Welcome to today's podcast where I’m excited to have Mangla Sachdev join me. Originally from London, UK, Mangla has an impressive global footprint, having lived and established businesses in Australia, Malaysia, England, Scotland, and now Singapore. 

A lifelong entrepreneur, Mangla started her first venture at 17 and has been self-employed ever since. Mangla now runs Expat Business In A Bag, where she shares business coaching and strategies for expat entrepreneurs and digital nomads. Mangla shares her experiences with product businesses and valuable insights on starting a business, especially in a new country or community. 

In addition, Mangla is offering a special gift for our listeners: her '27 Essential Tasks for Every Entrepreneur' marketing checklist, available via the link in our show notes.

• An introduction to herself and her businesses (01:35)
• Her first product business at 17 years old (03:23)
• Her second product business, t-shirts (05:29)
• How she combines running a product business with travelling (10:34)
• The differences between running a business in Singapore and the UK (13:35)
• The inspiration for setting up Expat Business In A Bag (17:33)
• Spotting business opportunities when travelling (20:19)
• Using your travel experiences as inspiration for starting a business (26:08)
• Advice on how to niche (26:57)
• Her number one piece of advice for product creators (30:56)

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

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Mentioned in this episode:

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.

2

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.

4

I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

creation coach and Amazon expert.

5

Every week I share friendly, practical

advice, as well as inspirational

6

stories from small businesses.

7

Let's get started.

8

Hi, I hope today you will join me in

welcoming onto the podcast Mangla Sachdev.

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While originally from London, UK, Mangla

has moved around the world more than

10

once, and she's lived in Australia,

Malaysia, England, Scotland, and

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she's currently living in Singapore.

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She set up a business in almost every

city she's lived in, she started her

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first business age 17 while on a gap year

and has never ever worked for anybody.

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She's been self employed

her entire career, which I

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found absolutely fascinating.

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So she has ran lots of different

businesses, some of those product

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businesses, which is what we're

going to mainly focus on today.

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But she has lots of great tips on

starting businesses, particularly, um,

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if you're new to an area or a country and

you're looking at what you could do and

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how you might fit into that community.

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She has some great advice on that.

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She also has a free gift for listeners,

which is the marketing checklist, 27

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essential tasks for every entrepreneur.

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And you can get that by

the link in the show notes.

25

And now I would love to

introduce you to Mangla.

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So hi, Mangla.

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Thank you so much for being here.

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Mangla Sachdev: Thank you for having me.

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I'm super excited.

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Vicki Weinberg: So can we please start

with you giving the brief introduction to

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yourself, your businesses and what you do?

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Mangla Sachdev: Sure.

33

So I'm Mangla and while I'm

originally from London, I have moved

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around the world a couple of times.

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I've lived in Australia, in Malaysia.

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North of England, um,

Edinburgh, Dunfermline, and

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now I'm in sunny Singapore.

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So, my journey started,

um, many, many years ago.

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In each place that I moved

to, I started my own business.

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But every time I had to leave because

of my husband's job, um, I'd have

41

to stop that business and then

start all over again in a new place.

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And in 2020, um, I started this t

shirt printing business with my dearest

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and closest friend in Singapore,

seven days before the world locked

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down, but we did extremely well.

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And, um, we were selling to,

uh, international schools.

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We're doing t shirt printing and hoodies.

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And we managed to pivot very quickly

and sold 4, 000 masks and, um, Facebook

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Singapore heard about us and they

contacted us and we also work with the U.

49

S.

50

Embassy here.

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But, I mean, that went really, really

well the first, you know, couple

52

of years and it's still going on.

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But, um, I realized that if I were to move

again, I'd have to start from scratch.

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And this was such an amazing business

that just kept getting recurring revenue.

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And so I started my latest venture,

which is expat business in a bag where

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I help other expats like myself, digital

nomads, as well as people who love

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to travel to monetize as they move.

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So they never have to

start from scratch again.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's amazing.

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Thank you for explaining all of that.

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So, was your t shirt business your

first products based business or

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had you sold products prior to that?

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Mangla Sachdev: Um, it was my first

product based business and I had

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done, yeah, all services previously.

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Um, actually, no, sorry, it

was my second product business.

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The first product business I

did was when I was 17, when I

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was traveling in a gap year.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, amazing.

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And what were you selling

then out of interest?

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Mangla Sachdev: So I was traveling,

um, I'd taken a gap year and I was

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traveling around Asia and I, we have

family and friends around here and I

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brought these little trinket pieces

that I just found in one of the stores

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in London and I brought it as gifts.

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And everybody loved it so much here

that I had, um, someone asked me

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that if I could, you know, source 300

pieces because she was getting married

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in a couple of months and she just

wanted a gift everybody one of those.

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And so I left all my clothes and

everything that I had in where I was.

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Rushed back to London, bought 300 pieces.

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They were only tiny, these little

trinket boxes, came back and made

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3, 000 in one day as a 17 year old.

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Vicki Weinberg: That is amazing.

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I can't believe, well, I can believe

because I've heard, you know, now

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I've learned a bit about you that you

just at 17 got on a plane and flew,

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you know, was there much of a thought

process that went into that or was it

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like, oh, this is something I can do.

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I'll just do it.

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Mangla Sachdev: I, I think it was,

you know, when you're so young,

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you're so naive and you kind of

think, Hey, this is brilliant.

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I'm just going to do it.

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No thought of consequences

or anything like that.

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And then once I realized that I could

make 3, 000 in a day, to me, it was

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like, I wasn't going to uni after that.

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I'm like, I could make

business work for myself.

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And it's just, that's just happened.

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Vicki Weinberg: And so back

then when you were 17, did you

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carry on with that business?

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Mangla Sachdev: Um, well, no, because then

I went back to London and it was always, I

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was always looking out for opportunities.

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So it was kind of like a one hit

wonder at that point, I was looking

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for an opportunity and sometimes I

did sort of just mail things across

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and made a little bit, but nothing on

that scale for, for a couple of years.

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Vicki Weinberg: Okay.

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So your t shirts business you

started in Singapore was your next

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kind of full time product business.

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Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

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Yes.

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Vicki Weinberg: And is that a

print on demand service or are

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you designing your own t shirts?

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How does that work?

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Mangla Sachdev: So how that

came about was, um, the two of

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us were partners in business.

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We were on the Parent Teacher Association

board at our children's school.

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And so we did everything from baking

cupcakes, bake sales, painting

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sets, and getting, um, sourcing

t shirts for drama productions.

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And we did that for a number of years, but

every time we had to order these t shirts,

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we just faced awful customer service.

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Sometimes, you know, there would be

really late, sometimes the printing was

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wrong, quality of t shirts kept changing.

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And so, one day when we were rushing

to get an order ready, we were just

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sitting at this, you know, this

dinky little mall in Singapore, I

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think one of the oldest malls here.

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And we turned and looked at each

other and said, we could do this.

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And so we just decided to set it up

and so it's more, sometimes it's the

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children who design it, sometimes it's us.

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So they use it for fundraising,

um, or particular events.

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So, but it's, it's really good

because it's recurring business.

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So if they've got an, you know,

a design ready, they'll just

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be like every couple of months.

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All right, we just need new sizes.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, that's amazing.

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And so I take it that you've had

to sort of source the t shirts

132

and other products yourselves.

133

And what about the printing?

134

Have you found someone

to handle that for you?

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Mangla Sachdev: Yes, we do it.

136

So, um, Singapore things are quite

expensive here and just next door

137

in another country, but Malaysia,

I think it's a lot cheaper.

138

Plus the currency works in our favour.

139

So like a dollar there, it's

divided by three for us here.

140

So it works really well.

141

And so, yeah, we source

the printing from there.

142

The products come from sometimes

Canada and US and even manufactured in

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Malaysia, there are some factories there.

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So that was, yeah, quite an experience.

145

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

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And it sounds like you got off to

a, you know, a really good start.

147

So, and it's also the impression I'm

guessing is you sort of got that business

148

off the ground quite quickly too.

149

Mangla Sachdev: Very quickly.

150

We had a first t shirt

order within seven days.

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Which is like a hundred or

some hundred over pieces.

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Yeah within seven days we were

in business and making a profit.

153

Vicki Weinberg: That's amazing.

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And how were you getting

those first orders?

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Mangla Sachdev: I think some

relationships were, were built.

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I think that it just came down

to that because we were in the,

157

on the PTA board for very long.

158

And, um, we knew a lot of

people in other schools as well.

159

It was just reaching

out to people we knew.

160

And I think everything since then with

Singapore being such a small country,

161

it's all relationship marketing.

162

It's referrals.

163

We've never had to advertise.

164

Vicki Weinberg: Well, I can imagine

if you're providing a great service

165

and it sounds like you weren't,

um, probably other people weren't

166

getting a great service or great

quality before and you are, I'm sure

167

that word of mouth is spreading.

168

Mangla Sachdev: Yes, yes, that works a lot

in our favour and it was just referrals,

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which is referral after referral.

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We've never had to go out

and source new business.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's amazing.

172

And you also mentioned that you

started selling masks, um, into

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the pandemic, which must have

been weeks into your business.

174

How were you able to make

that pivot so quickly?

175

Because that's also super impressive.

176

Mangla Sachdev: I think

we, we had an order.

177

The school asked that, um,

you know, could we do masks?

178

How quickly can you get them?

179

And what about printing

with the school logo?

180

And so we managed to source out.

181

Um, we had the first order was 2000

pieces and we managed to get that quickly.

182

So that, that probably took about

a month or two into the pandemic.

183

And then in Singapore, we were in

lockdown for far longer than most

184

other countries and masks were

compulsory for approximately, gosh,

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I'd say 18 months to two years.

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So again, recurring.

187

Vicki Weinberg: Wow.

188

And it sounds to me like something

I'm really picking up from you

189

here is how adaptable you are.

190

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah, I think you

got to think on your feet really

191

quickly and not second guess it.

192

I just think if an idea works,

right, we've got to go with it.

193

And then also, I don't even know whether

I spend enough time assessing the risk or

194

I've kind of thought, all right, you know

what, if it doesn't work out, we'll figure

195

it, we'll, we'll either make it work or

it'll fail and I'll have a story to tell.

196

Vicki Weinberg: That's a good attitude

and say you've been based in Singapore

197

ever since you started this business.

198

Is that correct?

199

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

200

Vicki Weinberg: And are you doing

much traveling now or why do you

201

tend to be based in Singapore?

202

Mangla Sachdev: Um, I think we're,

yeah, we're based in Singapore.

203

We've been here for about 10 years now.

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We were coming for three initially.

205

Um, I think it's such a beautiful part

of the world to be in because we're

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next to Bali, Malaysia, Thailand.

207

We just came back from Australia.

208

We were there for a week and we're in

England every year as well for the summer

209

because of parents and my sister so.

210

Vicki Weinberg: Okay.

211

So are you finding that, so when you're

traveling, are you finding that it's

212

a business that still, you can still

run when you're not physically in the

213

country, or are you sort of taking

holiday when you're, when you're leaving?

214

I'm just, I'm just curious because

obviously you've had up until the past

215

10 years, quite a nomadic lifestyle.

216

I'm just wondering how

the business fits in.

217

Mangla Sachdev: So I think because

we work with majority schools and

218

we take school holidays off, that

works really, really well for us.

219

And it's also something that now

with so many things being online

220

and just child, we are able to run

it while we're not in the country.

221

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, I was curious

about that because I mean, I definitely,

222

and this isn't a leading question,

because I'm genuinely curious, but you

223

mentioned before that when you'd moved

to different countries and you'd been

224

running services business, you'd have to

wind those businesses up as you moved on.

225

I mean, and it sounds like you're very

settled in Singapore, but hypothetically,

226

do you feel like if you were to move

on again, this was a, this would be a

227

business that could continue without

you physically being there or not?

228

Mangla Sachdev: Well, I think we've

both thought about because we're both,

229

both, you know, both of us as business

partners, we're both from the UK.

230

So, you know, either one of

us could leave at any time.

231

Um, we initially thought that

we might be able to run it.

232

We might be able to employ

somebody, but then it's the

233

relationships that we've built.

234

It's a networking that we do

continuously here that attracts people.

235

And I think ideally, we'd like to bring it

to a place where we'd be able to sell it.

236

Because we'll have the business

model already, customers ready,

237

suppliers ready, um, that somebody

who didn't want to start from scratch

238

could just take it and run with it.

239

Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting.

240

Thank you for sharing that.

241

I was genuinely curious

because I haven't travelled.

242

But from my experience, products

businesses can be a bit more adapted.

243

Obviously it depends on your

business model, but they

244

can be a bit more adaptable.

245

You don't have to physically be there.

246

But of course, as you've said,

you've built this relation, you've

247

built the business mainly on

relationships and people knowing you.

248

Um, and it sounds like, and I could be

wrong here, but it sounds like you're

249

quite a big, you and your business partner

are quite a big part of your business.

250

So people are choosing to buy from you,

not necessarily just a faceless company

251

that actually the people behind it.

252

Is that fair?

253

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

254

I think because it is such a small

country and the expat community here is

255

amazing and very encouraging and you,

you get to know people very quickly.

256

And so a couple of names are thrown around

and you immediately have somebody asks,

257

you know, is there a copywriter around,

you know, we have three names that just

258

keep getting thrown about all the time.

259

And so I think when it comes to

printing and, um, you know, anything

260

with products like that, um, corporate

gifts, our names are always brought up,

261

which is, which is a lovely feeling.

262

Vicki Weinberg: That sounds really

different from, I guess, if you'd

263

started up the same business in the UK.

264

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

265

Vicki Weinberg: Are there any

other differences you see between,

266

because obviously you've ran

businesses in so many countries.

267

Are there any other differences you see,

you see particularly, I guess, between

268

Singapore and the UK in terms of how

you've had to approach your business?

269

Mangla Sachdev: Um, I think here,

because it's such a transient society,

270

so you know, we all have friends here.

271

I mean, every year we

have people who leave.

272

They you, you know, move on to

other countries, either go back home

273

or just start up somewhere else.

274

So, the community that we've built

here, the friendships, um, the

275

network, it keeps changing every year.

276

So, networking in person

is absolutely a must.

277

And it's, it's constantly, I mean, it's my

business partner, myself, we attend, um,

278

at least one networking event each week.

279

Vicki Weinberg: Wow.

280

And you're right.

281

That is really different because in the

UK, and I'm sure you experienced this.

282

If you attend networking events,

often 95 percent of the people are the

283

same, whether it's weekly, monthly,

however often you go, it's, it's much

284

rarer, I think, to see new faces.

285

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

286

And, and I think you, I suppose

you're competing with people

287

who've already been established.

288

And so if you're coming in as

a newbie, maybe it's a bit more

289

trickier to enter the market.

290

Vicki Weinberg: Possibly.

291

I mean, it sounds like in Singapore as

well, the markets may be a bit smaller.

292

Is that fair to say that

the market is a lot smaller?

293

Mangla Sachdev: A lot smaller.

294

A population is, um, gosh,

maybe just over 5 million.

295

Vicki Weinberg: Oh, wow.

296

I had no idea.

297

Mangla Sachdev: So very small, very small.

298

And there's no area that you can't go to.

299

So even if, you know, there's nothing

which would be like a networking event,

300

but it's too far out, the furthest

out will be a 45 minute drive away.

301

That's it.

302

Vicki Weinberg: So that makes

everything really doable, I suppose.

303

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

304

Yeah.

305

Vicki Weinberg: And in terms of

what you do, are there many other

306

businesses around doing the same thing?

307

Because I would assume that there's

go, there's only going to be so

308

many competitors you'll ever have

because of the size of the market.

309

Mangla Sachdev: I think there are a

lot of competitors who are serving

310

local businesses and, um, they're

sourcing everything from China.

311

So I think because our children attend

international schools, um, there's

312

also an expectation of quality items.

313

We want it to be sustainable, eco

friendly, just because the kids are taught

314

and we've been educated on it a lot more.

315

And so they're willing to pay a little bit

more for the quality that they're after.

316

Vicki Weinberg: Oh yes.

317

I guess that gives you some, a

way to differentiate yourself.

318

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah, absolutely.

319

Vicki Weinberg: It's interesting that

there are lots of competitors though,

320

because I, in my head, as we've been

talking about this, because obviously

321

I know nothing about Singapore, I, I

kind of thought, I wonder if there's

322

less competition because there is

less of a market to sell to, but it

323

sounds like your competitors are maybe

targeting other types of, you know,

324

there, maybe they're not working with

the schools, for example, they're

325

working with different organisations.

326

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

327

Yeah.

328

Yeah.

329

And I think China with everything being

sourced from there and it not being

330

very far, um, that's just where most

people are getting their products from.

331

So when we say that we're not sourcing

from there, we stand out that way as well.

332

Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting.

333

And was that a conscious decision that

you made at the outset to stand out?

334

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

335

Yes.

336

A niche is, I think every

single, I can think back of a few

337

different businesses that I've had.

338

It's always been a success

because of, I've niched out.

339

Vicki Weinberg: That's

really great advice.

340

And, and speaking of advice, so now

let's pivot a bit and talk about

341

the business you're running now.

342

So your business, expat business

in a bag is helping expats start

343

and run their own businesses.

344

So what advice do you have for anyone

who's perhaps found themselves in a

345

different location and is thinking,

right, what, what can I do here?

346

Mangla Sachdev: I think a lot of

people have set up businesses here

347

and they've been very successful

very quickly because they've

348

brought something new to the market.

349

And it's normally, it's like a

three year churn and then they're

350

off to the next, um, country.

351

So when they come to me, it's

like, all right, I think I'm

352

moving in six months time.

353

Um, you know, I'm not only am I going to

have to stop the business early because

354

of packing and getting the kids settled

into a new country, going back and forth.

355

Um, but it's also settling

there and starting from scratch.

356

So I think the first thing

that I tell people is that

357

build that audience right now.

358

Build that worldwide audience where

you're going to start networking online.

359

And even within our own community,

when we network here, if we say

360

like I'm moving to one particular

country, do you know anybody?

361

Can you introduce me to someone?

362

There's always someone out there who

knows someone, and so I think that's

363

the first part of it, but also if

you've set up a business here and

364

it's worked really well, um, while

you're settling into a new country, I

365

also encourage them to teach others.

366

That could be a digital

product, a digital course.

367

They can write an ebook,

training materials, tell

368

somebody your entire journey.

369

Everybody wants to know,

like, what did you do first?

370

Where are you at right now?

371

How did you get there?

372

Where did you get your

first five customers from?

373

So it's really, sorry, for

somebody, sorry, for someone else,

374

it's, it's a shortcut instead

of making their own mistakes.

375

Learn from somebody else

who's been there and done it.

376

Vicki Weinberg: I find

that really interesting.

377

And do you find that people tend

to move their businesses with them

378

or start afresh everywhere they go?

379

Um, I'd actually, I'd

love to know as well.

380

So this is two questions, but if you

could answer that one, but then I'd

381

actually love to know if you don't

mind telling us some of the businesses

382

you've ran as you've travelled around

the world and just, I think I'd be

383

fascinated to know your full background

if you don't mind sharing that.

384

Mangla Sachdev: Not at all.

385

So the first question, I think

people who have done, say they're

386

really good at copywriting.

387

I think that will, that

will usually go with them.

388

Um, but I know some people who here

have started social media management.

389

And so, you know, they go around and

they do the videos and the reels.

390

They know that if they're moving to a

country like the UK or the US, that the

391

competition is going to be too great there

and it's not something that they're going

392

to stand out in, in that new country.

393

And so it comes to like figuring

out, right, so I'm going to start

394

from scratch, but what can I do?

395

What, where, what have I learned here or

in my travels that I could take along with

396

me and start from scratch, start a fresh.

397

Vicki Weinberg: That's really useful.

398

And I think I liked what you were talking

about before when we were talking about,

399

um, when you were on holiday and you came

over to the UK to get the trinket boxes.

400

So what that's kind of sparked is that I

guess you saw that there was a something

401

that you could easily get from the

UK that wasn't ready available there

402

and there would be a market for that.

403

So I guess there's a thing about looking

for that kind of opportunity as well.

404

So what I liked about that,

I know you weren't, you know,

405

trying to set up a business.

406

You just took the opportunity, but I think

that was a really good example of how you

407

found a gap in the market and you were

in a position to be able to fulfill that.

408

Mangla Sachdev: I think when

you're an entrepreneur and I'm sure

409

you've had the same experience when

you're, when you're out and about,

410

you kind of find opportunities.

411

You're always looking at it.

412

You went into someplace and you

think, ah, that's a really great idea.

413

And then you can kind of think,

oh, they should do that here.

414

Well, while we're not consciously

working all the time, but our brain is.

415

And so it's always fun to look at,

especially in travels, what's working

416

in other countries and what, what we

don't have or what's lacking in our own

417

country or what, what would be different.

418

Vicki Weinberg: I think

that's really interesting.

419

And what I like about that as well is

that you've actually gone ahead and

420

done it because to be honest, I think

a lot of us come up with these ideas.

421

I can't tell you how many business

ideas I come up with, but I haven't

422

executed a lot of them, um, for various

reasons that I think, yeah, what I'm

423

finding really interesting about our

chat is how you've been great at finding

424

opportunities and then actually going

and, and trying something because I don't

425

think everyone, in fact, I'm not, yeah,

I think very few of us actually do that.

426

Mangla Sachdev: I think it's

because of the moves and you know

427

that it's such a short period of

time you want to make it count.

428

So it's just, all right, I'm just going

to go, you know, both feet in, try it out.

429

And I'm very conscious that I'm not going

to spend a lot of money at the outset.

430

Like, I'm not going to go and get the

fancy logo straight away, the big website,

431

I'm going to start small, because I need

to test the waters, and a couple of them,

432

you know, haven't done well at all, and

it's just been, alright, I know what

433

doesn't work, let's see the next idea.

434

And so going back to your second question

was that the couple of ideas I had, when

435

we were living in north of England, my

husband was working at the hospital,

436

and it was a small community hospital.

437

And I thought, well, there was

a tiny little gift shop with

438

flowers people could take.

439

They didn't really do gift baskets.

440

And so I thought I could, you know,

do flyers around or just approach

441

the gift shop and say, I could

prepare a few gift baskets for you.

442

And so they had agreed and I did a few

of those, but it didn't take off as much.

443

And I thought, okay, maybe

it's just not the right market.

444

But then when you move somewhere else,

I tried it again and it worked there.

445

So that was one idea.

446

Another one was when we were in Scotland.

447

Um, I, PR was, you know, it was

something I think Richard Branson

448

had come up with, where he just

published a book about publicity and I

449

studied marketing and PR extensively.

450

And so I set up a sort of like

a publicity workshop, um, for

451

businesses, for small businesses.

452

How do we get in the media, how to spin

certain articles and how to piggyback

453

on what's happening in the news.

454

So this is a couple of

businesses that I've tried.

455

Vicki Weinberg: They're great.

456

And what I like as well, they're

so different from each other.

457

I mean, they all sound like they're

within your skillset and experience,

458

but they're all quite different.

459

Do you think that because you know, or

up until now, ofcourse, you've always

460

known you were going to be somewhere

for a relatively short period of time.

461

Does that take a bit of the pressure off

in terms of whether it, I don't want to

462

say fails or succeeds because obviously

we all define, we, you know, I think we

463

should make those definitions ourselves,

but, um, do you see what I mean?

464

Does it take a bit of pressure off

because you know that actually whatever

465

happens, you're only going to be

running that for a limited time period?

466

Mangla Sachdev: Do you know, I've

never thought of it that way, but when

467

you say, I think, I think that maybe

gives me a little bit more guts to

468

do so because if it fails, it's okay,

I'm not going to be here that long.

469

You know, even if nobody will

remember it, I'm moving on.

470

So yeah, I think that's probably helped

me with taking bigger risks and trying

471

new things rather than analyzing it,

coming up with a big fancy business plan.

472

And I think I just kind of go in like

straight away because I think, okay.

473

Couple of years.

474

Let's figure it out.

475

Let's see if it works.

476

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

477

Thank you.

478

I just wonder because I was

thinking to myself, I think when you

479

know, it's not the thing forever.

480

I wonder if it makes you more

inclined to take risks and try new

481

things, because if you don't enjoy

it or it doesn't work, it's okay.

482

It's only going to be a very

short percentage of your life.

483

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

484

Yeah.

485

I think that definitely helps

a lot, but I didn't expect to

486

be here for this many years.

487

Um, that would, this

is probably one of the.

488

Gosh.

489

Yeah.

490

As at one stretch, probably the

longest I've been in one place.

491

Vicki Weinberg: So it's actually really

good that you enjoy what you're doing now.

492

Mangla Sachdev: Yes.

493

Yeah.

494

And it'd be really sad to

leave whenever I do, but yeah.

495

Vicki Weinberg: And do you have any

other advice for anyone who wants to,

496

or who either wants to, or, you know,

due to circumstances is finding, you

497

know, their, their, their lifestyles a

bit more nomadic, they're moving around.

498

Do you have any other advice for

people in those situations who

499

want to create and grow a business?

500

Mangla Sachdev: I think I've,

whenever I come back home every

501

summer, I will meet people who will

say, I have no idea how you do that.

502

I don't think I could leave

the security of my home place.

503

I know how everything works,

my family, my friends.

504

And so while there's a part of them

who wants to explore and almost,

505

I wouldn't say envious, but just

sort of wonder what it's like.

506

There's a bigger part of

them that just won't do it.

507

So thinking of those people

sitting at home, they want to

508

explore some parts of the world.

509

And so if you've traveled, whether

you've been in the jungles of Vietnam,

510

you've learned authentic Thai cooking,

or you've been to Bali, if you've

511

had those experiences, you could

always find a way to take that to

512

other people who can't have that.

513

So whether you teach, you could teach

online, now everything's become so easy.

514

Teach, if you've mastered one

Thai dish, teach that online.

515

Sell it for seven pounds, seven dollars.

516

But there is a market out there.

517

Just need to, need to

market yourself really well.

518

But there's always a market out

there, there's always a niche,

519

and don't be afraid to niche down.

520

Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting.

521

Thank you.

522

And I've just got one final question,

question on that, because I think this is

523

something that people can struggle with.

524

What advice do you have on niching?

525

Because it sounds like you've

always done it extremely well.

526

You spoke about every business

you've had has had a niche.

527

So do you have any advice of

maybe how people can identify

528

a niche even to begin with?

529

Mangla Sachdev: I think it's

figuring out where you hang out.

530

So if you have teenagers or you

have toddlers, and if you were,

531

say, a health coach or a coach, you

know, for perimenopause, it's very

532

different when you speak to mums with

teenagers and mums with toddlers.

533

But when you choose where

you're at and who you want to

534

speak to, they pay attention.

535

So apart from calling our names,

there's, there's not a lot of things

536

that get our attention online.

537

So if you say mums for teenagers who

are feeling the fatigue, you know,

538

your children are, you know, off to

university or something like that,

539

you're immediately sitting up and paying

attention to what you're putting out there

540

because you're talking directly to them.

541

Whereas if you just say

mums, it could mean anybody.

542

So I think niching is always,

always a really good idea.

543

And I think too many people are

afraid that, um, it would just, they

544

won't make a lot of money because if,

you know, the pool's really small,

545

how will I make a lot of money?

546

But the difference is you will

stand out in that small pool.

547

Vicki Weinberg: I think

that makes a lot of sense.

548

And I think there is a saying, and I

may have got this completely wrong, but

549

it's something like if you're talking

to everybody, you're talking to nobody.

550

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

551

Absolutely.

552

Absolutely.

553

Vicki Weinberg: And I agree because

I feel like, yeah, if you, unless

554

you know exactly who you're talking

to, it's, it's actually a lot harder.

555

I think with your marketing,

your communications, everything,

556

if you're not sure exactly who

it is you're trying to reach.

557

Personally, I always

find that a lot harder.

558

Whereas if you have a really clear

vision in mind of this is the

559

kind of person I'm speaking to.

560

And I'm not saying you have to go as

far as avatars and things like that.

561

But I think just knowing, as you've said,

you're talking to a mum of teenagers

562

rather than a mum of young children.

563

Just making that distinction

really does help.

564

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

565

And it's also when you start sharing

your stories, you know, if they're

566

looking through the UCAS form or

something, and you just take a little

567

story or a little video about that,

and you explain how it feels for you.

568

Other people are going to get it.

569

They want, people still buy from people.

570

It's not like you said,

like a faceless corporation.

571

So if you understand what they're going

to, they're going to want to buy from you.

572

They're going to want to learn from

you and you speak their language.

573

So that makes a huge difference.

574

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, that really does.

575

Thank you.

576

Because I wanted to talk about that

because you mentioned niching and I

577

do know as you've probably experienced

as well in the work that you're doing,

578

that sometimes people are a little

bit nervous about sort of narrowing

579

down the, you know, the pool of

people that they're trying to reach.

580

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah,

there's always pushback.

581

Whenever I talk about niche, there's

always, but, oh, but then it's not,

582

you know, what about the somebody else

who doesn't, who, oh, I can also help,

583

you know, am I going to leave them out?

584

And I explained to them that

while we marketed the printing

585

business for international schools,

PTAs, Facebook Meta Singapore

586

and embassies still contacted us.

587

We didn't say no to the business,

but because we had established

588

a name for ourselves in that

niche, somebody paid attention.

589

Vicki Weinberg: That makes a lot of sense.

590

And of course, as you've said, that's

a really good point that you're not

591

necessarily excluding people because of

course, if those people approach you,

592

then, then that's great, but you can't

with your messaging target everybody.

593

Mangla Sachdev: Everyone is

not your customer for sure.

594

Unless you're Amazon.

595

Vicki Weinberg: Well yeah.

596

That's great advice.

597

Thank you.

598

And speaking of advice, well, thank

you for everything you've shared first

599

of all, because you've shared a lot

of advice with us, but what would your

600

number one piece of advice be specifically

for anyone wanting to create and sell

601

products rather than the services?

602

Mangla Sachdev: So you start small.

603

Start what you're comfortable with

and you don't need anything fancy.

604

Nowadays with social media, you

know, we have this free platform

605

to share what we've produced.

606

Um, use that, use that, find

your market, find your people

607

and keep asking for referrals.

608

Keep saying, share it with a friend

or ask for feedback that you really

609

do not have to spend a lot of money

starting your first product business

610

or even your next product business.

611

You can always start

small, test the market.

612

Vicki Weinberg: That's really good advice.

613

Thank you.

614

Because of course, I think cost

is something that can stop a lot

615

of us from, from doing anything.

616

So I think it's really good to remember

that you don't have to have the fancy

617

website and the, the anything right

at the, right at the beginning, I

618

think you can, you could definitely

achieve a lot, um, by starting small.

619

Mangla Sachdev: Absolutely.

620

And I think that's where it takes

a lot of pressure off as well.

621

And so even if you're like, you know,

like I said, you have so many ideas where

622

you could test so many different ideas.

623

If you start small, but allocate,

you know, this is the amount of

624

time I'm going to spend and test

this out and this amount of money.

625

And then you're, you're

comfortable with that.

626

You're not pushing yourself.

627

And when I think when you take

the pressure off, you enjoy

628

your business because I think

you've got to enjoy what we do.

629

That's why we're in business.

630

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

631

I mean, we spend such a lot of time on

our businesses and in our businesses.

632

Yeah.

633

You're right.

634

If we don't enjoy it, then yeah.

635

That's quite sad actually.

636

Especially if you're working for yourself,

I think if you're employed, obviously

637

we don't always have that luxury, but I

think when you're working for yourself,

638

you need to build a business you're happy

to go to every day because it's yours.

639

Mangla Sachdev: Yeah.

640

Gotta have fun.

641

Vicki Weinberg: Well, thank you so

much for everything that you've shared.

642

It's been a great conversation.

643

I found it really eye opening

and hopefully listeners will

644

find it really inspiring as well.

645

So thank you.

646

Mangla Sachdev: I've had so much fun.

647

Thank you for having me.

648

Vicki Weinberg: Thank you

so much for listening right

649

to the end of this episode.

650

Do remember that you can get the

full back catalogue and lots of free

651

resources on my website, vickiweinberg.

652

com.

653

Please do remember to rate and review

this episode if you've enjoyed it

654

and also share it with a friend

who you think might find it useful.

655

Thank you again and see you next week.