Make it British Podcast

There are generally 3 main reasons why sales might not be going as expected. But don't panic!

As well as discussing what those 3 reasons for a sales slump might be, in this episode I also give tips on what you can do if sales aren't going to plan

Discover:

• 03:32 The reasons why your sales might not be going as you expect
• 07:10 The things you could be doing for your business in order to attract more sales
• 17:57 Why reviewing your business can be the key to working out any issues you may have
• 19:03 How giving yourself time to refresh may help your business to bounce back

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Graham Holbrook from Turtle Doves, a company that recycles cashmere jumpers into brand new products, including their signature fingerless gloves, which sell over 200,000 pairs a year.

Graham talks about how Turtle Doves manage teams of outworkers in the UK to make their products.And we also discuss an exciting new project that Turtle Doves are working on, which is reviving the lost manufacturing process of shoddying.If you don't know what shoddy is you will have to listen to find out!

Discover:

• 03:28 How Turtle Doves started and how they got into making accessories from secondhand cashmere
• 06:05 How the manufacturing process has changed since the business has grown
• 08:40 How the business manages hundreds of outworkers to produce their high-quality accessories
• 17:32 What Graham believes has attributed to the success of Turtle Doves
• 22:47 How Graham ensures a constant supply of cashmere and why the fibre is so important to the business
• 25:04 The charity scheme that Turtle Doves has set up to give back to their customers
• 26:35 How Turtle Doves has been working with a factory to bring back the lost manufacturing process of shoddy

More Turtle Doves

Turtle Doves on Instagram

Turtle Doves Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

In this episode, I invite you to join us for our second Made in UK Day on 9th March 2022.

Following the success of the inaugural Made in UK Day in 2021, the campaign is back this year to raise awareness of the need to buy more locally made products and to showcase all the amazing businesses that make in the UK.

Follow#madeinukdayon social media to keep up to date with the campaign.

Go tomadeinukday.co.ukto download a championing pack and start getting involved!

Discover:

• 02:01 The impact of our first-ever Made in UK Day back in 2021
• 05:11 What is Made in UK Day?
• 08:54 How you can get involved if you're a business that makes in the UK
• 11:15 How you can get involved if you're a consumer looking to buy UK-made products

Made in UK Day

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

The price of everything is going up at the moment - from fuel prices and taxes, to raw materials and shipping. But what does this mean for you if you have a business that makes in the UK? In this episode, you'll hear thoughts from our Make it British members, both brands selling UK-made products and UK manufacturers, on what price increases they're seeing. And how that is affecting their businesses.

And I give my advice on how you can deal with the cost rises.

Discover:

• 03:05 How other existing UK businesses are feeling about putting up their prices
• 05:13 Whether UK manufacturers will be looking to increase their prices
• 09:05 The difficult decisions businesses are needing to make and how they're being communicated to their customers
• 11:05 How small businesses are seeing the positives out of rising cost prices
• 14:50 The six tips for how you can deal with price increases

Raising Prices Poll on LinkedIn

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Kitty Bruce-Gardyne is the founder of Scottish Textiles Showcase. Originally set up to give people special guided tours around the textile mills in Scotland, Scottish Textile Showcase is now a retail destination in Edinburgh.

The shop represents some of Scotland's best textile businesses and Kitty tells the story ofwhy she so passionately supports the Scottish textile industry.

There's also a video version of this interview. So if you want to see inside Kitty's store, head on over to the Make it British YouTube channel.

Discover:

• 02:55 How Kitty came to run textile tours around Scotland
• 08:09 Why she decided to set up her shop the Scottish Textiles Showcase
• 13:33 How Kitty decides which makers are represented in her shop
• 17:22 Why Kitty believes the Made in Scotland brand is so important
• 21:57 The collection of traditional Scottish textiles that are available both instore and online
• 28:48 How you can book your own tour to visit Scotland’s textile mills

More Scottish Textiles Showcase

Scottish Textiles Showcase on Instagram

Scottish Textiles Showcase Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see people making when they want to get a product made in the UK is that they think the first step that they need to take is to contact a manufacturer.

But this is actually one of the last things that you want to do.

In this episode I run through the 5 steps you need to take to get a product made in the UK.

Discover:

• 01:45 The biggest mistake people make when trying to get a product made in the UK
• 03:22 What steps you need to take before contacting a manufacturer
• 10:49 Why you need prepared and knowledgeable about your product production

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

In this episode, I chat with Chris Kyriacou, founder of activewear brand Soma Sportswear. Chris contacted me in 2019, looking for help to find manufacturers to make his very unique athleisurewear. In this episode, Chris talks through the process of going from idea to fully-fledged product and how we worked together to find the right factories. Discover:

• 02:35 Chris' background and why he decided to launch his own athleisure brand
• 05:34 How Chris worked with Kate to overcome the challenges of looking for a manufacturer to make his garments
• 08:50 What makes the fabric that Chris' uses in his collection so innovative
• 10:03 How Chris assures that his supply chain is as sustainable as possible
• 15:42 Chris' top tips for anyone looking to launch their own athleisure brand
• 18:47 The benefits of using silver in the fabric specifically for athleisurewear

More Soma Sportswear

Soma Sportswear on Instagram

Soma Sportswear Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

One of the biggest problems that many fashion firms face is how they can dispose of their deadstock fabric.

At the same time, designers often have issues with sourcing materials in small quantities. In this episode, we meet Deborah Lyons and Piarvé Wetshi, the co-founders of Last Yarn, an online fabric marketplace that solves one of the fashion industry's biggest problems.

Discover:

• 4:50 How the idea for Last Yarn came about
• 6:30 How designers can source small quantities of a wide variety of fabrics on the Last Yarn marketplace
• 10:07 How platforms like this can help solve a problem for businesses that have leftover materials, and why it's more sustainable
• 27:03 How Last Yarn will be collaborating with schools and colleges

More Last Yarn

Last Yarn on Instagram

Last Yarn Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

If you have a business making or selling products that are made in the UK, what are the biggest trends that will impact you in 2022?

Whilst the last 2 years have shown us that it is almost impossible to predict the unpredictable, having worked with hundreds of small businesses that make in the UK over the last ten years, I can see definite patterns emerging.

In this episode, I cover my top 6 business trends for brands that make in the UK for 2022.

Discover:

• 02:45 The reasons why everyone is turning to local
• 05:51 Why you need to be clear about how your brand is sustainable and not just saying it is
• 10:10 How simplicity can be key to running a successful product-based business
• 14:53 Why you need to be aware of rising cost prices and how to plan for them accordingly
• 17:54 Why you may need to shake up your current sales and marketing strategy
• 19:47 How you can take control of your production to get ahead of the competition

References from the episode:

Episode 208– and why you need to when you are working with manufacturers!

Fashion Revolution Fashion Transparency Index

Aja Barber - Consumed: The need for collective change; colonialism, climate change & consumerism

David Hieatt’s Do One Thing Well List Winter 2021

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

In this episode I reflect on how much things have changed over the past couple of years for us at Make it British, as I am sure they have for you. I also look at which of the 61 episodes of the podcast I've recorded this year were my favourites, and why.

Discover:

• 01:54 How Make it British has adapted since pre-pandemic
• 04:18 Why I set up my coaching programme to help small businesses who make in the UK
• 07:11 The 10 most popular podcast episodes of 2021

Listen to the episodes mentioned in this podcast:

200 - 20 tips for building a great UK-made business

170 - Are you confusing mark-up and margin?

178 - The real reason you aren’t making any money with your UK-made business

152 - Are you charging enough for your UK-made products?

156 - 5 reasons why you might not be able to find a UK manufacturer

183 - It was a stupid idea in the pub and now it’s a million-pound business - Brant Richards, HebTroCo

202 - How I dealt with the copycats and came out on top, Monika Young, Monika the Label

179 - Growing a UK-made lifestyle brand - Rebecca J Mills

153 - Building a family business in post-Brexit Britain - Gillian Tusting

171 - How we set up a micro swimwear factory - Rich Keegan & Linda Souto Maior, Usual Objections

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator-Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British-become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube- subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.