
• Sophie is also very passionate about changing the way in which we buy tights. Instead of just grabbing them in the supermarket, she wanted to walk people through the journey, let them try them on, feel the material, and most importantly understand the sustainability of the product. In the first pop up in London they had a conversion rate of about 90%. The traffic wasn’t huge but almost everyone who went in bought one of their products. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘There was no way I was going to create a brand with a negative impact’

‘There was no way we were going to sacrifice quality or sustainability’ 

‘Biodegradability is a harder thing to explain than recycling’ 

‘Know your values and what you’re not prepared to compromise on’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://billi-london.com

https://www.instagram.com/billi_ldn/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

How do you grow a beauty brand?  In today's podcast I am chatting with beauty expert Faye Speedie, founder of new platform The Brand Book and founder of  Beauty Bulb. The Brand Book is a trade show - without the show, where beauty brands can link with retailers and buyers and showcase their products digitally and make amazing connections. With several years in the industry Faye and I chat about: the issues both brands and beauty buyers are having right now. What brands can do to help them grow their business . What trends to focus on. And how to build relationships with buyers and much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Beauty Bulb is a dynamic concept that was launched by Faye Speedie in 2017 to support beauty, personal care and wellness brands with their sales and business growth in a flexible way. Beauty Bulb has delivered substantial sales growth across numerous sales channels.
• They've opened dozens of new markets and made hundreds of beauty business introductions for over 40 brands since launch.
• They are experts driving sales growth through retail, online retail, international distributors, home shopping, The USA and China. Faye is passionate about working with founders, owners and their teams at all business levels.
• Faye’s team grew quickly and after just six months she had a team of herself and two others. The brand is now split in half between the Beauty Bulb and The Brand Book.
• If you’re a start up your brand, it’s about knowing where to invest your money. Is it going to stock, or product development, or marketing, or is it social media?
• Nail your USP. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, stay focused and know who you are. Your USP is what will get attention from your target market.
• Buddy up with partners who don’t work in your space, you’ll find you can learn from other business people who’ve been there and learned from their mistakes.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It was the biggest success story the Dragons didn’t invest in’

‘When the logistics guy was on holiday, we’d be there packing boxes’

‘There was no one size fits all’

‘The trade shows are amazing but so hard. Buyers often find it hard to choose’

‘Supercharging their sales is what we set out to do for them’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.thebrandbook.co.uk

www.instagram.com/beautybulb

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

When was the last time you audited your website and looked at it from the point of view of a user? This weeks episode we chat all about increasing your website conversion and enhancing the experience of the user. 

Aime Cox from Studio Cotton is an  expert when it comes to crafting and designing websites  and shares their insights and tips on why your conversion may not be where it should be and what you can do about it. 

Some of the areas we talk about 

E-commerce Conversion Rates:**

   - Understand what makes a good conversion rate and why smaller businesses might achieve higher rates (around 3-3.5%).

User Experience (UX) and Product Descriptions:**

   - Listen to Amy’s golden advice on website optimization and the importance of regular SEO updates focusing on product descriptions and product collections.

1. **Audit and Optimize:**

   - Learn about the importance of regularly auditing your website to identify issues hampering conversion rates. Amy also provides insightful advice on utilizing customer and press reviews to enhance product descriptions.

Guest 

Aime Cox founder 

Studio Cotton offer thoughtfully crafted website design and expertise for small businesses and podcasts 

https://studiocotton.co.uk/ 

https://www.instagram.com/studio.cotton/

Host Nicole Higgins 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store? Want to do it without having to wear yet another hat and become a digital marketing expert? This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, THE paid-traffic partner for family and women’s e-commerce brands wanting to scale their stores from five figure to six figure months using Meta, Google and Klaviyo marketing services.  

Neon is offering listeners a FREE scaling audit worth £3000! 

So whether your sales have plateaued or you

’re looking for growth, this is a great opportunity to lift the lid on your biz and identify where the opportunities are hiding. 

Head to scaleandglow.com to discover just how much revenue you could scale your store to this year. 

https://scaleandglow.com/

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

Louise has been in the skin health and beauty industry for 26 years from a Saturday girl in a beauty salon to launching her own brand, Louise Thomas Skincare. Louise joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to talk about her journey from developing a skin condition, making skincare formulas for other people, to finally going out on her own and making her name a brand. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Louise is actually quite thankful that she developed bad acne. She thought it would be the end of her career before it even started but in fact it gave Louise the focus and passion for skin health as well as an empathy for understanding the psychological effects of skin conditions. 
• Quickly recognising that her own skin battles were making her fascinated about skin health, Louise’s column became dominated with clients that also had skin issues and facial treatments and it became what she was busiest with all day every day.
• Louise’s obsession with ingredient technology took over and she stepped away from the treatment side of things for a few years as a new career path led her to work for International skin care and device brands for five years. This took Louise all over the UK, developing and training other therapists, doctors and nurses in high level skin care products and machines and benefitting from an expanse of postgraduate skin health knowledge.
• Having her daughter made Louise not want to lose herself and her dream, it became a case of either she started her own business now or she never would. 
• Louise is so grateful that her business evolved organically from working in skin therapy, it meant that she knew her target market and was an expert before she even started. Her specifications for manufacturers were the most detailed they had ever seen. 
• When things were going bad during the pandemic Louise couldn’t launch in the way she wanted, she had everything done and empty bottles waiting to be filled. It was her daughter who gave Louise the determination and she didn’t want to set the example of giving up when it gets tough. She then went out and found a smaller manufacturer who could produce one product to put on sale instead of the five she originally wanted. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘My heart is in helping people getting over their skin conditions, and I think my heart is a little bit in business’ 

‘I had to find what was my message, what was I trying to get out there’ 

‘Because I had all this experience I knew exactly what it needed to be’ 

‘We had 25,000 bottles and jars ready to go, but suddenly we had no money to fill them’ 

‘Recognition drives me, being known for being good in the industry’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.louisethomasskincare.co.uk

Louise Thomas Skincare on Instagram

Louise Thomas Skin Therapy on Instagram

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

How are you feeling about your social media? Should you be on Tik Tok, Instagram? Are you feeling a bit deflated and confused? What should you be doing? This week on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is talking to Abby from Dirty Work Digital, a social media marketing expert. So if you want to know how to get visible on Instagram and engage with your audience then this episode is for you. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• After being made redundant during lockdown, Abby found people coming to her for social media and marketing advice. That’s when Dirty Work Digital was born, to help you stand out in a crowded online marketplace. 
• Some people have said that Instagram is dead, but it’s actually just changing. It’s not just photos now, it’s evolved to take on Tik Tok with more video based content. Abby see’s Instagram as a place to nurture the followers you already have. Reach is a lot lower than it used to be but original content is pushed more than it used to be. 
• To grow your audience or gain a new audience all together is to use Tik Tok, it has a huge reach. It should be at the top of your funnel. Think of Instagram as your shop front and Tik Tok as your behind the scenes with relatable funny content. Get them interested with Tik Tok, and then take them over to Instagram. 
• Keep Tik Tok at a very surface level, on Instagram you should be showing off the benefits of your products. 
• Since Covid, people want to connect with the person and the story more than just the product itself. That’s why you can be more yourself on Tik Tok than traditionally you needed to be on social media. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I love content that’s a bit original and that’s what caused my rapid growth’ 

‘Create content for the audience that’s there, because they’re there for a reason’ 

‘It’s about building a community of people who want to know the story’

‘Consistency shows up in so many different ways’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/dirtyworkdigital

https://www.tiktok.com/discover/dirtyworkdigital

https://linktr.ee/Dirtyworkdigital

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by Jen Fuller, founder of award winning childrenswear brand Etta Loves. The brand started off in 2017 with a range of muslins that stimulate the sensory development of babies visual and cognitive development. Etta Loves is now an award winning brand with stock in Selfridges among other retailers. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Jen had the idea for Etta Loves when she noticed her daughter, Etta was feeding better and for longer when she was wearing certain clothes. This got her interested in what babies find visually interesting. 
• The first piece of outsourcing Jen did was fulfilment and warehousing. She found that she was spending all of her free time packing and it wasn’t something that would actually grow her business. She could spend her time being a mum and working on things that would add value to the business, rather than printing postage labels. 
• You never know who is watching your business, there might be a buyer who is a fan of what you do but they’re waiting for your brand to be ready. Keep in touch with people you make a connection with and if and when the time is right they will come to you with an answer. 
• Every review is hugely important, you can use them to show off your products on social media. 
• If you’re running a product business you need to work out what that minimum viable product is. The frills will just slow you down and there can be a benefit to getting speed to market. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘The great thing about our products is that they’re not use it once and throw it away’ 

‘Make things really clear for your buyers’ 

‘You went back and your negotiated and managed to get the win’ 

‘It’s a lonely journey so you need to find cheerleaders’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.ettaloves.com

www.instagram.com/ettaloves

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Pop up shops are one of the key ways to attract a new audience and increase the awareness and exposure to your brand.  Today Nicole is joined by David Blakely, business & store development director of Sooks, which provides access to flexible and affordable digitally connected spaces in the UK and around the world.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Have a clear objective – what are you trying to achieve with your pop-up shop?
• Budget – How much are you able or willing to spend on a pop-up shop in order achieve those goals? You need to be clear as to how much you are going to spend and what you are going to get back from it.
• Location – Which country, city and neighbourhood provides the best option for your business to achieve your goal? Consider footfall and foot traffic as well as branding and behaviour. Where is your ideal audience most likely to be? What kind of person are they?
• Venue – what does the space need to have in order for you to achieve your goals? What utilities do you need? (wi-fi, video equipment, or kitchen space, for example) and how will you use them? Most spaces include this in the price, but always double-check. Will you need storage? Will you need storage in the store or will you need storage elsewhere?
• Design – how do you want your pop-up store to look? What will most appeal to customers and foot traffic alike?
• Digital and offline synchronisation – understand how you’re going to couple your offline sales with your digital sales and ecommerce set up. Is it the same customer currently standing at the till who ordered something online last week?
• How are you going to promote it? Making people aware of your pop-up store is very important as you may not be able to rely solely on footfall (depending on where you’re located). Think about the social platforms your audience uses. 
• Success? You should have an understanding of what success will look like and what factors will affect it. Is it a revenue target? A customer engagement target? Number of social media likes or sales?

BEST MOMENTS

‘Pop ups are the best way to get your brand out there’ 

‘They give you a really easy way to test out your brand’ 

‘Understanding the area is key’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.sookspace.com

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today Nicole is joined by serial entrepreneur Hayley Southwood, founder of Southwood Social, Southwood Living, a lifestyle & interiors ecommerce business and Hayley has just recently created a beautiful events space that can be hired in the Norfolk area. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hayley opened her very first Ice Cream business in 2002 but when her mum was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer her world turned upside down. A year after she sadly passed away in a moment of madness, Hayley bought an old ice cream van off eBay and started the business in 2009. Doing up the van became a form of therapy for Hayley. 
• Hayley won Country Homes New Business of the year in 2010 after scribbling on an application form and the prize entailed £6000 worth of PR and marketing and 6 sessions with a business coach called Jessica Rogers.
• That little van changed her life forever. Hayley was featured in over 100 publications and had the best time attending parties and weddings all over the UK. The van was used for films, massive brand campaigns in the summer and in the winter, Hayley started helping other brands with their social media strategies.
• Southwood Stores was born on Hayley’s kitchen table in 2013 and then progressed to a lodge in the garden. Whilst this was very fulfilling, she often felt huge waves of loneliness and felt overwhelmed and often out of her depth. Hayley didn't have anyone to vocalise her concerns and challenges to. She had created an amazing job but didn't have anyone shey could connect with who could identify her journey.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It all looks like stepping stones now I look back on it’ 

‘Schools don’t do enough to harness that entrepreneurial spirit’ 

‘It felt like a reflection of who I was, not just a business’ 

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.southwoodliving.co.uk

www.southwoodsocialhub.co.uk

www.instagram.com/southwoodsocialhub

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Are you neglecting your email marketing? Not really sure what you should say or how to engage with your customers. Then today's podcast is for you. Nicole is joined by Loren Nally, who has 25 years experience in ecommerce and digital marketing. The topics they cover include email marketing, why you need it, how to use it, how often to use it, what makes a good email that converts among other things. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Email marketing is important for all businesses but especially retailers and product businesses. It can make up to 20% of your overall sales and is so easy to set up. Social media marketing has the problem of algorithms changing all the time, but with email you just go directly into their inbox.
• You can be emailing your prospective customers before you have even launched your product. 
• A nurture sequence is an automated series of emails that someone receives when they subscribe to your email lists. It starts to build trust with your subscribers. Loren recommends having more than one different welcome email because sometimes people purchase before signing up, and this avoids then getting the same email twice. 
• The best kinds of welcome emails are one that shows who you are, one that shows your values, and one that might offer a discount, but remember it’s not always about sell sell sell. 
• Loren’s tips for getting people engaged with email marketing and converting are. 1. Just start, but do it in the right way, being GDPR compliant and double opt in. 2. Have your welcome email, if you do nothing else, get this right. 3. Clear out your lists 3 or 4 times a year, it’s quality over quantity. 4. Segmentation. Get the right message to the right people at the right time. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I don’t think I could even convey how important email is’ 

‘I find welcome emails having the highest conversion rate of any email’

‘If they’re not clicking on Black Friday type sales, they’re not going to buy from you’

‘You must preview what it looks like on a mobile version’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website - https://www.retailmarketingacademy.co.uk/

Free masterclass on the 18th May 2022   https://www.retailmarketingacademy.co.uk/accelerator-masterclass/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/retail_marketing_academy/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theretailmarketingacademy/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach 

www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

The fashion industry is worth 31 billion in Africa and there is a rise in the number of UK and European retailers importing from Africa. Jacqueline Shaw is an expert in African sourcing and founder of Africa Fashion Guide and new platform Fashion Africa Trade Expo. She joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to tell you everything you need to know about sourcing from Africa.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sourcing from Africa differs from the Asian market because of the processing supply chain. In Asia supply chains are common but in Africa they are much more limited across the continent with the raw products shipped out before being processed.
• Big retailers such as Gap, Tesco, H&M, and TK Maxx have been sourcing high street products from Africa.
• The main challenge with sourcing from Africa is logistics, it’s not set up in the same way most of us are used to and is highly priced in comparison. If you want some samples you have to order enough to make it worthwhile with the high cost of shipping with reputable carriers.
• Another issue is to do with access to materials, you might think it was a quality issue, but the access to the right materials is more complex. You might have wonderful fabric, but the zips they can source are of a lower quality or maybe the fabric is only available for a limited time.
• A lot of sourcing to Africa is from Dubai so you’ll see a lot of African manufacturers set up over there.
• Places like South Africa, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Mauritius will typically do the 3000 minimum piece orders.
• Jacqueline’s platform Fashion Africa Trade Expo serves small to medium sized businesses. The Fashion Africa Trade Expo (the F.A.T.E.) is the African clothing, textile, leather and accessories go-to sourcing platform for B2B users. It provides an opportunity for producers from the African continent to showcase their product and trade their services to new markets, creating exposure for them to new markets.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s about sourcing in Africa, making in Africa, trading with Africa, and building in Africa’

‘You get wonderful African print fabrics that you don’t find anywhere else’

‘Unless you’re going to do the quantity, you will be challenged’

‘People think oh poor Africa, it’s going to be cheap’

‘Going to the continent is going to be a major thing’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.africafashionguide.com/

https://fashionafricatradeexpo.com/

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Masterclass training

https://jacquelineshaw.lpages.co/4-step-framework-webinar2/

Free guide to get started

https://jacquelineshaw.lpages.co/7-top-african-fashion-business-ideas-guide/

www.jacquelineshaw.co.uk

Author: Fashion Africa published by Jacaranda Books available on Amazon.com

Director: www.africafashionguide.com

B2B sourcing agency: 

www.fashionafricatradeexpo.com

Coaching and training:

www.fashionafricabusinessacademy.com

Business trips:

www.fashionafricasourcingtrips.com

Events 

http://www.fashionafricaconference.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

As a small business owner you are the one that is often spinning all the plates, you’re the social media manager, the content creator, the designer, the buyer, the packer, but what about when your business starts to grow and you need to think about hiring staff? Today Nicole is joined by Mandy Hamerla, founder of modernhr.co.uk, the go to hr expert for when you are scaling your business when the business can’t function with just you anymore. We are going to talk about how you know if it's the right time to hire staff. What to look for in your new hire. And what do you do if it doesn’t work out?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You know it’s the right time to hire staff when you have too much work on your plate and are reaching burnout, when you need to match your ambitions, and when you need a skillset you don’t currently have. 
• People often ask if they can afford to bring in another person, but you should ask yourself how you can afford not to bring someone in. If you outsource one thing, how much time is that saving you and what can you invest that time into. 
• There are three types of people you can hire, a freelance contractor who is self-employed, employees which can be full time or part time or fixed term, and there is a worker which is in the middle of the two. 
• When thinking about hiring someone be really clear about what the outcome will be. Where is that return on investment going to be? 
• Make your contracts easy to understand. Make sure it is clear to everyone involved what is required and expected. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Just because you outsource something once doesn’t mean you have to do it every time’

‘Some people see hiring as a cost, I see it as an investment’ 

‘Hire your weaknesses’ 

‘You need to hire to grow’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Free Hiring Cheat Sheet - https://go.modernhr.co.uk/free-hiring-cheat-sheet/

Popular Hiring an Employee Bundle - https://www.modernhr.co.uk/products/hiring-toolkit

Premium Contract Templates - https://www.modernhr.co.uk/collections/contract-templates

https://www.modernhr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/modernhruk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhamerla/

https://www.facebook.com/ModernHRUK/

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Social media ad specialist Aggie Meroni works with ecommerce businesses to grow their customer base and increase their revenue through ads. She joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to discuss how to create ads that work and what you need to have in place to give them the best opportunity for success. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Aggie found her love for social media ads after retraining in digital marketing. 
• You need to make sure you have everything in place before you even spend a penny. Don’t be put off. You can figure everything out, yes the techy side can seem like a minefield but you’ll get on top of it eventually. 
• You need to have your Facebook pixel installed on your website. If you use shopify then this is reasonably straight forward. 
• Your conversion rate should be at least 2%. Anything under 1% then you shouldn’t be advertising. 
• To increase your conversion rate make sure people have an easy experience. Have multiple payment methods that suit the user. Have genuine reviews posted on your website. And have all of your delivery info and returns policy easily accessible. 
• You should invest in a product photographer because good photos will help sales. 
• People don’t decide if they want to buy from a Facebook ad, they decide on the website itself. The ad is just there to get them onto your site. 
• Make sure you know if there is a demand before you advertise. You should already have sales to prove it’s a product people actually want. 
• There are five things you need to do to have a good ad. Building the ad itself is the easy part, it’s the planning that's hard, these tips should help you in that stage. 1. What’s your messaging and your hook? 2. Is your ad creative? 3. What is your objective? 4. What is your offer? 5. What is your budget?
• Grabbing attention is key. User generated content is a great marketing tool, it’s like word of mouth but in a visual medium. Aspirational photos and unboxing videos can also help grab attention. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your website has to be a high converting machine’ 

‘It’s not how many followers you have, it’s how engaged they are’ 

‘Ads don’t work forever, you need to be proactive’

‘The lifetime value of customers is the most important thing’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

Link to freebie: https://whitebeedigital.com/free-facebook-ads-set-up-checklist/

Website: https://whitebeedigital.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitebeedigital/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

True testament to starting a lean fashion business is Leigh Unwin, founder of The Style Attic which as the name suggests, did actually start in her attic in 2015 to fit around the needs of her family. This Start Scale Succeed episode is a recording of an Instagram live Nicole did with Leigh. Some of the topics discussed are: Starting a business around the needs of a family. Juggling a side hustle, full time job and family. Running the business through word of mouth and Facebook in the early days. Overcoming obstacles. And engaging customers through being authentic, honest and truly themselves. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Leigh has gone from strength to strength selling womens clothing and did eventually open a bricks and mortar store followed by her own website in 2020. It's now a true family affair with both her mum and sister involved in the business. 
• Leigh found it hard being a new mum working a job which wouldn’t let her do less than one minute of her contracted hours. 
• Covid was actually a benefit to some small businesses and The Style Attic had the best summer in terms of sales. Before the pandemic Leigh was selling online through Facebook but needed a website for May 2020 and when it launched sales were great. 
• There is always a challenge being taken seriously when you run a business from home. Although in the post Covid world, this has become more common. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘We just want to sell clothes to the people like us in situations like ours’ 

‘We just try and be real’ 

‘I want to grow but I don’t want to grow too quickly’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

https://thestyleattic.co.uk

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Communications expert, journalist and PR guru Priscilla Pollara joins the start scale succeed podcast to chat 

Pitching to journalists and how to engage with them and how to find the right ones for your brand & products. 

Creating the story the journalist wants to hear and feature

Collaborating with aligned brands to boost your visibility and leverage audiences 

Engaging customers through compelling stories and what that looks like and how to craft them. 

Understanding your unique Value proposition 

Guest bio 

With a background rooted in newspapers, Priscilla Pollara brings a unique perspective to problem-solving in the world of PR and communications. This distinct approach is the cornerstone of their firm, Top Trick, which is the culmination of years of experience in communications, journalism, reputation management, and branding.

Priscillas journalistic eye allows them  to view every project through a distinct lens, ensuring thorough and insightful strategies that set their clients apart in a crowded marketplace.

https://toptrick.co.uk/collections/courses

https://toptrick.co.uk/

Host Nicole Higgins 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store? Want to do it without having to wear yet another hat and become a digital marketing expert? This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, THE paid-traffic partner for family and women’s e-commerce brands wanting to scale their stores from five figure to six figure months using Meta, Google and Klaviyo marketing services.  

Neon is offering listeners a FREE scaling audit worth £3000! 

So whether your sales have plateaued or you

’re looking for growth, this is a great opportunity to lift the lid on your biz and identify where the opportunities are hiding. 

Head to scaleandglow.com to discover just how much revenue you could scale your store to this year. 

https://scaleandglow.com/

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

As a fashion start up one of the challenges that is often faced is finding the right supplier for your business particularly one that can manufacture smaller minimum quantities. Today, Nicole is joined by one of the founders of Resource Fashion, Ziqi who has established Resource Fashion to help combat that problem.

The 4 main stumbling blocks when you are starting your brand are:

• Minimum Order Quantity 
• Quality 
• Timelines
• Communication 

Tatiana and Ziqi have established Resource Fashion, an online platform that helps solve those issues and enables you to work with manufacturers in the Far East with quantities as low as 10 units!! How? Well listen to the podcast to find out, but it's a service that is run like a subscription membership that you can cancel out of at any time. Also if you use the service and quote Nicole100 you will get a $100 dollars of your subscription fee. The team personally chat to you before you come on board to understand your needs so no more trawling through Ali baba, Google, etc to find your suppliers for fashion.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

•  You usually find that you never know the status of your orders from overseas. Resource Fashion offers real time tracking and progress updates to keep customers informed about where their products are on the supply chain. 
• Shipping by air has become more and more expensive, and we can see from the recent troubles with sea shipping, that things can easily go wrong there. 
• Resource Fashion is a subscription based model with over 95% retention rate. 
• Resource Fashion is all run off of a system where the customer can review all fabrics, designs, etc and do everything they need to do in one place. 
• You might not know that when you negotiate a lower price, that could lower the quality of the product you receive from some manufacturers. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Everything that can go wrong, will often go wrong’ 

‘All the brands were telling me it’s incredible that we have this system where they can do it all in one place’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.instagram.com/resourcefashion

www.resourcefashion.co

To receive $100 off your fee with Resource Fashion use the code Nicole100

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Tatiana and Ziqi have established Resource Fashion, an online platform that is run like a subscription membership that you can cancel out of at any time. The team personally chat to you before you come on board to understand your needs so no more trawling through Ali baba, Google, etc to find your suppliers for fashion.

A production supply chain specifically designed for emerging fashion brands.

Small batch: Many clothing manufacturers require large minimum orders. We offer true small batch manufacturing on demand.

High quality: Quality fashion doesn’t just happen on its own. Our team has over 20 years of experience in production.

Short lead time: An easy online supply chain management platform gives you total control in real time, on time.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

When I worked in retail we were very fortunate to have access to numerous trend websites that were all targeted at big business from a price and a content point of view. But if you are a small business, where can you get that information and how can you interpret it to ensure it's relevant to your business and customer. The answer is the better trend company. Today I am joined by Natalie and Louise, founders of The Better trend company specifically established to support independents and small design businesses to access trend reports and design strategies. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• During the pandemic, examples of trends are people investing in skin care products, but not make up, and buying comfort wear, but not evening clothes. 
• A small business can start looking at trends by looking at who your target customer is, what are they doing, what are they buying, what are they looking for. You can take it from there and tailor your designs to that. 
• You can use trends as a brief to work towards instead of just being lost in endless possibilities. Set yourself a goal of designing something within those boundaries. 
• Remember that your brand is your opinion, it shows your values and your aesthetics. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s just authentically connecting with people and enjoying life’ 

‘When you’re bombarded with so much, you feel a lot of self doubt’ 

‘When you’re a small business you’re juggling so many plates’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.instagram.com/thebettertrendsco

www.thebettertrendscompany.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

“The Better Trends Company is a trend and design agency with a difference. We empower Indies and small businesses with our affordable and accessible trend reports, consultancy and design strategy.

Our mission is to demystify trend forecasting and share design knowledge to support those locked out of trend and design resources, enabling them to make confident and informed business decisions.

Our focus is on responsible and ethical trends and design direction. We promote eco values, community and feminist retail to create better futures for people and planet.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

This week Nicole is joined by Annabelle Mazu, the founder of Luxurious lingerie brand Ihuoma. Ihuoma celebrates the beauty of women of colour, with exquisite, sensuous lingerie with the aim to enrich, empower, and be bold about your sensuality and the possibilities that arise from living your true self, unapologetically! Find out the challenges Annabelle faced and what advice she would give an aspiring entrepreneur. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Annabelle found that the lingerie brands that were aimed at women of colour were in the mid and lower price ranges. She saw this gap in the market and decided to start Ihuoma. She felt that black women are typically shown that they’re not deserving of luxury, Annabelle wanted to say the exact opposite with her brand.  
• Annabelle wanted to create unique pieces that are considered works of art. She didn’t want something that seems generic, she wanted the people who wear Ihuoma to feel like goddesses.
• Ihuoma launched during the pandemic, which might have actually been a bonus with people wanting something nice and unique for themselves after having a pretty rubbish time stuck at home. 
• Ihuoma had a huge boost when it was featured on Beyonce’s stylist’s blog. They went from 400 followers to 2400 overnight. 
• The biggest challenge Annabelle faced was self belief, believing that she could do it and believing that someone else would look at the brand and say yes I think this can succeed. 
• Annabelle couldn’t have started up without a Virgin Startup Loan, which she is very thankful for as she found it next to impossible to get a loan from a bank. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I was working with all these great brands and realised there was something missing’ 

‘This is going to launch when it’s meant to launch’ 

‘You have to deal with imposter syndrome on a day to day basis’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ihuoma.co/

www.instagram.com/by.ihuoma

ABOUT THE GUEST

IHUOMA is a luxury lingerie brand that celebrates the beauty of the modern Black Woman. The aim is to enrich and empower women of colour to find their divine femininity, be bold about their sensuality and the possibilities that arise from living their true self, unapologetically!

The collections explore themes of self-love, empowerment and sensuality with the ultimate desire to show women how incredible they are in their skin by complimenting and enhancing the inherent beauty of all black women. Created by a black woman, IHUOMA, at its core, is a luxury brand aimed at Black Women, but not exclusive to her.  The collections are for all women, wanting to connect to their spirit, their divine feminine

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Sarah Helppi is the founder of fashion resale platform Eskadi, which is the largest preloved  boutique. 3000 designers from Chanel to Rixo, mid market to super luxury fashion. Sarah joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed this week to discuss Eskadi’s belief that a business leaves the world a better place than they found it and how Eskadi brings beautiful preloved pieces to more people more often. As well as finding out more about Sarah and the business, we are also going to talk about resale as a business opportunity

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Within the next 10 years,  resale is going to be a bigger business than fast fashion at about $64 billion.
• Eskadi is the only search engine dedicated to pre-owned designer fashion. They offer a technology based solution to the challenges shopping in the pre-owned market today, making it quicker, easier to find that pre-loved item. It allows you to search multiple resale sites at once, compare prices easily across platforms, keep track of items in a single wishlist and save time understanding authentication with an authentication score for each platform.
• The younger demographic tend to use resale in the same way other people use fast fashion. They’ll want something to wear once, but don’t want to pay the fast fashion prices. They’re also more likely to recycle their wardrobes more often, selling on resale sites and buying new outfits from them too. 
• Eskadi works without having payment on their site or holding any stock. This avoids the inevitable issue of buyer seller disputes. For example if something is sold through Ebay, it’s Ebay who deals with the dispute. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Even if it’s 2 years old you won’t see someone walking down the street wearing the same thing’ 

‘Rental is great for occasion wear, but if you want to update your wardrobe or find that piece,  resale is better’ 

‘The more you can focus on the problem you’re solving and the value you have, the more successful you will be’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.eskadi.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelppi/

https://www.instagram.com/search.eskadi/

https://medium.com/@EskadiSarah

https://www.tiktok.com/@search.eskadi (if that’s your thing!)

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Before launching Eskadi, I worked at eBay for 7 years in marketing and finance. Prior to that I spent 3 wild years in the capital markets throughout the 2008 financial crisis, and have an MBA from the Ivey Business School in London, Ontario, Canada. 

On the eve of #internationalwomensday I put a digital pen to paper about what it looks and feels like to face fundraising and starting a business when you are a solo parent.

We all know that a mere 2% of VC money goes to female founders and now I've seen first hand one reason why: the lifestyle and cash flow of a startup founder is simply not suited to a household on one income, in an expensive city, with small mouths to feed. The stakes are enormous, the risk is huge, the impact of failure unfathomable. 

Statistically, amongst split families, it is women who bear most of the child rearing responsibilities and therefore, the challenges in the fundraising path that disadvantage solo parents are hitting a lot more women than men.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

As a product business are you using Tik Tok? if the answer is no then you should be listening to this episode to understand why and what works. And if the answer is yes, then listen to find out how Tik Tok advertising compares to Facebook and Instagram advertising. This week Nicole is joined by Anna Frapwell, founder of Digital marketing agency Neon. Anna has over 20 years industry experience working at one of the World's biggest ad agencies and in house for some well known household names. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Initially, Anna found that on Tik Tok they were getting a lot of traffic compared to other digital marketing but fewer conversions. Now, Tik Tok has improved on their end, there is still a lot of traffic and higher conversion rates than before. 
• You may think that Tik Tok is only used by younger people but their user breakdown is that 21% are between 30-39. 20% between 40 and 49. And 11% 50+. 
• On Tik Tok, the tricky part is making your ad not look like an ad. It has to look like it’s part of that native feed and you need to keep on top of the latest trends. Ensuring you have the right hashtags will put your product in front of your audience. 
• Identify who the influencers are for your marketplace and watch what they do. 
• Follow #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt
• Tik Tok users are 44% more likely to buy a product they see on the platform. 
• Product demos, step by step guides, and unboxing videos all do well on Tik Tok. 
• You need to have 4 or 5 ads running at a time on Tik Tok and they will only be effective for around 14 days. This can create quite a creative fatigue. 
• If you can get your organic content down to 7 seconds that works great. For ads keep them to 21 seconds. 
• Repurposing Facebook and YouTube content won’t work, but you can post Tik Tok content on other platforms. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘The key is to find the right creator for your business’ 

‘If your content is rubbish, you’re not going to be found’

‘Unboxing videos are huge on Tik Tok’

‘It’s pacey, quick, there’s a lot of movement involved’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

Anna on LinkedIn

Neondigitalclicks.co.uk

Instagram.com/NeonDigitalClicks

ABOUT THE GUEST

Anna Frapwell is the founder of Digital marketing agency Neon. Anna has over 20 years industry experience working at one of the World's biggest ad agencies and in house for some well known household names.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Do you want to know how to break through your revenue ceiling? In today's episode of Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Lesley Thomas, the Money Mastery Business Coach. Lesley helps ambitious results driven women rewrite their money stories and reconnect with their business purpose to drive their success. Some of the areas discussed are understanding your own money story and how you can change that, how self limiting beliefs are holding you back from achieving the full potential for you and your business, and how to recognise where you may be limiting yourself.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• By the time we’re 7, we already have our limiting beliefs around money. These are mimicked from the beliefs of our parents or the people we grew up around. As children we take that money story through with us into adulthood, whereas we leave other stories like the tooth fairy behind. We continue to allow that story to limit us.
• We need to link our own self value and self worth to how we interact with money. We wouldn’t let someone walk all over us in our personal lives, so why should we let people do that in business? It’s not just our relationship with money, it's our relationships with ourselves.
• The limiting belief is not the problem, the problem is the limiting decision that the limiting belief leads you to make.
• If people can see that you’re investing in your business then they are more likely to listen to what you have to say.
• There are 8 Money Archetypes. If you're typically an over spender, but don’t mind taking risks, you may have Romantic, Celebrity or Maverick to blame. If you save well, but avoid debt/investing/taking any kind of risk, you might be an Accumulator. If you would prefer to stick your head in the sand and not think about money at all, you might be a Connector or an Alchemist. If you’re a collector of achievements and find it hard to switch off, you could be a Ruler. And if you love spending money on others at the detriment of yourself, then you could have Nurturer in your top three.⠀

BEST MOMENTS

‘We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.’

‘People are going to walk all over us if we don’t put boundaries in place’

‘If you’re not shouting from the rooftops about your product, then you’re clearly not bought into it yourself’

‘There is no limit to the amount of money we can make in our business, it’s our mental revenue ceiling that limits us’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.lesleyathomas.com

Lesley A Thomas - The Money Mastery Business Coach on Facebook

Let’s Talk Money and More

ABOUT THE GUEST

Lesley Thomas is The Money Mastery Business Coach, known for her game-changing approach, Lesley has the extraordinary ability to help ambitious, results driven-women rewrite their money stories, reconnect with their business purpose and drive phenomenal success.

Whether you’re a start-up or a more established entrepreneur, you will be familiar with the frustration of under-charging and over-delivering. Most of the time, it stems from self-limiting beliefs that create mental and emotional barriers that hold you back from achieving your full potential. By releasing those beliefs, transforming negative self-talk  and creating a new money story, you can start charging – and earning – what you are actually worth.

An accredited Money Breakthrough Business Coach and Sacred Money Archetype practitioner, Lesley specialises in finding your niche, capturing your unique spirit and uncovering deeply rooted limiting beliefs. She helps female entrepreneurs focus on scaling their business by teaching them the tools needed to break through their revenue ceiling.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

So much of what you see on instagram is not the real story. Today's episode is a special Q&A with brand founder Emmy Pugh from Sunday & Soul. Emmy and I have chatted before on the anniversary of her first year in business. However now she is  2 years in and really exposes the nuts and bolts. Emmy also  opened this up to questions on her Instagram so this is what people really want to know, but don’t know who or where to ask. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• If you have an idea for a business and plan on earning over £40,000 per year then you should register as a Limited Company. In a Limited Company, you as an individual are not liable, whereas as a  Sole Trader you are. 
• In the social media and content driven times we’re in now, you need to find something new, which is hard, having a new idea or product is a rare thing. It’s more important to find a new way to talk about it or a new way to show it. 
• Emmy’s biggest mistake was not speaking up soon enough about the quality of products from her supplier. When she eventually decided to find someone else to work with she was initially afraid to ask for recommendations. She found her new supplier was more expensive, but she saved time not having to deal with the issues the previous one had caused. 
• During the pandemic the cost of shipping your items to you has gone up by a large amount. That price increase has to be factored into your price points. 
• Whatever you want to sell and however much money you’re spending on that, add 50% to that for your marketing. 
• Out of 18.6k followers on Instagram, on a bad day only about 400 people would see Emmy’s story. You unfortunately need to spend money to be seen. 
• Emmy found that she had a good reach marketing on TikTok, but the conversion rate was so low. The audience just wasn’t the same as the audience for her brand. 
• New businesses might not make a profit for the first three years. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Unless you are so passionate and really want it, you’re not going to get through those tough days’ 

‘You have to pay for eyes on your business’ 

‘Your followers aren’t necessarily your customers’ 

‘The only thing that has been driving me is alignment with my brand, not numbers’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.sundayandsoul.com
www.instagram.com/sundayandsoul

ABOUT THE GUEST

Emmy Pugh is the founder of Sunday and Soul, a casual wear brand inspired by sunny places, with comfort, joy, and confidence at its heart.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Lil & Izzy is an award winning brand with sustainability and design as it’s key focus points. Katie Brandon Byrne wanted to create products that stood the test of time and didn't cost the earth. She was inspired by her daughter's sensitive skin conditions to set up her own children's wear brand. In today's episode of Start Scale Succeed Katie joins Nicole to talk about considering both the parent and the child while designing, the challenges when you are starting out and how they are different to the challenges she now faces two years on, when to ask for support, prioritising when spinning all the plates becomes overwhelming, visibility on instagram, and influencer marketing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The biggest challenge Katie had when starting her business was that she had no idea of the specific costs related to her field. She had experience with physical stores but hadn’t had to learn about the e-commerce side. She went with the cheapest options and that cost her in the long run. 
• Other challenges Katie faced are that it’s expensive to create a product and you need to have some capital there to cover all these little and big costs you might not have expected. 
• Time is a valuable thing when you’re starting out. Can you free up your time by outsourcing to someone else? If something takes you a long time to do and it would be more cost efficient to hire a freelancer with the skills you should always consider it. 
• Remember to switch off from time to time. Working from home on your own business is something that can creep into your family life and you end up taking calls and doing emails when you should be relaxing. Set yourself a start and end time for the day. 
• Making products that last and can be handed down between siblings is something that is so important to Katie and her brand. 
• Katie has found that people only see brands through social media and influencers. It’s about working with the right influencer and try and test to find those right ones. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You can always make changes along the way, you don’t need to do a big re-brand’ 

‘If you aren’t good at something, outsource it’

‘I started this to be flexible for my family and kids’ 

‘Comfort is still always going to be at the forefront’

‘Influencer gifting is all very much testing’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.lilandizzy.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

According to influencer marketing hub, for every $1 that a brand spends on influencers, they get a return of nearly $6. But how do you find the right influencer for you who aligns with your brand, your customers, and your values? This week’s Start Scale Succeed is from an Instagram live where Nicole was joined by someone who knows about both sides of the coin, Stephanie O'Quigley. Find out how to build lasting relationships, gifting versus paid, and the do’s and don’ts of influencer marketing. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How the influencer aligns with your brand values and customer base is the most important thing to consider when deciding on who to work with. Just because someone has more followers, doesn’t mean they are better for your brand. 
• The best way to find influencers for your brand is to do the research and put the time in. Search who your customers follow, who has done marketing before for someone you know, search through the relevant hashtags. You can also hire someone to find the right person for you. 
• The biggest ‘do’ is to make your outreach personalised. Tell your prospective influencer what about them makes you think they are a good fit. Nobody wants a generic sell that you have no connection with. A bad example of this is when Stephanie was approached by an alcohol brand, despite her being sober and that being easy to find out from her socials. 
• Don’t give it all away in the initial outreach and make it as open as possible. Ask for their thoughts before you start saying what you need from them. 
• An influencer can lose trust with their audience if they push too many brands that aren’t right for them. Remember that being the right fit is a two way street. 
• Be open in the initial contact if you want to gift them something or whether you are looking into paid work. 
• Make sure you agree what the usage of any content is, for example are you able to post images on your brands pages. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You have to take away the number factor’

‘Be open to take on board all the feedback they have’ 

‘I want to be in the position where I can turn down ten grand for a sponsorship!’

‘Getting people excited before your launch is a good strategy’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.stephanieoq.com
instagram.com/stephanieoquigley
www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Fiona Minett is an award-winning expert and coach who helps female entrepreneurs do their own PR and make it accessible, affordable and effective for every business no matter what size you are. Fiona joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed this week to discuss what types of PR generate the best results. Why you should also be talking to the press about your story, not just the story behind your products. What you need in your PR tool kit. What to do if you have hit a wall and your PR has plateaued. timelines for PR and publications. How to choose the pieces the press are going to love. How to approach a PR strategy, and when to decide if you will use an agency or do it yourself.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sometimes the most powerful PR coverage a product business can have is one where you’re sharing more about yourself or your business, rather than a product itself. A profile of a founder or business owner is often the most impactful for your sales.
• The “so what” test helps you peel back the layers and get to the core of what matters. Keep asking yourself “so what” so that you can get deeper answers you can use in your PR and marketing.
• At the bare minimum you need in your ‘PR Toolkit’ before you’re looking for coverage are a functioning website, content, and imagery. Nobody will want to feature you if your website doesn't work, or if your imagery isn’t to a professional standard.
• Look to see if you can involve any of your products in lists that journalists will be compiling throughout the year. Also make sure you have the quantities to back that up.
• Long lead magazines will work 6 months ahead of publication. Short lead magazines work 2 to 12 weeks in advance.
• Keep and eye on the Lightbulb Facebook group (linked below) and #journorequest on Twitter for journalists looking for someone to help with a story. See if your story, business, or product would be right for their request and if you can get yourself in an article you have free PR.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Don’t neglect telling the story of you, your product, and your business’

‘If you want to be in the pages of those magazines, you’ll need to be doing it 6 months early’

‘There’s nothing a PR agency can do that you can’t do yourself, it’s about time’

‘Start small, you do not have to take over the world on day one’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.bossyourpr.com

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

https://www.bossyourpr.com/the-pr-warm-up

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lightbulbhangout/

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

The tables are turned this week where Nicole is chatting with Jacqui Ripley spilling the tea on what retailers want and what to include in your pitch deck and some other nuggets such as 

⭐️ Rookie mistakes brand owners can make including packaging⁠

⭐️ How to grab a buyer's attention ⁠

⭐️ The key information to put in a retail deck⁠

⭐️ How to handle negotiation⁠

⭐️ The importance of getting your pricing right from the get go⁠

Interviewer 

Jacqui Ripley 

Host Nicole Higgins 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store? Want to do it without having to wear yet another hat and become a digital marketing expert? This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, THE paid-traffic partner for family and women’s e-commerce brands wanting to scale their stores from five figure to six figure months using Meta, Google and Klaviyo marketing services.  

Neon is offering listeners a FREE scaling audit worth £3000! 

So whether your sales have plateaued or you

’re looking for growth, this is a great opportunity to lift the lid on your biz and identify where the opportunities are hiding. 

Head to scaleandglow.com to discover just how much revenue you could scale your store to this year. 

https://scaleandglow.com/

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

Today I am joined by Laura Briggs, founder of ladies petite clothing brand The Shortlist. This is my second time chatting with Laura as we spoke before the brand was launched and you can catch that in episode 7 of the Start Scale Succeed. Now we are about 8 months on and today Laura and I are going to be discussing the highs and the lows, the real behind the scenes of when a brand launches and the following months. Not just the glossy highlights that people share on Instagram. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Things will go wrong. The important thing is to keep calm and keep your customers informed. Don’t let adversity knock your confidence. 
• Launching multiple large collections every year is very full on and time intensive. But having a more limited release of new products you can learn what your best sellers are and gives you the opportunity to test and repeat. 
• Some of your mistakes will be seen publicly and some won’t. It matters how you ride that wave and deal with the issues with a positive mindset. 
• Not everybody is ready to buy when a new collection goes live. Laura has learned that people shop in different ways and there is a balance between keeping things in stock and creating hype on social media. 
• Laura had a short spell of spending £35 per day on Instagram advertising leading to around 400 new followers. She is hoping this converts to sales when the new collection drops. 
• You have to make the people on your email list feel like they’re getting some value from it, not just what’s on your instagram. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Making mistakes is the best thing I’ve ever done’ 

‘I see the brand as separate to myself’ 

‘If they’re on your email list they want to be part of your world’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.shoptheshortlist.com
www.instagram.com/theshortlist

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today on Start Scale Succeed I am chatting with business strategist & consultant Dominique Mullally and we are going to be chatting about setting goals, how you can make sure you achieve them and what to do when it goes a bit wrong.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You want to make sure your business is a stable, sustainable profitable business. This is from an energy level and a financial level. Stable foundations will avoid feast and famine cycles. 
• Understand the motivation behind your goals. You shouldn't just pick an arbitrary number and aim towards that. You need to set a realistic goal based on your values  with an emotional attachment between the goal and you. This attachment helps you push through when times are tough. 
• Start with setting an income goal for yourself. Then work out the break even costs of the business. Next add your tax obligations and make sure you understand them. Then finally look at what a good annual bonus at the end of the year would look like. That’s how you get the number you should be aiming for. Break this down into 90 day sprints to achieve the yearly goal. 
• Habits that help people achieve their goals are accountability, understanding your weekly KPIs. People think too big so you need to break it down into smaller goals, then those milestones can be broken down into action steps and items. 
• As business owners you need to outsource those things that aren’t revenue generating as soon as you can. These are things like admin and packaging, leaving your time free to work on those things that will make you money. 
• Try time tracking your last working week. What are you spending your time doing and how much time did you spend doing each item. You’ll be surprised about the amount of time you spend on things that don’t help the bottom line. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘Create stability and predictability’ 

‘Always be focused on the revenue generating tasks’ 

‘Don’t invest where you are, invest where you want to be’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.dominiquemullally.com
Instagram: @dominiquemullally
Facebook: @dominiquemullally1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominique-mullally-24058a91/?originalSubdomain=uk
Toggl
Asana

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Fashion Designer and Creative Consultant Lottie Woods joins Nicole on this week’s Start Scale Succeed to discuss what to ask a designer when deciding which designer to work with. What a designer will need from you.  Find out about the most common mistakes people make when starting out. How to be sustainable in your design process and thinking about sustainability throughout the whole process and at the end of a garment's life. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When you’re thinking of starting a clothing brand, you should have your brand vision ready before speaking to a designer. If you can bring inspiration images, some sketches, and an idea on the size of lines and shapes, you will have a headstart on the design process. 
• Keep in mind that different designers have different specialities, for example someone who already has experience designing swimwear will be a better fit if that’s your brand. 
• Always bring any ideas back to the original vision. A good designer will keep working with you to do that to keep it on brand. 
• One of the biggest mistakes you can make is working without a tech pack. It is an initial investment but if you cut corners early on then it can lead to problems later on in the design process. 
• Another mistake people make is not to plan in advance as much as possible. People can rush into things to hit a certain season, rather than waiting a year and really putting the time into the design and planning phase. 
• Sustainability should be built into the design of the clothing. A good quality product will be kept for longer and is more likely to be handed down or donated to charity shops. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s important to know that you can get along with your designer’ 

‘You’d be amazed how the most simple sketch can be helpful’

‘The most sustainable product is a well designed quality product’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.lottiewoodsdesign.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

From Dragon’s Den to her own start up. Jewellery designer Jane Aspel from ‘Emma By Jane’ joins Nicole on Start Scale Succeed to talk about sourcing and funding, and starting a business. Some of the topics covered are investment, exporting, the creative process, and so much more. Find out about small testing the market and then going for it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Jane forgot about accounting for customs fees when she made her first jewellery order so was left having to change her pricing plans. 
• Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from people who have been there and done it. Jane’s Grandad had experience in business and was able to lend his ear and help out for free when Jane was just starting out.
• Because it’s just Jane involved in the approval process, she can adapt to trends and get products developed quickly. 
• The factory Jane uses closed for three months last year, but luckily they had just received a large order to tide them over until it was back up and running. Make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket supplier wise. 
• Awards can do great things but if you don’t have people voting with their wallet then it doesn't mean much. Getting the recognition and the word of mouth from winning awards will help sales. 
• You don’t get anywhere without messing up a few times, in business and in life. The trick is to see it as a lesson rather than a mistake. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s so important that you trust your gut from the beginning’ 

‘When you own your own business all these problems become your own’

‘Customs are a massive hit and nobody wants to pay that’

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.emmabyjane.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com 
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Hannah Saunders has gone from the RAF to starting her own children’s skin care brand ‘Toddle’, and recently receiving funding from Steven Bartlett & Deborah Meadon . After finding that there wasn’t anything on the market suitable for under 3 with chapped lips, she decided to start her own business to solve that problem. Hannah joins Nicole on this week’s Start Scale Succeed to tell not just her business journey, but her personal journey too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hannah took the transferable skills she learned in the RAF such as project management and the confidence to undertake difficult tasks and put those into her new business venture.
• Hannah doesn't have any expertise in running a product business but thinks that as a consumer you should be able to reverse engineer that into a product people would want to buy.
• The most difficult part of getting your product business off the ground is the initial finances. It’s hard to get someone to believe in you from the start.
• If you have a big social following, you might have a chance of succeeding through the Kickstarter route. If you don’t have the initial following, then private investment is much more likely to work out for you.
• Hannah brings in consultants to do the high stakes jobs that she admits she would not be able to do herself. For example she gets support for pitching to large retailers and also with her Amazon store.
• Hannah tries to get new products on the shelves as quickly as possible so if they don’t sell, then she hasn't invested a lot of time and money in the development stage.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘Anyone can do this if you keep going’

‘Screaming at a wall doesn't help because it doesn’t talk back’

‘If you really want growth in your business, then pay good people to do what matters’

‘If you’re going to fail, fail fast’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.toddlebornwild.com

www.instagram.com/toddlebornwild

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today’s Start Scale Succeed is a recording of an IG live with Ali Mcleavy, who after 20 years working in buying and most recently as head of buying for Topshop has launched her own children's footwear brand Zig and Star. Join host Nicole and Ali as they chat about how the brand came about and how Ali built the brand and established relationships with wholesale partners. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ali had lost passion for the job she was in and found that passion again creating her own brand and throwing herself into it. 
• By finding the right people who bring their own level of experience to the table, as a new business owner you can really plug some of the gaps in your own knowledge. 
• Ali spent more time bringing people on board, developing and sampling, and working out their brand story before launch. She could have launched in 9 months but decided to wait 2 years. 
• One of Ali’s pieces of advice is to learn along the way while you’re small enough to learn. 
• Zig and Star only work with partners who they think bring something to the brand, it’s not a case of trying to stock them in every single shop on the high street. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You can absolutely have kids and have a career like this’ 

‘Even though I’m not very entrepreneurial, I have belief in myself’ 

‘When you’re a small brand, certain collaborations don’t feel right’ 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach
www.zigandstar.com
www.instagram.com/zigandstar

ABOUT THE GUEST

Ali, mum of 3, felt frustrated at how the kids wear market directed her to buy one type of product for her daughters and another for  her son. An avalanche of pink unicorns on one side of the shop and an army of dinosaurs on the other. Shoes were no better: boys’ shoes were built for adventure, but where was the colour or the fun? Whilst girls’ shoes were sparkly or impractical...

After 20 years working in fashion and footwear, she decided to tackle this head-on. To create the shoes she wanted to buy for her own children. Unisex styles in cool colours, that not only looked great but were good for their feet and for the planet. Designed in collaboration with a Paediatric Podiatrist, the styles are designed to adjust to each child and grow as they grow.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line. 

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM) 

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD 

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com
IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk 
Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com
Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Today's podcast episode is a recording of an Instagram live with Emmy from Sunday and Soul who are a casual wear brand Inspired by sunny places, with comfort, joy, and confidence at its heart. Join Emmy and host Nicole as they chat about how Emmy went from a marketing career to establishing her own successful fashion brand during a pandemic, the highs and the lows and tips for those wanting to follow in her footsteps.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Emmy's biggest piece of advice is that you will make mistakes but you’ll learn quickly and move on.
• Lean in to your brand when things are slow, revisit your vision and keep working towards that, engaging with your community and remaining visible.
• Trust yourself and your vision. It can be helpful to have an advisor, Emmy’s advisor didn’t let her lose sight of this.
• Emmy’s first business plan was a lot bigger than what it ended up being. She tried for investment but when pitching she felt like she already had a boss, which is the opposite of what she wanted.
• Emmy spent about £4000 on her initial stock as well as £1000 on branding and the designs. She built the website herself using shopify.
• The sales of online brands during the pandemic have gone up because it’s been harder for people to visit physical stores.
• Work out what problem you’re solving for people, and why you’re the one to solve it. This is all part of your vision as a person and a business.

BEST MOMENTS

"The things you can wear in London, if you wore them in Bristol you’d get looks"

"I saw women who ran their own businesses as rock stars’ "

"It’s hard to manufacture confidence because confidence come from experience" 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

www.sundayandsoul.com

www.instagram.com/sundayandsoul

ABOUT THE GUEST

Emmy Pugh is the founder of Sunday and Soul, a casual wear brand inspired by sunny places, with comfort, joy, and confidence at its heart.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

For every single one you buy, they donate one, it’s a good brand strategy that can do some good in the world. Sarah Martin Clarke is the founder of Please & Thank You, a soap brand that offers a one for one offer donating one product for every one you buy. Sarah joins Nicole this week on Start Scale Succeed to tell her brand story and why being a business that gives back is so important.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Please & Thank You partnered with The Hygiene Bank who donate hygiene products to women’s shelters and people in need. Please & Thank You also want to raise the awareness of hygiene poverty in the UK.
• When talking to people at trade shows, you can assign a number to each person you speak to so you can score how likely they will be to make an order from what they’ve said during conversation. Then that’s the order in which you follow up on potential leads.
• One of the first pieces of feedback Sarah got form a customer was them saying that they don’t buy luxury products often, but when they do they want it to go to companies like Please & Thank You who do give back.
• Sarah admits she was a little naive launching direct to consumer as a product brand from scratch with limited marketing investment. Some people build an audience first before launch to create at least a small base of people who might be interested in your brand.
• It’s harder to grow on social media now without having to pay a load of money.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I love competitor research as it’s an excuse to buy lots of products and try them’

‘I’ve learned things about the depths of Facebook I didn’t think I’d need to know’

‘If you’ve got the idea and are prepared to put in the graft then go for it’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

pleaseandthankyou.co.uk

sarahclarkmartin.com

Sarah on LinkedIn

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

thehygienebank.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sarah is an experienced brand consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing industry. Strong professional skills in brand strategy and management, product and portfolio strategy, with end-to-end brand management capabilities from consumer insight and project delivery through to in-store execution and through-the-line marketing activities. Extensive beauty brand and retail experience.

Please & Thank You is a Luxury hand soap with in-built kindness.

“Beautifully natural British soaps designed to bring joy whilst keeping hands safe. Our soaps are vegan, sustainably packaged and gunk free. But that’s not all. For every one you buy, we donate another to someone in need.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

As a business owner, how do you make the task of posting on Instagram enjoyable for you? Founder of Grow & Glow and Instagram expert Vix Meldrew joins host Nicole this week on Start scale Succeed to discuss that very topic. Get tips on visibility, reels, finding your rhythm, and being intentional with your content. Also find out about the work Vix does with Grow & Glow where she provides digital learning and training.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You should be utilising all of Instagram’s features such as ‘stories’, where you can tell the story behind your brand and build a connection. You can do ‘lives’ to talk about everything behind your business and products. Then with ‘reels’ you can showcase your products, behind the scenes, and mailing out.

• Instagram is not your business, it’s a tool. Yes you can grow faster if you post more content, but the more time you spend doing that then the less time you’ll have for other work. If you can set a goal for 2 posts per week then you know you can do it regularly and stick to a schedule.

• When you’re just starting out you should be exploring what content you like to post and see who your audience is and what they want you to post.

• Your posts are your shop window, but the other things you do like ‘lives’ and ‘reels’ are you talking to those customers who are visiting your shop.

• Your Instagram is a tool to get someone who doesn't know anything about your brand to know your story and become a customer. You need to be targeting the right people with the right kind of content for your business.

• Look at other small businesses and what ‘reels’ they’re posting on their page. It doesn't have to be all singing, all dancing. There are so many things you can do for different niches. You can take the same idea and apply it in a different way.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You have to make Instagram a positive habit’

‘You’ve been doing it for two minutes, chill out!’

‘Sometimes we forget that the only people who care about our Instagram is us’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/vixmeldrew

www.instagram.com/growglow.co

www.gramandgo.com

www.growglow.co

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE GUEST

Vix Meldrew:

“After 4 years, juggling blogging whilst teaching, finding myself single, then dating, then loved up and going through the grief of losing both my parents in a short time - I decided to leave my school and much-loved role as primary school teacher to: ‘Give this full time content creator thing a go’

After a year of working with brands, and then being asked by fellow bloggers and influencers for guidance on how THEY could work with brands… Grow & Glow was founded. And we’ve done so much with Grow & Glow!

In the almost 3 years since, we’ve helped over 1200 online business owners and personal brands grow their online presence, we’ve partnered with Pinterest on educational events and we’ve established ourselves as a go-to resource for learning how to use content to get yourself out there.

Personally, in this time, I’ve moved from London to the quiet Kent countryside, gotten married and been blessed with stinky-puppy kisses from our first angel Olive (who sadly passed in 2020) and Ruby, our red (and silly) cockapoos.

I didn’t like how Ruby was ripping through her toys and accessories, which were made from plastic and felt like a waste throwing away, so…

In early 2021, I wanted to try a new challenge - e-commerce, and founded Ruby & Olive, originally a marketplace showcasing the UK’s best eco-friendly and home-made pet businesses. It felt exciting to find these incredible brands who were doing so much to fight against pet-product waste and working towards bringing sustainability to this industry.

But juggling two businesses, scaling beyond what I was ready for and tackling personal health issues meant I had to put it to one side.

Luckily for me, my dear Beth, who was once one of my mentees and then a part of the G&G team came on board as co-founder/owner and we are excitedly working behind the scenes on creating our own range of eco-friendly (and gorgeous) dog collars, leads and accessories, with the aim to relaunch Ruby & Olive in 2022!

But something else has always stuck with me… And that’s my love of teaching. Whilst I’ve infused elements of ‘being a teacher’ into Grow & Glow - by hosting workshops, webinars, creating courses and designing educational content, I realised I my fulfilment really comes from creating light-bulb moments and helping my students become more confident in their abilities - and I wanted more of this.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

The men's skincare industry is expected to grow to $16.3 billion in 2026 and in this episode, Nicole chats with Darren Williams, executive chairman of men's Skincare brand SCRUBD. Find out about how the brand started and went from an exclusive deal with Harvey Nichols, to now being stocked in Nordstrum in the states.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When Darren joined the brand, it had never gone to market and had never had to put in the hustle to get in front of people. When they did, they found out that the packaging was wrong, and this was the first time they had thought about this. It should have been refined for the end user before they went to market.
• Think of your end user and how they will use your product, where will they use it, how often they will buy it, and when will they buy it again?
• Do your research to find out who is in your space and how does that stack up against the competition, how can you be better and really stand out. Make your brand story your USP and main marketing line.
• If you want to scale, make sure everything is working before you scale. Don’t be afraid to change those things that are not working. Be meticulous with your costs as you scale you have so much more to pay for and to think about.
  
  

BEST MOMENTS

‘I was genuinely surprised by the ethics of the brand’

‘He put 4 products in a bag and said that it was too heavy, nobody will carry that around’

‘Your numbers tell a story’

VALUABLE RESOURCES  

www.scrubd.com

http://www.williamsharding.com

www.instagram.com/scrubduk

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE BRAND

When Scrubd founder Mark was unable to find a premium, all-natural bar of soap for men, he decided to create his own.

Working with artisan soap makers, he crafted our first batch, Batch Number ONE, of hand-made soaps, designed specifically for men. Friends and family started using – and loving – the soaps, and very quickly Scrubd ran out of its first batch. They created more, and with each batch continued to refine their formula.

Fast forward to today, and SCRUBD’s much-loved soap range has developed into a hand-crafted all-natural, organic triple-milled soap block, and is joined by their naturally effective Energising and Anti-Ageing skincare ranges.

SCRUBD’s mission is simple, to help men feel great in their skin. When men feel great in their skin, they can master anything, leaving a unique mark in every area of their lives.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Connecting and engaging with your customer is key and one way to do this is through pop ups.

This week’s guest is Matt Hopkins founder of the great brand exchange.  

The Great Brand Exchange was founded in 2014 with two goals in mind. The first was to help small businesses grow and scale by giving them a route into retail. And the second was to bring exciting, unique, local products to major retailers enabling them to offer something different alongside their big-name brands.

On the podcast Matt chats about: 

• Consumer behaviour and trends and what consumers want from a brand 
• Shifts towards localism and the desire for brands that reflect consumers' core values.
• Importance of storytelling, authenticity, and personalized experiences in brand engagement.

How pop-ups serve as a potent marketing tool.

• Benefits of temporary retail spaces from driving sales to engaging consumers.
• Pop-ups’ role in rapidly responding to trends and consumer demands.

Setting Up a Successful Pop-Up** 

• Essential steps involved in preparing for a pop-up event.
• The importance of location, design, and storytelling in attracting and engaging customers.
• Strategies for creating impactful visual merchandising and product displays. 

https://www.instagram.com/thegreatbrandexchange/

https://thegbexchange.com/

Host Nicole Higgins 

Nicole has worked as a buyer and head of buying for over 18 years for retailers such as Primark, M&S and Debenhams and now uses her expertise and knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and scale their product businesses and continues to work on projects with corporates to increase bottom line sales and profits. 

She established her own business The Buyer And Retail Coach™ to help give entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to bring products to market. Her expertise covers many areas from product development to sourcing and strategy across multi-product categories

The Buyer and retail coach 

Nicole Higgins Links 

https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/

https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/

Sponsor 

Neon Digital Clicks 

Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store? Want to do it without having to wear yet another hat and become a digital marketing expert? This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, THE paid-traffic partner for family and women’s e-commerce brands wanting to scale their stores from five figure to six figure months using Meta, Google and Klaviyo marketing services.  

Neon is offering listeners a FREE scaling audit worth £3000! 

So whether your sales have plateaued or you

’re looking for growth, this is a great opportunity to lift the lid on your biz and identify where the opportunities are hiding. 

Head to scaleandglow.com to discover just how much revenue you could scale your store to this year. 

https://scaleandglow.com/

https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/neondigitalclicks/

Today's topic on Start Scale Succeed is confidence and mindset, to discuss these things, Nicole is joined by guest Roo Davis who is an accredited coach who works on gaining clarity, shifting mindset, behaviour and finding purpose. She helps people understand how they’re holding themselves back and how they can gain clarity in moving forward.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Roo calls that negative sabotaging voice in all of our heads our Confidence Gremlins. This Confidence Gremlin stops us from believing in ourselves and from having the confidence to go for the things we want and take a risk to create something great.
• Notice yourself. Recognise what is feeding these gremlins, then challenge the thoughts by giving them evidence of times you’ve succeeded. Logically make the thoughts untrue and make the voice seem stupid for saying them.
• The main three triggers of procrastination are fear, perfectionism, and a lack of self-worth.
• The five types of imposter syndrome are perfectionism, the genius, the superhero, the soloist, and the expert.
• One strategy to help overcome procrastination is to set realistic achievable goals and make yourself accountable for doing them. Vocalising the things you’re going to do can help.
• Momentum is a beautiful thing. Once you get into a habit it becomes what you do. You need to make sure it’s helpful thoughts and helpful behaviour.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Success can scare people. To get into the growth zone you have to step out of your comfort zone’

‘Learning is lifelong’

‘These setbacks don’t have to totally knock you off course’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/roodavies_themojocoach

www.themojocoach.com

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE GUEST

Roo Davies is the go-to coach in the UK if you want to find your Passion, Positivity & Purpose. If you’re looking to rediscover your mojo, build your confidence and make things happen, she's your gal!

Roo is a pretty unique coach as she wears a few hats… Life Coach, Business Coach, Leadership Coach, Strengths Coach and a Mentor. Whatever hat she’s wearing she helps her clients thrive in their personal, professional and business life. Roo is a qualified behavioural change coach, holds a PG Cert in Coaching and is accredited with the Institute of Leadership & Management and the Association for Coaching.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

Latched UK was born out of frustration when Natalie Ward couldn’t find activewear to wear whilst pregnant and breast feeding. With a background in sports, she knew what she wanted and set to work creating it. Natalie joins Nicole on this week's Start Scale Succeed to tell us how she went from initial concept, to launch in just 8 months and how influencer marketing has really seen business boom.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Natalie didn’t outsource anything and did all the branding, design, and registering the business herself. When sourcing manufacturers she used video calls to look around the factory to make sure it lived up to her standards.
• Latched UK has grown from 3 products which have been tried and tested, with Natalie’s leggings lasting over 3 years, to now having 40 items available.
• Influencer Rochelle Hulmes helped Natalie sell out of her bestselling leggings. Influencer marketing has really grown her business all from products being gifted rather than paid promotions.
• Natalie’s advice is to do your market research and back yourself if you can solve a problem that nobody else can.

BEST MOMENTS

‘The only thing we could find was in Australia and was not great, so we decided to do it ourselves’

‘They said we don’t have the technology to make this in the UK’

‘People want that Prime next day delivery for their night time feed’

‘Influencer marketing changed my world’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/latcheduk

www.latched.uk

www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Hi 🖐, I am Natalie. The Latched journey started in January 2018 after the birth of my daughter, Harper. Prior to her birth I thought I knew what being tired was, then my little snack feeder decided to give me a real education on sleep deprivation. Her little and often snack style appetite didn't allow much opportunity to leave the house or do anything for myself. This really took a toll on my mental health during a particularly harsh winter, I was DESPERATE to leave the house so I started googling breastfeeding jumpers and sports bras because I live in activewear. To say I was disappointed was an understatement, I sat on the floor crying my eyes out at how hard my life had become to do something as simple as walking the dog.

After a long deep and meaningful conversation with David, my husband, he encouraged me to design my own and have something made. I put pencil to paper and started drawing, worked through a process and a few months later I had samples made up and in my hands and the rest they say is history.

By the time I launched Latched in Nov 2018 I was pregnant with number 2! A whole set of new challenges ahead, 2 under 2, a new business, a summer pregnancy and all the highs and lows this brings. A winter pregnancy, a summer pregnancy and two breastfed babies has shaped Latched and the products I create, in the hope of helping and supporting other mums on their journey into motherhood.

August 2019, my son Ethan joined our family and the adventure and roller coaster continues. If you want to get a deeper insight into my chaos and join in on my journey follow me on Instagram where my stories are a backstage view!

My body has far from bounced back this time, I have found that traditional sportswear and athleisurewear doesn't support or flatter my ever-changing body so in 2020 I launched the postnatal collection. The same high quality and value for money people have come to love but without the pregnancy or breastfeeding element.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall

42% of businesses fail due to lack of market need, which is a scary statistic. That number could be reduced significantly if the right market and customer research is done at the beginning when you are starting out or pivoting. This week on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Katie Tucker, founder of Product Jungle, who can help businesses do just that.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When talking to customers for market research, move the discussions offline. You’ll get much better insights really talking to a small number of people than you will with an Instagram poll.
• The better the questions you ask the better you will understand customers buying habits and their usage habits. Just knowing if someone would buy your product isn’t enough. When would they buy your product? How often? How often would they use it? Remember the hows and whys.
• In a survey, keep the big open questions until the end that need elaboration, before that have multiple choice and closed questions. If people have to do loads of work filling in your survey they won’t bother. Limit the questions from 10 to 12.
• You can improve the value of your brand by improving the customer journey online. Is your website easy to use? Is it clear? Are your items well packaged and on time?
• Make sure you listen to what people have to say, it’s not about you, it’s about them. Talk less, listen more.

BEST MOMENTS

‘People want to be helpful so they tend to just say yes’

‘It’s about how your product and services fit into people's lives’

‘You know how you feel when you’re seen and heard by a brand’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

www.productjungle.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/productjungle/

https://www.productjungle.co.uk/newsletter

ABOUT THE GUEST

Katie Tucker is an inspirational product leader with over twelve years’ experience in leading teams and delivering stand-out digital products and services. She is also a freelance writer and soon-to-be author.

In 2019, she set-up Product Jungle, a boutique consultancy with bite. She helps organisations really listen to customers, nail product strategy, optimise product processes and empower teams to greater collaboration and success.

Katie is also on a mission to demystify product management for smaller organisations; using tools and hacks from the world of big tech to help small businesses and charities embrace customer problems and build products and services that sell.

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the start scale succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall