2Inspire Inspirational Woman: Danielle Scott-Haughton, Founder of WONDERLONDON FILMS

In this interview we profile the inspirational Founder of WONDERLONDON FILMS, Danielle Scott-Haughton, whose web series include Dear Jesus and The Alexis Show. Her shows have not only been a huge hit online but have also shown that you can do anything you put your mind to. Read on and be inspired by this amazing woman.

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?
I currently work full time at a television post production facility and run WONDERLONDON FILMS as a side hustle. Currently as we are on hiatus from production on Dear Jesus and The Alexis Show I currently spend the evenings writing.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?
After opportunities to work in film production fell through I decided to make create my own and started WONDERLONDON FILMS in 2011. I bought a camera and just got on with it.

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

My greatest accomplishment has been winning Favourite Web Series at the Screen Nation Digital-Is Awards in 2015. It meant that my work was recognised not only by the organisers of the event but that social media supported us too.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Securing funding.

What are your future plans for the business?

Currently I plan to rebrand WONDERLONDON FILMS was a poor choice as we are often confused with Wonderland Films and more recently Wondervision Films.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Just have more patience, understand that Rome wasn’t build in a day. Not run into long term financial decisions with short term understanding and trust my instincts. They’re never wrong.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

Women are powerful when they have the tools and the access to achieve their goals, the key to the future of our planet’s survival might be in the mind of a young woman who doesn’t have the opportunity to do what she was put here to do. We must inspire young women because equality hasn’t been achieved yet and we need more women to show why we are important and why we matter.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

Make sure you understand your USP. What is special about you? Why is your company important? That way when things get hard and you face challenges, you wont be deterred, you’ll find solutions and keep going because you know you matter and your industry needs you because there is no one else who does what you do the way that you do it.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

Shonda Rhimes. She runs a production company and she owns Thursday nights on ABC. I look up to her. I love what she represents, a powerful black woman who understands why representation is important and is a doer, not a talker alone; making sure that nearly everyone can watch her shows and see someone who looks like them.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

“God didn’t call you to be busy, He called you to be effective.” – Joyce Meyer

Danielle Scott-Haughton

07545280980

Danielle@wonderlondonfilms.com

ww.wonderlondonfilms.com
Read Daniell's Blog: www.danielledash.com and Tweet her @danielleDASH  

Hazel Chawapiwa featured on AfroCosmopolitan for International Women's Day

2Inspire Network founder, Hazel Chawapiwa was profiled on The AfroCosmopolitan Website on March 8th in honour of International Women's Day.

Read the profile piece here http://afrocosmopolitan.com/international-womens-day-celebrating-amanda-rabor-hazel-chawapiwa

2Inspire Network Business Profile: Clare Brownlow, Pheasant Feather Artist

In this 2Inspire Network profile we meet, Clare Brownlow, a phenomenal mumpreneur who started her business from her passion for art and for the love of her family.

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?
Sadly I am not one of those zen-types that starts the day with meditation nor one that gets up to a sleeping household to quietly check my emails over a cup of freshly brewed coffee by myself. No, a toddler poking me in the face telling me they are hungry usually, awakes me. I choose to start up my company exactly for this reason though – my family! The mornings are a whirlwind of cereal, Cowboys and Indians, email checking and trying to get my feathers and ink out. If I can fit in a baby group with the boys then I’m doing well then I’m researching new products, walking the dogs, a great time to gather inspiration as I live in the stunning Scottish Borders and then discussing commissions with clients or making sure orders have been processed and sent out. 

No two days are the same but if I can spend plenty time playing with the boys, painting and getting the laundry done then I’m a happy lady!


What made you start the business and how did you get started?

Before I started the business I was working for an investment management company but I always harboured a longing to paint. I decided to go back to art school, after I was married and soon into the course I became pregnant. As challenges go morning sickness and the smell of different concoctions and potions of paint and who knows what else are not the best combination but I knew I was doing the right thing!

We moved to the countryside after I had finished my course and I was determined to combine my creative side and being a full-time mum.

My unique style was developed quite by chance, while visiting my parents. On realising I had left my sketchpad and paints at home I picked up a pheasant tail feather and crafted a quill, found some inks in my father’s desk drawer and started to experiment with new techniques, which are now seen in my animal portraits today.

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

The interest in my particular style has been phenomenal and has really driven the business forward. It is very humbling when complete strangers commission me to paint a picture for them or when people buy some of my products for their homes, it feel so personal.

We went to a lodge in the North of Scotland and there was a picture of mine hanging there that must have been bought at an exhibition, as I had no idea it would be there and I didn't know them.

It’s lovely when friends and family support you but when strangers find you and admire your work; it’s a real buzz. What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
I am determined to source and manufacture all my products in the UK and I really take great pride in this. It can be a challenge to find the highest quality products to use for my artwork that will have a reasonable retail price for customers. Trying to keep focused on this end goal, when you have a screaming toddler around you, adds another dimension to my day sometimes!

What are your future plans for the business?
I am continuing to pursue two lines that are important to the business. One is as a professional artist, exhibiting and doing commissions; it is this discipline that is really at the root of everything else I do. The other is growing my home wares range. At the moment I am working on a very exciting fabric project with an amazing independent supplier and I’ll also be enlarging the crockery range and investigating some new interiors products.

It is a very exciting time and 2014 has started with a bang.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Doing my accounting better! Everything has been a learning curve. When I started at the end of 2011 I had no funding, no contacts in the art world, no studio, nothing and I have built the business as and when I can around my family. But I am a determined so and so and as I learn and discover what works, it has driven me to make a success of it.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?
It makes you happy. It’s as simple as that.

If women want a family there is nothing better than showing your children that you can be whatever you want to be but you have to work jolly hard at it to achieve your goals.

Even though you are a mum you can still find your niche and make it work and when they start school you are already up and running chasing your dreams.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?
Think about it a lot before and find a niche, take it from that angle, take it slowly and see where it goes. It will undoubtedly change as it grows and as people start to respond to your business, this is important, let it happen. If you set yourself a concrete plan and don’t allow for flexibility you could find yourself getting frustrated and disheartened with your business.


What or who inspires you in business and why?
Richard Branson works so hard building and maintaining his global brand and inspires people all around world by being honest about his successes and failures. He does all this while having blatant fun – he has an insanely epic island to play on but continues to work hard regardless of the fact that he has ‘made it’.

A fabulous female business icon is Kirsty Allsopp, she has a great public persona, is wonderfully creative, and gets straight to the point, oh and I wish I could carry off her ‘don’t mess with me just because I’m in a pretty dress’ style!

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

“Good things come to those that work hard”

Clare Brownlow 

www.clarebrownlow.co.uk/

@clarebronlow

2Inspire Network Business Profile: Sian Bostwick Jewellery

In this 2Inspire Network Profile we meet Sian Bostwick of SianBostwick Jewellery who has overcome her own personal challenges to build a successful growing business in Jewellery.

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you? 

There no such typical day as sometimes I have to pop into London for meetings, jewellery events, or just pop into Hatton garden, sometimes I am at a show or exhibition for days which means attending the show all day for many days but I meet lots of lovely jewellery stars.

But a workshop day means I get into the workshop at abut 10am having planned out my to do list on the way. When I get into the workshop  I check my online stockists and sort out and beautifully wrap any jewellery orders that need to be posted out that day, accompanied with there own “vintage” style library card which shows the literary inspiration for the jewellery. Then deal with urgent emails and journalist requests plus any other more urgent paperwork. If I have a show or event coming up then I get on and sort out everything for the show.

Then its to the workbench, sometimes I work on a bespoke jewel  am creating for someone like a engagement ring, a trade order for a shop, stock or an online sale. I usually do a few tweets and social media stuff form the workbench, sharing what I am working on or a press feature.

I spend the rest of the day creating jewellery in the workshop, setting sparkling gems, polishing up the jewels so they shine and generally playing with all my tools.

I stop for lunch in the courtyard of the art centre in which our workshop is based, its usually already busy with the other artists so its a lovely social little lunch, very creative and buzzing. After that I'll pop any jewellery orders that need to be sent out to the post office then its back to the workshop.

Usually I head home from the workshop about 7ish, later when at home about 9 or 10ish I start again and finish off any other work that needs to be done, emails, bespoke designs, paper work and admin finishing up by about midnight.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

After I graduated I began I few internships and work experience placements, this was really useful and some great experience but it didn’t pay. so I began making a few smaller pieces of jewellery selling them locally and taking on a few bespoke commissions whilst gaining all the work experience.

Then it just grew and took over,  I was getting busier and busier with my own

jewellery so I officially started business and created a website and my first collection after a year of various work experience placements I stopped them and launched Sian Bostwick Jewellery at the  one of the jewellery industry's biggest trade shows  "International Jewellery London".

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

It was wonderful to be listed in the HOT 100 in 2012 as one of only 17 NEXGEMS (up & coming jewellery designers) it was a huge boost both for the business and myself, so fantastic to be selected and placed among so many talented jewellery stars it really assured me that I was on the right path.

I was also selected for the kickstart stand at IJL (International Jewellery London) and a finalist for Young Accessory Designer of the Year both in 2010 just a few months into the business, it was a huge surprise and honer to be picked out by industry leaders for this so early on.

We have also gained a few other awards and lots of press coverage both national and international which has been fantastic.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Finding a space was a big challenge at the start. I had to work from home for the 1^st year as there where no affordable and suitable spaces for me have a workshop and base the business. Since I moved into the Nucleus Arts Centre and set up my workshop there I have been able really develop and grow phenomenally. having that dedicated workspace where I can also have press and clients visit me, hold open studios and shopping evenings and over all be much more professional has been a big factor in our growth as a business.

On a personal level I have been overcoming anxiety issues whilst trying to grow my business, which In the past left been unable to talk to people, panic attacks and more. Though mediation, breathing exercises and slowly building up my confidence I can now attend events and meetings without being a complete wreck, and though I still have a way to go things are getting a LOT better.

What are your future plans for the business?

Grow further and further. I'd like more stockists possibly international, celebrity fans would be a big boost and lots more press features and awards plus taking part in lots more shows and events.

Eventually I want to move to a larger workshop with either a shop front or a dedicated “showroom” area for displaying all our jewels and meetings.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I would have had a e-commerce website from the start as since we have launched the e-commerce site the response has been amazing, and I would have had my branding more refined and defined at the start, plus invested in professional photography at the very start. I didn’t realise at the beginning how extremely important this is.

I do wish I had been able to deal with my anxiety better earlier on as I am aware it has made me miss out on certain opportunities or unable to make the most of some others. but this is slow progress and not something that can be changed quickly.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

To fulfil their potential and surprise themselves, as a younger person I would have never thought I would be running my own business, designing and making jewellery and winning awards for it.

Its so important to push yourself and your work all the time, I it would be wonderful to inspire others to do the same and to really fulfil their potential.

 

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

Branding is really important, having you personal story tied in with the look of your website, packaging and everything else so its one consistent story that the consumer and get to know the personal side of there jewellery, why and how it was created and that connection.

Also social media especially twitter has been hugely useful for connecting not just with jewellery fans but with stylists, journalists and more.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

I love making and creating jewellery, especially bespoke jewels. Its a inspiration in itself, I just couldn’t stop, I love making and designing these beautiful jewels which will be treasured forever, have meaning and value beyond there financial worth and that will hopefully be passed down the generations. Its a very precious and special thing.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Contact Details:

Sian Bostwick Jewellery

www.sianbostwick.co.uk

twitter: @SianBostwick

email: sian_bostwick@live.co.uk

2Inspire Profile: Sharon Lowe founder of The Pure Emporia

"It is the essence of genius to make use of the simplest ideas"-Charles Peguy. This motivational quote is applicable to mumpreneur Sharon Lowe. Her inquisitive nature led her to develop a simple query about modern lifestyle choices into an award winning natural skin care Company: ThePureEmporia.

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you? 

I don’t really have a typical day. I have a 10month old boy so my day really is based around his needs. I have set goals for each day of the week i.e when to blog, tweet, process orders, write articles etc. My working day happens when he is either asleep, when he is happy playing, when he’s with his granny/daddy or at night when he has gone to bed.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

A few years ago I was wondering why so many people that I knew were poorly. Over a bottle of wine my husband and I were discussing what we’re doing now that we didn’t do 30 years ago. One of the topics was skincare. Whilst having my evening shower I looked at my shower gel and couldn’t understand any of the ingredients. I Googled them and found some were irritating but some were even cancer causing. I did many months of research into ingredients. It is deemed safe for these ‘nasty’ ingredients as they are in such small quantities but a typical woman uses about 12 products per day; shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, make-up , hand wash etc. and what does that equate to over a life time? I realised that only 3% of a ‘natural’ products ingredients needed to be natural, the rest could be made up of anything. I didn’t like this and so set about making a website that sold only products that were ‘nasty’ chemical free. I created a database of ingredients and when I got to over 4,000 I decided to launch thepureemporia.com

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

We have received 3 national business awards already which has been great but even better than this was when a mother phoned me to tell me that her 4 year old had stopped using steroids for his Eczema which he had been using since a baby after he started using our products.

 What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Combining business with a baby and coping when sleep deprived!

 What are your future plans for the business?

To grow, to launch our own range and to sell even more internationally.

 If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I would keep my purse strings tighter and I would seek help and advice on things like my website. Although I think this is a massive learning curve for any new business.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

Everyone should be able to support themselves. The trend to want to be a wag is not helping anyone, particularly young girls. You can’t gain self esteem and confidence if you are only seen as someone’s other half. Girls can do it for themselves! People need to have their own money in order to have some ‘say’ in their lives.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

For any industry you need to do your research and learn all that you can about social media.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

Jacqueline Gold – she has risen in a mans world. And made something huge and popular out of something that was seen to be seedy.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

“If you don’t dream it, you won’t do it” or something like that – basically allow yourself to dream of something great and go after it.

   

Contact Details

Sharon Lowe

01743 232266

 sharon@thepureemporia.com

www.thepureemporia.com

2Inspire business profile: Clare Whalley, Life and Business coach at Meta4 Coaching & Training Solutions

Clare Whalley turned her back on an unhappy career to focus on personal development. Her Company, Meta4  provides extensive coaching to individuals and businesses in order for them to achieve successful rewards. Today, she provides 2Inspire with great tips for those who want to be fulfilled and rewarded through business. 

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you? 

All my days are different as I have a varied business. All days start with my doing a plan for what I need to do throughout the day, a ‘to do’ list.

My day tomorrow includes: chairing a Women’s Networking group that I run independently with a small committee. It starts at 9.45, so I will be hosting the members and guests

and then facilitating the meeting until 12pm. We have 60 seconds business presentations from all the members and visitors, a business support section and speaker slots, plus referrals.

From the meeting at 1pm, I’ll be implementing some marketing for a workshop I’ll be running in 2 weeks time; Growing & Sustaining a Successful Business.

Planning for clients for the week ahead.

Putting together plans for Social Media campaigns

Plus, the final touches on an application for some training & development work I’m aiming to win.

Busy day, but finished up by 5pm.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

I used to work for BT, went into their Graduate Scheme and worked with them for 8 years. I was unhappy for the last 5 years! I had the opportunity to work in India for 2 months where I developed a training package and migrated some work out there. It made me realise that I could do this for myself. I came back, went to see a Life Coach; partly because I really needed to work out what I wanted to do, but also I was interested in personal development. From there I decided to resign!! I left in February 2007 and signed up for an NLP course. This gave me the tools I needed to set up my own coaching and training business. I had a teaching degree and had completed lots of sales, customer service courses as part of my BT training, so felt equipped. I have to say; in retrospect, I don’t think anything can equip you for self-employment!!

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

Having left BT without a penny to my name, having had a company car, free phone, laptop etc, to be 7 years on, running a successful business achieving all the personal and business goals I set myself.

The greatest accomplishment has to be winning contracts with Colleges who deliver to local business, to run Presentation and Communication Skills workshops when presenting was something, 8 years ago I was terrified of doing.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

As a business owner I think challenges are never far away; however, I think looking back the 1^st 6 months in business have to be the most challenging. My husband is also self-employed and always has been and even then I still had no idea what it would be like to start each month from scratch, earning for myself. You have to be great at sales, marketing, PR and a whole other raft of skills and if you’re not you quickly have to learn how to be. There are lots of networking groups out there that offer help and support and it was  a group I joined early on that helped me realise that there were other business owners out there dealing with the same issues and advice was soon flowing on how to combat them

What are your future plans for the business?

I set goals for my business every year at the start of January. I look to the next 12 – 18 months. I set visual goals for what I want to achieve in business and what I want to achieve personally. This year I’ve aimed to work with more start-up businesses as I believe that there’s little help out there and it’s such a minefield of information. Having a coach from the outset will help you work out exactly what you want to achieve and help you put the steps in place to get you there in the quickest and most cost efficient way. My plans for the next 12 months are to work with more people looking to improve their presentation and communication skills. It’s a key skill to have as a business owner. If you can’t communicate or present well what you do, it’s almost impossible to sell your products and services.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Not a thing. Everything you do in business is a learning experience. If you make a mistake, you correct it, learn from it and move on.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

Anybody can run their own business. I am seeing more and more women starting their own business and joining networking groups. Lots of women come to see me who are in a career they hate (just like I used to) and are afraid of saying I want to run my own business. In fact, lots of women open with ‘oh, you’ll laugh...’ For some reason there’s a huge lack of confidence and self-belief. But I see those women again in 2 years time and they’ve cracked it. Women have the really important skills needed to be successful: commitment, passion for your product and an open-mind. If you have these attributes then all other skills to run a sustainable and successful business will come with experience and time.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

Go for it!! What’s the worst that could happen? I would say go and seek out a coach. You’ll be amazed at what can be achieved in a short amount of time and will set your plans in place for the next 12 months, avoiding lots of time and money wasted on NOT getting customers!

What or who inspires you in business and why?

My husband, Rob, he’s been running his own business for 17 years, getting up at 5am most days to see clients (he’s got a Personal training business). He’s always upbeat, positive and supportive in all I do and aim for.

    What is your favourite inspirational quote?

‘If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it’. I’ve won lots of business with this quote in mind!

Contact Details

Clare Whalley – 07739 196896

clarewhalley@meta4ltd.co.uk

www.meta4ltd.co.uk

2Inspire Business Profile: Anna Seager - Distributor, Designer and Founder of Little crab Designs.

In this motivational interview Anna Seager tells 2Inspire how she managed to develop a business that draws on her previous experience as a distributor. Her company supplies handmade nursery prints designed by her good friend Sarah Howell. Read on to see how Anna manages her business life.

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you? 

My day starts early – I usually have a cup of tea and check emails, twitter and facebook before the family get up and I have to get them breakfast and ready for school.  I also check my calendar at this time so I can see what I need to do that day and can plan my time accordingly.  After I have taken the kids to school I will process any new orders, check stock and frames and get started with any sanding or painting that needs doing – the majority of our pictures are finished in hand-painted frames.  Any pictures that are ready to go will get packed up and postage labels printed off.

I might then do some marketing work such as writing a blog post, do some twitter networking or some online research in our industry looking for PR opportunities, studying the competition and so on. 

In the afternoon before I get the kids from school I walk the dog to the post office with any parcels to be sent out that day.  I usually spend half an hour after the children have gone to bed finishing off any emails and scheduling any tweets or facebook posts for the next day.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

I had worked as a distributor for a nutrition company when the kids were tiny but this totally took over my life and I was unhappy with the impact it was having on family life.  I was looking for a way to change this, when in the summer of 2006 I was staying with my artist friend, Sarah Howell and she said she wanted to get back to work after taking time out to have her family.  I absolutely loved her work and felt sure the style would work well in the children’s sector and so the idea for Little Crab Designs was born.   She supplies me with the original designs (I do some too occasionally when I have the time!) and I turn them into finished products.  The business is mine and Sarah is a supplier if you like.  I pay her a commission on every product sold that is created from her artwork.

 
What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date? Getting a £25 DIY website to feature in the top three positions for organic search in Google for my most important keywords, entirely through my own efforts of learning how to rank well on the search engines.  I created a stable, growing business with no advertising at all.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Watching this go into free-fall about 9 months ago!  Literally, overnight the website traffic dropped by 60%.  This has been attributed to the Penguin updates Google made to their algorithm and I know many other small businesses have been affected.  On top of this, we were the victim of negative back-linking.  Someone had connected some very nasty adult links to our site and again we were penalised by Google.  It has been a huge lesson in how “not to put all your eggs in one basket”!!

What are your future plans for the business? 

We have just launched a new website – the plans were already in place to do this when our traffic went over a cliff edge.  We now have a much more professional looking ecommerce website with hugely improved customer experience and all importantly is now mobile friendly – many of our users are on ipads these days!  It has had a fantastic response and we recently won a Jacqueline Gold #WOW award which has given us a boost in our business credibility.  We plan to capitalise on this, increase our international sales and have some exciting new products launching in the second half of 2013.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I don’t think it’s a case of doing anything particularly differently as even the bad has been good in that I have learnt some great lessons from it.  But if I had to say, I would probably not have bothered with all the fairs I did in the early days – hugely time consuming and not very profitable.

 Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

 I think these days the world has got so much bigger with the web and the explosion of social media so I want young women to believe they can do something different – be a “free range human” to quote Marianne Cantwell! There is no need to go down the traditional employed route these days – there are many ways to make money online - you just need to take the first step!

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

 It’s getting quite competitive – since I started there are many more companies out there selling art and handmade items so you need to make sure that your stuff is different – what will set you apart from the rest? Maybe it’s design, or price, or fantastic customer service.  And also – make sure you price your products properly.  I see many people selling handmade items online and when I see the price I feel quite sure they can’t be making any money out of it.  Be fair, but make sure you are earning something from your work – people are happy to pay for quality and something a bit special if they really like it so don’t undersell yourself!

What or who inspires you in business and why?

The Enterprise Nation website has some great articles, tips and advice for small businesses that I dig into on a weekly business.  Pinterest is brilliant for getting ideas and inspirations for new product lines and keeping up to date with nursery décor trends.  And I have to mention my husband – he is the voice of calm and reason when times get tough and a huge supporter of Little Crab designs.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming”    Dory from Finding Nemo! 

Contact Details

Website:    www.littlecrab.co.uk

Email:         anna@littlecrab.co.uk

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/littlecrabdesigns

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/annalittlecrab

Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/alittlecrab