How to Thrive in a Man’s world by Eve Pollard

At the Sound Women Festival at the BBC Radio Theatre in central London,
the first lady of Fleet Street gave her top tips for success:

For a woman with a job & children, a good haircut is essential

1. Ironing – don’t get good at it.  Sit on your children’s clothes to flatten them.
2. Marry the right partner – I have, twice.  Someone who will support you.
3. Live near work.  Children need you, more than they need leafy suburbs.  Apply for a council flat.
4. Every woman needs her running away money.
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t fuss over the bed linen.  People want to be together and feel well.  Have a friendly, open house and sit together.  It’s ok to get a ready meal.
6. Don’t be judgemental about other women.  Your neighbour, who’s never worked a day in her life, might be the person who talks to your father when he visits.
7. Worry about salary.  It buys you time so you can outsource.
8. Be straight forward; be charming; be well read; be yourself.
9. Have a very good haircut.  When you have children you’ll have no time to blow dry it.
10. Women have to work harder.
11. You have to network and go to the pub and when you do, do it with gusto.
12. Never use the ‘s’ word.  Men never say sorry.
13. Whilst men are spending all that time thinking about sex, you can be thinking about being clever.

Start Your Dream Business

I have been lucky enough in the last few months (erm years) to have interviewed 16 fantastic and successful entrepreneurs.  It culminated in our event this week to launch our book #Start Your Dream Business.

We wrote our first book Find Your Dream Job in 2009.  Stories of people who changed from jobs they hated to jobs they love.  It appeared that the sacrifice of having a dream job, was a decent salary.  In our follow up book I wanted to know – can you have a job you love and earn shed loads of money doing it.  The answer is ‘yes.’  However, what surprised me, as I talked to high flyers from the business world, in no single case, was it about the money.  Everyone was determined to put right a social wrong, educate, had found a gap in the market, wanted to do something better or simply, to pursue their dream.   They were driven by their passion NOT money.  And as the cliche goes ‘the money followed.’

We were beside ourselves that entrepreneurs from the book inventor Shed Simove and Rosie Wolfenden from the amazing cult jewellery company @tattydevine joined us to help our book launch and celebrate with us.

The book is for anyone who harbours a ‘dream’ business idea on the back burner.  But doesn’t have the confidence, business experience or know how, how to put it into practise.  Having interviewed a ‘dream team’ of successful #entrepreneurs, I can say with confidence, that with all due respect, when they started out, they didn’t have a clue what they were doing either.  They learnt on the job and learnt from their mistakes.

It’s available here

and should you read it, do let us know what you think, and what you’re planning on starting up.

The Power of Social Media – and Nigella

Sharing the front page with Nigella, Carole Ann Rice.

Two dreams came true for ordinary business owners this week.

“It’s been a life long ambition, but I’d rather I hadn’t been on the front page alongside Nigella Lawson, the most beautiful woman in the world.”

My co-author, columnist and coach Carole Ann Rice made the front page of the Daily Express.    The DE were highlighting her Happy Mondays column in which she coaches the nation through Monday mornings.  Nigella was front page news because of her new US TV series, weight loss,  and amazing red ‘wiggle’ dress.

A dress that comes from Frome, Somerset.  And for business owner Claudia Kapp, Nigella has always been her dream customer.    Since Nigella tweeted her 300,000 followers about the dress, Deadly is the Female, her independent, vintage inspired shop on the high street has been inundated with orders.

Deadly dress

Claudia has drafted in her family to cope with the demand.

But Claudia started her dream job in retail in November 2008 during a recession.  What inspired her to take the plunge?

Claudia studied at the London College of Fashion, specialising in surface textiles and then went on to be a freelance designer working with vintage inspired labels.  After visiting Frome she decided to take the plunge and start her dream business Deadly Is The Female.

Deadly drinks

She launched her shop to promote women looking like women, by bringing back 1950s vintage glamour. You can buy everything you need from Lingerie and stockings through to dresses and accessories. If her website orders are anything to go by, women want to treat themselves during the credit crunch..

Claudia has SEO knowledge and knows the power of social media.   Deadly is the Female is on Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.

Since starting her dream job as a coach ten years ago, Carole Ann has also embraced social media.  And both Claudia and @caroleannrice have seen a rapid increase in followers since this week’s unexpected media coverage.

New Year’s Honours List

Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine started up their dream perspex jewellery business Tatty Devine after graduating from art college in 1999.  When I met Rosie recently, several years since they bought their first shop in Brick Lane, things were beginning to really take off.   I visited their store in Selfridges where you can watch your necklace be handmade by skilled laser cutting staff in front of your eyes.   It’s a unique experience.  Rosie has always felt that the space should be more than just a shop – it should be a meeting place to hear what their customers like and want.

“When we got our shop it enabled people to experience our ideas, our aesthetic. I think that was really important because word of mouth is really important. You’ve got to get out there and be seen – whether it’s a trade show, a shop or a website, it’s a meeting place and that’s key.”

 And from their early days salvaging leather scraps from skips and bins, the duo have now been awarded MBEs in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for services to the fashion industry. 

Truly fantastic news for two girls who are passionate about their products, staff and customers.  If you follow your talents, that’s where it can take you.

The Tatty Devine online sale starts tomorrow.

The Tatty Devine story features in Start Your Dream Business published by Marshall Cavendish available in 2013 by Sarah Wade and Carole Ann Rice.

 

How much Lego will be on Santa’s sleigh this year?

Lego advent calendar with reindeers #dreamjob

Could working at Bright Bricks be the best dream job in the world?

Currently in London’s Covent Garden, Bright Bricks have created their Lego advent calendar and on day one, it came with real reindeers.

I am slightly obsessed with Bright Bricks and have written about them before.  There are 70 Lego men to every real human being.  Duncan Titchmarsh,the UK’s only LEGO artist (dream job?!) has helped to create the world’s first ever advent calendar display which is three metres wide, five metres high and made of over 600,000 LEGO bricks.   I love these fantastic creations:

Mince pie anyone?

Lego advent calendar. Genius.

The final window will be opened at 4pm on Dec 24th in Covent Garden,  London.  But if you can’t get there – you can take a look at Bright Bricks Facebook page which is being updated daily.

The ‘No’ Factor

Carrie Benn and Fran Stobart founders of Shoutpm.co.uk

Their turnover has increased by 150% in a double dip recession.

Shoutpm Directors Carrie Benn and Fran Stobart met at a play group 13 years ago.  They had both been made redundant – one from marketing and one from sales.

They knew they wanted to work, but they also knew they wanted to bring up their children.  Could they create a dream business which fitted in with family life?  Many people told them ‘no’ it would ‘never come off’, ‘it will never work.’

But it has. Almost 10 years on, they are this year’s winners of the Hertfordshire Enterprise Business Award 2012 and last week they were runners up in the East of England Business Champions Awards.

Shout is a promotional merchandising company which started ‘really, really small’ in a room in Fran’s house.   Their first step was to phone round with an old client list and then set about cold calling companies.

“It was extremely disheartening when you get all these rejections.  But when you get that first ‘yes’ there was total elation.”

After getting 2 or 3 requests for quotes in that first week.  Carrie and Fran decided to make a go of it, brain stormed the name of the company in a bar, followed up with quotes and went on to secure orders.

Award winners who love their job.

After almost a decade in business their turnover is half a million pounds and they’re on track for a turnover of £1 million next year.  They moved into new premises and have a staff of six.  Their clients include MTV, Global Radio, Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Canada, the Hyatt and Marriott Hotels.   ”Big clients are happy and confident using our small business.”

The 5 Most Important things for running your dream business:

Referrals

Social media

Having a mentor

Getting help when you need it

Getting on and doing it

“Referrals are a huge part of our business. We began with just one contact at Microsoft and MTV, but now have about 10 using us on a regular basis purely due to internal referrals. Our new marketing campaign will target other contacts within the companies as we believe they would benefit from our services.

We are also recommended externally too – a client recommended us to a friend of hers and they have just placed a huge order worth £9,000. Someone else recommended us  who then placed an order for merchandise worth over £13,000.

“Having a mentor has been absolutely vital.  We had one for free via businesslink and would meet every 6 months.  It just enabled us to talk through things.  When you’re so bogged down with home life and the company, you don’t have time to look at it from the outside.  So finding the time for this was essential.”

But there are no secrets to it, it’s about getting on and doing it.  As the children have got older we are able to spend more time on the business.    So it has taken time to get to where we are – but we wanted to be there for our children.”

Carrie and Fran’s dream job is in an extremely competitive market.  So how have they succeeded?

“We compete on service.  And we go to our clients to understand them and come up with ideas that will fit into their campaign.  We’re thinking for them.”

“We reduce the stress for our clients.  They don’t have to chase us for information.  We value our clients and let them know we appreciate them.  And we provide added value – which you have to do in this competitive climate.”

“I’m good with people and networking.  And I have a background in marketing so I’m confident now of approaching marketing managers about our company.  But you can’t be good at everything so it’s ok to get help.  I’m not good with IT, but Fran is but also we’re getting help with our website.”

Best selling product?

“Pens.  Everybody needs pens!”

Advice to anyone wanting to set up their dream business?

“Don’t listen to anyone who says it won’t work. If you have the determination and drive to make it happen then it will.”

Finding the Courage

Christie Millinery Designs by dream jobber Christie Stokes.

I have been interviewing sensational and successful entrepreneurs and asking their advice.  What is it that makes them so special?

Well not much actually.  It was a surprise, and a relief, when I met them recently, to discover, those that were rich, were not motivated by money, they were motivated by a passion – to improve something, right a wrong, make something better or simply had the courage to pursue something that made their heart sing.

It’s not easy, it doesn’t happen overnight and it’s hard work.  But, it’s something we can all do.

They reminded me you only get one chance in life.

We’ve all heard it a lot.  I almost roll my eyes at the cliché.

But the recent shameful debacle at the BBC highlighted the point to me too.  Tim Davie aged 45, applied for the job of Director General at the BBC.  His background is Pepsi, not programme making.  But he had the nerve to go for it anyway.  He runs marathons, wears open necked shirts and believes in training.   He didn’t let any of that put him off either.

No one could have predicted what was to be unleashed as George Entwistle settled into his new job.  It wasn’t to be, and he left.  And Tim Davie suddenly became Acting Director General.  He will always have that on his CV – in a good way – not like George Entwistle.  If Tim Davie  hadn’t had the nerve to apply for the job, that never would have happened.

And the difference between those two people is ‘attitude.’  George seemed to give up.  Tim went for it.  Tieless and apparently fearless, Tim went into work and talked about how the BBC needed to ‘get a grip.’

And with all these examples in mind,  last week I was given a chance. With the voices of the entrepreneurs with me and this recent example of ‘giving it a go’ under my nose, I reassessed and applied for something which would lead me to be out of my depth.  I have butterflies and I can’t sleep.

When I hear stories of people with their dream job, I flinch at the thought of them never having dared to take that leap – off a cliff face, into the unknown.  Here’s three people who did and created:

Fabulous ties

Beautiful Scandinavian children’s clothes

Contemporary hats

What are you stopping yourself from doing?