In today's podcast episode, we're chatting with Debbie Scott from Sheila Sells Seashells. Debbie specialises in transforming oyster and scallop shells, naturally formed by the ocean and artistically enhanced by her, into stunning creations. Debbie’s shell creations are unlike anything I've seen before. Her miniature works of art are utterly unique making them popular gift items. 

I was intrigued to learn about Debbie’s process: how she acquires these shells, the artistic journey to transform them into art pieces, the time involved, and particularly, how she determines the pricing for such labour-intensive work. Debbie shares lots of information about how to price hand crafted items both for general and wholesale. 

Debbie’s day job is running her PR Agency, Scott Communications, so she also shares her top tips for how small businesses can boost their PR.

There is so much value packed in this punchy episode.

• An introduction to herself and her businesses (01:38)
• Debbie’s products, crafting art from shells using decoupage, gold leaf and resin (02:41)
• Debbie’s inspiration for working with shells this way (04:20)
• Moving from having a craft hobby to making it into a business (05:41)
• Selling her art via wholesale (07:32)
• Bespoke commissions (08:17)
• Working out how to price a unique piece of art (10:44)
• The importance of factoring in time when working out your pricing (11:23)
• Working out pricing for wholesalers (13:14)
• Sourcing her shells responsibly (13:44)
• Balancing pricing her art to cover her costs but also making it affordable (16:24)
• The practicalities of creating your product at home (16:54)
• The power of networking (20:10)
• Managing imposter syndrome (20:57)
• How to do well at markets (24:42)
• PR tips for small businesses (25:46)

The Bring Your Product Idea to Life Podcast  - Best Business Podcast Award, Independent Podcast Awards 2023

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Sheila Sells Seashells Website

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Sheila Sells Seashells Facebook

Scott Communications Website

Debbie Scott Linked In

Bunnyfish Website

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Mentioned in this episode:

Free call for Amazon Sellers

I’m running a free call on 6 May for anyone selling on Amazon (or planning to) who’d like some practical support and a chance to talk things through together. It’ll be very relaxed - a mix of updates from me on how best to get Amazon reviews, Q&A and discussion. It’s fine to come along and chat, or to just sit back and listen. I’d love to see you there if you’re able to join.

Amazon Sellers Support & Connect

Amazon Made Easy is now open

My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership

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Welcome to the Bring Your Product Idea to Life podcast.

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This is the podcast for you if

you're getting started selling

3

products, or if you'd like to

create your own product to sell.

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I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

creation coach and Amazon expert.

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Every week I share friendly, practical

advice, as well as inspirational

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stories from small businesses.

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Let's get started.

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Today on the podcast, I'm talking to

Debbie Scott from Sheila Sells Seashells.

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That's a bit of a tongue

twister, isn't it?

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So Debbie works with

oyster and scallop shells.

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They're created by the

sea and enhanced by her.

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Debbie is based in Tonbridge and

she handcrafts beautiful seashells,

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turning them into pieces of

treasure that you can keep forever.

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Her oyster and scallop shells have

so many uses and make the best

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Christmas presents and other gifts too.

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They're unique, they're eco friendly,

and yeah, they're just beautiful.

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Um, I've never seen anything like Debbie's

products, so I was really fascinated

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to find out about how she sources these

shells, what she actually does with them

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to turn them into pieces in art, the time

that takes and also how she prices her

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products because you can imagine the work

that she does is very time intensive.

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She produces these beautiful

pieces and um, as I'm sure you'll

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be aware, pricing for hand made

products can always be a bit tricky.

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So it was really interesting to hear

Debbie's take on that as well as all the

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other things she had to share with us.

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So I really hope you enjoyed

this conversation with Debbie.

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So hi Debbie.

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Thank you so much for being here.

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Debbie Scott: Hi, how are you today?

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Vicki Weinberg: Really good.

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Thank you.

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Thank you so much for joining me.

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And can we start with you, please

give an introduction to yourself,

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your business and what you sell.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, of course.

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So I'm the owner and founder

of Sheila's Sells Seashells.

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My name is actually Debbie.

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Um, my husband's Australian and he's

just called me Sheila for years.

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So it's kind of stuck.

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Um, um, yeah, so we live in Tonbridge

with our daughter, Aggie, and,

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uh, we love going to the beach.

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It's our happy place.

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And, um, yeah, I've got, I've

got two businesses really.

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I've got Scott Communications, which

is my main business where I offer

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copywriting, editorial, proofreading,

PR, and public affairs services

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to businesses and individuals.

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But what we're here to talk about today

is Sheila sells seashells, which is my

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arts and crafts business, um, where I

hand decorate oyster and scallop shells.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you so much, Debbie.

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And because obviously this is audio and

people can't see your products, although

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of course, we're going to link to your

website in the show notes and hope

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everyone goes to have a look, but can you

just briefly explain what your shells are?

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So just give us a little, I know

it's really hard to do it audibly,

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if you can just describe them for us.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah.

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So I take um, oyster and scallop

shells and, um, I turn them into

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sort of beautiful, beautiful

treasures that you can keep forever.

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So, um, they can be used

for all manner of things.

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The world really is your oyster.

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You can use them as trinket dishes,

ornaments, jewellery trays, salt and

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pepper cellars, um, necklaces, um, yeah,

anything really, um, cufflink holders.

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Um, I, I basically, um, craft with them.

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So I'll go into this a bit later,

but lots of cleaning is involved,

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scrubbing away all the nasty,

um, barnacles and yucky bits.

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And then, um, I paint them all to a

degree, and then I use a combination

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of methods to decorate them, but,

um, predominantly decoupage and,

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um, where I select a print and sort

of, um, work it into the shell.

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And then, um, what I think sets

my shells apart is that I use an

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actual gold leaf, um, to, uh, sort

of apply the gilt around the edge.

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And then, um, I use several coats

of epoxy resin to give it that

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really long lasting hard shine.

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Um, and, and yeah, the result is a

little bit of treasure from the sea

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that you should be able to keep forever.

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It's a nice eco gift.

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Vicki Weinberg: It's a lovely gift.

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And I've obviously had a good look at your

website and your shells are beautiful.

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And we'll talk a little bit later about

sort of everything that goes into them

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because I can, you can see by looking

at them, how much work, and obviously

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you've described it to us there as well.

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There's a lot that goes into your shells.

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Um, but I would love to know

what inspired you to start

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working with shells in this way.

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Debbie Scott: I've always loved the sea.

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Um, from a very early age, I

wanted to join the Royal Navy.

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Um, I ended up joining the

Royal Navy Reserve, but that

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was because of my eyesight.

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Um, I've always loved the sea.

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It's just, you know, a sense

of romance and just there's so

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much you can do at the seaside.

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My family and I, we love being by the sea.

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We love going to Whitstable.

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It's a happy place or, or Cornwall.

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I'm a bit of an oyster tourist.

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If I know there's oysters, I'm there

looking, you know, scouring the beach.

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Um, my daughter's like, looks

for fossils and crystals.

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I look for pebbles and sea glass and of

course, all different types of shells.

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And, um, I kind of just have an eye

for looking at, um, a shell on the

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beach and thinking, oh yeah, that

could be a really good octopus design.

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Or, you know, I kind of know what design I

want to put before I've even picked it up.

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Um, I guess it all stemmed

from, um, lockdown really.

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Um, we had more time to go to places

like Whitstable and um, yeah, it really

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became our happy place and, uh, I guess

I had a little bit more time to sort of

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start doing a bit more arts, arts and

craft, which I've always loved doing.

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Um, so it was really a covid,

um, lockdown hobby that's, it's

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turned into an artisan business.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you.

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And when did it, I'm assuming that,

you said it started out as a hobby.

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So when did it become a business and

what made you think, okay, they're

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actually, you know, could be something

in this, I could start selling them.

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Debbie Scott: Well, there's only so

many shells you can give to your mum

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and, and, um, wider family and friends.

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And, um, people just said, you

should start selling these.

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Like they're not bad.

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And, um.

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I started putting them on Instagram and

a gallery in Scotland, um, um, I remember

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the name in a second, um, contacted me

and said, um, would you be prepared to

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supply them to us on a wholesale basis?

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Um, so I started doing that and

then, um, various sort of, um, local

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wholesalers, um, got in touch and, and

I got some bespoke orders, um, just

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using social media to sort of get,

get myself noticed, um, locally and,

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um, yeah, we went from there really.

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Then I set up an Etsy shop

and, um, I put a lot of focus

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into that for quite a while.

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And then more recently I've created my

own shop through Shopify just so I can

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have my very own shop window, um, because

obviously Etsy has all its fees and I

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just wanted to have my own sort of um,

yeah, so yeah, it, it went from there.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's amazing.

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And how long ago was this?

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So you started creating them in lockdown,

which that wasn't that long ago really.

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Debbie Scott: Um, I think I set

up my first Etsy shop, um, two

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years ago this week, actually.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, that's amazing.

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And actually that hasn't been that long

for, you know, when you mentioned I was

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going to ask about all the places you're

selling your shells and you are selling

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them in a lot of places, aren't you?

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Um, which yeah, for two years

on, I think that's amazing.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah.

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I guess I, I'm learning all

the time and, um, it's, it's a.

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You live and learn with wholesale

because you obviously have to adjust

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your prices and, um, the wholesalers

have their own sort of, um, barriers

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and VAT and, and things they've

got or their overheads to consider.

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So, um, it's got to be

worthwhile supplying them.

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Um, but obviously I want to have

the few key wholesaler outlets.

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So Whitstable is a key one.

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My home turf, Tonbridge is a key one.

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Tunbridge Wells is great.

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Um, so yeah, I, I kind of.

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I don't want to expand

that part of it too much.

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Um, and that's why I've really invested

in my own sort of shop window as well.

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And of course, um, I love

working on bespoke commissions.

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Um, quite a few people have come to

me and said, you know, we've got this

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really special memory of a loved one.

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Um, we'd like to have this, um,

can you put his photo on a shell

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or his painting on a shell?

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So I've done that.

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Um, that all started actually when someone

came to me and said, um, uh, my father's

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passed away, but he loved going to the old

Neptune pub on the beach in Whitstable.

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And, um, we'd love to

get that on the shell.

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So that's where that all started.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's really lovely.

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I was going to ask about the

bespoke orders because it's really

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nice you're going to offer that.

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And as you say, when you're selling

wholesale, I guess you're having to send

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more, I don't want to say generic because

I know each of your shelves is unique, but

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it's, you know, you're, I guess you're,

yeah, they're not as personal, are they?

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Debbie Scott: No, that's right.

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But I do try and tailor each, um, sort

of, uh, the designs to each outlet.

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So, for example, Tunbridge Castle like,

uh, the Union Jack ones and they stocked

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the Coronation shells that I did.

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Um, the Silver Sheep in

Tunbridge Wells on Chapel Place.

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They like, um, really quirky, funky

styles, um, to match the sort of

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persona and image of their shop.

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Um, so yeah, and, and I, I

always tailor to customers.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's really

amazing you're able to do that.

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And, um, I do want to talk

a little bit more about the

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wholesale side, if that's okay.

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So are you wholesaling mainly to small,

to smallish independent retailers?

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, on the

whole, um, and they come and go.

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I mean, sadly the zero waste,

um, shop at the cafe on the

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Pantiles, um, recently closed down.

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Everyone's got their own sort

of cost of living struggles.

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So, um, they do come and go.

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But, um, fortunately I still

have the, um, outlet at, uh, the

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Silver Sheep in Tunbridge Wells.

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And ideally, actually, I try and give

exclusivity to one, um, shop per town.

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Um, yeah, so, and then, um, the focus

really is on, um, Whitstable because it's

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the home of the British oyster aswell.

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Um, it's great having Tonbridge Castle.

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Um, like I say, I like to, I like

to support my own local community,

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so it's good to have, um, um, some

prominence in my own town as well.

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Vicki Weinberg: And I think also the town

likes to promote local artists as well.

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I think that's because obviously

I live in Tonbridge too.

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So I think that's really, I do

know that, you know, the local

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artists and community is important

and people like to support you.

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So that's also really good.

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Um.

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I've got, I've got a practical question

about shells, but as you, while

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we're on wholesale, I'd love to know

a little bit about pricing because

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you mentioned pricing for wholesale.

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I would say pricing in general.

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Um, how do you approach it Debbie?

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The reason I'm asking is

that your products, as you've

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explained, are really unique.

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They're also really time intensive.

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I'm sure it takes you quite a long

time to, you know, to get, go from a

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raw, not sure raw is the right word,

shell to this beautiful finished item.

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How does that factor into your pricing?

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So I know that can be an issue

for lots of handmade businesses.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

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And like, you've got to

get over imposter syndrome.

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You've got to believe in your own self

worth and think, hang on a minute.

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It's taken me like, two weeks plus

to create this batch of shells.

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And it doesn't matter whether I'm doing

one shell or forty shells, it still takes

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two weeks because of the whole process.

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You can't speed it up.

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Um, I'd say, I take it,

it's really time intensive.

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It's a real labour of love.

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But I do love it.

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So that's great.

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Um, you've got to remember the time

it takes to actually search for the

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shells, go to Whitstable, spend a day

looking for them, like, trudging around

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at low tide, getting really dirty.

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Um, the cleaning, the cleaning, I

must say, is the bit I like least.

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You've got to get out the scrub, all the

because obviously it's a source of food.

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It's got the oyster attached by a

muscle and you've got to get rid

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of all the remnants of that scrub,

bleach, um, leave to dry in the sun.

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And then I file them to make

the edges nice and smooth.

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Um.

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The products I actually

use are really expensive.

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So the resin is probably

my biggest outlay.

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Um, packaging is also very expensive.

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Um, as is the actual, I use real gold

leaf to apply the gilt around the edge.

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Um, so that's all the costs

I've got to consider as well.

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And then obviously there's my time on top.

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Um, I'd say the sort

of rarity of the shell.

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So you might get a real whopper that

you're not going to find very often.

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So you're going to

price that a bit higher.

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Um, so generally, if I've got one

of those really big shells that's

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hard to come by, I'd say that's 30,

a large one is 25, a medium is 20,

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and then the smaller ones are 15.

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They're the sort of prices I use at

my craft markets and on my website.

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Um, with wholesalers, you know, it's down

to you to establish that relationship.

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Um, generally, you don't really want

to go below a 60, 40 ratio in terms

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of pricing there, because then it

just, it's no longer worth your while.

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I mean, I guess you've got to think

about, um, establishing your brand.

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Wholesale is good from that

perspective, but again, you

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can't really go below that ratio.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you so

much for explaining all of that.

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And you also, just so you know,

you answered my practical question,

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which was, I was going to say,

where'd you get the shells?

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So you answered that.

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Thank you.

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Debbie Scott: Well I can elaborate a

little bit more because, um, I like to.

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It that it is from an eco perspective,

I like to say that I am sort

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of giving them a new life lease

of life, um, from restaurants.

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Um, so I've got a really good relationship

with a seafood restaurant called Pebbles

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on the Beach in Bexhill on Sea, and

they saw my shells on Instagram and

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said, could you put our logo on our

scallop shells because, and we want to

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use them as sort of seafood platters.

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And they also serve up the, the

billions and chocolates on them as well.

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Um, and they actually keep their, um,

scallops that are from Rye, um, for me.

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And then I, uh, decorate them and

then they resell them in their

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shop, in their restaurant, sorry.

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So that's great.

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And also, um, Verdigris and Tunbridge,

um, uh, sometimes keep their oyster shells

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for me because otherwise these beautiful

shells are just going to go in the bin.

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So there's that sort of upcycling,

giving them a new lease of life.

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And then, um, yeah, I mean, we love

just looking on the beach and you

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know, it doesn't matter if it's

a shell or sea glass or pebble or

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driftwood or fossil or crystal.

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It's just fun, a fun family day out

to go looking for shells as well.

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Vicki Weinberg: It's so nice that

you mentioned that your daughter

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likes doing that with you.

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I think that's lovely.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, yeah.

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I mean, you just develop an eye and she

has got an incredible eye for crystals

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and fossils and, and, uh, she's actually

busy, um, developing her own business.

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She's only eight, but, um, she's

been a bit inspired by what I do.

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And she's developed her own

website called bunnyfish.

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co.

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uk, which is actually, um, uh, sort of

merchandise, t shirts and drinks bottles

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and key rings and all stuff kids like,

um, but we have pet bunnies and pet fish.

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So she's, um, developed bunny fish,

but a lot less, she uses AI with

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her dad to develop the products.

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But, um, luckily for her, it's

all based on drop shipping.

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Whereas mine is really labour intensive.

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So, um, yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: I'm super impressed.

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I'm going to go and have a look at

that immediately as soon as we finish

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recording, I'm going to go to bunnyfish.

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co.

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uk.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah.

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I'm just really proud that, you

know, a little bit of this sort of

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entrepreneurial spirit has rubbed

off on her at a really early age, so

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hopefully, um, yeah, she'll go somewhere.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's super impressive.

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And thank you for explaining your

pricing process as well, because

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I, something I see quite a lot with

businesses that hand make their products

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is accounting for the materials, but

maybe not accounting for the time.

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And so I think it's really great

that you've, from the start,

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sounds like you factored that in.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, I'm, I'm still,

you know, I probably don't factor it

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in enough, but I'm just very aware

that there is a cost of living crisis.

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Um, and I do want my

products to be affordable.

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Um, I know that they will last forever.

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And they should be, um, a pretty

unique gift that the recipient

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probably hasn't already got.

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But, um, um, yeah, I want them to be,

um, affordable, um, as Christmas presents

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or teacher presents or what have you.

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So, um, yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: No, I think they're great.

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And it, do you find, because you mentioned

about, um, you know, whether you make

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them one or you make them in batches,

just practically, I'm just curious, is

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it for you, is it more time efficient and

cost effective to make them in batches

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rather than sit there working on one?

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Debbie Scott: I'm kind of going a bit

crazy at the moment because I've got

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like Christmas markets, they're looming

and um, I'm just trying to make my, my

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day jobs really busy, but I basically

never sit down and watch telly.

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So in an evening I'm

just busy making shells.

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Um, and, uh, yeah, I guess.

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Um, a batch of maybe 30, probably can't

go much beyond 40 because at the end

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of the day, I don't have a studio.

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I'm just using my craft room is the

spare room in the house I've taken over.

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I think most people like me start off

working on the kitchen worktop and then

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the rest of the family get really annoyed

with, in my case, shells being everywhere.

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So now I'm sort of limited to the

spare room in the house, which

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I've turned into my craft studio.

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So I can't really do more

than say 40 at a time.

329

And that's really going some, but yeah,

there'd be no point in making five because

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you've got to mix up all the resin,

which as I say is really expensive.

331

So you, you've got to mix

it up and, and use it.

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You can't, you can't throw it

in the bin, it'd be a waste.

333

So yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: And I suppose as well,

if you're washing five shells, you

335

might as well be washing 20 shells.

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Debbie Scott: Absolutely.

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Yeah.

338

Yeah, definitely.

339

Vicki Weinberg: Well,

that's really interesting.

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It's great to hear that you found a

process that works for you as well.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah.

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You live and learn.

343

You always, I must say, I've got my

first ever shells that I decorated

344

and I will probably always keep those

because they, they mean something to

345

me, but I look back on them and think,

oh gosh, I could have done that better.

346

I could have done that differently.

347

You live and learn and you discover

new materials, new gold leaf, new

348

resins, new techniques all the time.

349

And you just get better at what you

do and more critical of your work.

350

Quality control, you know,

you're always raising the bar.

351

Vicki Weinberg: I think that makes sense

though, because I think when you're

352

hand making, of course, the more you do

it, the better you're going to get it.

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Debbie Scott: Yeah, definitely.

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Vicki Weinberg: Um, I'd love to

talk a little bit about your day

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job, if you don't mind Debbie,

because you mentioned that you have

356

a PR and communications agency.

357

So I thought any excuse

to ask more questions.

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Um, so I would love to just

talk a little bit about PR and

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particularly PR for small businesses.

360

Um.

361

So, first of all, I'd love to know

how due, do you do much PR for?

362

Um, I, I really struggle to

say, Sheila sells seashells.

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Debbie Scott: I know, who

would pick a tongue twister

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for their business name, eh!

365

Um, do you know, I need to be

better at practicing what I preach.

366

I was, um, looking at my SEA

yesterday and I'm just like, it

367

needs to, it needs to improve.

368

Um, and it's just, it

just comes down to time.

369

So I do think that I have a good website.

370

Um, I must thank my husband because he's

very techie and has helped a lot there.

371

Um, but in terms of keeping the website

up to date, you know, you've really

372

got, I've got to get the Christmas

market dates on it, for example.

373

Um, but I will be updating with

all my new products very soon

374

actually, ahead of those markets.

375

Um, I would say network, um, in

terms of my one piece of, um, advice

376

for, um, small businesses, be it

PR businesses or, or any business.

377

There are really, there are a lot of

really good local groups out there.

378

Um, you can find them on

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

379

And then you go along to one

and you might kind of think,

380

oh, I can't really be bothered.

381

I'm just going to stay at home and, you

know, not go out and talk to people.

382

I don't know, but if you make yourself,

it's actually fun and you'll probably

383

come across another network that you

didn't know about and there's all these

384

people out there doing really good stuff,

inviting you along to, um, events that

385

they've organized and you get to meet

people, you get to make useful contacts,

386

there's useful opportunities, um.

387

Yeah, I'd say keep the old imposter

syndrome in the box because it always

388

creeps in and self doubt and is it,

should I really be charging this much

389

now or are my shells worth this much?

390

It's like, stop it, shush, of course they

are, you've got to believe in yourself.

391

Um, and, uh, yeah, I'd be careful

about offers that come to you.

392

Like, um, there's always this sort of

not scam emails, but you get bombarded

393

by emails offering you SEO services

or what have you, or website services.

394

Well, just be, be a bit wary because

some of them, I don't know, I, I,

395

I've spent money on paid ads before

that haven't yielded much return.

396

And I look back thinking

they were expensive.

397

I shouldn't have done that,

but you live and learn.

398

So, um, yeah, my, my best piece of

advice is just get yourself out there,

399

talk to people, have fun and network.

400

Vicki Weinberg: I think

that's great advice.

401

And coming back to what you were saying

about, you know, whether you want someone

402

to help with a website or SEO, I think

network is also a great way to get

403

recommendations for people to work with as

well, because as you say, um, the people

404

that come to you may not necessarily

be the best or most qualified people.

405

They might be brilliant.

406

But they might not be, but there's

nothing quite like word of mouth is there?

407

And I mean, I found out about you

through, you know, through word of mouth.

408

Someone you met recommended

you to come on the podcast.

409

And I think that's kind of, that's, that's

a nice way for things to work, isn't it?

410

Because we all feel a bit better

when someone's recommended

411

by someone that we know.

412

Debbie Scott: Yeah.

413

Yeah.

414

And, um, I went along to, um, that

group that you just referred to and,

415

um, I could have easily just stayed at

home, but I went off to Tunbridge Wells

416

and I had a really nice morning just

working alongside like minded people

417

and obviously for me, it benefited

both my businesses, my communications

418

business and my craft business.

419

And, um, yeah, it was really, really good.

420

So I'm glad I went along.

421

Vicki Weinberg: No, it's great.

422

And as you say, it's hard

sometimes to make yourself do it,

423

but there are always benefits.

424

Particularly when, as you alluded

to earlier, a lot of the things we

425

need to be doing, so whether it's

working on our SEO websites or PR,

426

um, often just falls aside because

we're so busy doing what we're doing.

427

Debbie Scott: Yeah.

428

I mean, I, what I do, I

guess it's quite solitary.

429

Um, it's very therapeutic and I, but

I do enjoy the social side of things.

430

So that's why I enjoy the markets.

431

I enjoy dropping into wholesalers.

432

I, um, I've actually run some

workshops, um, so the last workshop

433

I ran was at the Arty Farty Retreat

in Southborough, um, which was great.

434

Um, I also ran one at the Ella

Bella restaurant in Tonbridge.

435

Um.

436

So they're really good because then you

can sort of share your love and, and

437

help other people, um, enjoy the sort

of love of crafting with shells as well.

438

So that's good.

439

And I'm really looking forward to the

markets just where you meet customers,

440

get customer feedback as well.

441

Um, and there can be Christmas markets,

so that should be nice and fun too.

442

It's all a juggle.

443

It's a, it's a massive

juggle with the day job.

444

Family, you know, but I just,

you know, just go for it.

445

You know, we're all busy, aren't we?

446

But just, just have a go

and see where it leads to.

447

Vicki Weinberg: And it sounds

like you really enjoy it as well.

448

And that's also really important.

449

Like if you were the sort of person

who didn't enjoy going to markets.

450

You know, for any reason, then I guess

you would maybe put more focus in your

451

website, for example, but it sounds like

you love going out and meeting customers.

452

I think your products

are so unique as well.

453

It must be nice for customers to see

them in real life and be able to feel

454

them and get a good sense of them.

455

But I think it sounds to me like you're

leaning into the things you enjoy.

456

And I think that's really important.

457

Debbie Scott: You've got to, and you've

got to stay in control and kind of,

458

um, do what's right for you as well.

459

Um, it's nice to go to the markets because

you can talk to other, um, stallholders.

460

And you can get, um,

recommendations from them.

461

You can find out which markets are

worth doing, which markets aren't.

462

Because some of them can be, you

know, a bit disappointing and you, you

463

give up a lot of time to do a market.

464

A lot of preparation

psychologically as well.

465

You've got to like get yourself in

the right headspace to go and spend a

466

day, perhaps in the rain, talking to

people nonstop and being on your feet.

467

So it's the hard work and you've

got to have enough stock as well.

468

You've got to really, that's why I'm

a bit like, oh, Christmas markets.

469

You've got to have so

much stock ready to go.

470

Um, and all your packaging ready.

471

Um, but yeah, it's, I just

love that social element of it.

472

So.

473

Vicki Weinberg: That's really good.

474

And coming back to, I've got one

more question on your day job,

475

is, do you have any PR advice

for small product businesses?

476

Because I know that's part

of what you do day to day.

477

So I'm just wondering, I love to get

as much as possible out of this Debbie.

478

Debbie Scott: Yes, of course.

479

Um, well, obviously the social

media side of things, it's just,

480

um, just keep on top of it.

481

I mean, if you can, um, even preload

your, um, sort of accounts with

482

some posts ready to go over the

next few days, and that's great.

483

Um, obviously try and be strategic.

484

So try and, um, think, um, have sort of

themes to your posts, especially in the

485

run up to Christmas and then in 2024.

486

Um, create content.

487

So create content for your website, which

again, I need to be better at myself.

488

Um, blog, blog and try and write

a useful blog that's answering

489

someone's sort of questions or

finding a solution to their problems.

490

Um, and yeah, like I said, just

network, put yourself out there.

491

Promote yourself through you

physically getting out rather than

492

being insular and staying at home.

493

Um, yeah, and one thing leads to another.

494

Keep pushing on those, on those doors.

495

And one of them might open and, um,

you might find a client in the most

496

unlikely, unlikely of places, you know?

497

And, um, the more you, um, you can build

your sort of repertoire and write up

498

your case studies and write up about

clients and have that content on your

499

website and signpost to your website,

maybe for your social media, um, it's

500

going to get you more and more noticed

and hopefully more work in the future.

501

Vicki Weinberg: That's so helpful.

502

Thank you.

503

And I think what I'm taking for what

you said is, is about just putting

504

yourself out there, which I think when

you are working alone, particularly

505

if you're, you know, you're.

506

you're sitting there and

you're making your products,

507

I guess it is quite solitary.

508

So I think that's really good

advice to just make yourself

509

and your products more visible.

510

Um, because unfortunately it's

like unless you do that, I think

511

it's hard, it's harder for people,

definitely for people to find you.

512

Isn't it?

513

I mean, there's so much

out there at the moment.

514

Um, there's so much content and so

much, so many businesses and there's

515

a lot, there's a lot going on.

516

So I think now more than ever,

we probably have to actually

517

make an effort to get seen.

518

Debbie Scott: Yes.

519

Yeah, absolutely.

520

Yeah.

521

But I would just say just go for it.

522

Um, um, yeah, just have your plan,

be strategic, know where you want to

523

spend your money, know how you want

to spend your time and, um, have

524

some key events in the diary and

just keep sort of being proactive

525

and pushing in the right direction.

526

Vicki Weinberg: That's brilliant.

527

Thank you so much, Debbie.

528

Debbie Scott: Thank you.

529

Vicki Weinberg: Thank you

for everything you've shared.

530

I'm going to make sure we link to

everything that we've spoken about

531

in the show notes for this episode.

532

So we're going to link to your

products business and also to your

533

communications business as well.

534

So people can come and

have a look at both.

535

Debbie Scott: Brilliant.

536

Vicki Weinberg: Thank you

so much for listening right

537

to the end of this episode.

538

Do remember you can get the full

back catalogue and lots of free

539

resources on my website, vickiweinberg.

540

com.

541

Please do remember to rate and review

this episode if you've enjoyed it

542

and also share it with a friend

who you think might find it useful.

543

Thank you again and see you next week.