How To Start Up by FF&M

Before Kate Halfpenny designed wedding dresses, she dressed Kate Moss, Rihanna and Cate Blanchett for a living.
That client list didn't just shape her design eye, it built her a reputation before she'd designed a single dress for the public. When a commission for actress Emilia Fox in 2005 became the foundation of Halfpenny London, Kate already understood something most founders take years to learn: proximity to the right person, at the right moment, is one of the most powerful and least controllable forms of PR there is.
Kate's Advice: 
Build a reputation through consistently exceptional work, not just advertising
Paid marketing creates visibility, but trust has to be earned
Word of mouth can't be controlled. Focus on creating work people genuinely want to recommend
Choose collaborators because they're the right fit, not because they're famous
Audiences can feel the difference between genuine love for a brand and being paid to wear it
Be crystal clear about who your brand is for. It protects you from the wrong partnerships
One great PR moment opens the door, but consistency is what keeps people coming back
Never compromise the integrity of your product simply to gain attention
Bring experienced external leadership into your business sooner than you think
Treat mistakes as part of building a business. They're lessons, not failures
Protect time for your personal life before your business takes all of it
Don't compare your journey to everyone else's, especially on social media
Chapters

(00:00) Why reputation beats advertising
(01:25) Meet Kate Halfpenny
(02:00) Building a brand through reputation
(05:00) How Emilia Fox launched Halfpenny London
(08:15) Why authentic celebrity PR is priceless
(10:05) Choosing the right influencers
(13:00) Celebrity marketing mistakes founders make
(15:00) Turning one PR moment into a 20-year brand
(18:00) PR, social media and luxury branding
(20:30) Founder storytelling and personal brands
(23:00) Growing Halfpenny internationally
(24:30) The leadership mistake Kate would change
(28:00) Work-life balance as a founder
(29:30) Kate's question for the next guest
FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
https://www.fallowfieldmason.com

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.
Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on Instagram @fallowfieldmason.
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

Every guest on this podcast talks about looking after yourself and your sleep when starting a business so I was keen to speak to someone who has first hand experience in losing it, how to get it back & making a business from it too. 
Hayley Dawes spent years designing beautiful, calming homes for other people. She couldn't find a moment of that calm for herself.  A mother of four and a long-time entrepreneur, Hayley battled chronic insomnia that began to affect every part of her life. The thing that finally shifted it was broad-spectrum CBD and plant actives, used properly and consistently. That personal discovery became Dreem Distillery, a science-led luxury sleep brand now known for its award-winning Night Drops Sleep Oil and, this year, a new magnesium body butter, Dreem Melt.
This is a story about building a business out of a problem you genuinely couldn't solve any other way, and what happens when your professional skill and your personal life are pulling in completely opposite directions. 
Hayley's advice:
Protect your sleep as fiercely as you protect your business
Working harder works... until suddenly it doesn't
Small daily habits ("micro moments") can have a huge impact on your nervous system
Don't underestimate the power of a daily walk, movement and natural daylight to regulate your nervous system
Build a business around solving a genuine problem
Work with experts when you're entering an unfamiliar industry
Never compromise on quality – from your product to your branding and packaging
Building a business teaches resilience
Prioritising yourself allows you to perform better in every area of your life
FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.
Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on Instagram @fallowfieldmason.
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

Laura Butler-Madden is an award-winning interior designer with 14 years of expertise restoring and transforming period properties. Laura hasn't left her design career. She's simply added a second one.  
For anyone starting a business, this may feel like a lot given how many hats you’re already wearing, so I was keen to chat to her about why and how she decided to do this.
Keep listening to hear a practical guide on how to build a second career alongside your first.
Laura's advice:
Just because you can do something well doesn’t mean you should be doing it
Go for what makes you happy and contented
And simultaneously look for a gap in the market
When you are in control of a business, you can shed the extra processes
As long as you have the basics - like understanding spreadsheets - you can manage
You don’t need a big team - but it also means you have no support group
So you do need to be resilient to do everything yourself
Patience and resilience are vital - just keep going!
At first, there may be more lows than highs
The big plus is the freedom
Make sure you relax sometimes
And acknowledge how far you’ve come
FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 
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

Most founders start with an idea & go looking for an ingredient. The Taylor sisters started with the ingredient and had to build everything else around it.
Their family has farmed plums in Northern California for four generations. For most of that time, the plum pits were just waste. Le Prunier turned them into the hero ingredient of an organic, luxury skincare line that now sits in goop, Anthropologie, Neiman Marcus & Bloomingdales.
Allison came in from fashion and brand development, having worked at Giorgio Armani and MOTHER Denim. Jacqueline is a UCLA grad with a science background and culinary training. And rounding out the trio is their sister Elaine, who brings experience from two previous CPG brands and heads up finance and operations.
This is a story about vertical integration before it was a trend, about patience in product development, and about what farming actually teaches you that business school doesn't. 
Jackie's advice: 

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 
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

Jo Glynn-Smith is a coach & specialises in leadership growth, career transition and personal transformation, working with people to navigate change. Alongside her coaching practice she hosts The Midlife Entrepreneur podcast, which explores the shift from corporate life into entrepreneurship, so is perfectly placed to guide us through how to pivot in mid-life & address how listeners might honestly assess whether they are ready to do the same. 
Keep listening to hear a practical guide on ‘how to pivot’ 
Jo's advice: 
When considering a career change or starting a business in mid-life, be wary of a dramatic move which can be risky
Consider your reasons for wanting change
Make a list of the pros and cons of your current job
Identify the aspects of your work you love the most/dislike the most
Consider taking a sabbatical
Consider whether it’s the pace of your current work/the way you currently work that is making you unhappy - not the work itself
Coaching can help you identify the problems
You will need to plan ahead financially and work out how long you can manage without an income
Once you know this you can make a plan - Retrain? Have coaching? Undertake research?
Be self-aware: will you be happier with a co-founder or a partner?
Find people doing what you’re interested in, and talk to them at length
Many skills are transferable - you will be competent in various fields
Growth and learning are constant in everybody’s lives
Self-belief can be the hardest attribute to find; use a coach to help you examine your successes
Think about: what you love/what the world needs/what you can get paid for/what you are good at
Finding your new identity and building a reputation takes time - expect this
Create your own brand story
Enjoy your autonomy

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 
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