Not a clue? Teach yourself through YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s your ambition? Start up and sell is perfectly valid<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n How to find your first clients and employees\u2013and manage them<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Find an accountant who works with start ups \u2013 it could save you \u00a325k<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n How you come back from losing 40% of your clients overnight<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiny tech to try: Clubhouse, WhatsApp voice notes, Canva<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Invest in your personal brand: \u2018My currency is my energy\u2019 Be unapologetically unafraid to call out gender bias in business<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And we are back with episode nine. This time on Sound Advice, I\u2019m talking to Jess Ratty, a woman who has started two very different companies over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going from renting camper vans to running a PR communications agency. She\u2019s going to tell us what she\u2019s learned doing it twice, and how you maintain momentum in any start up business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for joining us today, Jess. How\u2019s life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life\u2019s amazing, Bex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love that response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think maybe it makes sense to start with campers because I know this is a while ago, but this is sort of when you first took your steps into entrepreneurial life because you just had a regular job before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, tell me how that happened and what prompted you to start doing a little side hustle and renting these campers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Side hustle is exactly the word, Bex, to be honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we were also flying by the seat of our pants. Basically, I was working for Crowdfunding.co.uk. It was an amazing job. And what it was, was I was able to work with loads and loads of different businesses that were looking to raise funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I was like, do you know what? I could do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I had gone camping with my partner, Ben. And he\u2019d sort of \u2026 We had our feet just hanging over this barbecue, the embers were dying down. And the tent was just full of the smell of soggy socks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he turned to me and he was like, \u201cDo you know what? I\u2019ve always wanted to run my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I was like, I looked at him\u2026 He\u2019s nearly 40 then and I was like, \u201cMate, if you haven\u2019t launched a business now and you\u2019re nearly 40, what are you waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next day, we went out, bought two rotted out old camper vans. I would never buy anything that rotted out again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We didn\u2019t have a clue what we were doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I registered the business without a clue, Bex. I didn\u2019t know anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t know how to build a website, or even that anyone normal could go and do these things. And we just went for it, and that was kind of how that started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yeah, we sold it last year, which was mad. One of my proudest moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From not knowing anything, to building a business that\u2019s thriving, so much so that someone wants to pay good money for it \u2013 that\u2019s something to be celebrated. But how did you learn everything that you needed to learn?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because you mentioned starting not having a single clue what you were doing. What were the first challenges that came up, and how did you overcome those challenges?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think it\u2019s the funniest thing because people ask me all the time for advice on launching a business. And I think the best thing and maybe the thing I learned with my first company was make it really simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I literally started with a list of things I thought I needed to do. And then I worked through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And one of the hardest things I faced in my first business was the amount of hours I had to put in on the side hustle while still also working full-time. And the energy it takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when you love something so much, and you\u2019re so excited about it, that passion just sort of drives you. But it was definitely the list. A very, very simple list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was like, right, How am I going to get customers? Build a website, get some social media channels? What\u2019s sexy? What gets people excited?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we\u2019d take loads of photographs and one of the really big things that we did with the camper company was we documented our entire journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So there\u2019s pictures of us \u2026 You go back nearly a decade, but there\u2019s pictures of us in this old unit that we\u2019d hired in these massive fluffy, fleecy jackets, like, oh, what have we done? What have we done with our lives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then I guess we just took it from there with that list. And put in the hours to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ben did all the refits, and he basically taught himself everything from YouTube looking how to strip an engine, how to completely reupholster the inside of a camper van. So he took care of that side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then you took care of the business operations, is that right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, yeah. I\u2019m a marketer at heart. And Ben, my partner, is just one of the most incredible humans I\u2019ve ever met in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He literally Googled and YouTubed how to spray a camper van, and was dancing around the living room with this movement that you had to do to spray vans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he built the Cornwall Camper Company and then now, when we sold it, we got some money together. And now we\u2019ve built a house. And the guy\u2019s never built a house before in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I think if you relate that back to business, it\u2019s literally that you can do anything you set your mind to. And you can learn anything you want to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s always, always people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was actually \u2026 It\u2019s a cheesy moment but I was listening to a Steve Jobs audio piece yesterday. And he was like, \u201cYou can phone anyone and ask for advice, and genuinely, generally they\u2019ll give you the advice you need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I really relied on that recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has that been your experience though, that you\u2019ve just had to ask for help, and then that help has been given? And how have you chosen the right people to give you that support? How have you joined those dots?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s definitely a bit hit and miss if I\u2019m honest because sometimes people give you advice that you really \u2026 It just doesn\u2019t sit well when you think, well actually, it might\u2019ve worked for you, but that\u2019s not my style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve learned a lot about what not to do in business by working with business people that I respect a lot, and seeing their mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And sometimes in my working career, being a part of their mistakes. And realising that on reflection now, I just wouldn\u2019t do the things that they might\u2019ve done in terms of recruiting too fast or getting the wrong people and stuff like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I\u2019m really hyper-aware of other people\u2019s mistakes. And then I\u2019ve got this amazing advisory network, mostly all my clients with my current business, which is a marketing company, that they\u2019re really open to helping my company succeed now because it benefits them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And also because they\u2019re just really nice people. We only work with nice people, Bex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, I\u2019m going to ask you more about that actually because that\u2019s quite an interesting approach to doing business, and having a business that makes you happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But just to finish on the camper side, so what made you decide that it was time to sell? And what were the signs that kind of prompted you that this is the right time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And how big was that company when you decided to move on to the next challenge? How big had you grown it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a really obvious reason why we wanted to sell it, is that it\u2019s a tourism business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019ve got a little girl, and she\u2019s nine now. And her whole life, she has experienced us working all through summer. And I do want my little girl to grow up learning that it\u2019s okay to work hard, but you\u2019ve also got to enjoy your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s been times in my life where I\u2019ve definitely worked too much. And not paid head to the thing in my life that are really important, that at the end of the day, there\u2019s that famous saying. You\u2019re lying on your death bed and nobody ever says, \u201cOh, I worked too much.\u201d Or, \u201cI wish I\u2019d worked more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s just that has been very important to me lately. So that\u2019s why we sold it, but also the time had come, Bex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The business wasn\u2019t going to grow any bigger unless we sort of put in a lot of investment and decided to become a 16-van fleet and monopolise the South West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s no doubt we could\u2019ve done that, but I have a huge desire to launch businesses, not just the one I\u2019m on now. And to get involved with start ups. And to be a part of a future that is innovative and doing really good things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I found personally that the camper business was holding me back in the end because it was more like I had to \u2026 I never wanted to lose my reputation or for that business to slowly grind to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to go out with a bang. For me, that\u2019s huge success. You sell a business. You exit successfully. To me, that rocks my boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But equally, did it get very big? We had five vans at the end. We stated with two rotters. We made a successful living. There was a profit, a very small one each year. And that grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then some years were hard. Vans break down, especially vintage camper vans. There was the two in the mornings where you\u2019re having a camper van back after doing a wedding, and it just was time to hand over the baton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s gone to an amazing couple that are really much more auto. They use auto systems. We were very hands-on with our customers and stuff like that. But they\u2019ve taken a step back. And I think they\u2019ll grow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it was really a massive journey. It did what it needed to do in terms of teaching me about starting and selling business. And I feel really lucky that I got to do that. I feel really blessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that I had Ben as my wing man because you go into business on your own like I am kind of with this, the one that I\u2019m doing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s hard. When you have a worry, and you\u2019ve got to \u2026 I had to eat the frogs yesterday where I had to phone up a customer and apologise because we messed up. And that\u2019s fine too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conversation ended with him saying, \u201cDo you know what? I would\u2019ve been a bit frustrated if you\u2019d tried to come up with some excuse for messing up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I was like, \u201cWell no, we just messed up. Sorry.\u201d And he was left really happy with that. He said, \u201cI think more of you for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love that you use the phrase \u201ceat the frog\u201d. I\u2019m going to just explain for listeners because in freelancer world, you\u2019ve got your frog that you have to eat before you can go and do the work that you\u2019re really looking forward to doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s usually the thing that you\u2019re really dreading. So we call that, eating the frog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I\u2019m glad to see that someone else has used that phrase as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when you exited Cornwall Camper Company, were you already thinking about Halo? And did you already have a path to go into building your own agency?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, I had already launched Halo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So there was a crazy period in my life where I was trying to hand over and sell the Cornwall Camper Company. And Halo was about six months old I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Timelines get a bit blurry in business world for me, but I try to keep my milestones. But yeah, it was crazy because I wanted to in the same way that I put a lot of pressure on myself for everything else, I wanted to be the best business seller in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I put a lot of pressure on myself to hand over every single piece of intellectual property and knowledge and learning to the new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Halo was interesting because I always had another job when I was working on the Cornwall Camper Company. But I\u2019d got asked to move on from Crowdfunder and then got this other job, which I found quite boring if I\u2019m really honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an amazing job, really well paid for a great person. But it just wasn\u2019t enough for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I just thought, oh no, I\u2019ve done it now because have I made myself unemployable by being the person that likes to launch businesses?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel like I have so much to give, and I feel like when I look at other people building businesses, I want autonomy in that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I didn\u2019t have that in that job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So then I was really upset one day. I\u2019d been called a promo girl in an email to somebody. And I got upset. I was like, \u201cI\u2019m nobody\u2019s promo girl, baby.\u201d I was like, \u201cI ain\u2019t no promo girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that was a real pivotal moment for me because Ben sat me down. He said, \u201cLook, you\u2019ve done it before. You can do it again. People love working with you, Jessica. Just launch your own company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it was another one of those moments, Bex. I phoned up, I respectfully quit my job. And then the next day I sat down where I\u2019d always say at my kitchen table and I built Halo. And there we go. It can be simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You make it sound too easy. Hang on, hang on, hang on. So you sat down at your kitchen table. So how did you get those first clients, because that is always the \u2026 Finding your first customers is always the hardest thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And presumable when you\u2019re leaving one employer, you can\u2019t just be like, \u201cHey, everyone that was working for me at old employer, come and jump ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least not for a while, you can\u2019t. So what did you do to get those first names?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t working in an agency, I was working for a company. So I wasn\u2019t able to steal any clients, nor would I wish to. I think that\u2019s bad form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had been freelancing on the side. So I was side hustling again. I had actually, I was freelancing for an amazing man called Richard Brown. And he\u2019d built the world\u2019s first ever jet suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was also working for an incredible man called Adam Beaumont. He booked me to do his social media and that was amazing fun. I got to go and live on a yacht for a week and do this guy\u2019s life socials. And it was really both of those people, Richard and Adam, they both supported me as I moved into take on more clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was also a time where I learned a lot about how much to give everybody of myself, Bex. Because when you\u2019re on your own, I had no idea how much time per client I needed to allocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And because I was working with Richard Browning, he is so well-known. He\u2019s this maverick. Jet suits, right? It\u2019s not difficult to PR a jet suit company. But what was difficult was managing their messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I was getting a name for working with a really incredible person. And that bought other clients in as well. But I definitely needed to sort of learn very fast how to manage multiple clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that meant building a bit of a team, which frankly I hadn\u2019t even thought I would be in the position to do in my first six months to eight months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not easy. I do make it sound easy. But that\u2019s because I love it so much. It\u2019s not work if you love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But how did you then manage to put those boundaries in place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I can imagine when you\u2019re starting your own agency, and as you say, you\u2019ve got these amazing clients, you just kind of want to be on 24\/7, all weekend, even if you feel like you\u2019ve done a good job, you want to do a better job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did you figure that out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m still figuring it out quite massively. They don\u2019t tell you in the business that at the point when you\u2019re growing your fastest, is also the point where you have to learn how to recruit people. And how to manage that time load. I\u2019m really bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve got some smaller clients that get just as much love as some of our bigger clients. I probably shouldn\u2019t admit that, but my reputation is at stake every step of the way. Whether it\u2019s a little job or a big job. So I\u2019m still learning that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t have an answer really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess the answer would be to have to employ brilliant mavericks like I\u2019ve done. My team are unbelievable. And they do keep my on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of them was like, \u201cWhy are you doing that for that client, because it\u2019s not on the work agenda?\u201d And I was like, \u201cGood point. I\u2019m going to do it anyway, but good point. I\u2019ll remember that for next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did you find these mavericks? Because you mentioned that you\u2019ve got to learn recruitment like you learned everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But recruitment can be a tougher thing to learn because it\u2019s not like you can just learn human nature or you can just learn how to read people as easily as maybe picking up basic accounting where everything is the same every time you look at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did you learn the recruitment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s something I\u2019m going through at the moment. So the first person I employed was Georgia, my right-hand woman. She\u2019s fresh out of university, had worked at Fifteen Cornwall (Jamie Oliver\u2019s restaurant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had a very high-end waitressing job and was managing the restaurant. And I got introduced to her, and I said, \u201cLook, I don\u2019t know if I can employ you properly for a little while, but this is my journey, this is who we\u2019re working with. If you want to join me, just jump on board the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And she did. And then in November last year, I employed her full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that was a real benefit that I didn\u2019t have to \u2026 it wasn\u2019t really an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then Leanne who works with us, is an unbelievable maverick writer. She can turn her hand to anything, and she\u2019s a freelance. So she\u2019s got the option to be employed, but at the moment is quite happy as she is, which is quite a relief for me because it means I can then focus on this recruitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we also have an apprentice who\u2019s a guy who did his work experience with me a few years ago. And he needed a job. I know how hard it is to be really young, and to want to do what we do. So I built an apprenticeship for him. So my core team sort of came to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, I put my first job out last week. And I\u2019ve had 150 applicants to work with Halo. It\u2019s not a massively, brilliantly paid job yet, which kills me inside because obviously I want to be the best at paying people as well, and that\u2019s really important to me. But I\u2019ve had so many applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I guess, how am I doing it? I am in the process of devising an advisory board for Halo. So we work with some incredible people across a really wide variety of industries. And most of them are being asked if they will publicly stand as my advisory board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And one of them is a woman who is head of HR for a really massive tourism organisation. And she has offered to come in on the interviews with me. So I\u2019m going to learn from one of the best in the industry, and she\u2019s prepared to stand next to me with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that\u2019s where you know you\u2019ve got something really good sat on your shoulders. Somebody who really wants you to do well. And when I say to her, \u201cI want to build a million pound company.\u201d I\u2019m not messing around now. I want to do this properly. She\u2019s like, \u201cOkay, well I\u2019ll help you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there will be a time when I can thank her properly and maybe pay for that advice. But right now, she\u2019s right there with me, as are so many other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You haven\u2019t always got it right with some of the people that you\u2019ve asked for help from. What happened when you were shopping around for an accountant? You had some pretty expensive decisions along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah. I feel like accountants are allergic to me. I will happily take the blame for my lack of knowledge in accountancy. And I think that if it\u2019s not me, then there\u2019s a problem. I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s not just me. There\u2019s a problem in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some accountants talk to you as if you know what they\u2019re talking about. But actually in start up land, you don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I had a really \u2026 I would never say nasty things about anyone. I had a really great team of accountants. They\u2019re quite prolific in the South West. They advised me to stay as a sole trader in my first year. And I said, \u201cOh, shouldn\u2019t I go limited, because doesn\u2019t that help with my tax and saving? And I don\u2019t want to be paying tax on my turnover as a sole trader.\u201d Because I knew that much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I said, \u201cLook, I\u2019m forecasting just under 100K in my first year.\u201d And they were like, \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be fine. Let\u2019s just keep you as a sole trader for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I had no idea that I should\u2019ve pushed back then, and should\u2019ve said, \u201cNo, look guys, I\u2019m serious. If I earn just under 100K, do I personally have to pay tax on that if I\u2019m a sole trader? Because it\u2019s my money that I\u2019m earning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I know that now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I really felt the cost of that in January last year when I paid \u00a325k in tax, personal tax, which I should never have paid if I was limited because the company earns the money when it\u2019s limited, not me personally. And I just get my wage out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that was a massive mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m a really extrovert person. So if I\u2019ve got a problem, I phone them up and go, \u201cOh, I\u2019m stuck on zero. I\u2019m doing this.\u201d And what I didn\u2019t realise and what they weren\u2019t clear about, and it\u2019s my fault Bex, was that they were charging me every time I phoned them up for a bit of advice. The clock goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when I thought was paying \u00a3500 a month in accountancy fees, they were adding on, on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when I said, \u201cHey guys, you kind of messed up a bit here. I\u2019m having to pay all this tax.\u201d They then said, \u201cOkay, cool. Here\u2019s your bill.\u201d And it was three or four grand. And I was like, oh my God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is insane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How was I supposed to know all that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, you weren\u2019t supposed to know. That\u2019s why you hire an accountant, because we don\u2019t know. And they\u2019re supposed to know better. That\u2019s just outrageous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that happened. And then I went to another accountant, and because I trade as Halo PR and communications, that\u2019s a business name I was advised on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I consulted lots of people talked about it. I still don\u2019t like it that much, but it is what we are at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But my company name is Team Jess Limited because I wanted to set up a company that I could build other businesses under, like an umbrella thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the new accountant I got said, \u201cOh, well you should be trading as the same as your company name. So let\u2019s set up a new company in your trading name.\u201d I did all that, tried to shut down the original company of Team Jess Limited. And I was like, oh, cool, accountant\u2019s telling me what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And basically I needed Team Jess Limited in order to get my mortgage. My company had to have been running for two years. So I had eight days left before I lifted the close down on Companies House, on that company. And then I shut down the other one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then I went and got another accountant. And my current accountant is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s been things I\u2019ve learned about how she works. She\u2019s got my back, but she\u2019s very busy. And actually I think she works with very big companies with million pound turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I think we\u2019re still together through mutual love, but it might be that I\u2019m too needy for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So my history with accountants Bex, is I feel very needy, very weak, very much still like I don\u2019t have a bloody clue what I\u2019m doing. And it\u2019s a journey. It\u2019s painful, but I\u2019m hoping one day, third time lucky maybe with my current one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah. You\u2019re making me feel really lucky because I met my accountant before he was an accountant. When he was selling me vodka Red Bulls at a festival bar when I was in my early twenties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then he went on and retrained from being barman and became an accountant. And is now an amazing accountant. But if I hadn\u2019t been there at two in the morning buying vodka Red Bulls, I wouldn\u2019t have him today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I need to get his name maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know what? I\u2019ve given his name to so many people because I love him so much that he actually had to email me and say he can\u2019t take on any more clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s super maxed out, but I will ask him if he could make an exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other thing is, I never properly shut down the Cornwall Camper Company side of things. That\u2019s the other part of selling a company. You\u2019ve got to tie off all those little loose ends. All the stuff that you don\u2019t know in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I had to do that a few months ago. I was like, oh, Companies House are asking me what\u2019s going on with that company. Because the limited company wasn\u2019t sold, it was just the name and the van. So it wasn\u2019t like I sold and handed over this whole thing. And it was just all a bit \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n So they\u2019re still asking for things like corporation tax and for you to file all your paperwork?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, needed to shut it down. But these are the things that you learn. And it makes me stronger every time I come up against something that I \u2026 Paperwork, Bex, ugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We do some PR and marketing and maverick socials because we love it. And then when you run a business, you realise that you get further and further away from the things you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And every so often, I have to give myself a massive (talking to), and go, Ratty, get yourself back in the creative pot and unleash that creativity because that\u2019s what drives me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then I go in, and my team go, \u201cOh my God, Jess has gone crazy.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, it\u2019s cool. Let\u2019s do crazy. And I\u2019ll worry about the boring stuff on Friday or on the weekend or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How much time do you spend doing what you love versus how much time do you spend on the admin and the bureaucracy? What\u2019s the split?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s two questions there, Bex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s what should the split be, and what is the actual split?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The actual split is probably 30\/70 at the moment. But that\u2019s because there\u2019s a load of paperwork building up that I need to sit down and sort out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And once we go through this grief period, I\u2019ll then sit down and go, right, come on Jess. Get your ass in gear. Let\u2019s do some of the boring stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I think technically, I\u2019d like it to be 60\/40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The really empowering thing about my company right now is that I have \u2026 my team, I adore them. And I will protect them to the ends of the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I also want to enable them and empower them to be their best creative selves as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I know that they have such extreme talents that I\u2019m more leaning towards that enablement of unleashing creativity in others to make Halo bigger and better, and stronger and faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s where I think I\u2019m growing as a creative myself because I can have as many ideas as you like, but the power to make them happen relies in bringing together brilliant people and making sure that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that\u2019s where I\u2019m going. So I love that more than writing a press release these days. Which every journalist in the world should be really happy about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when it comes to actually scaling Halo, what are the lessons that you learned, or maybe the mistakes even that you made with Cornwall Camper Company that you are now using in Halo to save time, to save money that you can apply in this new business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest lesson I\u2019m learning is that I need sleep. I need to be on my best form. I was dancing before this podcast just to get my blood pumping, and to really tap into my energy. And I haven\u2019t danced around my living room for such a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covid, it\u2019s like, ugh. But looking after myself is really important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is probably the biggest thing I\u2019ve learned from the Camper Company to now. If I\u2019m not on form, then it impacts everything and everyone around me. My personal and my business life. So that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I learned to be very, very organised. So I had things in place to take because I built a booking system for the Cornwall Camper Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But now there\u2019s so much out there. There\u2019s so many apps and things that you can use. I\u2019ve learned to adapt. So we are what our clients need us to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So rather than this is what we offer and we don\u2019t move from it, and then we add value, we don\u2019t do discounts. I\u2019ve learned to manipulate and adapt what we do and what we offer as times have changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And actually that\u2019s a huge part of what we did in Covid. Everything went to ish, Bex last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was a year and a bit into growing Halo and then we lost 40% of our clients in two days. So that\u2019s the biggest thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think the Jess of the Cornwall Camper Company would\u2019ve laid down with her hand on her brow and had this massive meltdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jess of Halo stood up, did some kind of anger noises, and said, do you know what? I\u2019m not having this. I\u2019m not letting anything take away what I\u2019ve built. A global pandemic can just go and bugger off. I won\u2019t swear too badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I got really angry, but I\u2019ve learned how to channel the anger rather than just succumb to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So yeah, adaptation, looking after myself, and also I\u2019ve learned how to throw my energy through screens. And to express myself in ways that can put that energy out there because that\u2019s what we have now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what we are. And that\u2019s the world that we live in. So those things I think. And the organisation and having a decent accountant, and having a team around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Camper Company was just me and Ben. Yeah, I asked people for advice, but now I phone people three or four times a week and go, \u201cWhat did you do when this happened to you?\u201d Or, \u201cCan I ask you a question?\u201d And do you know what these really busy business people say, \u201cOh, I\u2019m in a call Jess.\u201d Or, \u201cI\u2019ll call you back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then they sit down and they talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s a guy called Jamie Hinton from Razor. And he\u2019s given me hours of his time. This is one of the things he said to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So every time I get paid, or we get on a new client, I say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s somebody\u2019s wage paid.\u201d And he\u2019s like, \u201cNo, Jess. Don\u2019t think of it like that. You can\u2019t go, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ve got enough to pay the wages for the next month.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said, \u201cYou need enough to pay the wages for the next two years. It\u2019s not about what one thing does, and how that impacts one person. It\u2019s that holistic approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So definitely something I\u2019m still learning because I still have a habit of going, oh, that\u2019s someone\u2019s wage paid. But it\u2019s not, it\u2019s money coming into the business that enables us to do bigger things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can we go back though, because when you said you lost 40% of the clients in two days, I think everyone listening wants to know how did you come back from that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what were your first steps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was really hard, Bex. I got really angry. I was like, no, no, no, no. To be honest, it wasn\u2019t a surprise. I was looking around watching people lose their jobs. Watching businesses fall over, watching a lot of PR companies really struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And trying to land a press release in what had been the general election, and then Brexit, and then Covid, the news agenda was completely taken over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do we pivot as a company into a company that could provide more value? So I literally sat there and said, what are we really good at?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what can we do more of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I went, I was like, right, well we\u2019ll do podcasts. We\u2019ll do videos. We\u2019ll do social media stuff. And the one thing I remember thinking is, so the world might be in a really terrible place right now, but brands need to talk to their consumers better, more honestly, more transparently than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what is the one thing that I have? The one skill I have is speaking to everyone in exactly those ways. There\u2019s nothing to hide Bex. How I speak is in a conversation whether it\u2019s in a text you\u2019re asking to see if a press idea\u2019s good or on a tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One tweet out of 200 for a company in a month or whatever. And that was what we did. I went out. And then we\u2019d been working with some design companies on some content. And they were then started to recommend us to other companies. And say, oh, you need a PR people. You need to talk to these guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then we landed a couple of key clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pitches were hard because you could see that they\u2019re like, why would we be spending money on this right now? And I sat in these pitches going, because you need to talk to your customers. You need to be there for them. You need to give them solutions, advice, entertain them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the things that they\u2019re missing from being out in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we just did it. I got 60% back in within two months. And then we were OK, but it still feels wobbly now. I could lose a cry any second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where I\u2019m still failing on the amount of work we do for each client because it\u2019s like we need these clients so much. It\u2019s an act of desperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I think that keeps us going, it keeps us excited, it keeps us engaged, keeps us on the very edge of trying to be our very best all of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are transferring it into something useful. And Jess, I also wanted to go back because you mentioned the kind of power of automation and process. And that you use different apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I\u2019d love to know what those different technologies are. I know that you\u2019re crazy about technology anyway, but what have you found has saved you time or money tech-wise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh God, I just love trying out new ones all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you on Clubhouse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So funny that you say that because I put in the job profile (for the job that Jess is advertising), anyone on Clubhouse, tell me if you think it\u2019s a platform that\u2019s going to last the distance? Because obviously I need people that have an opinion on this stuff. That can use it and know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am on Clubhouse. It\u2019s not found its niche yet, and I\u2019ve actually seen some really terrible things that are happening over there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think it\u2019s a type of marketing where you gather people and you manipulate the system by lots of people coming together to get their algorithm rise of content. But I think that Clubhouse, which I will be using, is actually a really good place to host events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we\u2019re going to trial having some people go and using their immediate network and say, hey guys, we\u2019re going to do this thing on Clubhouse. We\u2019re going to go and have a great conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re going to bring some people into it. Come and join. But then jump back out of the platform and not spend time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I find it really hard to listen to stuff in the background if I\u2019m not actively listening to it. So I\u2019m quite a head down, very focused. I like the radio, but I can ignore that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whereas, Clubhouse I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I don\u2019t know how that platform\u2019s going to go, but we have been using it. And I intend to try it out a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I use \u2026 Do you know what\u2019s really simple, voice notes on WhatsApp with my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And GIFs, communicating in GIFs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we have with each client, we have a group WhatsApp chat, which keeps things very human, very real, very personable, but also is the place where we go if we see a pitch from a journalist and they\u2019re looking for somebody to talk, I immediately have about 18 groups. I could go, \u201cWho wants to talk on this?\u201d Or, \u201cDoes anyone have an opinion on this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that means I\u2019m going back to our journalists with really relevant, great content at the speed of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know Bex, you\u2019ve had it before where you\u2019ve said, oh, is there somebody I could talk to? And I\u2019ll go, yeah, I\u2019ll find you. Give me five minutes. And I do it very quickly. And that\u2019s really good for us, that creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I\u2019m also finding a resurgence in Twitter. I don\u2019t know why. I think maybe Covid, there\u2019s a lot of people hanging out on Twitter all day long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we use that quite a lot, and there\u2019s a lot of opportunity on Twitter that I don\u2019t think people realise. They just see it as a place to vent, but you cut through that and there\u2019s a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of actual physical apps, I use Google Docs all the time. I love them. I love joint-working, co-working. My team sends stuff to see what I think on things. And I can very easily respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe give them a poke of creativity in a different way, or ask them questions that frequently they\u2019ve already asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ve already asked it and I haven\u2019t read it properly. So Google Docs is brilliant. And spreadsheets on Google Docs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, Canva as well for designing assets. Now, we have an element of content creation in our company, but I know that we\u2019re nowhere near as good as a design company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we get to work with design companies when there\u2019s budget for that. Or we team up with design companies, that\u2019s where there\u2019s absolute \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a company called The Lion and Lion. They\u2019re twins, they\u2019re amazing. They\u2019re this tiny but very fast-growing \u2026 In fact, I don\u2019t think they\u2019re as small as they were now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they\u2019re doing this amazing stuff. And we work with them. And I know that their work is far surpassing what we can do on Canva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when it comes to doing hub content \u2026 And every business will have hub content, which is just general stuff that they\u2019re putting out on social media that takes time, planning, thinking creation, Canva\u2019s brilliant for it. Bit of logo, bit of colour, brand pallet, off you go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So those would be the ones we use the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those are great tips. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve used Canva, but I will definitely look up because yeah, this is the age of social because that\u2019s how everyone communicates now we\u2019re all stuck indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s the only way to reach out to large groups of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah. And I can add to that, Bex. There\u2019s this thing about I am my brand. Everything I do is my brand. And I\u2019m forever trying to think of fun, creative ways to put my face on something and put it out on the socials. Something I\u2019ve thought of or something that I did or done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s a part of that, one of the things I overcame from the Camper Company to now, was this reticence of putting my face on everything. It just feels so pushy and so ego to be like, hey, I\u2019m Jess Ratty. Listen to me. And now I\u2019m just like, do you know what, if people like it, they\u2019ll want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they don\u2019t like it, then that\u2019s fine too. I\u2019m just going to do it anyway, so I\u2019ve got a lot bolder. So you can use Canva for a lot of personal branding, which is pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And how important have you found investing in that personal brand? Because is that basically what clients who come to you are buying? They\u2019re buying a slice of Jess? And is that your kind of currency out there in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love that word, currency. My currency is my energy. Yeah, I guess. You just never know where people are going to see you. Or not so much for new business, but if people are investigating you because you\u2019ve been recommended or someone\u2019s talking about you, and they go and check out your Insta or your LinkedIn or your Twitter, and if you stand out, then you\u2019re saying something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That very act of being bold and forward with your brand, means that you\u2019re giving something to people that is different. And I like standing out. I like being different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My tagline on LinkedIn is, \u201cI make the boat go faster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we do, that is what we do. That\u2019s PR, it\u2019s marketing. We drive all those underlying KPIs (key performing indicators) in a business. More business, more exposure, more profile, more awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So yeah, I think it\u2019s really, really important. And if it\u2019s not you, let someone in your team do that. People misunderstand socials these days. It\u2019s like, oh, let\u2019s get some viral content going. I hate that term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what you really want is a bunch of ambassadors. Who are your ambassadors? Who are the people that love, live and breathe your company? What can they do to share your brand and do stuff? So yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, that\u2019s great advice for a social strategy. And maybe not always thinking, oh yeah, I\u2019m with you on hating that term, viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can you just make something go viral? No, you just have to just say something clever and useful that lots of people like. It\u2019s not that you could be like, pow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it shouldn\u2019t be a metric either, Bex. Because you go viral, what value is in it? As in, I know that, there\u2019s some stuff that obviously has intrinsic value to companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the real value is in consistent engagement, regular engagement, having a plan, being cool as a cucumber. Knowing what you\u2019re doing, that\u2019ll give you just as much viral load as one viral thing a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you know what I mean? Just do it for yourself. Don\u2019t rely on the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds good. And Jess, so you\u2019ve built two businesses now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would you say have been the biggest barriers to overcome in your life in order to be an entrepreneur, to have the confidence to build a business? Have there been any challenges that you\u2019ve had to get past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest challenge, I had to \u2026 When I started, I thought how audacious I was to launch a company. How very dare I think that I could possibly do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And actually now, I\u2019m like, why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But back then I was almost embarrassed that I was doing it. What is that all about? Where did that come from? So yeah, so the biggest challenge was having the confidence in myself. A<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that is something that I think everybody battles with. Imposter syndrome, why me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as Simon said on a Virgin Start Up hangout the other day, he was like, said it to someone who\u2019d asked a question, \u201cHow do you deal with imposter syndrome?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he was like, \u201cIf not you, someone else is going to do it anyway.\u201d So I was like, right. And that has sustained me. That very one line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I\u2019m not doing what I\u2019m doing, someone else will be doing it. So why not me? I\u2019m going to just go and do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So now I have no qualms about that. So that was one of the biggest barriers, this embarrassment that anyone would ever listen to what I had to say, or buy in to my brain power and that of my team, or a team that I hadn\u2019t yet built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then the other thing was the nuts and bolts of business. You don\u2019t need to know that stuff to launch a company. You need to be willing to learn, and up for being on that journey. And up for making mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mistakes thing, I make mistakes all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I say the wrong thing, I get my words muddled up. I got this CEO\/co-founder thing messed up the other day. And I nearly made it really difficult for someone because other people will see it. And then they get annoyed. And then it was my fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You just have to be really honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so that sort of owning up to my mistakes, learning how to deal with them, eat the frogs, deal with the stuff that you don\u2019t want to deal with, get that done because then life gets better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then I guess the other barrier is, I hate to say it but being a woman in business is not easy. It\u2019s just doesn\u2019t seem to be getting that much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s so much support out there for women in business, but still the battle rages on where you are in a room full of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I called out a company the other day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve got friends in Leeds that have taken on the women in business thing. It\u2019s like wildfire. They\u2019re doing brilliantly. And they\u2019re unapologetically unafraid to call it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And down in the South West, we\u2019re not yet as unapologetic. And we\u2019re definitely still scared to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I saw this thing the other day about a tourism conference. And it was three boring blokes. I know we can do better than that. And I called it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they came back and they were like, oh, well, the brilliant Becky\u2019s going to be there moderating to level the balance. And I said, \u201cWell, Becky deserves a place on the line up, and certainly should be mentioned in the newsletter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What hope do we have for our kids, our young women if we don\u2019t fight more and more and more for it. So this is a huge part of what I\u2019m banging on about going forward because I think we\u2019ve got a very, very long way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But explain to me then what has been your experience as a woman in business? Why has it been hard or harder so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I once stayed in a room full of men and talked about finance. I know I\u2019m not very good at accounting, but I can talk about money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can talk about investment. I can talk about what it takes to grow a business, what you need spend-wise versus what you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And felt maybe this was me Bex, but they all hit me with all these questions as if I couldn\u2019t answer them. And they were very patronising in their questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I was like, if I feel like this, then there\u2019s something happening to make me feel like it. It\u2019s not just me. I\u2019m not imagining it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A couple of weeks ago we did our International Women\u2019s Day podcast, and brought together three amazing women to debate just this subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I\u2019d love to know how you feel the system could be improved. And what you think needs to happen in order to make it a bit fairer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think we\u2019re doing it right. We\u2019re definitely going in the right direction when it comes to women in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is still \u2026 I saw a stat the other day. I can\u2019t remember it, but there\u2019s still a real hellish lack of women in business. And that\u2019s got to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses, it\u2019s a known fact that businesses do well when you\u2019ve got more women in charge. And so I think more women in the media talking about business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that the BBC has diversity targets, but why should it just be the BBC?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every newspaper needs to be putting females into their column entries. And it can\u2019t just be under the theme of women in business because the more we highlight women in business, the less normal it is. And it shouldn\u2019t have to be highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There should be an even spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s really \u2026. I look at my own life Bex. All of my mentors bar one are men. That\u2019s obviously great. I love having these guys to call on, and I feel really lucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why are they all guys? What has happened in my life that means all the people I turn to for advice are guys? Where\u2019s the women?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s an incredible woman called Brice who when I was 16, I did some work experience for her at the Eden Project. And she pretty much phoned my mom and dad up. She had a conversation with my mom and dad, and she said, \u201cYou have got no idea what Jess is capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because they\u2019ve been indoctrinated into the fact that I was just going to be a good gal, get married and have kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So she called your parents to say, \u201cHey, aim higher for your kid. I can see something special in this girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think she found them to say, congratulations on something I had done. And I think I had said to her in a conversation where I was like, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve always wanted to have kids and live in a house down a rotted track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember that line. I\u2019ve been ripped for that line most of my life because that was an ambition, so she felt like she had to say, Jess is capable of a lot of stuff. And it had come up in that conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I remember we went to Bri\u2019s club in London, me and my mum. I took my mum on a trip to London. And bearing in mind, Bex, I didn\u2019t go to London until I was 18 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I felt so lonely and scared and freaked out by all the big, tall buildings and the noise and the sheer. It\u2019s like Willy Wonka\u2019s land of opportunity, London was for me. And I never wanted to move there, but she just did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said to my mom several times, \u201cJess is capable of a lot of stuff.\u201d She\u2019s the first women that ever believed in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And she\u2019s a powerhouse and still is. And that I think I was really lucky because if I hadn\u2019t had Brice, who knows? If she hadn\u2019t done that or instilled that sense of opportunity in me. And there\u2019s another woman called who was the right-hand woman of the build of the Eden Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And she was \u2026 I\u2019m still scared of that woman. But I respect her so much, and the way she just tackles everything head-on. And I just think we need more of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But we need to applaud it. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s applauded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t think that the level ground is anywhere near there. We\u2019re pretty lucky here in the UK that we talk about it quite openly, but not openly enough that there\u2019s women in tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s women in engineering courses in Eastern countries that are just very like, I actually don\u2019t know how to behave in a room full of guys doing engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s nobody there to help me through that side of things. And that\u2019s got to change. We\u2019ve just got to get more women in there. And I think it impacts everything. And it\u2019s hard, I get so passionate Bex. It\u2019s hard to put it into words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, I understand. I understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when it feels so relevant to your experience. And you\u2019ve got a little girl. You kind of \u2026 It makes it all so much more important, I totally get that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you so much for coming and sharing all of your amazing stories and advice with us today. Your very sound advice. Thank you. It\u2019s been an absolute joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re amazing. I think you\u2019re amazing. And I think that this podcast series is unbelievably brilliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s 18 people that I\u2019m having to dole out advice to every week. At least I could just go, \u201cListen to Sage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And thanks also to the Sage guys for having me because it\u2019s a massive privilege that again, anyone might want to listen to me. So thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for listening. You can find Jess with all her energy on Twitter @_jessification_<\/a>. So do go say hi to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while you\u2019re there, let us know what you think of Sound Advice by tweeting @sageireland<\/a> and using the hashtag #soundadvicepodcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nStart with a (simple) side hustle start-up list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Not a clue? Teach yourself through YouTube<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s your ambition? Start up and sell is perfectly valid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to find your first clients and employees \u2013 and manage them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Find an accountant who works with start ups \u2013 it could save you \u00a325k<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How you come back from losing 40% of your clients overnight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tiny tech to try: Clubhouse, WhatsApp voice notes, Canva<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Invest in your personal brand: \u2018My currency is my energy\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Be unapologetically unafraid to call out gender bias in business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jess Ratty:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/08\/YBCA_FY19_Intacct_V3_0338-1-1215x810.jpg\")
\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg\")
\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"