Starting a business is tough & making sales in a challenging economic climate is even harder. So, resilience is key to keeping on track.

But how can we manage rejection alongside the expected setbacks? To find out, I spoke with Lauren Currie OBE, Founder of UPFRONT, a global organisation upskilling 10 million women. Teams at Nike and Just Eat Takeaway have enrolled their teams in UPFRONT’s Bond course to transform their team culture.

Keep listening to hear Lauren’s advice on developing resilience in sales & when to acknowledge you should probably cut your losses.

Lauren's advice:

• Your energy is vital to running a business, so manage it
• Avoid those people who drain your energy and seek out those who replenish it
• Marketing equals revenue - the more you do, the more returns you will have
• Accept the loneliness of the founder, which can be hard
• Be comfortable and confident about your pricing
• Also, be very clear about your pricing so the customer doesn’t have to work hard to find it
• When a potential client or customer approaches you for the first time, always ask them how they found you
• Get them to say yes or no as soon as possible! Don’t spend a long time courting a potential customer - move on to find someone new
• Make life easy for your clients: for example, don’t let them have to work out time differences
• Don’t take rejection personally!
• If you need to make a customer more comfortable, include an older white man face in a call
• Nurture yourself and your energy before you decide to quit: are you tired? Dehydrated? Hungry?

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.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

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

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

Welcome to How To Start Up — the podcast that dives into the real stories behind the startups, side hustles & self-made successes.

Jamila Brown is an American-German powerhouse who moved to London at 21 and after being told her life was “over” when she became a single mum at 24 — proved everyone wrong.

From running Soho House’s global ESG programme to discovering her knack for freelancing during a sabbatical Jamila’s journey to founding her own impact agency is anything but linear — and that’s exactly why it’s inspiring.

Today, she’s a business owner, a mum of two, a wife and a sustainability and social impact champion. This is an honest, motivating chat about reinvention, resilience, and knowing your worth.

Jamila’s advice:

• Self-confidence helps!
• As does a sense of purpose/service
• Being vocal makes you visible
• In my case, being a single parent helped concentrate my mind and made me use my time well
• Having good people skills, being outspoken and having drive are all important
• Remember ESG matters, there is a point to it
• I had an idea and a smile - not a website
• Every challenge is an opportunity
• Don’t procrastinate, just do it and you will learn as you go

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.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

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

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Emma and Kenny, the co-founders of HipPop — a gut-friendly drinks brand that’s shaking up the soft drinks aisle. While many might have pigeonholed their product as just kombucha, Emma and Kenny have taken a bold and intentional route: positioning HipPop as a go-to soft drinks brand, not a wellness niche.

We talk about what it takes to enter a new market, how branding beyond a product category can be a superpower, and why really listening to your customer is key. From humble beginnings in a farmhouse to securing shelf space in major retailers, their story is packed with practical insight for anyone launching into a crowded space.

Emma & Kenny's advice:

• Test your products locally, in small independent businesses
• Publicise your ingredients and the provenance of the product
• Try to work within a representative area of the UK
• Look for a gap in the market
• If you have a personal reason for setting up the brand, people will love to hear it
• After rigorous testing, and building a local reputation, move on to website and Facebook marketing
• Gradually approach bigger retailers (you will have to be dogged - and original - in pursuing buyers)
• When you scale, bring in people to cover the skills you don’t have
• As you expand distribution, it’s important to build relationships with the new people you are dealing with; go slowly and patiently
  
  

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.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

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

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show