E182: Paula Short

Richard Hill [00:00:05]:
Hi there. I'm Richard Hill, the host of eCom@One. Welcome to episode 182. Now in this episode, I speak with Paula Short. Now Paula was one of our very first guests way back when in 2020, episode 15, when she was running Beauty Boulevard. Now she heads up our own consultancy helping brands and business owners as a trusted adviser. Now Paula steps through a lot of things this episode, the journey of exiting Beauty Boulevard, talking timings, the ups and downs that followed in a successful exit, and what's next. Paul discusses where many companies go can go wrong.

Richard Hill [00:00:38]:
Paula discusses where many companies may go wrong with their strategy, where to spend your marketing budget, and the big one improving that valuation, and, of course, so much more in this one. If you enjoy this episode, hit the subscribe or follow button wherever you are listening to this episode so you're always the first to know when a new one is released. Now let's head over to this fantastic episode. Well, we're back with Paula Short today.

Paula Short [00:01:03]:
Hello. Hello. How are you? I'm very well. Thank you for inviting me. Very happy to be here.

Richard Hill [00:01:08]:
No problem. I've I'm getting flashbacks of about three and a half, 4 years ago when we did this or we attempted to do this several times.

Paula Short [00:01:16]:
Let's just pray it's not as chaotic as last time. Just pray.

Richard Hill [00:01:19]:
I think we have builders and Internet issues last time, but three and a half, 4 years later, we've got a bit more tech now. So operate in nearly 4 years ago. Obviously, we were very much talking about beauty products and beauty boulevard back

Paula Short [00:01:39]:
then. And then the world just went Yeah. And just stopped. Literally stopped. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Beauty didn't well, especially the beauty products we were doing, it didn't get much use in lockdown really, did they? Glitter and things like that.

Paula Short [00:01:53]:
But yeah.

Richard Hill [00:01:54]:
Products. Yeah. So obviously, a lot of changes then. So I think it'd be good for you to reintroduce yourself to our listeners

Paula Short [00:02:01]:
Okay.

Richard Hill [00:02:02]:
And then maybe step us through that, you know, from Beauforty Boulevard to today, and then we'll dive into some specifics.

Paula Short [00:02:10]:
So Beauforty Boulevard, probably one of the most proudest things I've ever done. I truly am delighted that that happened. And, Rachel DeCoe and I, she was my business partner. We incorporated the business back 2013. And, within a year, we were in VIP festivals with all the celebrities through hard work and and tenacity and just being bulldogs and, going for it. And then move on to February 2020, just before, COVID. I sold my shares in the business about 8 weeks before COVID, which I felt enormous guilt for because I I'd grown this business and it was doing really really well, like, really well. The last meetings I'd had were with Walgreens, Walmart, because we were just going into America.

Paula Short [00:03:08]:
I did a big showcase piece in New York in February 2020. So we were going places, and the company I sold to wanted the whole thing that I was being kept down as a brand director, and a 10% shareholder, but they bought the entirety, really, of the business. And, literally, the world stopped. And we we no one saw it coming. Nobody saw that coming. And I felt enormous guilt for a while because I wanted to prove to these people how good the business was and how good we could make it. And, you know, we were talking huge shelf space in some of the biggest retailers in America, and it just stopped. And that I didn't know what to do with myself.

Paula Short [00:03:54]:
I'll be totally honest. I'd worked just tirelessly crazy. I was probably burnt out. If I'm being really honest, I was utterly burnt out. So COVID probably was a a glisten to me in a way. But I was devastated, and I was, yeah, sad that this had happened. Mhmm. So we we carried on, and we tried, and we we adapted to the market.

Paula Short [00:04:21]:
But now I don't have anything to do with Boulevard. I've stepped away completely. I resigned as a director. Yeah. And I actually took, I'd say, 18 months off to just I threw myself back into the salon. So I still have the the salon with Rachel Nicole in town.

Richard Hill [00:04:39]:
In Lincoln.

Paula Short [00:04:40]:
Bennett's Hair and Beauty in the center of Lincoln for anyone who wants me to know. Very good stuff. And I threw myself back into that and wanted to just get some headspace back and get some Yeah. You know, know who the heck I was again because this

Richard Hill [00:04:56]:
this localist.

Paula Short [00:04:56]:
Oh, it had just it wasn't like it I slowed down. It just stopped, and, all the travel stopped, everything. I know I'm not on my own. I everyone did this. Oh, yeah. But, yeah. I threw myself back into the salon and love it. I love it.

Paula Short [00:05:11]:
As I say, I get my energy from people, and I love seeing all the customers. And I think the hairdressing side of things and and customer facing is a kind of consultancy in itself because you are a therapist and you are a service supplier and all of that. And I absolutely adored it. But I've stepped away from that now as well because I fancy a change.

Richard Hill [00:05:34]:
Oh. Don't don't. What can that be?

Paula Short [00:05:41]:
So I'm, yeah, I'm going to do business consultancy more. I've done some already. Yeah. Well, I've decided that I'm going to do that more because that's where my passion is. Yeah. That's my that's what gives me energy and that's what gives me joy. I hope that sounds I know that sounds really kind of, I don't know, soft, but I do love it. I adore helping business grow.

Paula Short [00:06:08]:
And, it's very easy as well for me to come in, having had the tears, the burnout, the challenges. Yeah. The, like, we managed to get beauty boulevards global, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Germany, USA, Sophia. You just mentioned Sophia before we started. We had a distributor there. Airlines around the world's jet too.

Richard Hill [00:06:37]:
I remember that.

Paula Short [00:06:38]:
Harrods in London. Yeah. Topshop.

Richard Hill [00:06:40]:
So in terms of helping helping businesses

Paula Short [00:06:43]:
I know the pain.

Richard Hill [00:06:44]:
Either I mean, just from the little I know about your business and what you're saying now, obviously, starting a brand from scratch, Managing running that for many, many, many years. Obviously, pitching on Dragon's Dead, which we talked about last time. I will we won't talk about that too much because I'll bet you talk about that all the time, I'm sure. Listen to episode 15 if you wanna hear about that. But, obviously, that journey, selling the business in a and then obviously a very difficult time to navigate and manage that process in the in the depths of what was, obviously, you know, a shocking time for certain industries. You know, travel, you couldn't go out the house, let alone get on a airplane or couldn't go out to obviously, a lot of your products were on airlines. I remember that well. And then, obviously, a lot of your products are party products, were party products.

Richard Hill [00:07:27]:
And, obviously, you couldn't leave the house. So, obviously, there's a you can do a little bit of partying with your other half for a week or 3, but after a year or so, you're a bit fed up doing that. No.

Paula Short [00:07:36]:
Well, nobody knew what loungewear was until COVID. Loungewear became an actual section on online shopping. Up until that point, it had been pajamas, really, and you you know, slouch around in your pj's. So we went from glittery festival products to loungewear. I was like, that's the complete opposite of what the sales are. So, yeah, the whole, I think, the whole, horizon of of shopping online changed completely. Yeah. Completely.

Richard Hill [00:08:04]:
It totally did. I mean, with, obviously, the different clients that we were with seeing, the the trends just completely flipped on their head, really. You know? And, obviously, a lot of home business products that, for the home, the house, the garden, you know, went crazy. You know, whether that's a barbecue, a kitchen, a bit of lino, you know, from how all the house stuff, garden stuff, you know, bought bought just crazy, but, obviously, anything to do with entertainment, anything to do with going out, basically, you know, clothes, makeup. Obviously, the list goes on and on. Obviously, it was just tip to its head. So, obviously, the amount of people that we've have either pivot pivoted into something else that has then become something or just completely flipped and changed into something else.

Paula Short [00:08:43]:
It's like the world was grabbed and shook a little bit, and then we all had to find our feet again.

Richard Hill [00:08:48]:
Yeah. I mean, there's nobody I would say there'd be nobody listening that didn't have that experience whether it was good or bad or in the middle sort of thing. You know, I remember it too too well. It was you know, we we we did we did okay in terms of the commercial side, but day in, day out, it was like flipping out. What's gonna happen this week? From there, it was just that uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty. This client's run out of stock. We know that, and that's the client that pays his x and, you know, oh, okay. I think, oh, they've got some more stock.

Richard Hill [00:09:12]:
Yay. Yeah. They're gonna keep doing, you know, so just a lot of uncertainty. Well, that was obviously across the world, you know, so it was it was quite tricky. But, obviously, now then, so consultant, strategist Yeah. With, obviously, all that experience, you know, so many different elements of a little business, so many different facets, you know, from starting and just, right, we're gonna start this thing to then gain our first order, and then there's, you know, then the second order, then the 1,000th order and doing deals with with, you know, multi chain stores in the one country and then other countries and getting investment and selling the video. All these different strategies that you've had experience. I wanna see amazing opportunity for business analysts to work with you and to so what are some of the things you're seeing in businesses where you think are mainly going wrong? What are some of the things that, you know, you see time and time again where quite a lot of businesses made mistakes?

Paula Short [00:10:07]:
I don't I think to me, the main thing, and I say it over and over, is know your customer. Know and you you might think you'd you think you know your customer, but really know your customer and dig down into your data to know how they buy, what they buy, when they buy, what is it they like, you know, how they react to your, communications. Know your customer. So I'd never say that someone is doing something wrong Yep. Because I know what it's like to be in a business. And the path for you to follow is there, but because you're in the business, you can't see it so clearly. So having someone like me come in that don't have any of the pain points, don't have any of the issues, I can actually clear that path and say, come this way. This is the way you need to go.

Paula Short [00:10:54]:
And I think that to me is what good consultancy is. It's not telling you what to do.

Richard Hill [00:10:59]:
Yep.

Paula Short [00:11:01]:
Guiding you so that you can do it, and you can do it again. And I understand, you know, we used to try and get help in because we grew rapidly, and and there was lots of pain around that to grow and Yeah. Staffing and Yeah. Storage and things like that. I think to have the people come in and help was great, but I didn't have the capacity or time to implement the things that they told me because you're still keeping the machine running.

Richard Hill [00:11:30]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:11:31]:
So I'm quite, a realist. So the the Say ideas yeah. The ideas I give are actually doable rather than giving you, you know, pie in the sky. Theory or Yes.

Richard Hill [00:11:44]:
No. Untouchable, unrealistic.

Paula Short [00:11:45]:
I I tend to so the companies I've worked at, I've said, who do you wanna target? X y zed. Why? Because we'd like them. That's not a good enough answer. No. Who have you worked with before? Let's see what you've done, what's successful within your customer base

Richard Hill [00:12:00]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:12:00]:
And then we can replicate that. That's the easiest one to get people to buy into. So I don't think business do it wrong. I just think they're busy and tired, and they just need someone with energy to come in. And by having somebody come in with a clear mind and energy Yeah. They get energy as well.

Richard Hill [00:12:20]:
Yeah. I think that is challenging, isn't it? As as we know, as as a business person, you wanna do this, this, and this, and you want someone maybe some advice. Obviously, finding the right adviser, trusting somebody to then open the book on your business to that individual. So I think you've gotta be quite cautious who you open the book to your business on. Is that the right way around? I think so. And then, obviously, they do really well have that experience to able to help you. And, obviously, that's where, you know, you've got that. So are you working purely with sort of different types of businesses that sort of resonate? Or

Paula Short [00:12:53]:
Yeah. No. Definitely. So I'm doing this because I really, truly want to help people. I'm I I don't necessarily want to grow an empire, You know? I don't wanna grow a huge business again. I I want to make what I do matter, and I want to see a difference in what I do. So, the companies I'm working with, we've had good success from. And I know I from feedback, the energy I bring is Yeah.

Paula Short [00:13:21]:
A really positive thing, and it continues on for quite a while. Yeah. And I think sometimes it is energizing the team that people have, so that they can see and get get, you know, the buzz around the office again, get the buzz going to Hawaii. Because I think sometimes you can just get in a little bit of a rot. So if you've got someone who comes in with the ideas and the energy, it's a little bit of a win win.

Richard Hill [00:13:44]:
Yeah. I think, you know, obviously, we'll have have many people listening right now, and I think, you know, one of the best investments we make in our business is the consultants that we work with. And that what you said there, there's that, you know, like, the last 3 months when this episode's a airs, it will be, you know, 1st 3 months of of 2,024. And in most businesses, it's either a really busy time or not. Yeah. That sounds a bit weird, but, you know, obviously, if you if you're a Christmas type product, sign, eCom for gifts and stuff, that's, like, quite a challenging time, January. Your invoices are there maybe due from November, December. You've had a really good time, you know, Christmas, but then come out of January, hang on a minute.

Richard Hill [00:14:24]:
These 60 day terms are due. We've now got to find, you know, whether that's 50 k or 5,000,000 quid, whatever your numbers are with whoever's listening. But then February, March is like, oh, it can be quite challenging, but busy time, either good or bad, you know, we find, you know, with most of our clients are either either flying or it's challenging, you know, but not challenging because the business is about. It's just challenging time of year. So then our business, you know, it's very busy. The busiest time for us is January, February, March as an agency behind the podcast and then Christmas. So we've just gone through this very busy, very, very busy period, but some of the things we layer into our business around training and having external consultants eCom into the business, so it helps us get through, you know. So I would have really implore our listeners that are running businesses or managers are in businesses to get external experts?

Paula Short [00:15:13]:
I I do think that it grounds you. Yeah. It gets you to understand your business again because I think I don't mean it in a bad way, but people can get a bit flappy. Yeah. And and and and I was one of them. This is why I know. I'm the one that would be scared. I've cried over my business.

Paula Short [00:15:30]:
I have had temper. I've had to bite my own fist over that just all of the emotions. Yeah. This is why I understand. So this is why I don't give people huge, challenges to Yeah. To meet. But I think having somebody come in and just ground you again and say, it's okay. Breathe.

Paula Short [00:15:49]:
This is normal. You're not on your own. You're not isolated. Yeah. And this is how we're gonna get through it. Have we thought and just doing that mind mapping and thinking, they go, I forgot I used to do that. And Yeah. And I think sometimes it's just that reenergizing and getting people to look back.

Paula Short [00:16:04]:
People are always looking forward. Yeah. But I think if you look back, and especially at the beginning of your business, that's when you had the most energy. So look back at why and how you did things, and you go, actually, that was very clever that I did. And tap into you again. I'm giving consultancy for free here an hour

Richard Hill [00:16:22]:
and a half. But it's so true. I mean, I think everyone, we all do it. You know, I do it as well. You know? But, you know, I know I should do, like, right, next next hang on a minute. Just have a have a breath. Right? Get get your senior team together. Get your management together.

Richard Hill [00:16:38]:
Even you and your you know, depending on the on the format of the business and think, right, guys, let's have a let's just celebrate.

Paula Short [00:16:43]:
By the way, this is very easy for me to say. Haven't taken a nice long break, and I'm, like, chilled out and everything. Had you spoken to me at the height of the business Yeah. I'd have been like, can you make your sentence quick? Yeah. For goodness sake. I'm too busy. Yeah. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:16:55]:
So I think

Richard Hill [00:16:57]:
anybody who's been in business for more than probably 4 or 5 years will have had that insane upside, hopefully, and then insane nearly on your ass literally, you know, right, I'm off the Mac. He's on a to catch up. Yeah. So, you know, I think most owners, you know, I a 100% hands are way up in the air for me, You know? But having those people around you that you can trust, that you can just have, you know, I connect to, like, a therapy. That is how I look at it. We have a few Definitely. Few people we were with, and one guy's work with us, for example, for 10, 11 years, maybe a bit more. Comes in once a month, spends a couple of hours with me, and then the rest of the day split between our senior management team.

Richard Hill [00:17:35]:
And then he works on a few other initiatives around appraisals, and then he comes in every 3 months and does a talk around different sort of, personal development.

Paula Short [00:17:44]:
Fantastic. But

Richard Hill [00:17:45]:
it's I think the challenge is is choosing a Yes. Is is choosing a consultant to to work with.

Paula Short [00:17:51]:
But that that, investment by you guys, it just keeps you on track. Yeah. It just it's a continuous touch point all the way along, rather than waiting for everything to go wrong and bring someone in, which is fine as well. Yep. But if you get somebody in quite regular, it makes it far more successful. Yeah. Far more successful because yeah. Exactly.

Paula Short [00:18:12]:
And and if you let it go, it's it's hard to get it back. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:18:16]:
Yeah. I think, you know, what advice would you give to people listening that maybe haven't took the plunge to invest in a consultant, a strategist, somebody to help them? What advice what would you say to them about sort of taking the plunge to choose a consultant to work with on a regular basis to come into the business?

Paula Short [00:18:34]:
I think, it's it's very much a personal thing. I think, if you resonate with the person, if you could have a good relationship with the person, and they have they will have your best interest at heart. I would hope any consultant coming in has your interest at heart. You are the customer. So as long as the relationship's fine, I think you can grow together. I think if if you're jarring, stop. But Yeah. To me, getting somebody in to help you with their business is the same as making sure your branding is on track, making sure you have run of water in the in the office.

Paula Short [00:19:08]:
It's it to me, it's one of the basics because you only know what you know. And until somebody comes in and gets you thinking and gets your brain fired in another way, I don't think you'll you'll evolve, really, because you only know what you know.

Richard Hill [00:19:24]:
I think you can get real blockers in a business as an owner and a a manager of a business and just a little maybe can even be a 15 minute conversation with a consultant just to maybe have a bit of an unload and then unpack and then think, actually, you maybe did have the answer, but you've been turned it into this big thing. But, actually, let's just calm down a bit. Let's just step through it. Let's just talk it through. Actually, just move on, and that's what we're gonna do next.

Paula Short [00:19:51]:
Yeah. It is. It's I think it's just sharing it. Sharing the problems and Yeah. Yeah. And then, obviously, I have all the solutions.

Richard Hill [00:20:01]:
Of course. So, I mean, we could talk about all sorts today. And I think, I'm trying to think of the best way to you know, your experience, obviously, you're now helping businesses. You know, our our listeners are ecommerce stores. Obviously, you've sold nationally internationally, where we we've listed it a few times now. But let's say one of our listeners' eCom store, they got their own brand products, which is what you you did for many years with the beauty of Boulevard Boulevard. Not am I saying it right?

Paula Short [00:20:30]:
Yep. Beauty Boulevard. Yeah. Yourself. Whatever. I I know what you're talking about. It's fine.

Richard Hill [00:20:34]:
Let me a little edit there, dad. He sometimes winds me up and leaves a bit. Yeah. Leave

Paula Short [00:20:39]:
it in that. Leave it in that.

Richard Hill [00:20:42]:
So, obviously, taking a creating a brand from 0, you know, establishing it, getting national, international, press, coverage, that type of thing, and then getting it, you know, listed in, you know, this all the stores that we could list and the airlines. Let's say, somebody listening and is trying to get let's say, first of all, they're trying to get their products listed in supermarkets. What advice would you give to those guys?

Paula Short [00:21:11]:
My first question will be why.

Richard Hill [00:21:13]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:21:15]:
What is it you're trying to achieve? Why why do you want it there? Because, that it's a big, big step, which we did, do with Superdrug, and with Boots, but we were a tiny cog in a massive machine. So it's great to to to get into these stores. When once you put your product on that shelf, I struggled to find my own product in there. And you're competing massively in this huge store where people it's it is a brand builder, definitely, but it's it's also tricky. And if you don't have the turnover of stock

Richard Hill [00:21:56]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:21:56]:
You might not last. So not only have you put out all the money for the stock, you'll have to pull it all back again if it doesn't work. If it works

Richard Hill [00:22:03]:
the terms I want.

Paula Short [00:22:05]:
Exactly. But this is why you have to know why you're doing it. So I'd rather take on 10 stores within Tesco or Boots or do 10 really well Yeah. And measure it rather than do 50 or Yeah. A100 or Yeah. Whatever. But I I trial certain stores first and do it really well and cut your teeth and understand and then go for for bigger.

Richard Hill [00:22:33]:
Yeah. Because there's quite a few things there, isn't it, when you think about I mean, just we I had a conversation with somebody yesterday about terms, you know, and we're very firm on our terms, you know, and you decide to take it or leave it. And, like, I don't know, supermarkets can be very much, I believe, you know

Paula Short [00:22:46]:
Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:22:46]:
Can be, like, you know, their terms aren't, that favorable, I think. It would be probably a bit of an understatement.

Paula Short [00:22:51]:
There's a huge percentage taken, for products that go in there. And so, it is if, you know, when you pay £10 for a product in Boots or Superdrug or somewhere, the, person who's made it does not get £10. No. Not at least. I'm not gonna talk detail. Yeah. But Yeah. And the money that you do get has to take all shipping.

Paula Short [00:23:14]:
Any fees Yeah. If your barcodes haven't worked or something like that, you pay the fees. And then if it just genuinely doesn't work, it all gets sent back, and you have to refund any payments they've done. So, yeah, I think why is always I think, everyone wants to grow their business, of course, but there's a sweet spot that you don't need outside financing too much. Obviously, we need a bit of financing, but you don't need too much and you actually really enjoy. I think if you over push yourself over finance, over promise Yeah. You start to your the business owns you Yeah. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:23:53]:
Rather than you own the business, and it gets hard. It just gets hard.

Richard Hill [00:23:56]:
Those sort of things are gonna keep you up an eye on there when you're

Paula Short [00:23:59]:
That's what makes me cry over or made me cry. I'm not crying anymore. I'm loving what I'm doing, but I've Yeah. I can yeah.

Richard Hill [00:24:06]:
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Richard Hill [00:25:01]:
Let's head straight back to the episode. Obviously, getting into supermarkets is one thing, but getting into the airlines and sort of and into airlines is one thing and then other countries. Is that say you're a merchant in a in the UK. Obviously, a lot of our listeners are in the UK, but they are worldwide. To then establish your brand and then to try to establish it in other countries and say and different airlines that are flying your products all over the world. What advice would you give to those guys?

Paula Short [00:25:26]:
So when we went to other countries, we did beauty shows within the UK.

Richard Hill [00:25:31]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:25:31]:
And you get a lot of foreign buyers from all different countries that will come to see what's relevant, what's new, what's, you know, current. We also went to beauty shows in Italy. We went to, like we some of them here at the NEC or in London are big. But you go to Bologna or somewhere in Italy, they're humongous. And, so you get a lot of interest that way. So they're great for growing your brand, but you need to be ready for the growth as well. So, you know, you might go, oh, it'd be great if we get 10 people interested. And then you go there and there's a 100 people interested.

Paula Short [00:26:07]:
And it's the admin of it, it's the maintenance. It's the relationships. It's all of it. So you need to be ready for

Richard Hill [00:26:13]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:26:13]:
What could happen. So they're a great way. And the the great thing with the airlines as well, we didn't realize that we had created products that were quite small, so they don't take up that much space in the

Richard Hill [00:26:26]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:26:26]:
Tray, which that was luck. That wasn't planned in on our part. Yeah. And the airline is brilliant that people aren't on their phones. There's no WiFi. Yeah. So everyone picks up the magazine.

Richard Hill [00:26:38]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:26:38]:
Everybody 100%. And they flick through it. And so as a brand builder, it was great. Plus, you had people fly in from different countries on that plane. So it wasn't just one country that you were showcasing to. It was flying to lots of different countries around Europe. So for us, it was a fantastic brand builder. Really good.

Paula Short [00:26:58]:
And I think out of 35 beauty products, we were number 8.

Richard Hill [00:27:03]:
Wow.

Paula Short [00:27:03]:
Small team of 5 people from Likin. It's still on.

Richard Hill [00:27:06]:
I don't remember.

Paula Short [00:27:07]:
Yeah. It's still on there. I I don't have anything to do with the business now, but, yeah, it's still on there. And it I'm very proud of that.

Richard Hill [00:27:13]:
Yeah. That is so good, Paula. I do remember looking at it after we I'm sure it was after we're trying to remember now. But looking at it thinking, oh my god. This is so cool and your products were there and I was flying to wherever.

Paula Short [00:27:23]:
Can you imagine how I felt? I went out there and I was like, I wanted to nudge Sure. I wanted to nudge the lady next to me. That's my I thought she's gonna go, yeah. Of course, it is love. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. It I was I was uber excited.

Paula Short [00:27:34]:
I took selfie. It's like.

Richard Hill [00:27:37]:
That is great. That is great. So, obviously, any of our listeners looking to, to, to grow into other countries and to list your products. Some great insights there. I think the trade shows, that's a really interesting one, isn't it? Because we talk about trade shows a lot on the podcast and how, you know, we're a massive believer in going to them. Obviously, going to them maybe in different countries, and you're like, wow. You know, you used you used to maybe what you used to in your industry here or what with a whatever country you're listening at. But then you venture.

Richard Hill [00:28:05]:
Maybe it's just across the wherever to somewhere in Europe or a different, you know, state in the US, wherever it may be. And it's, wow. You know, I've been to some trade shows in Berlin before, and it's literally like, oh my gosh. A huge You know, I've been to Vegas 20 times probably back in my previous business. Well, about 10 times, I went 15 times. There's a c CES show in January, which is a huge electronic show. It's just like, wow. And I remember when I saw one thing with a friend of mine, and that thing became a business for me for 3 years.

Richard Hill [00:28:33]:
The digital photo frames. If you remember back in the day, most people had a a digital photo frame in their front room with a memory card in Yeah.

Paula Short [00:28:41]:
Like a

Richard Hill [00:28:41]:
button, it would roll around, and then I brought containers and containers, and that was my life for sort of two and a half years ish. And that came from a trade show. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:28:48]:
Yeah. There can be a movement towards

Richard Hill [00:28:50]:
just Yeah. You just spot something or you have one chance conversation. You know, like like, obviously, you you had, you know, but you've obviously got to be ready then for, as you say, you know, you've you're expecting maybe, well, if we get maybe 5 or 10 good leads, bang, you come in with a 100 new opportunities, but that is managing those

Paula Short [00:29:08]:
The team.

Richard Hill [00:29:09]:
Following up and then not letting stuff.

Paula Short [00:29:11]:
So before we go to a trade show, we'd have all the thank you emails, the so we had them all lined up

Richard Hill [00:29:17]:
Yep.

Paula Short [00:29:17]:
And that when we'd fill the data in, thank you for visiting our stand. Here's some more information about us. And then when there was a reply to that, we'd have another email already set up. So it was just getting having everything ready in advance of the show. So not just up to the show. There's a lot of work, and then there's a lot of work if you do it right.

Richard Hill [00:29:37]:
They can be expensive, can't they, trade shows?

Paula Short [00:29:39]:
Extremely. You

Richard Hill [00:29:39]:
know? It will vary. You know? We we've, sort of had a lot of meetings around trade shows. You know? We did several last year and some great some really poor. You know? And so, obviously, trying to balance that pipeline is we've spent this, but got this, and we spent this and got this. But it's so

Paula Short [00:29:55]:
It's luck. Sometimes it's luck. It depends who's there. It depends who's walking by. It depends what they're looking for.

Richard Hill [00:30:02]:
It's graft, isn't it? It is. And you've got to be machine mode. Yep. And you can't sit down with each chair.

Paula Short [00:30:08]:
I used to have porridge in the morning because I knew I wouldn't eat all day. So I wanted, like, a slow release sort of sort of thing, but it looks so glamorous. The beauty shows look so glamorous. And then we're in the back eating a sandwich really quickly just to, you know, get oh, because it's hard work. Well, hey, we used to party harder. Like, I've met with all that. It was great.

Richard Hill [00:30:27]:
Yeah. I think my team could, attest to the parting on the on the, yeah. I've told them we're doing less shows this year. They're like, oh. So, obviously, some great advice there from the frontline. But I think there'll be a lot of people listed in that are having tough times, you know, and have are are maybe going through, you know, you know, when we look at that entrepreneur journey, you know, and it can be, interesting times at times to say the least. And what would advice would you give to people that maybe are really struggling at the moment?

Paula Short [00:31:00]:
I think be nice to yourself and take a break. I know I I know you think that everything will implode if you took a day off, but it won't. COVID has taught us that. Yeah. Just be nice to yourself. And it's very easy for me to say, as I say, I've taken a break. I get it. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:31:19]:
But I've read more and I've I've kind of invested in myself a little bit more, and I'm really enjoying it. And I I realized that I know more than I thought I did, and I'm capable of more than I thought I am because I could just breathe. So Yeah. I know it's very easy for me to say not having the pain points of the business and and the bills and the staff and that well, I understand it. And if I could go back and have a quick word with myself, I'd say, stop. Just stop. And take a real day, not half an hour in the pub and then back to work. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:31:53]:
Just take a break, go for a walk, get some fresh air, get outside, and just breathe. And then you'll find that you start to invigorate yourself again. My best ideas come when I'm on holiday. And I go, oh, when I get back, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do that. And by the time I come back and it's just that energy. You reenergize yourself by taking a holiday, actually do better for your business, I think. Well, it's very hard to do.

Richard Hill [00:32:20]:
More money.

Paula Short [00:32:21]:
I think Yes. Exactly. Else about it.

Richard Hill [00:32:23]:
Yeah. No. I'm a 100%. I think it I I was a bit like we were talking about, you know, investing in a in a consultant strategist to work with you in the business. You know, just hang on. We just have a just stop for a minute and have a chat or stop and have a break, you know, whereas we're just doing the same old same old, that extra 10, 15 hours you did this week is that's counterproductive. You'd be doing less work.

Paula Short [00:32:44]:
Yes.

Richard Hill [00:32:44]:
A little freak, I do when I'm like, do you know what? I'm having a shit day. And it happens. It's not yeah. It's just reality is there as a as a business side or anybody. And I'll just get out of the office, but as you say, and I have 2 things I'll do. And 1 is I would go on the phone, and I will look at the cinema and see what's on.

Paula Short [00:33:05]:
They like it.

Richard Hill [00:33:05]:
I don't know if all the team know this. So, hopefully, they they don't have all this.

Paula Short [00:33:08]:
Their vote is like that.

Richard Hill [00:33:09]:
I'm just popping out for a meeting, but they're maybe thinking For

Paula Short [00:33:12]:
2 and a half hours.

Richard Hill [00:33:13]:
Yeah. It'll be 3 hours, maybe. It's a it's a it's a long one.

Paula Short [00:33:16]:
The Martin Scorsese.

Richard Hill [00:33:18]:
That's what

Paula Short [00:33:18]:
that one is.

Richard Hill [00:33:19]:
Every man within a 100 well, 100 yards and 500 yards, so I'll I'll a little tootle down there. All afternoon, there's no bugger in there. There's literally nobody in there, and I'll just sit there and have a little bit of a refresh. I'm I'm taken to a different world.

Paula Short [00:33:33]:
Falls you out with reality. I am a massive cinema lover, and I'm a massive film buff. You name a film, I've probably seen it. I adore movies since I was a little girl on a on a Friday night, a little girl. I'm not very much bigger now, but, on a Friday evening, my mom used to give me money, and our house was about 7 doors from the cinema. And I go on my own, and I must have been 9. And I go on my own, and I'd sit. And I just I didn't care what was on.

Paula Short [00:34:01]:
I would just watch cinema. I adore cinema. It's my thing. I could watch a movie a night easily.

Richard Hill [00:34:06]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:34:06]:
Easy.

Richard Hill [00:34:06]:
So I would advise

Paula Short [00:34:08]:
I like that.

Richard Hill [00:34:09]:
To go watch a

Paula Short [00:34:10]:
film when you're filming. Cinema as well, because you go in, then it feels a

Richard Hill [00:34:13]:
little dark.

Paula Short [00:34:14]:
And then you come out, and it's daytime still. It's fine.

Richard Hill [00:34:16]:
It's a big it's a it's odd. Not I it's odd, but you go in and you're on your own, obviously. So you walk in, you're on the road, and then there's, like, 3 people in there or maybe no one in there. A matter of times I've watched a film, and I'm, like, literally the only person in there. And it's like, I've got this 100 foot screen to myself for a £7.50, and then I'll tool back to work about 4. You feel refreshed? Yeah. All sorted. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:34:36]:
I had a good meeting. Maybe a little bit of them say that. But so just, obviously and then another one I do is I've got a library card, and I'll just go and set the library. But I've got a uni library card because I was an ex Lincoln Uni student. So I've got, like, a, what do they call it? A, yeah, ex student, basically. And I can go and use the library. So I'll just sit in the library where it's just very peaceful. To find a spot that you like and then, you know, walks and things like that.

Richard Hill [00:35:05]:
But having that, yeah, having that break because it because you can get a bit much at times, can't it? You know?

Paula Short [00:35:11]:
And I think you you actually don't realize the world has actually in an outside of your spot. You get so engrossed in your business that you forget that there's so much more. And like that, just go into the library Mhmm. And you get that calm, and then you start to notice different things and you not and I love going for a walk. I adore going for a walk, and I might put an audio book on. And I just love being in the present, being here and now, and just seeing what's around you. Like, springtime is great. So you go for a walk, and I know I sound like David Attenborough a bit now.

Paula Short [00:35:48]:
But that just seeing the world

Richard Hill [00:35:51]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:35:51]:
Evolving again. No matter what's happened, it all comes back.

Richard Hill [00:35:54]:
You can flip yourself out of that funk. Not wanna be too flippant with it because, obviously, some people are really, really short towards struggle and, of course, we all do at times, you know, in the real tough times. But just a a couple of free hour change of scene, whether that's your cinema, your walk, your fresh air, your little route that you like near where you live and get out and just come back come back in

Paula Short [00:36:16]:
the game. Feel better. You just definitely. I think just getting out of the house, the office, it just makes you feel better. And it's I know, like you say, it's easy said. Yeah. The world won't implode. No.

Paula Short [00:36:29]:
It won't implode. Because as soon as you do one job, there's another one waiting for you. There's another one waiting. And just take a breath.

Richard Hill [00:36:37]:
A lot of different things to juggle as a business owner or a market manager for the business. What's your sort of, go to framework maybe or strategy to sort of prioritize things as a busy business owner or a or a marketeer within a business?

Paula Short [00:36:54]:
I think from a marketing point of view, to get the the most for your money, I still go back to know your customer. Yep. If you know if you truly know who your customer is, you know where to target and how to target. So, you know, you're not going to target running shoes at, somewhere that people don't have any sport, and it's a nightclub or or vice versa. You're not gonna

Richard Hill [00:37:21]:
Fast food restaurant.

Paula Short [00:37:22]:
Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Well, I'll have fast food after the gym. But it's that's probably a bad a bad example. I don't know which example to give, but I think know your customer, and then use all the free or very cheap channels first, like your social media, emailing, you know, pigeon mail if you if you wish.

Richard Hill [00:37:44]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Paula Short [00:37:45]:
Reaching out to people or connecting with people on all those forums. Review your competitors, review what they're doing, the hashtags they're using. They might be using hashtags you've never even thought of. I don't believe in doing what your competitors do. I never have. But I I'm very aware of what competitors are doing. And competitors are healthy. They keep you on your toes, and they keep you looking at your business and making sure that you are stealth and that you're, you know, working as you should.

Paula Short [00:38:17]:
I think strategic targeting of marketing rather than spreading yourself thinly along lots of different forums. I think you should again, where is your customer? How do they buy? What do they buy? How did they react to your communications? And start to really look into the data so that you can spend your money wisely and constant review. Yeah. Constant review of your customer experience, their journey on your website or on your, you know, however you sell, and and constant review of the data that you've got. You know, how many times has this customer, shopped with you? Are you getting customer attention? Just all those things. I think you have a lot of we're very lucky that we get a lot of data now. And if we're wise, we use it. And if you use it well, so use as many free things as you can.

Paula Short [00:39:08]:
Networking. Net networking's a great one because unless you're talking to people, you don't realize they might need your product. And and you they might have a machine that helps you get your product seen by somebody else. So, use all the freebie ways first. I'm all for that. I'm really tight when it comes to spending budgets. And then get strategic with your spends. So don't spend for the sake of spending.

Paula Short [00:39:33]:
Spend so that you can target the people that you know who they are, and then you'll get the best from it. And then maybe spend a little bit more next week and see how it goes. And if it doesn't work well, pull it back. Don't do it the week after. So it's just continuous review, I think.

Richard Hill [00:39:49]:
Yeah. No. I love it. I think, you know, obviously, ultimately, you gotta know your customers, those ICPs. And then you've got, in theory, a customer base that, you know, you can see the patterns of the things they're buying and obviously improving that customer value and the lifetime value. And, you know, in your previous business, you know, it wasn't a onetime purchase, but I guess people eComOne back and buying more and more and more and recommending and talking about the products on the social that then inspires other people to buy the products and

Paula Short [00:40:15]:
And sometimes sometimes you are sat on a a nougat, a diamond, and you don't see it. When you study the data, you think, actually, we need to give that little bit more attention because there's a spike over here that we didn't anticipate. Why is that spike there? Or because someone has said something online about it. Yeah. Fine. Let's start getting that hashtag out. Because, again, if you're not reviewing it, you're just fulfilling orders, you're not gonna get the best from us.

Richard Hill [00:40:46]:
So I think there'll be quite a lot of people listed in that or maybe thinking about selling their business or, you know, getting investment into the business. Obviously, the 2 similar but very different at the same time avenues to either inject cash into a business or for an owner to exit the business and inject cash into their personal sort of wealth in there. What advice would you give to people that maybe looking to exit, or, you know, get investment into their business?

Paula Short [00:41:17]:
Well, I've only got my experience.

Richard Hill [00:41:20]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:41:22]:
If you'd asked me 2 years prior, I'd have said, no. I'm not selling my business. No. And it's my baby. This is what I do. This is it was my identity. It was who I was, and it was I'd wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning with an idea for it, and I'd have to have a pen and paper. This is no lie, honestly, which is ridiculous.

Paula Short [00:41:45]:
A pen and paper beside my bed. Because if I didn't get that thought out of my head, I couldn't go back to sleep. And I'd write down the thoughts so that I could just relax. If you'd asked me 2 years prior, I would have said no. I'd never sold my business. I would continue to do what I was doing at again, an insight. I had, run a machine in my gym at home, and I I had 4 frames at the end of it. And in those 4 frames was the mission for Beauty Boulevard.

Paula Short [00:42:15]:
And I would run not very far. I've got short legs. And I'd run, and I would just read our mission over and over and over again. Yeah. Because I got it into me that this is what I want to achieve. When it actually came to selling, I was so ready. I couldn't wait. I was burnt out.

Paula Short [00:42:38]:
I couldn't have worked any harder than I had done. And Rachel had stepped away from the business, about 2 years prior to to me selling. And I enjoyed initially, I enjoyed the autonomy of it just going and and not having to have a chat about what we're going to do. We were a great partnership, and we still are. Well, initially, I quite enjoyed it.

Richard Hill [00:43:02]:
So you just knew at that time then? So, yeah, that solves before these years, you're building it for many, many years, wasn't it? Many, many years. No intention of selling it, which I think is most not all founders, but a lot of passionate founders. You know, they're they're building, building, building. But then what was the you just burn out?

Paula Short [00:43:19]:
Both burnt out. I was completely burnt out. So there was a a guy approached me, and he used to go to American showcase brands in America. And, he was going to Chicago and New York, and he wanted to take beauty boot of our brand with him. And he'd asked me 3 or 4 times, and I said no. I said, I don't have the machine in the background. If you go and you get an order, I don't have the capacity. I don't have the capability in the machine in the background to fulfill what it is and and funding and everything that goes with it.

Paula Short [00:43:53]:
I said, no. I I'm not. I can't do it. Let me carry on with what I'm doing. I can't do this. And he but he kept asking. And I said, in the end, just scratch that itch. Right? I'm gonna send you a box, big glittery box.

Paula Short [00:44:06]:
All the products, take it with you, see how it go. And I think he took 5 brands to the US with him. And beauty boulevard was the only one people we're talking about. So he came back, and that's when they approached me to say, would I be willing to sell shares within the business? And I'm glad I I have a little bit of a poker face, not much because inside I was like, oh, thank god. Thank god. I was like, I'll think about it. Yes. And I was like, oh, please have me, please.

Paula Short [00:44:36]:
Because I I was yeah. I was broken. I was absolutely broken. So, it was nice, when to sell it. It did hurt a little bit when when I entered. It was a big company in in Manchester. I entered a room to have a meeting, and they started talking about Beecher Boulevard, and they it was theirs. And I knew it was theirs.

Paula Short [00:45:01]:
And they started talking about it, and I was thinking, I don't recognize what they're saying. I don't recognize this brand. But I just had to sit there and, they'd ask me questions about it and I give the answer and then they'd say, right. Well, we're going to change all this and we're going to do this and it was like ripping your house apart. But I knew for us to grow, it had to happen. But then, you know, as I say, everything the world stopped. I wish I wish it had continued because I think I was the brand director. I was only 10% shareholder at that point.

Paula Short [00:45:38]:
But I was the face that they were bringing to America to sell the brand because they could ask me a barcode number and I would have noticed I knew the brand so well. And I I sad that we didn't get to push that last bit to really kind of get into the big players in America. And we we we're doing really well. There is life after sale, which I thought I would I just didn't know what I'd do when when it finished. I think my advice is if you're if you're thinking about selling, think about, again, the customer and who other competitors sell to your customers, and perhaps there's a synergy there for selling. Or if you've been approached, I'm a great fan of the SWOT analysis, I think. Just do a SWOT. And I there is life after it.

Paula Short [00:46:33]:
I'd never say to somebody sell. I knew I was ready or I was ready. I think I'd I maybe have given them a fiver to take it off my hands. I've assumed

Richard Hill [00:46:42]:
we can So, obviously so the sale happened, you know, and then, obviously, COVID happened. But if you were back just presale now, and this is also to our listeners, you know, what what do you think you could have done to maximize, or what would you do now to maximize valuations so that that you could have sold it for more? Or looking back, I think, oh, yeah. I was thinking eCom the founders that are listening in, what sort of things they can be doing to maximize valuation. You know, a lot of people talk about systems and processes and, you know, not we we talked about not only the customer, there's 20% of your revenue and various things like that. Looking back, is there any sort of couple of nuggets, do you think? Or, you know, you really wanna make sure this, this, and this, and you could have maybe maximized evaluation anymore?

Paula Short [00:47:28]:
I think you've said it in the first one, processes and data. If you have a good database I know you have GDPR and things like that, but if you have a good database of, a good subscription of people Yeah. Then you can build your brand subtly, constantly. And it's that consistency of business that is the so building the business is great fun, and it's it's really energetic. And, you know, you've you've you've got this project and hobby that's now your life. The maintenance is really hard. Maintenance is the hardest part of, to me, the business to just keep everything moving. If you've got processes in place, you can step back slightly.

Paula Short [00:48:14]:
It I mean, as as the owner or the builder or the founder, whatever you want to call it, you'll keep getting dragged back in. There's no ifs or buts about it, but processes is massive one. And I think data, a good customer base, and retaining that data and reviewing it and looking at it. How can we use it? How can we use it differently? I think building your brand is the main bit. Stock will always be valued at whatever the stock is valued at. Buildings will be valued at whatever the buildings are valued at, and that's a market value. Well, brand brand is where I think the value would be because it you have a a trust of the customer you've got. You've won people over.

Paula Short [00:48:57]:
You've won buyers over. Yeah. And that's what they're they're going into. But, again, you need the data of the buyers, the data of the buyer, the customers for for your potential buyer to take.

Richard Hill [00:49:10]:
So we've covered a lot of ground, Paula. It's been fabulous to have you back on. Thank you. What is next for Paula Short?

Paula Short [00:49:16]:
So I'm really excited about this next phase. I truly am. I as I say, I've taken a break. I've had a little bit of time for me. I've read more. I've traveled more. I I was waiting for a spark. You know you know when you want a new business? Yeah.

Paula Short [00:49:34]:
I was waiting for something where I go, that's it. And, I've realized it's me that I want to invest in. I know that sounds really weird. Well, when I've talked to businesses and they tell me what's their problem, I can relate because I've had it, like, tenfold. And and yet I'm still here. So I'm investing in my consultancy. I'm I'm actually going into business with another person, a very experienced person who's has exit strategies and has exited a business and grown business. And I think between the 2 of us, we have a wealth of knowledge, but we're doing it for to help people.

Paula Short [00:50:20]:
Not I don't wanna grow another massive business. I don't wanna do that because, as I said, there's a sweet spot where you really enjoy your work, and there's Yeah. Not so much pressure.

Richard Hill [00:50:31]:
To get the fun back.

Paula Short [00:50:33]:
Yeah. It's the fun element of it. And actually see people and if you can help people when they're in their pain area, then that's fantastic for me. I'll go home, skip it, and I'll be delighted. Oh, I'll be delighted.

Richard Hill [00:50:45]:
Well, we'll be keeping a close eye on on things, and we'll probably get you back on in 12 months so you can talk about some of the things you've been working on.

Paula Short [00:50:51]:
That'd be fine. As you

Richard Hill [00:50:52]:
might remember, or you might not, we'd like to finish every episode with a book recommendation with your 18 month sabbatical. You maybe, read a few books and, had some days on the, by the pool with the with the camp chair, whatever you call it.

Paula Short [00:51:08]:
Well

Richard Hill [00:51:09]:
Neck chair.

Paula Short [00:51:10]:
I, fiction wise, I'm I'm actually quite dark. It's a Norwegian thriller horror type of not horror, thriller kind of yeah. Crime. I love that. Yeah. Norwegian stuff. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:51:22]:
Yeah.

Paula Short [00:51:23]:
So Jo Nesbo is a great, author that I love from that. I've literally written read everything that he's done. But from, I've read a lot of, just thought provoking books and just things that get a conversation going between, you know, me and my family or me and my friends. And really old book, and I do love it, is Who Moved My Cheese Yeah. By doctor Spencer Johnson. But he also has one called The Present, and I do like those. They're they're short. They're like 45 minute read.

Paula Short [00:51:57]:
Well, I reread it over and over. And I do like, How to Win Friends and Influence People as well. I do like the basics of human nature. And these books are just about the I go back to I love people. I like the energy of people, and Yeah. I could never do an isolated job. And these books are just about you being better version of you, basically. So Great.

Paula Short [00:52:20]:
I think they're my favorite. And and I read them over and over. And I read them, and I also do audiobook because I take different things at different times from it.

Richard Hill [00:52:29]:
Interesting, isn't it? That sort of I I have it on audio, have it on book, have it on PDF, or have it in a book, you know, to few different versions. Yes. The amount of books I've got that I've got 2 or 3 versions. And so for those that wanna find out more about you, more about the, the consultancy, what's the best way to do that?

Paula Short [00:52:47]:
So, well, LinkedIn is probably my easiest, format of connection at the moment because I'm still working on, showcasing the business, and we're working on our branding and our our courses and things like that. So I've worked with company already, this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The team are more energized. The business is more focused, and it's it just makes me feel amazing. So that's that's what I want to do. I want to just kinda help people, but LinkedIn is probably the easiest. Yeah.

Richard Hill [00:53:20]:
We'll link up your LinkedIn. Let me show them that.

Paula Short [00:53:22]:
There you go. I'll make sure my picture is okay on LinkedIn.

Richard Hill [00:53:25]:
Oh, sure. I will be. Yeah. Sure. Well, thanks for coming on the show.

Paula Short [00:53:28]:
Oh, thank you very much for having me again. Yes. Again.

Richard Hill [00:53:31]:
2nd time. You're one of, 4 guests. I think they've been on twice.

Paula Short [00:53:34]:
I feel very honored.

Richard Hill [00:53:35]:
So thanks for joining us in the studio. Thanks a lot.

Paula Short [00:53:37]:
Thank you.

Richard Hill [00:53:37]:
Thank you. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe or follow button wherever you are listening to this podcast. You're always the first to know when a new episode is released. Have a fantastic day, and I'll see you on the next one.