How To Start Up by FF&M

In this episode we hear from Martine Thomassen who through studying how to be an entrepreneur in her education years, gained the foundations to then launch her own business when she was ready. Having been a digital marketer as well as an artist, she has now launched her own coaching business specialising in helping female entrepreneurs overcome their limiting beliefs, which is just one area among many that she helps clients to conquer.

Martine talks through the differences between mentors and coaches, how to work with that inner critic that can sometimes do so much damage in our every day and how to really master personal energy levels.

Martine’s advice:

• Try! You fail in advance if you don’t try
• Recognise and acknowledge your feelings, then choose to think more empowering thoughts that will serve you better
• Remember that enthusiasm will show, just as negativity will
• Win or learn, failure can be instructive and useful
• Pay attention to your feelings and care for them; they need to be looked after
• Take proper time off and have complete breaks from work
• Keep learning - listen to podcasts can be inspirational while you exercise or do any task
• Schedule your time and consciously focus on income-producing work
• Believe in yourself, in your client, in your product - if you don’t, you won’t be convincing when it comes to pricing
• If you are female, organise your work around your cycle and those weeks when you have more energy
• Recognise your achievements, congratulate yourself even on the small wins
• Self-trust, keep your word to yourself - if you trust yourself this will in turn boost your self-confidence
• Surround yourself with like-minded people as well as those who are one step ahead to help support you

If you’d like to contact Martine, she can be reach via her website or [email protected] as well as Intagram or her podcast.Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future FF&M guests too.
Links:

• LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening. I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company as it helps other people find it.
Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.

Recorded and produced by Juliet Fallowfield, edited by Emma Dewhurst in 2021. Music credit: Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

We know it’s important to rest, relax & recharge to ensure we’re as productive as possible, but how many founders actually prioritise this & how do we really achieve this?

Eva Alexandridis is a founder who has achieved that work / life balance. Having co-founded 111SKIN in 2012 with her husband Dr Yannis Alexandrides, Eva has not only built a globally recognised brand but has practised the brand values in ensuring she also looks after herself as well as her business.

Keep listening to hear Eva’s advice on balancing work & family time plus how you can build a daily routine that works for you.

Eva’s advice:

• Be honest at the end of the day as to whether it’s been a good one or not; then, if necessary, you can improve the next day
• It is possible to be a good mother and an efficient businesswoman; obviously you need trustworthy help when your children are very small, but from the age of five onwards, explain to your children what you do so that they appreciate its value
• Be honest about your work commitments. Your children will be proud of what you do, when it is explained to them
• Ideally your work challenges will be balanced by your sense of satisfaction/achievement
• Try running first thing in the morning, to clear your mind and energise you
• Make sure that family commitments come before any other social commitment
• Eva finds biking to work refreshing and energising (and she listens to podcasts so she is not thinking about work)
• Keep any exercise sessions sacrosanct - do not allow interruptions
• If you can, have work conversations out of the office, perhaps during a walk; being in nature will probably relax/inspire you
• Employ people you trust. Be careful when employing, as both hiring and firing can be very time-consuming
• Eva finds electric cryotherapy energising!
• To avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed, appreciate what you have achieved and applaud yourself
• Get energy from some positive reinforcement from clients
• Keep meetings to 35-40 minutes and always have a break (preferably in the fresh air) between them

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at [email protected] or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.
FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

Today we have not one, but five, guests!
Hannah, Ellie, Ria, Lucianne and Camilla are the founders and members of the hybrid e-commerce consultancy collective A Few Great Women. With a wealth of previous career experience working with renowned brands including Harvey Nichols, Kurt Geiger and Stella McCartney, the team identified that start-up e-commerce businesses could benefit from a unique combination of the flexibility of freelance consultants powered by the collective dynamism of an in-house team.
Today, A Few Great Women offers a range of services for e-commerce businesses including website development, digital strategy, branding and email marketing. They share with us their experiences of founding a collective and why five heads are better than one.

Advice:

• Manage day-to-day running by using helpful apps like Notion
• Structure weekly tasks - Monday.com useful
• Outsource those things you’re less good at
• Connect with others, time spent catching up with colleagues is always constructive
• Always ask for feedback; even knockbacks are a useful learning tool
• When pricing, be confident; a fair price guarantees good work. Don’t doubt this
• When self-employed, take breaks and never feel guilty about them!
• Understand your limits: say no to a client if the fit isn’t right, and if necessary make a client wait
• Self-employment is particularly good for women a) because employers are not good at offering flexibility, and b) because women are so often limited by the glass ceiling
• Be confident in what you know, your experience and your value
• Keep going with an annual appraisal, even if it’s private and personal
• Go with your instincts
• Have faith in yourself

If you’d like to contact any of the A Few Great Women you can reach them on [email protected]

Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too.

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2022 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.
FF&M enables you to own your own PR.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode, we hear from Jamie Clements, founder of The Breath Space. By using breathing techniques to overcome anxiety and panic attacks, Jamie discovered the extensive benefits of breathwork for improving physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Having trained in many modalities of breathing, Jamie now shares his techniques to help others accelerate their healing and personal growth as part of his business.

Today Jamie introduces us to the many benefits of breathwork and shares his advice on why founders and business owners should be encouraged to build a strong wellness routine around a busy schedule.

Jamie's advice:

• Particularly for a founder, but for employees too, physical/mental/emotional health is essential
• Breathing can be a window onto your mental state; check in with it during the day to assess how you are. Schedule moments e.g. between meetings, in a taxi - for yourself, breathing breaks when you can check how you’re doing
• It’s possible to shift your mental and emotional state by using simple breathing exercises; conscious breath control can quickly and effectively regulate your nervous system
• By being aware of how you are breathing, you can avoid dysfunctional breathing patterns e.g. allowing quick and shallow breathing, which triggers stress, to become habitual
• If you are a busy high-achiever, it’s important to avoid burnout; take short breaks to breathe consciously (always a longer exhale than inhale) and you will optimise your performance and increase stamina

If you’d like to contact Jamie, you can reach him at [email protected]

Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR.

Edited by Milun Haggipavlou. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at [email protected] or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

With Statista reporting there are 35 million Instagram users in the UK, social media platforms are a powerful tool to build brand awareness and convert followers into loyal customers.

Given this season is a focus on all things branding I was keen to speak to an expert content creator.

In this episode, I hear from Estée Lalonde, CEO and founder of bodycare brand MIRROR WATER. The brand champions mirror work and self-care, inspired by Estée’s quest to find effective relaxation tools during the pandemic. Estée has enjoyed a long career working within social media building a following of over 677k before founding her brand in 2021 which has already amassed a following of 35k.

She shares her advice on how to build your brand through social media, why doing the initial creative work on your brand is crucial for success and how DM’ing one of your idols (in this case Bobbi Brown) can be the motivation you need to keep going.

Estée’s advice:

• Always start with a good business plan
• Branding so important; to start with, concentrate on aspirational visuals that can then inform further work
• Don’t rush this stage:
• Create mood boards
• Take care of yourself and go with your intuition
• Get to the essence of what you want
• Settle on a name, which will take you in the right direction
• Look for a designer to support you and ensure you click with them, build that relationship to a point of trust
• Be strategic on social; post regularly and expect this to be a slow build
• Social media can help you launch, it is a big time commitment however it will pay dividends
• Brand instagramming is harder than being a social media influencer (owned content v earned, DM FF&M to find out more on this)
• Posting every day becomes a burden so look at process and systems to help you on this
• You can’t do it all so be clear on what success looks like and work backwards
• Keep it lean - less is more in all things in business, focus on one thing and do it well rather than trying to post on multiple platforms all the time
• Take time to reflect on what you’re doing and enjoy it
• Expect to be overwhelmed at times; but hang on it there!

If you'd like to contact Estée you can reach her via @esteelalonde on Instagram
FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.
Email: [email protected] or
DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason
Host Juliet Fallowfield LinkedIn

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link &