The Best Things in Life in April

We love interviewing entrepreneurs on our blog so in our monthly 'Best Things in Life' inspired by Red magazine, it's our turn!

Katie

Best Things in Life...

Being inspired by others... this month we interviewed award-winning British designer Lorna Syson and the business advice she received when starting out as an interior designer really struck a chord with me… “Whatever decision you make is the right one; once it is made you will always work towards making it the right one.”

Going to the theatre... during a rainy April I’ll be making the most of the theatres in and around the Midlands. Last month I enjoyed ‘Emma’ at The Old Joint Stock in Birmingham, and I’m still trying to decide on what to see this month!

Being in it to win it… recently we took part in Turkish Airlines #widenyourworld campaign which involved revealing clues and finding a secret location in Birmingham to win a free pair of flights to anywhere in the world. We played twice, came third, then second…and then it ended! We would love to play it again if we still have enough brain power, but in the meantime we can be pleased with our runner up prizes at least!

I've Learned from my Mother...

Apart from being on top of the figures when running your own business (my mum is a book-keeping extraordinaire), she taught me how to have real grit, to never settle for less and to give everything 100%. The most significant thing she told me when I was little was “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars”.

For me, the most exciting Spring trend is... 

The start of a holiday countdown! Getting through the miserable rainy winter and making it through to (ok, it’s still a little rainy) April every year marks the start of holiday fever and all those events, activities and moments you’ve got to look forward to for the rest of the year, you can feel the excitement in the air!

Jane

Best Things in Life...

Discovering a new spot to eat... Chilacas in Birmingham - Mexican street food at its finest! The tiny restaurant has a great atmosphere and fantastic staff, it almost transports you from currently rainy Birmingham to Mexico!

The PopSugar fitness app... I've had this app for a few months now and I love it. With a range of workouts from yoga to cardio in different formats (guides and videos) when I need a quick exercise boost, it's so easy to select a fun workout on my iPad or iPhone.

Hotel Chocolat Easter Chocolates... I was surprised with a gorgeous 'Taste of Spring' box from my favourite Chocolatier Hotel Chocolat. Not only did they taste amazing but they are beautifully designed too!

I've Learned from my Mother... 

How to be independent, strong and successful. I'm proud of my mum's career-focus, happy marriage and outlook on life and I know I'll be happy to follow in her footsteps.

For me, the most exciting Spring trend is... 

Posh dogs! Not some sort of new breed of canine but sausages! In May's Sainsbury's Magazine they list 'posh dogs' as a trend worth trying and I'm excited to be joining the street food activity with our new food project involving hot dogs.

How To Choose a Social Media Agency - Reblogged from She Owns It #katieandjane

The social media industry is a very noisy world, one that can be very overwhelming with the amount of companies offering social media services, from the one-man band LinkedIn expert, and the PR companies with an add-on social media offering, to your giant digital and social media agencies all over the world.

We frequently come across brand teams that either aren’t happy with their social media agencies or have signed up to outsource a social media campaign (paying a hefty fee) without any knowledge of what success looks like. Outsourcing sometimes is the only way to put the resource, energy, ideas and clout behind a brand’s social media activity, and some of the very best social campaigns have been delivered by outstanding agencies. However, brands need to be able to make informed decisions about social media and we’ve put together a few simple questions to ask and thoughts to keep in mind when choosing the best social media agency to work with*.

* Please note we are not a social media ‘agency’ so are here to give impartial advice! 

#1 Do they practice what they preach?

Do they have their own social media channels, and if so do they use them? We’re not talking here about looking up an agency’s Facebook page and judging them on numbers; judge them on their content, their frequency of posts and how they interact with influential users in their industry.

#2 What does their experience look like?

Make sure you take the time look into the campaigns the agency has been an integral part of and ask them what campaigns they’ve noticed recently that they wish they’d been a part of, or could have done better. This will help you to discover what really lies at the core of their work, do they actually care about your brand and building the social media presence that you have in mind?

#3 What objectives are they offering to go alongside any social media work or campaigns?

Any activity is likely to plateau without agreed objectives and metrics in place for both parties. You need to understand what is achievable, and why you are commissioning the activity in the first place. You don’t want a campaign to reach 100,000 competition hunters that will never engage with your brand again, you want to achieve numbers based on long-term engagement with a solid strategy and objectives in place. Have a look at Kindred’s Make Mine Milk campaign to see an example case study and for more info on strategy head to our Social Media Recipe for Success Series or our social media strategy eCourse.

#4 How do they measure activity? What reporting systems for social media exclusively do they use?

In any other area, reporting back on activity allows you to calculate whether that activity is worth reinvesting money, time and resources into. It’s the same with social media, all activity should be evaluated ideally on a monthly basis and each campaign should end with a report on whether or not objectives have been met. It’s a good idea to ask your social media agency what reporting systems they have in place and what they measure. It’s also just as important to read and evaluate the report too, otherwise it will be pointless.

#5 Do they have a crisis plan if activity #fails?

If outsourcing social media activity to an agency, make sure you are all aware of what the plan of action is in advance of a ‘crisis’. If something goes wrong, it’s reflected on your company and can be massive on social. If they are a great agency they will most certainly have had to deal with similar situations as things can’t always go to plan, so make sure you research into how effectively past situations have been resolved.

Reasons to leave the room now…

• They mentioned that you could simply buy fans and followers!
• They called themselves a ‘social media guru’ or a ‘digital evangelist’
• They made no mention of social media engagement and content but instead talked about the number of fans and followers you’ll get with a few posts a week

If you have any questions or tips that have helped when choosing a great agency in the past, please let us know and we’ll do our best to share them.

See us as featured contributors and read this post on She Owns It. Good luck agency hunting!

Katie & Jane x

Lorna Syson: The Award-Winning Designer Talks to us about Inspiration, Being your Own Boss and her Lovely Dog Jenkins!

Lorna Syson is a quirky home accessories brand which is inspired, designed and manufactured in the UK by Lorna herself. Her collections consist of lampshades, cushions, wallpapers and wallflowers all inspired by the British countryside, each with a lovely story to tell. We are huge fans of her designs, especially Songbirds and this year we were proud to have Lorna design her first iPhone background for our new lifestyle app Countdown Keeper. If you would like it for yourself,  just sign up at the website here. Here is Lorna's story... 

What inspired you to start your own business?

As a new designer I sold some of my degree work to a window display designer, this then planted the seed that maybe I could build a living on my designs at some point in the future, but my main aim when graduating was to get a job. I was told I didn’t have enough experience so I decided to keep showing my design work and create my own experience. 6 months down the line I started working with The Prince's Trust and I can honestly say I’ve not looked back. I now have 2 employees and I love my job.

Where do you get the inspiration to create your gorgeous designs from?

I’m inspired by the British countryside and childhood memories of classic British past times. Each of my designs comes with a swing ticket that tells its story. For example the Land’s End pattern originated from a New Year’s Day walk with my family between Land’s End and Sennen Cove, with seabirds wheeling overhead and the sea far below glittering in the winter sunshine, it was the perfect evocation of wild Cornwall.

Looking down from the cliff at the foaming white waves breaking on the dark rocks conjured this image in my mind. Later, walking down into Sennen Cove we came across the old winding house. The thought of generations of lifeboatmen pulling out in open rowboats into a raging sea under darkening skies led me to create this pattern.

What does a typical day at Lorna Syson HQ look like?

It really depends on what day of the week it is. My favourite day is Wednesday when both Gemma and Tiz are in and sometimes an intern too. We start the day with a morning meeting and update each other with what we have achieved from the past week and what we are planning to do. Then the orders from the night before are checked and documented, emails are answered and then we get on with the jobs in hand. At the moment I am reworking the lampshade and wallpaper production which involves factory meetings and sampling. We also have Jenkins my dog in the studio so I get to have a break at lunch time giving him some fresh air. I always try to leave the studio before 7pm.

What has been your biggest challenge to date and how did you overcome it?

I would say keeping constantly motivated can be quite hard, especially when things don’t seem to be going your way. What really helps me is the community I have at my studios in Cockpit Arts, Deptford. There are makers here who have been in the business ranging from six months to over twenty years and it means there is always someone to talk to who has been in a similar predicament to you before. Peer to Peer advice and mentoring has helped me so much since I moved into Cockpits.

If you weren't spreading happiness with songbirds and wallflowers, what would you be doing?

I love taking days off at weekends to head into the countryside or the beach with my fiancé Neil and Jenkins. It’s during these times I find I get most of my inspiration. When you run your own business there isn’t really an 'off' button. I always have to make sure that my phone is to hand so I can photograph an amazing landscape or the deep blues found in late afternoon skies.

And finally, what's the best piece of business advice you've ever been given?

The best piece of business advice was from my Prince's Trust mentor, Peter Dickson, he said "Whatever decision you make is the right decision." He said to me, "Always work on your instincts and don’t look back. Once a decision is made, you will always work towards making it the right one."

Quick Fire Favourites...

Way to unwind?

Spending an evening out with friends

Fitness activity?

Miracle Fitness Bootcampwith Fernando on hilly fields

App?

Hootsuite, great for all social media in one place

Food?

Dim Sum… especially from the chain pingpong

Social media network? 

Pinterest

Designer? 

Golden oldie...Lucianne Day

 Quote?

"Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world."

To find out more about Lorna, her collections and where she will be showcasing her designs next, head to www.lornasyson.co.uk or you can join her & the team on Facebook, Twitter and be inspired by their lovely boards on Pinterest too!

Katie x

A Beautiful Mess Challenge Nineteen: Focus on Something Unexpected

My last photo challenge Create a Triptych was back in November and now Christmas and 2014 is in full swing I've decided to get back to learning to take creative photos with the A Beautiful Mess bloggers Elsie and Emma and their Photo Idea Book.

Challenge Nineteen, Focus on Something Unexpected was actually quite challenging thinking of something interesting to focus on within an already interesting scene! I like the way the girls say in the book 'find the beauty in not taking an obvious photo'. They advise you to take a usual photo then look at the things around the image to find a new focal point...

I actually like the unexpected photo better...

Jane x

Previous Posts...

Introduction to the A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book 
Challenge One: Photograph Your Pet
Challenge Two: Capture Unique Personal Details
Challenge Three: Get the Best Cell Phone (or Point and Shoot Camera) Photos
Challenge Four: Know How to Use Overcast Light vs. Direct Sun
Challenge Five: Find Flattering Window Light
Challenge Six: Take a Shadow Portrait

Challenge Seven: Take Macro Photos
Challenge Eight: Understand Depth of Field

Challenge Nine: Make Homemade Filters

Challenge Ten: Photograph a Collection
Challenge Eleven: Take Amazing Photos of Your Home
Challenge Twelve: Capture Your Daily Routines
Challenge Thirteen: Photograph Your Daily Outfits
Challenge Fourteen: Photograph Food

Challenge Fifteen: Photograph Your Reflection

Challenge Sixteen: Take the Thirty-Day Self-Portrait Challenge
Challenge Seventeen: Create a Diptych

Challenge Eighteen: Create a Triptych 

App Review: Get Your Run On With Nike+

Writing lists, recording memories and setting goals is in my nature so when I decided that (one day!) I was going to run the New York City Marathon I knew I needed something accessible, accurate and fun to record my training runs... enter the Nike+ Running app! Having used the Adidas running app before with mixed feelings I chose the Nike+ app after seeing many people on social media say how good it is and I'm not disappointed.

In a nutshell the app tracks your activity including route, distance, time, calories, average pace and NikeFuel ('points' given for activity), keeping a record for you in one easy list. After a run the app shows you a map of where you've been and gives you the option to add additional information like how you were feeling, terrain and what shoes you were wearing.

The additional information part of the app is probably my favourite as it allows you to record the feelings you had during the run, an essential part of looking back at good and bad days to evaluate why you ran like you did. Another favourite function is the challenges where you can set a challenge to run longer, farther or faster by taking on your personal bests which is useful when you need a little motivation to keep going!

The great thing with the Nike+ Running app is that you don't need to wear any particular running shoes to keep track, it simply uses GPS signal to calculate distance and speed which I've never had a problem with despite running on trails in remote places.

There's a social function (of course!) too which allows you to link the app with various social networks (Facebook, Twitter and Path at the moment) and hear real-time cheers from your friends. I don't feel the need to link with my Facebook so have never experienced it before! It also connects you to friends on social and those who are using the app, with a leaderboard so you can see where you sit within your peers.

If you're new to running or want to progress to the next level the Coach function gives the option to follow training plans for 5K, 10K, half a marathon and the epic marathon with beginner, intermediate and advanced settings. This is great if you need those mini milestones to achieve - it's like having a personal trainer in your pocket!

The main benefit I gain from the app is that it keeps me progressing and moving forward toward my goal. The app is so simple and clear you're able to see averages, longest runs, personal bests and more in one simple list - yes a simple running diary could do the same but with the Nike+ Running app it's so much more fun!

Score: 9.5/10 (tempted for a 10/10 but see below!)

I love...

• Having the ability to track your runs in real-time, taking the app with me wherever I go
• The user-friendly interface and fun additional features
• The automatic calculation of personal bests and averages to keep motivated

I'd like...

• My profile picture to be fixed... nothing will upload and I've been trying for weeks
• Reassurance that I won't drop GPS signal no matter where I am (sometimes I panic!)
• The ability record runs ran with a friend using Nike+ so we only need to carry one phone

Happy running!

Jane x

How To Become a YouTube Superstar!

Did you know that the video-sharing website YouTube is the world's second biggest search engine after Google? How about that how-to videos are the most searched for videos after music?

Many people we talk to are confident using YouTube on a personal level but are often much less confident using it for their own brand. We often get asked whether 'my brand should be on YouTube?' and, as with every platform, we say 'if your audience is there and you can create valuable, regular content for them!'. With over 1 billion unique monthly YouTube users from all over the world, the bets are that your audience is on YouTube, but how do you get started!?

One Channel, One YouTube

YouTube was created in 2005 and has been resigned many times - their newest version 'One Channel' was released in June 2013 with the aim to make the platform better for brands to interact with their audience.

Subscribers are key on YouTube and One Channel makes it easier for users to subscribe to channels. When setting objectives for your YouTube strategy increasing engagement and subscriber numbers should be up there.

A big part of One Channel is design which means better branding so select your channel art carefully. Your cover image and profile picture will give users a feel for what type of videos they're going to see and why they should subscribe to the channel.

Getting Stuck Into YouTube

In order to have a successful YouTube presence we recommend you creating a content plan (our favourite) so that you can post a range of unique, regular content to engage and keep subscribers returning to your channel. Brands that achieve long-term success on YouTube frequently post stimulating content with that all-important value.

When selecting content for YouTube it's good to remember that people are not going on YouTube to communicate with brands but with their passions, the things that make them laugh and content that gives them information. Add value and entertainment to people's lives tailoring it to your YouTube community, rather than boring corporate brand videos!

A carefully planned video will be relevant for years giving you the ability to link back to it hundreds and hundreds of times perfect for sharing across other platforms. People prefer visual (that's why images are so important on Facebook) so use and re-use your videos across all your platforms.

Becoming a YouTube Superstar!

Ok, so you may not gain as many subscribers as, say, Justin Bieber (8.9 million) but if you can provide valuable, unique video content to your loyal subscribers you'll become a superstar in their eyes! Here are a few tips...

• Always ask 'who is my audience?' when planning your video content and make sure it fits no matter how good you think the idea is!
• The average length of the top ten videos is four minutes so stick to those guidelines
• Aim to post a video at least once a week on your YouTube channel
• Post a range of videos using your key messages to keep users returning for different types of content and to give your business credibility on YouTube
• Think about how you can educate subscribers with your videos through how-tos, tips, FAQ, expert interviews and insider information
• Always encourage participation and discussion so open that up around your videos on YouTube and your other social platforms

Many of the world's most successful brands on social media create unique and exclusive shows for YouTube subscribers and of course, Red Bull is there! Red Bull's YouTube channel showcases extreme sports and achievements (the Felix Baumgartner space jump has over 36 million views) giving YouTubers an insight into the brand and its passions rather than just the products.

Also, YouTube Spotlight has over 17 million subscribers and is definitely worth a look. It features many trending videos (less searching for you!) and has important news update videos on the channel on a regular basis.

We believe YouTube will continue to grow in 2014 and that more and more businesses will (and need to) create unique video content for their social media users... if you can create a blog post from information, you can create a video - maybe this post should have been one!

Jane x

The Six Myths of Starting Your Own Business by #katieandjane - Reblogged from She Owns It

Starting your own business is one huge, daunting, exciting, ecstatic, worrying, wonderful roller coaster and we're so glad to have done it! Having said that, when we started 'Katie & Jane' we were under the illusion that, after reading and receiving lots of advice, some things were imperative to being successful, but we have found our journey so far to be a little different! There’s a lot of business advice flying around and here are six myths that we found not to be quite so true for us in our first year of business, maybe some of them will resonate with you too.

Myth #1: "You must have a completely unique & complex idea"

Wrong... It’s ok to keep it simple, but, of course, still significant. Even if the idea has a complex thought process behind it, if you make sure it’s delivered to the end user in a simple, innovative and meaningful way, it'll have the best chance of it being a success.

Myth #2: "Pick a funky name to standout!"

People want to see credibility and honesty in your business name and picking a colour, fruit, animal or a combination of all three without reason or strategy may not add that to your business. Have a think about what sets your business apart from the rest (hopefully not just your funky name!).

Myth #3: "Do only what you already know"

Just because you've worked for years in one industry,  you shouldn't feel you are limited to stick to what you know when creating a business. For example if you've worked as a PR Consultant for several years and want to start out on your own, your experience doesn't necessarily mean you would be best setting up a PR agency. All the knowledge you've built up in previous jobs will be so much more valuable when you start transferring those skills to your new product or innovative idea.

Myth #4: "Before you start you need a mentor"

We hear the word ‘mentor’ quite a lot. It’s almost as if finding an amazing mentor will be the secret to having a successful business and fast-track you to world domination. We found ourselves searching for this one remarkable person but when we arranged meetings with people we admired and were inspired by, it just wasn't to be. One memorable 'mentor' turned up having had a few too many ‘afternoon bubbles’, which gave us a story to tell, but wasn't very helpful!

A mentor could be a valuable asset for your business, just don’t try to force it; it should be a natural collaboration that fits in well with your company, you as an individual and more importantly, your vision.

Myth #5: "Take all the work you can get in your first year"

The pressure of keeping financially on the straight and narrow can mean that you hunt out and take every single piece of work you can get, even if it means you are offering services you didn't set out to in the beginning for reasons that are easy to forget when you're feeling the strain. Even though it’s a little daunting try to stay selective and true to yourself, your vision and don't give up - it'll help you shape your future business exactly as you imagined.

Myth #6: "The only way to create a sustainable business is by getting investors on-board"

Everywhere you look investments are being made in start-up companies. For the companies it gives a potentially priceless air of credibility and for investors, the potential to make a fortune. It may be beneficial to gain credibility and an experienced mentor (see #4) but business owners don’t need to exclusively rely on that. Remember with no investors, you keep all control over your decisions for your business and its future and think how proud you'll feel to have built up a successful business all on your own. Just like the Cambridge Satchel Company, maybe one day when you've come so far on your own, the investors will come knocking!

We'd love to hear your business myths (or truths!) - tweet us using the hashtag #katieandjane and see this original blog post on She Owns It - A blog to celebrate, support and connect women entrepreneurs!

Katie x