If you love factories, then today I have a little treat for you, as we are going on a factory tour with Contrado, who are a print on demand company. Contrado are a truly impressive UK manufacturer. They not only print fabric, leather and other surfaces like glass and pottery, in their huge facility in West London, but they also stitch bags, clothing and accessories from their printed fabrics, and even make furniture as well. Listen in on my tour around the factory with Chris Childs, co-founder of Contrado, and then a deep-dive into the story behind the business and how where he sees the future ..read more

When you run a UK-made brand you need to wear a lot of different hats! In this episode we explore all of the different jobs you need to do and the skills you need to have, on top of producing fantastic products. You'll learn: Why being the chief executive officer of your business is your first title [03:08] How managing marketing content plays a vital role in running a business [05:47] Why you need to be in control of your production and why you can't rely on manufacturers to do this for you [07:01] How managing your finances can make or break your business [08:35] What role plays a crucial p ..read more

On today’s episode I am chatting to Maxine Wells, who is the founder of Intimate Apparel Samples, a small lingerie studio in North West London. Getting lingerie made in the UK can be challenging. Whilst the UK once had thousands of machinists making underwear for the likes of Marks & Spencers, sadly there are only now only a handful of  lingerie manufacturers left in the UK. I took a trip to Brent Cross where Intimate Apparel Samples is based to ask Maxine why there aren't more lingerie manufacturers in the UK and the benefits of having a great relationship with your manufacturer. You ..read more

Welcome to Series 5! After taking a couple of months hiatus to focus on writing my book, I'm back with a brand new series. I'll be answering all of your most commonly asked questions about manufacturing, marketing and selling products that are made in the UK, and have some fantastic guests lined up for this series too. In this episode you'll hear a snippet from Selling Without Social - a workshop I ran recently, which covers all of the different ways that you can market and sell your UK-made products without using social media. You'll learn:  What Make it British has been up to during th ..read more

Hello and welcome to Series 5 of the Make it British podcast.  The new series is coming very soon. The first episode will be released on Friday 3rd March. In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about a few things we have coming up, that if you are a listener of this podcast you will probably  be really interested to hear about. Selling Without Social An online workshop that I will be hosting on Thursday 23rd February. Covering all of the different ways that you can market and sell your product-based business without using social media! Go to makeitbritish.co.uk/sws and you’ll als ..read more

Having worked with hundreds of British brands over the last few years, and speaking to them about what is working for them right now, and what they see working in 2023, here are 11 ideas you can use for growing your British brand in 2023. Discover: 02:31 Why being a small business means you're in a great position right now 05:12 The 11 ways that you can grow your brand in 2023 29:35 How joining British Brand Accelerator can help to hit your goals in the next year 30:27 Why now is a good time to reflect on the past few years of business   Mentioned in this Episode YouTube Live - How to ..read more

Meet Siwan Oldham, the founder of ByBiology, a business that is giving to scientific research by creating the most beautiful luxury silk scarves. Siwan talks about how her business idea came about, the reason she decided to manufacturer in the UK, and her journey so far in building the brand. Discover: 03:59 What Siwan's background is and how the idea for her business came about 05:10 Why Siwan knew she always wanted to print her silk scarves in the UK 07:52 The challenges Siwan faced during the process of lauching her business 10:58 How Siwan prepared for her launch to ensure it would be suc ..read more

How do you attract the right peoplt to your brand, and keep them coming back for more? In this excerpt from one of the sessions at the Make it British Virtual Forum, you'll hear the ways in which three successful business founders are marketing their brands - and some of the tips they share may surprise you! My guests are Justine Tabak, from womenswear brand Justine Tabak; Jack Millington, from leathergoods brand Billy Tannery and Rosie Macpherson, from dog travel brand Where's Winnie. Discover: 06:10 What forms of marketing are working for these successful British brands right now. 11:0 ..read more

In this episode, I chat with Oscar Boatfield, who is one of the co-founders of bags and accessory brand BearMade who make all of their bags in the UK. If ever there was a great example of a business doing the right thing by both the planet and its customers, then BearMade is definitely it. Discover: 02:27 What Oscar was doing before BearMade which led to the launch of his business 07:00 How Oscar found BearMade’s niche market 09:09 Why Oscar doesn't offer discounts on their products 11:20 Why Oscar and his wife Nell set up The Wildish Club 14:20 How BearMade sticks by their brand ethics 20:14 ..read more

This episode answers some of your most commonly asked questions about pricing.  Discover: 02:12 What markup do retailers add? 08:19 Should you raise your prices if the cost of your fabric and manufacturing has increased? 13:06 Should you lower your prices if your customers only buy from you when you have a sale on? 17:36 How do you set your prices if you're making everything yourself? Mentioned in this Episode YouTube Live Q&A: Pricing Your Products Stay in Touch British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand Make it British ..read more