Vanessa

How to market your business on a small budget

Posted on by Vanessa

When starting a business cash is king and you need to keep an eye on every penny you are spending. Entrepreneurs are typically very passionate people and have a tendency to get carried away – don’t do this with start-up costs! You need to remember that everything you spend comes from your profit, so ask yourself ‘Do you really need it or just want it?’ – You need to be ruthless and protect your ££££.

Letting people know about your idea is key to success, yet every entrepreneur has faced the challenge – how do you create and execute a marketing campaign when you have no money?! Entrepreneurs are resourceful people and are good at creating – and seeking – opportunities.

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My top tips for marketing on a minimal budget are below:

• You need to be clear what your business USP is – unique selling point. In a crowded, busy market your communication needs to be simple and shout out why your product is new, different and why people should buy it.
• Target who your customer is and take the time to understand their lifestyle – and thus the right places to communicate to them.
• Use social media as it is free (we like anything that doesn’t cost anything!) and use the right channels appropriate for your target market. For example an older consumer may not use Snapchat.
• Contact your local radio station if you have an interesting angle or story. The producers are always looking for new stories and people to contribute.
• Go networking! There is no better marketing than word of mouth and people talking about your business. As an entrepreneur you are your biggest asset.
• Seek out any collaborative partners if you can work together and you may be able to piggyback some of their marketing exposure.
• Be creative and think of innovative ways for you to talk about your product – consumers like new, interesting and different.
• Take the approach ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ – be proactive and be clear about what you would like from people. The worse they can say is no!

Claire Young

Follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireLYoung

Find out more about Claire on her website: www.claireyoung.co.uk

Aveda pops up to save the day

Posted on by Vanessa

No fret girls, you can now say goodbye to bad hair days this summer thanks to Aveda who have teamed up with TFL to host a pop-up hair salon in Piccadilly tube station. Whether your hair has gone flat, frizzy or dry you can pop in and have your hair fixed by an expert for free (yes for free!).

If that’s not good enough, every Friday the store hosts a #FridayFix masterclass by Aveda’s team of experts, targeting all our hair woes.

I recently visited the store to check out what they had to offer and I wasn’t disappointed. I explained that my hair was flat and lifeless after a long day at work and I needed something that would volumise my hair instantly without the need to dampen first. This was when I was introduced to Aveda’s pure abundance hair potion.

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This mini pot of magic is a light powder, which you apply directly to your roots. The powder transforms into a light absorbent lotion adding volume and texture. Initially I was worried that this could make my hair greasy or that the powder would show on my dark hair but after a quick demonstration my concerns were banished. Top tips included not to shake the bottle before use as the powder will turn to liquid and to give the bottle an initial puff before application to ensure there hasn’t been a build up which could swamp your hair.  Although the product is a little pricey at £21, Aveda only uses natural ingredients and it does achieve the desired volumisied look.

The pop up shop offers a range of their all-natural products in mini versions. These can even be purchased out of hours through your smartphone thanks to an interactive wall of products.

Before I headed off to enjoy the afternoon at a roof top bar, one of the hair stylists gave me a fab braid to complement the gorgeous weather outside. The whole experience was every girl’s dream and you should definitely pay a visit before the shop disappears at the end of August.

Katy Ashford

 

 

Bobbi Brown: First make-up artist to release own line of optical frames

Posted on by Vanessa

When I was younger I was so desperate to wear glasses. I remember going shopping to buy my dad’s frames, my mum’s new glasses oh and my brother’s. I felt desperately left out and used to try on all sorts of snazzy metallic frames. Then at the age of 13, I got the news I had always wanted – I needed glasses. However, this news came at the same time as needing braces and when it was also fashionable to slick your hair back in a tight ponytail with two fine strands of hair either side of your face. I can tell you that the novelty of wearing glasses wore off very soon, and ten years on I’m still seeking out pictures from these early teenage days to burn.

It was only two years ago that I made the brave decision to move away from my safe Specsavers own brand children’s glasses to a pair of statement spectacles. It was time to put the teen years behind me and turn my glasses into a fashion accessory with a worthwhile purpose (sight) – cue the classic Wayfarer Ray Bans, possibly my best purchase to date.

Unfortunately though, my spectacle wearing woes do not end here. There are still a number of awkward social scenarios where wearing glasses does prove to be difficult, for example the awkward hug, especially if the other person is also wearing glasses – 100% glasses bashing hit rate; when it’s raining and you’re trying to talk to someone while wiping rain of your glasses every three seconds; swimming without glasses; the list goes on…

One daily battle I face is deciding what make-up to wear with my glasses. As much as I love my Ray Bans, they do shadow half of my face and my eyes tend to get hidden. This means I wear more eye make-up than I would if perhaps I didn’t wear glasses. But I’m never sure what colours to use, or how to shape my eyebrows. However this April my dreams came true – make up artist Bobbi Brown has teamed up with Italian brand Safilo to create a collection of optical frames and sunglasses.

This is the first time a make-up artist has released a signature line of glasses. Bobbi Brown is a stylish wearer of spectacles herself and therefore understands what women have been looking for! All the frames —- come with their own flattering colour palette from her fantastic cosmetics range. Finally women have the advice we have always wanted – how to pick frames that complement our face shape and skin tone.

You can check out her style guide here or alternatively you can email bbliberty@bobbi-brown.co.uk to secure a spot for a complimentary makeup lesson and eyewear styling session.

The Bobbi Brown Eyewear collection, produced and distributed by Safilo Group opened exclusively in Liberty in April 2015 but are not available in selected department stores and optical chains.

Katy Asford

Follow Katy on Twitter @KatyJAshord

Photo Credit: Miss_Cositas/Flickr

The perfect instagram brow

Posted on by Vanessa

The eyebrows are the frame to the face, and as such eyes are drawn to whatever is in it. Your brows can either make or break your face! From the early 1920’s to the present day we’ve had the skinnier set brow to the heavier brow to the rounded curve of the 40s. Angled arches a la Marilyn Monroe to the tweezer free look of Madonna & Cara Delevingne.

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Now we have the ‘Instagram brow’ or ‘HD brow’ phenomenon which I call the perfect brow! Perfect because they photograph beautifully and are a photographers dream.To get these brows right could take about 15mins out of your day so prepare well-as every second counts when upping your brow game and retaining your day job!

To approach the look you need to be armed with the following:

1. An angled brow brush

2.Brow pencil

3. Contour kit/ brow kit.

The aim is to have the beginning section of the eyebrows barely there and then thicken out and become more defined as they go along adding more definition above and below using a contour kit/ brow kit or simple highlighter. You can watch a really good YouTube tutorial here.

I must stress though that sometimes what we see in print may have been altered to a level that we cannot reach. The use of editing tools is a common practice with photographers. So beware that when trying to get that perfect brow, it just may not be possible.

Denise Campbell, Contributing Beauty Writer

Follow Denise on Twitter @BeautyanBeats

5 beauty essentials for the festival season

Posted on by Vanessa

With around 175,000 happy campers heading to Glastonbury this week, there is no denying that festival season is well and truly upon us. If you are planning on going to a festival this summer make sure you are the last woman dancing with these five beauty buys

1. Keeping it natural

Coachella sets the bar for this year’s festival style guide. Compared to last year when bright lipstick and flower garlands were a must, this year the likes of Kendall Jenner and Kate Bosworth championed a more sophisticated style with natural waves and minimal make up.  This is why Smashbox’s Travel-Size Full Exposure Palette is a make-up bag must have. Taking the core eight shadows from their full palette, the colours range from deep browns to champagne shades giving you that all natural look. However, it’s the shimmer effect on the top row that will transform your look from everyday to festival ready.

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Smashbox’s TRAVEL-SIZE FULL EXPOSURE PALETTE – £17.00 smashbox.co.uk

2. Smudge free

Whether abroad or in the UK, festival weather is always unpredictable.  A waterproof mascara is essential to your beauty arsenal this festival season. Maybelline’s Illegal Length Mascara is not only a great price, but it does what it says on the tin – gives you incredibly long and voluminous lashes. Plus it’s long lasting, so come rain or shine your eyes will be left looking fabulous.

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Maybelline Mascara Illegal Length Black – £8.99 from Superdrug

3. Grease proof

If taking a shower in the middle of a field doesn’t sound appealing to you, then no fear, Batiste has solved all your hair woes. Keep your locks looking fresh with a quick ‘spray in, brush out’ – is there any occasion when dry shampoo is not a style saviour?

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Batiste dry shampoo – £1.99 from Superdrug

4. Feeling wiped out?

It’s important to keep your skin fresh to avoid trapped pores and to prevent unwanted blemishes. Make sure you have a pack of Good Things Total Wipe Out cleansing wipes in your bag to help you freshen up after a long night. The soft wipes include a gentle, effective formula which removes make-up thoroughly leaving your pores clear. The aloe vera and vitamin E mix means these wipes are great for those with sensitive skin. As if these wipes can’t get any better, they’re also biodegradable and free from animal ingredients.

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Good Things Total Wipe Out cleansing wipes  – £3.49 www.goodthingsbeauty.com

 5. Stay sun smart

There is nothing worse than dry, dehydrated skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body and has a surface area of two square meters. This means we need to keep our skin healthy by protecting it every day. As well as a high factor sun cream to prevent your body from getting red raw in the sun, invest in a sunscreen moisturiser.  The Soltan Once Face sunscreen moisturizer is a lightweight formula which absorbs quickly, leaving the skin feeling soft and moisturized.  It doesn’t block the pores and can be used under make-up with the added bonus that it is giving you 8 hours of sun protection!!

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Soltan Once Face sunscreen moisturiser – £6.00 from Boots

Katy Ashford

Beauty Editor

Follow Katy @KatyJAshford

Top tips for pitching to investors

Posted on by Vanessa

We welcome Claire Young, Entrepreneur, Speaker and BBC1 Apprentice finalist to our team of contributing writers as she writes a few pieces for us this year to help us get polished and ready for any challenges in our business and work lives.

Claire was made famous by her role as the highly driven runner up of series four of ‘The Apprentice’, reaching the final watched by over 11 million viewers. Lord Sugar dubbed her a ‘Rottweiler’ for her tenacious approach and mind-set of never giving up! Before appearing on ‘The Apprentice’ Claire climbed the career ladder starting out in roles at Colgate Palmolive, L’Oreal and Superdrug. Claire runs her own business, ‘School Speakers’ – the UK’s No1 speaking agency placing speakers into schools, colleges and universities – and has co-founded social enterprise ‘Girls Out Loud’ working with teenage girls 11-18. Claire is an experienced presenter on TV (previously presenting on Day Break and BBC Breakfast) and regularly contributes to a variety of business magazines, paper and radio. 

Company registrations hit an all time high in the UK last year; according to Start up Britain a record breaking 581,173 businesses were registered with Companies House last year. If you are a new business, you will know that getting investment is key to your survival and growth.

Over the years I have given thousands of presentations and it’s like anything in life – the more you do it and practice, the better you get! I would like to think that over the years I have become good at delivering a pitch and my top tips are below:

  1. Know your audience and do your research on them. What have they invested in? Do you have any common ground with them? Speak their language!
  2. Stick to time, be concise and to the point. Investors don’t have time to waste and don’t want people who waffle. To them, time is money.
  3. Be positive and enthusiastic. People buy from people and if you believe in your pitch you should take your audience along with your passion too.
  4. Know your numbers! Finance is the backbone of any pitch and investors will want to be confident that you know the numerical details.
  5. If you are using IT be prepared for things to go wrong and have plan b. For example if you use PowerPoint, print it out and take a hard copy.
  6. Dress up! If you look the business people generally think you are the business. It is always better to be over dressed than under dressed. First impressions do count.
  7. If you go off track or make a mistake – apologise, deep breath and start again. We have all done it and an audience will be sympathetic.
  8. Make sure your pitch has structure. It should have a clear beginning, middle and end. What key piece of information do you want your audience to remember.
  9. What is your USP – unique selling point – as a person – make it clear why they should invest in you? People often talk about their business USP but forget to sell themselves.
  10. Be clear what you want, don’t expect people to read your mind and know your negotiating ‘arena’, for example the things you are willing to give on and those which you are not.
  11. Most of all, enjoy it and smile 🙂 It’s the best accessory you can have (that and a super business plan!)

Claire Young

Follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireLYoung 

Find out more about Claire on her website: www.claireyoung.co.uk