Creating a skincare brand to soothe psoriasis<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So, want to start though with the background to White Rabbit because, you created this skincare line because some of the skincare products, the traditional ones out there, were aggravating your sensitive skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to create this business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, certainly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And also I\u2019ll just introduce Jack. This is my cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, Jack, you\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Come and join the podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
He forms a big part of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So White Rabbit Skincare has been going for nine years, and it was literally about a month before its ninth birthday when I put out that video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I had been at university studying history, of all things, and whilst I was there, I was diagnosed with stress-related psoriasis, and I went to the doctor, and I was told that there wasn\u2019t a cure for psoriasis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are different causes because it\u2019s an autoimmune skin condition, but mine is primarily stress related.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when I found out there wasn\u2019t a cure for it, I was prescribed steroid creams and things, but you\u2019re told to only use these for a few weeks at a time and me being me, I\u2019m a bit of a research geek, so I was like, why is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like, why would I want to use a product on my skin that\u2019s potentially not going to help me long term, and it\u2019s not actually going to really help me individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I went away, I started using really natural, simple ingredients that you can buy even from the supermarkets, things like coconut oil, shea butter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I bought a make your own skincare book and I thought I\u2019m just going to try, just as like a hobby, I\u2019m going to try making products for myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I started doing that and my tiny little, I wish I had a photo of it, actually. I\u2019m not very good at measurements, but it\u2019s this tiny little galley kitchen in my flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, you know, I had my pots and pans on the stove making things, and it wasn\u2019t until my friends and family started taking an interest in it, that I thought maybe there\u2019s something here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m vegan myself, and I\u2019m really passionate about knowing what\u2019s in products, what they\u2019re made of, making them as natural as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was sort of the beginning, and it wasn\u2019t until I was let go from my very, very last job, I think it was just before Christmas actually in 2016, that I got into it full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I worked on White Rabbit for a good couple of years and had many ups and downs, but nothing quite like this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So last year when things had started quieting down, because we actually fared quite well over Covid and lockdown, because I think people were at home, you know, they were shopping online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it wasn\u2019t until maybe the end of, I would like to say mid-2022, where we started seeing a real slowdown in sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then 2023 was just the point where I actually thought, I\u2019m at rock bottom now, I don\u2019t know where to turn, and I literally felt like I\u2019d exhausted all my resources and when I put that video out, there wasn\u2019t any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t set out to put out that video. I was just literally at the end of my tether because in between times I\u2019d actually started, I\u2019d got like my personal trainer qualification and because I\u2019m very passionate about health generally, and I had been in doing my personal training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had come out of the gym to a message from one of my other clients saying, \u201cYou know, I think we\u2019ll need to stop working together,\u201d because she couldn\u2019t afford it and this, that, and the next thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I panicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I thought, there\u2019s just nothing coming in for White Rabbit. Now what other potential income sources are going to stop as well? What am I actually going to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And at that point, it was a bit of an implosion and an explosion at the same time. That\u2019s when it all came out and I never genuinely in a million years thought that it would reach as many people as it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last time I checked the video had over, I think it was two million views on Instagram and the opportunities and the people who have reached out to me since, including yourselves, has just been incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you had said to me at the beginning of March, would I have envisioned myself here compared to what, where I was then, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it or I wouldn\u2019t have thought it was possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it just shows you what can happen basically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the signs that your business is in trouble?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So I want to delve into what exactly was the moment that you realised that you were in trouble? So was it an empty bank account?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want you to tell me about that, but I also just wanted to go into your background a little bit to show that most people who start businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\u2019re not accountants, and they\u2019re not leaving a job in the city to go and create a business. They\u2019re doing something that starts as a passion and grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you don\u2019t have your MBA, you don\u2019t have your finance qualification. So, what was it, what was the kind of final straw?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Oh God, I had an overdue return. It might have been two, actually, to be honest. Goodness, what else? It just felt like there were debts that were just snowballing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was like one thing on top of the other. I\u2019d got like letters saying that my business overdraft facility was due for review. And I just panicked because I thought if I don\u2019t have that sort of thing to fall back on, what am I going to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had asked, like previously I\u2019d been very lucky that, you know, family and friends and things that had kind of given money to support the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I had exhausted those resources, so I didn\u2019t want to ask any more, and it was just sheer panic. I didn\u2019t know what else to do. I didn\u2019t, I just thought not enough people know about the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why I put out the video and I asked for people to share because I just thought, if I could just get even like a couple of hundred people to see, you know, find out about the business, then around millions, it might do something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But again, there wasn\u2019t any agenda behind it. There wasn\u2019t any motive. There have been a couple of moments, as does happen online where people think that I had gone out and pre-planned it, and it was all fake, and it was fake crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I\u2019m just thinking nobody wants to be seen ugly crying on the internet and I have just done that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The viral TikTok video that changed it all<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No, that was what struck me was how authentic it clearly was. Like there was just nothing, you weren\u2019t holding anything back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You were literally having a breakdown and just wanting to show, I think how people put their heart and soul into building these businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business owners listening to that litany of pressures from the back returns to the overdraft review. I mean, I can already feel like cold chills going down my spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone would totally understand how you must have felt at the brink at that point. But can you tell people who haven\u2019t seen the video what is it, and what happens in this video?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So basically, I\u2019m sitting in my car outside the gym. I get in the car, and I couldn\u2019t face, I should\u2019ve just driven home, but I couldn\u2019t face driving, you know, the way you just sit in your car, and you just don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s basically how it starts off, so I didn\u2019t intend to make this video, which was true. I didn\u2019t intend to be sitting there in all my gym gear with no makeup. And I wasn\u2019t crying at that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as the video went through, basically I was explaining the mounting pressures of things like the VAT bills because previously, at this point, we weren\u2019t making enough turnover in terms of a VAT threshold, but we had previously registered for VAT for a few different reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one point where we were at the threshold and also some of our bigger stockists that we were working with at the time required it. So you know, I was talking about VAT, I was talking about how I feel like it\u2019s so frustrating that a lot of the bigger companies are doing a lot of greenwashing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So they\u2019re making all these environmental claims or things like veganism, which has become very much mainstream, which is amazing. But at the same time, it used to be our USP, as it was for a lot of businesses, and now it\u2019s not because vegan has become so expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I was saying we\u2019ve been muscled out by all these bigger companies, and it can be really difficult and frustrating when it comes to the sort of social media and influencer marketing side of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of course they have to make money as well, but a lot of influencers charge a huge amount of money to talk about products. So it can be difficult to get that sort of recognition or get people to talk about your products or your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as I was talking, the more and more upset I was getting, because I think I was almost giving myself a small therapy session. I was talking, and it was the reality of what was actually happening was coming out as I was like vocalising it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I just said if people could comment, if they could share the video, just to try and get a bit more recognition for the brand and that was it. I put it together with some other clips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So at the moment in the business, it\u2019s myself, and it\u2019s actually my mum that work together. So she and I make all the products, and she packs the orders. So I\u2019d put the video together with some clips of us working together and the business over a certain amount of time and I just uploaded it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I came home, I was actually sitting here, and I remember, all of a sudden, because I\u2019ve got Shopify, so it\u2019s like when you get an order, it makes a little chime noise and all of a sudden, this chiming was constant, and I was like, what is going on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then people were messaging me going, I\u2019ve just seen your video, and I\u2019ve just shared it and of course my family and friends were messaging going, \u201cAre you okay? I\u2019ve just seen your video.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it was one of those things where I was sitting here, meant to be getting on with my day, I could probably still find my to-do list for that day, and you can just see how I\u2019d scrapped like any notion of doing anything that day because it just went from like zero to a hundred so quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just before I came on here actually my mum was asking how many orders we\u2019ve had since. So that was the 30th of March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So since then, up till today, we\u2019ve had, I think it was something like 1,876 orders. Which, when you consider, literally up until that point there were some days I wasn\u2019t getting any orders at all, or the average was maybe like two or three orders a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So to have that many orders in that amount of time has just been incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the support I\u2019ve had from people who message me, and they go, \u201cSorry my order isn\u2019t very big, but I wanted to support you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It makes my heart, I could cry again because it doesn\u2019t matter what your order size is, you don\u2019t even need to order, just being aware of the brand and sharing the video and whatever else, has just been incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s been the most you, you know when they say a roller coaster in business? I can 100% attest to that. That\u2019s what it\u2019s been. It\u2019s been mental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coping with the aftermath of a viral video by putting your products on pre-order<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But I mean, how did you deal with the aftermath?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because then you\u2019ve got the orders coming in, the ping, ping, ping. But then you\u2019ve also got all these people messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So presumably it becomes almost a full-time job just trying to respond to all the messages and stuff on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how did you deal with the kind of unintended consequences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Well, funnily enough, firstly, I remember saying to one of my mentors a couple of months back that I had written on my vision board that I wanted to receive more orders than we could handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I can say that\u2019s definitely happened now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s been a humongous learning curve because as I say, we went from zero to a hundred in the space of a very short amount of time. So there have been a lot of mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s been a lot of things that I definitely want to improve. There\u2019s been times where I\u2019ve really struggled because in the meantime, I actually had a lot of things happening in my personal life as well, which isn\u2019t ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you get really horrible emails you want to email back and be like, \u201cThis, this, this and this has happened I am trying my hardest,\u201d but I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re a small business, there\u2019s only two of us, you have to be a jack of all trades, and you just have to manage everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I\u2019ve not gotten around it, but what I\u2019m trying to do is trying to be as accountable, be as open and honest as I can and also keep our customers and our followers as up to date as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, at the same time as getting all the orders, our social media following grew from 10,000 on Instagram to, I think we\u2019re now at 41,000. Which feels like a huge responsibility as well because again, there\u2019s that added like accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had a really bizarre experience where a couple of people from where I live, have messaged, and said, \u201cOh, I saw you in the supermarket,\u201d and I\u2019m like oh gosh, I\u2019m going to have to start watching how I look when I go out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And one girl messaged me, and I messaged her back, she just asked me a query, and she went, \u201cOh my goodness. I didn\u2019t think you would see my message, I\u2019m fangirling right now that you\u2019ve replied to me,\u201d and I\u2019m like, I\u2019m not a celebrity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a shame. No, but you are now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Well, I am having to put a lot of, like, processes and boundaries in place. That\u2019s been a big thing because where I do feel that sense of accountability and wanting to give back to the customers that have helped me so much in terms of ordering, I also have to remember that I don\u2019t want to be back in that same burnout space as I was previously, just for another reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So where I was close to burnout before, well, I think I did burnout from stress relating to financial issues. I don\u2019t want to burn out in the sense of trying to get everything done and also from a mental viewpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because there\u2019s been a few times, and I\u2019ve actually been going to counselling about this, but there\u2019s been quite a few times where I\u2019ve felt like I\u2019m not doing enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s that hustle culture, and I\u2019m like, I feel like a failure because I\u2019m not getting everyone\u2019s orders processed in a day. So it\u2019s definitely been an eye-opening experience. And as I say, we\u2019ve just tried to keep everyone up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started a series on my Instagram views called Saving My Small Business, which initially I was doing a video every day just saying that we\u2019ve had done this amount orders, and this is what we\u2019re doing, X, Y, and Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t do it as frequently now, but it was just a way of like keeping people up to date about what I\u2019m doing and how their support is helping me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for example, I\u2019ve been able to buy new equipment to help make the products. I\u2019ve now got, talking about social media, I\u2019ve got an external firm or company who are going to be running all that for me. They schedule all my newsletters and things, which is going to be a massive help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My next goal is to think about what else I can delegate, like, how I can outsource. Because I want to take on people who are better than me, who know more than me, because as I say, I\u2019m a jack of all trades at the minute and literally master of none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I feel like I\u2019ve not had a minute to actually sit down and work that out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven\u2019t been able to see literally beyond my nose. I\u2019ve just wanted to, you know, get the products made, get the orders out as quickly as possible. But again, I just checked with my mum before I came on here, and I\u2019ll be able to now take the products off pre-order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we should go back to normal with our stock and things. Because it was getting to the point where people were, well a few people were wanting to know where their orders were and stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority of people have been incredible and have been like, \u201cWe know that you\u2019ve been snowed under with what orders, we\u2019ll wait for it, it\u2019s not a life-or-death situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I chose to put them on to pre-order so that there wasn\u2019t that sort of extra, but we\u2019ve now got down to, I think we\u2019re down to 16 orders left to fulfil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure you\u2019re prepared for a surge of orders if you do big name collaborations<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know how you can feel like a failure because you had the smarts to actually turn your ordering system to pre-order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you\u2019re still taking their money, but you\u2019re letting people know that there\u2019s such a backlog because you\u2019re so in demand. That\u2019s really smart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like a lot of business owners would just kind of crumple and think I can\u2019t do this, so that\u2019s a really smart way of dealing with a massive barrage of orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yeah, I mean, when you go viral, you\u2019re not expecting to go viral. The unintended consequences are intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I\u2019m just wondering whether you feel like you now have to keep trying to create hit videos and how on earth do you follow a video that is showing you at such an extreme when you never want to be at that extreme again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, exactly. I wouldn\u2019t say I necessarily want to create more viral videos because how do you go about doing that? Especially when it was so unintentional in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I feel like a lot of the time, a lot of these viral videos are quite contrived, which is maybe what some people thought about mine, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I very much, I do want to make the most of this, if I\u2019m honest. Like, that\u2019s why I\u2019m really keen to get back to normal orders instead of pre-orders. And that\u2019s why I didn\u2019t want to just close the website temporarily until we processed the orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I thought, I don\u2019t want people coming to the website, seeing they can\u2019t order, and then just forgetting about us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s staying at the forefront of people\u2019s minds, and we\u2019ve also been so lucky with the amount of people who have been sharing on social media and tagging a lot of big influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been really fortunate to be put in touch with quite a few different people who I hope will help me continue that momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So [Caroline] Hirons, who again was also on my vision board, she\u2019s like the skincare guru of the UK and beyond. She reached out and said, \u201cHow, how can I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I was just like, oh my God, this is it, my life has been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So there\u2019s that opportunity there as well. I haven\u2019t sent her products yet because I know for a fact that when she talks about the products it will be another massive, big boom and I want to be prepared this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because with the video before, I wasn\u2019t prepared because I wasn\u2019t expecting it to take off. Whereas now, I sort of have an idea if and when Caroline talks about the products, that there will be a massive surge in orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s things like people keep saying to me, \u201cYou need to get on TikTok and do TikTok livestreams,\u201d and this is when I feel really old because I\u2019m like, right okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I want to start doing that as well, but again I was waiting until we got through the bulk of the existing orders before I start doing that. And it\u2019s just been amazing because it then opens up more scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So at the minute we are literally working out of my house because over Covid and lockdown, I moved out of the unit that I was in before, just because it wasn\u2019t worth the rent I was paying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because as I say, when you\u2019re only getting a couple of orders in a day, it wasn\u2019t worth it. But now if these orders continue, I\u2019m really keen to try and find a commercial unit. I would love to potentially find investors or something like that just to help me take the business to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I\u2019ll be honest, when I was in those days of negativity, I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do with the business anymore. It wasn\u2019t making me happy just because I was so stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since then, it\u2019s sort of reunited my love for it again. And I\u2019m really excited to see where we can take it and what we can do, but I do definitely feel like I need some help now to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sort of feel like I\u2019ve reached the end of my capabilities, in terms of maybe my ideas and things. Sometimes it would just be good to have some external eyes and ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So that would be the next step, ideally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find influencers who genuinely use and love your products<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Because you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you don\u2019t know what advice someone might give you about having better cash buffers or how you could manage some of these amazing shout-outs from celebrities and skincare gurus and stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s useful to have a sounding board and presumably some cash as well, just so that you know you can react quickly to take advantage of these opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d love you to tell me, though, Melanie, some of the pressures when you are a sort of up-and-coming skincare brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because, for example, talking about influences, that was one thing that struck me, was that you\u2019re only really as good as the before and after pictures that someone has recently posted about like, \u201cOh, look, I had bad eczema, and I\u2019ll use these products and look how beautiful it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the pressure to keep those sorts of endorsements and the before and after stuff coming in must be just exhausting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you navigate that influencer review promo video landscape?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Good question and it is quite a difficult one, especially because now, don\u2019t get me wrong, I have got hundreds upon hundreds of customer reviews, seeing how much the products have helped them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which is incredible, and I love reading through them, but when it comes to actually getting real results from people, because a lot of the time, and similarly, I don\u2019t know if I would think to do the same, but when people are starting to use a new product, they maybe don\u2019t think about taking a photo of their skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then, in order to then do the comparison, we\u2019ve got one incredible one that I\u2019ve pinned to the feeds of our Instagram page, where a girl\u2019s skin was literally bleeding, I think it was psoriasis she had as well, and she\u2019d been taking like progress pictures, which have been amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to the influencer I think I\u2019ve maybe, in the whole time White Rabbit\u2019s been going, I\u2019ve paid for one post or relationship or something, but if I\u2019m honest, I find it quite superficial, and you\u2019re not always guaranteed results from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was speaking to one of my friends who\u2019s got a makeup brand here in Scotland, and she was saying the same. It\u2019s so frustrating that one influencer was looking to charge thousands of pounds for a post and some stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when she\u2019d asked this influencer for her statistics, so things like, what\u2019s your typical level of interaction when previous brands have worked with you? How many orders have they got out of one of your posts? And so on and so forth, and she couldn\u2019t provide that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when you\u2019re a small brand, it\u2019s a pretty massive leap of faith to be expected to pay for something that you might not get anything back off of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I\u2019ve been so fortunate again, I\u2019ve developed some really good relations with some influencers and brand ambassadors who very kindly do post about my products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s more of an exchange in terms of like, if they\u2019re needing products or their favourite products, I\u2019ll send them the products to use and things. But that means I know when they talk about the products, they\u2019re genuine about it, and I think that comes across more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I personally, as a consumer myself, I\u2019m more likely to trust posts and people like that, because now they\u2019re legally obliged to write down if it\u2019s sponsored or whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because in my mind I\u2019m always thinking they\u2019re going to say positive things about it because they\u2019ve been paid to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They can\u2019t say this is rubbish, I hated it, it smells like cat pee. They can\u2019t say that if it\u2019s literally their living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yes, yes. But because it\u2019s such a huge and rapidly developing market and a self-influencer market, you have to be involved in, in some extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I\u2019m still learning about it, so I think I\u2019ll still be learning about it in 10 years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best marketing hack is authenticity<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But what other ways can a small business, like you, but anyone else who\u2019s got sort of a small brand, what other ways can you be smart about your marketing and your PR to kind of bite back at the big established brands with huge marketing budgets?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So one is like going the authentic route, as you say, making sure that you work people that genuinely love your product. You\u2019re not having to pay them to say that they love your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what other things have you done in terms of marketing, that have worked that you think small brands should leverage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Well, one thing is authenticity from yourself and the personal aspect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I know we were laughing about Jack the cat coming on this podcast, but honestly, everyone that follows my Instagram especially seem to love my mum, my dad, and my cats more than they do me and the products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I would say, don\u2019t be afraid to show, it sounds really cheesy, right? But don\u2019t be afraid to show the real you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So similarly when I put that video out. I wouldn\u2019t say hundreds, but quite a lot of other small business owners messaged me, including a couple who, from the outset, when you look at their social media, you would never know there was anything wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then they\u2019ve opened up to me and said that they\u2019ve been experiencing similar things, like various cash flow issues, legal issues, and I think social media is such a show and of course everyone just wants to show the good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since that point, since I uploaded that video, I almost made a promise to myself to always be honest. I kind of struggle in terms of where to draw the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when I mentioned the personal issues that I was going through, I was like, now, how open do I want to be? Do I actually want to talk about these things?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then I was also very wary that I didn\u2019t want to come across as if I was giving excuses. I think it\u2019s something that I\u2019m going to struggle with for quite a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is one thing I would say to other small businesses, is just literally be yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because if you think, say for example, let\u2019s be honest, you could buy any skincare product, there are hundreds, upon hundreds of skincare brands out there, if not thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have the choice of them all, and for all the reasons that you might want to buy certain products for, a big chunk of it, especially if you\u2019re following them on social media, is the people behind the brand. I think it\u2019s a bit cheesy, but it\u2019s the whole adage of people by people is so true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if you\u2019ve got someone\u2019s social media page, and it\u2019s very like clinical, and it\u2019s just photos of products there\u2019s nothing. You don\u2019t know the why behind the products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So for example, imagine I never spoke about why I started the range or why it\u2019s called White Rabbit Skincare. People would just be like, \u201cHmm. Okay, what\u2019s so unique about that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it also makes things a lot easier. I love the fact that I can just be me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m like the biggest geek going, and I\u2019m so lanky and uncoordinated, and I like talking to people about what books I\u2019m reading, and it makes it a lot easier than trying to be super professional, always having to have my makeup on and look put together type person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I would say just be yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be less reactive to online hate and put boundaries in place<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But to play devil\u2019s advocate, is there not a part of you that feels like the more you open up and the more vulnerable you are, and you show all the parts of your life, the more you sort of open the door for people to lash out at you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like you said, people accused you of making up that video and that you weren\u2019t really crying. There is a horrible place on the internet as well where people can be quite vicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trolls exist and the sort of more vulnerable you are, you sort of let some of those people in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suppose, do you have to also, while being vulnerable, have quite a thick skin for when you do get the negative comments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you manage that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At the moment, I don\u2019t really know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s an honest answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I think this has been the ideal opportunity for me to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, as I mentioned earlier, like, I\u2019ve started counselling for various different issues. That\u2019s another thing as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mentioned on my stories one day, I was like, \u201cOh, my mum\u2019s packing orders at home. I\u2019m just on the way to my counselling,\u201d because I feel like for some reason, it\u2019s a big taboo and people don\u2019t really talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then so many people reply back to that story saying, \u201cThank you for sharing that. Like I\u2019m going to counselling as well or you\u2019ve made me think that I\u2019d like to start going and so on and so forth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yes, you do get the people who, touch wood, I\u2019ve been so fortunate that they have been in tiny, tiny minority but yes you do get the people, like the ones on that video commenting and saying just various horrible, horrible things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And my initial reaction was, because I\u2019m an Aries, I\u2019m quite reactive, as you might have been able to tell. My initial reaction was to say something back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But number one, a lot of the time now, people will react back for you, they\u2019ve got your back, and they\u2019ll say something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or, now what I\u2019m trying to do is, I just delete and block those people because I\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t care if they say that everyone\u2019s entitled to their opinion, not when it\u2019s horrific, and it\u2019s making someone feel terrible about themselves. Like, you don\u2019t have the right to say that to someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if I\u2019m being honest, similarly when it comes to people who have ordered, if they send me, I\u2019ve had a couple of really, really horrible emails that have had me in tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whereas before I would engage in a kind of back and forth, back, and forth. I now just cancel their order and refund them because I just think I don\u2019t want that kind of person as a customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And also that doesn\u2019t deserve the right to take up space in my head. I\u2019ve got too much, I\u2019d rather focus on all the good and all the amazing people and all the amazing customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you do have to draw boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really struggle with boundaries in work and in my personal life, but it\u2019s one thing that, as I say, I think this has happened for a reason, for me to work on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So yes, it\u2019s like in every aspect of life you\u2019re going to have good and bad. It\u2019s never going to be all shiny happy. But that\u2019s how you develop as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inspiration behind the brand name<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And you mentioned, sharing everything about why you started the business, and you\u2019ve shared why it\u2019s called White Rabbit Skincare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I actually don\u2019t know this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you a massive Jefferson Airplane fan? Where does the story come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No, so it\u2019s a mixture of different things. So, Alice in Wonderland was one of my favourite films when I was growing up, and actually we\u2019ve got a new product launching next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a set of four tinted balms and because of copyright, I couldn\u2019t name them exactly formally from Alice in Wonderland, but it\u2019s kind of a theme we\u2019ve got going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But also the rabbit aspect, I\u2019m vegan, I love animals, they\u2019re pure and innocent, and I love the idea that on the first of the month when you say white rabbit three times, it means good luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s like a combination of different things, and it\u2019s just something a wee bit different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because initially I thought of going down the route of what could be considered more bog-standard skincare names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Just like lovely vegan skincare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I just thought I wanted something a wee bit different. So yeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019m waiting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t be too proud to ask for help<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And just finally, Melanie, I could keep you on the phone for a million years. It\u2019s such a fascinating story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But just some advice to other business owners who reached breaking point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because obviously the route that you took, the social media route, ended up providing such an amazing surge of support. But it\u2019s quite tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can\u2019t guarantee that that would be the response, but you also mentioned going to counselling, for example, which is another route to kind of managing your emotions and trying to get support when things are really hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what, what would you say to any other founders, entrepreneurs, business owners who are at that point, they are in crisis, and they don\u2019t know who to turn to, like what steps should they take?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What, what would you tell them to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie Blane:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I guess the biggest one that\u2019s come out of that video the most for me is to ask for help, whether it\u2019s in a personal or a business capacity or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because for the longest time I was very stubborn, and I was too proud to ask for help. And that video in itself was a cry for help, whether or not I realised it at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, and I know that there\u2019ll be a lot of people in similar situations who will be the same, but don\u2019t be afraid of being seen as a failure if you ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you think about it, there\u2019s no way you can do everything yourself forever, there\u2019s no way of moving forward without getting some sort of help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether its counselling or financial help or business mentoring or anything like that. I would say that would be the biggest one for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just don\u2019t be alone. I would say, because it can be such an isolating experience, especially if you\u2019re like a solopreneur, try and do this yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So that would be my biggest one, I would say is just ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspired by this small business story?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wherever you\u2019re listening or watching, subscribe to Sound Advice on Apple iTunes<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are also on Spotify<\/a> and anywhere else you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Join our community to share your insights and stories on X @SageIreland<\/a> using the hashtag #SoundAdvicePodcast, on Instagram @SageOfficial<\/a> or in the comments below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find out more about Melanie on her X<\/a> or LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more on White Rabbit Skincare, check out their website<\/a> or drop them a follow on Instagram<\/a> or X<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n Get your free guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template to help you manage your business and achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t With one TikTok video, discover how Melanie Blane and her brand White Rabbit Skincare went viral and ended up drowning in new orders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1161,"featured_media":14245,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[130,132,332,153],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[232],"imagine_tag":[230],"coauthors":[439],"class_list":["post-14936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-grow-business","tag-start-business","tag-sound-advice-podcast","tag-startup-stories","post_format-post-format-audio","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Bex Burn-Callander","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/08\/Blog_S2_Ep28.jpg","imagine_tags":{"230":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Ireland","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=14936"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Want to know more about Melanie Blane or White Rabbit Skincare?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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