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Getting to know Emily Cole aka Emily Cole Illustrations

Emily Cole Illustrations

Sophie Lefevre Photography

Emily Cole really doesn’t need an intro, as I reckon that you will have seen her gorgeous illustrations online (or maybe in real life!) more than once! Emily is part of my Small & Supercharged Mastermind group and is an absolute superstar. Find out more about her here…

Name: Emily

Business name: Emily Cole Illustrations

Whereabouts do you live? Lincolnshire, UK

In 10 words, tell us what your business does/sells/makes: I draw Cartoon Ponies doing silly things.

Tell us why you started your business: I was supposed to be an Architect but discovered I was far more interested in drawing on my lecture notes than I was reading or listening to them. I used to keep them a secret but I started to draw my friends and one thing lead to another – it is now my full-time job.

What’s your favourite event or show? I love Burghley Horse Trials and Olympia.

Tell us about your four legged team members: I have a Kitten, (who’s pretty much a Cat now,) called Sid. He is chaos personified but I love him to bits. I am not sure if it is possible to cross-breed a Cat with a Tornado but he would be the result. He comes with me to the office most days.

What’s your greatest achievement/pinch me moment in your business so far?

I had a moment last year when I suddenly realised that I was sat in a proper office and had two people packing parcels for me while I drew. It caught me off guard as I am always in half denial that I actually run my own business. It was an ‘Oh my goodness I am an actual Business person and how on earth have Cartoon Ponies got me here’ moment

Care to share a funny equestrian/business story?

Have you ever had to wait for the Dressage arena to be rebuilt before starting your test as you demolished the boards trying to ride around the edge? I have. Definitely not the way to make a great first impression to the judge.

Best bit of business advice you’ve been given: Realise that you are still your own person separate to your business. I own the business – not the other way around.

Favourite equestrian brands: 

I’m going for artists…

Clare Brownlow.

Sophie Lefevre Photography who I have had the pleasure of working with a few times now.

Darren Woodhead

Tony O Connor

I mean the list could go on and on….. and on. I love Art.

One thing we might not know about you? My surname isn’t actually Cole! (Cole was my maiden name.) I think a few people are also surprised that I don’t actually have my own Horse.

 If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

 Mary Berry, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French

What is your superpower?

Overthinking. I am able to overthink anything.

What’s your pet hate? When people don’t want pudding after their Main!

Why did you join Small & Supercharged Mastermind?

Running a business is lonely so it was a brilliant opportunity to meet other small businesses.

What’s the best thing about the group

The moral support and knowledge within the group is invaluable. They also convinced me it was perfectly reasonable to buy a Sequin wall for my Trade Stand. If that isn’t support, I don’t know what is.

Tell us all the places where we can find you

Facebook – Emily Cole Illustrations

Instagram – @emilycoleillustrations

Twitter – @ECIllustrations

www.emily-cole.com

Subscribe to the Small & Supercharged podcast on iTunes

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Zero to 3.4million on YouTube and a country transition with Lucy Earl

English With Lucy - Lucy Bella Earl

Oh yes… today it’s all about YouTube and how Lucy Earl, who you might know better as @lucy on Instagram (the coolest Instagram handle ever, right?!) or English With Lucy on YouTube transitioned her Instagram from teaching English to country life.

On today’s Small & Supercharged Podcast, Lucy talks to us all about her YouTube journey, how she started, the kit she started with (and the kit she uses now), how she’s grown her account… and also how she’s started a second channel and transitioned her Instagram followers more towards the country lifestyle now…

Zero to 3.4million on YouTube and a country transition with Lucy Earl

On this podcast, Lucy chats about how her YouTube growth has given her a reason to start a second channel, all about her, due to demand from subscribers from the other channel. This second channel and the interest in her personal life from her subscribers on English With Lucy was what gave Lucy the nudge to pursue Instagram too. We also talk about…

  • How Lucy feels that being present on different channels is a very good idea for influencers and micro-influencers.
  • How Lucy transitioned on Instagram from English with Lucy to being a popular countryside influencer.
  • The three things Lucy looks for when she posts on social media.
  • How she dealt with the growth on her Instagram, feeling a positive pressure in the platform, and how she made this work.
  • Why it’s far more important to have engaged following vs a large following and how Lucy feels quite positive about people who unfollow her, as getting the right people following pushes the engagement rate up.
  • The highs and lows of being an influencer, growing a huge YouTube following, and becoming an influencer.
  • How Lucy coped with being subjected to cyberbullying.
  • Opportunities she’s enjoyed from being an influencer… and so much more.

We also chat about Hiho Silver’s Hiho & Co Event, which Lucy was due to speak at. Unfortunately, due to Coronavirus, this has been postponed, but please sign up to the mailing list- you’ll be the first to hear about anything Hiho & Co if you’re on the list.

You can follow Lucy and see her in action at all the places below:

Lucy on Instagram

English With Lucy YouTube

Lucy Bella Earl YouTube

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Supporting small businesses during Coronavirus

When it comes to helping small businesses thrive, you should know by now that I’m all in on that score. But when it comes to supporting small businesses during Coronavirus, I’m determined to help on a whole new level…

Supporting small businesses during Coronavirus

In addition to helping support small businesses and brands through my Small & Supercharged Facebook group, the Small & Supercharged Extra group and Small & Supercharged Mastermind, I am also working on a number of opportunities to help small businesses promote themselves better during this challenging time.

Sadly, I don’t have a magic wand. But I do know that it WILL pass. There’s a great quote on Facebook that says something like ‘this will pass, like a kidney stone, but it will pass’… and I’m viewing it like that.

However, at the moment, everyone is scared, confused and more than a little shocked. People are worried about where their next paycheck is coming from, when they’ll be allowed back to work, when the children will go back to school and so much else. But please, PLEASE don’t see this as a reason not to promote your business or support small businesses if you’re a consumer.

I’m not asking you to spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need, so don’t worry about that.

I recorded a podcast all about how to help support small businesses during Coronavirus here, which is full of tips, and many won’t cost you a penny. They won’t take that much time either but they will make a big difference, honestly. Being supportive on social media, liking content, leaving a comment, sharing, all the things that you can do in seconds for free can make a big difference. There’s a lot more we can all do too, as the podcast explains.

I also created the graphic below. I still can’t decide whether it’s genius or madness because the six-points spell ‘Corona’. Yeah… pretty sure it’s madness, but still…

You can find the original post of this graphic on my Instagram here, but please feel free to save the below and post to social, if you’d like to tag me, that would be amazing. I’m @rheafreemanpr on Instagram.

6 ways to support small businesses during coronavirus

Stay safe, be kind, and remember that this will pass. Like a kidney stone, but it will pass. Hang on in there.

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How to help support small businesses during Coronavirus

This isn’t a podcast I was planning on recording, because I didn’t know Coronavirus was going to happen. And even when I heard about it, I didn’t expect it to escalate this quickly. But here we are. With a country applying social distancing due to Coronavirus, over 70s being advised to stay away from people for three months, non-essential NHS operations being postponed, and many businesses struggling, now’s the time to share a podcast about how to help support small businesses during Coronavirus.

How to help support small businesses during Coronavirus


In this podcast, all about how to help support small businesses during Coronavirus, I give a few ideas about how you and I can help small businesses during this tricky time. Because it is going to be a challenging time for many. Well, most. We need to remember that behind every small business is a person with a family and commitments, with worries and stresses. And if we can help these people – these small business superheroes, then why wouldn’t we? Nothing I say in this podcast goes against Government guidelines – it’s essential you read these guidelines and, in my opinion, adhere to them. Now, let’s crack on… how to help small businesses during COVID-19

  • Fake news. I don’t think many people deliberately spread fake news, but when you see some ‘juicy gossip’ around Coronavirus, just have a think about whether it’s true or useful. If it’s not true (and if you go to the source and they disagree with what’s being said, let’s say it’s not true at this point) then just stop. If it’s not useful, also stop. People are scared enough.
  • Engage with people’s social media. If we leave meaningful comments on people’s social media it signals that this content is good and valuable and that should help it to get better organic reach.
  • Tag people you think might be interested in specific posts.
  • Send them a supportive DM or react to a story – a bit of cheerleading helps.
  • Communicate with the business. If you don’t want to/aren’t able to go out, contact the shop/business to see if they’d post out.
  • Be respectful of their procedures and guidelines. Look at what they’re doing in-store to help protect themselves and their team and follow this. And if you feel poorly and think you might have Coronavirus, don’t go into their shop. Instead, call them or email them or DM them.
  • Be aware of returns policies. Just keep your lines of communication open, return anything you need promptly, etc.

And a bit of good…

If you’re a small business, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There’s a lot of people around who are trying really hard to help you as a small business. And I’m one of them…

I’m thrilled to be working with Victoria Knowles-Lacks and the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club on the Online Small Business Showcase. This is an exciting initiative, the brainchild of Victoria, that I am thrilled to support. This was revealed yesterday and will develop during the week before the showcase starts very soon.

And don’t forget the Small & Supercharged group. This is a free Facebook group that has been set up to help support small businesses all the time, not just during Coronavirus. It’s a safe community where we’re all in it together. Come on over and join. You’d be very very welcome.

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Getting to know Nicky Sutcliffe from Equi Travel Safe & Sport Horse Select

Nicky Sutcliffe Equitravelsafe

By Amy Griffiths Photography

Have you heard of Equi Travel Safe or Sport Horse Select? Today, you’re going to meet the founder of both of these businesses, Nicky Sutcliffe. Nicky is a member of the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group and, as part of my quest to get you to know more about the amazing people I work with, let me introduce you to Nicky…

Name: Nicky Sutcliffe

Business name: Sport Horse Select.

Whereabouts do you live? Stillington, just north of York.

In 10 words, tell us what your business does/sells/makes: I provide a variety of livery packages, horse training and compete BS.

Tell us why you started your business: I was horse mad from a toddler so it was inevitable I’d work with horses. I started Sport Horse Select in 2008 when we were lucky enough to move to our home with multiple stables. I love training horses and working through issues.

What’s your favourite event or show? I’d have to say the BS at Bramham International Horse Trials for a number of reasons. It’s one of our biggest local events, my horse loves their big grass arena, my friends and family come to watch and there is just a brilliant atmosphere.

Tell us about your four legged team members: My top horse is Cornelius III, or Cohen to his friends. He’s a giant grey warmblood who hates being bathed yet loves being filthy. He absolutely loves his job as a show jumper, especially the Spring/Summer season in the big grass arenas. We compete up to 1.40m against some of the countries top riders and he makes me look good. Together we are fearless and also best friends.

What’s your greatest achievement/pinch me moment in your business so far? Hard question! Other than competing Cohen, I’ve produced some brilliant horses who are now with top riders, such as Ciletto H, ridden by Ben Hobday. I’d say seeing people doing well with horses I’ve worked with fills me with pride.

Care to share a funny equestrian/business story?: I was once show jumping, feeling confident and probably showing off, when a filler blew down right in front of me as we were about to take off. The horse span and I ended up landing bum first in a decorative plant pot.

Best bit of business advice you’ve been given: You can’t do everything! But I didn’t listen and I still try.

Favourite equestrian brands: The Equi Travel Safe, I’m biased as I did invent it but I’d never travel a horse without it. The Comfy Horse Company who I brand ambassador for too; they have loads of products to keep the horse comfy. And my new KBF99 Shaving fork. Without this, my shoulders would have died mucking out the 16 stables I do daily.

One thing we might not know about you?: Before starting Sport Horse Select I working in a party and fancy dress shop where I became a qualified balloon artist.

If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why? My grandad, he’s dead now but I’d love one more dinner with him. He was a truly fascinating man. John Whitaker for all his helpful tips and his secret to be still going at his age. And Mary King for all her stories.

What is your superpower? Positive mental attitude! Nothing gets me down and if it does, I get back up and try harder.

What’s your pet hate? When your socks fall down in your wellies!

Why did you join Small & Supercharged Mastermind? I’d started a new business with the Equi Travel Safe and I needed so much help! I’m in my 30’s and not down with the kids. My social game was weak and I felt I wasn’t getting the product noticed.

What’s the best thing about the group? I love the Mastermind Group as we’re all people in the same boat. We learn so much from Rhea, most of it I wasn’t even aware I needed to know. It’s about working smart and not hard. My favourite is the Facebook lives where we all get together and ask questions that Rhea helps us with It’s like having business support.

Tell us all the places where we can find you:

Insta nickyshs and equitravelsafe

Facebook www.facebook.com/sporthorseselect and www.facebook.com/equitravelsafe

Website www.sporthorseselect.co.uk and www.equitravelsafe.co.uk

Small & Supercharged Mastermind

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The Kate Effect with Hicks & Brown

Have you heard of ‘the Kate Effect’? You know the one, when the gorgeous Duchess of Cambridge wears something and BOOM – the garment sells out?! There’s no doubt that having the Duchess wear an item of your clothing or an accessory is huge for a business… but it’s a unicorn for many and can’t be forced or really planned for. But on this podcast we speak to one of the businesses who’s experienced the Kate Effect first hand – Hicks & Brown.

The Kate Effect with Hicks & Brown

If you don’t know what I’m talking about – I first saw the Duchess in a Hicks & Brown hat on the Hello Magazine website but a Google of ‘Hicks & Brown Duchess of Cambridge’ will show you just how far this spread, including websites like Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Glamour Magazine… the list goes on. For any business, this is HUGE.

On this episode, I talk to the founders of Hicks & Brown, Rosie Turner and Alice Leet-Cook, about how the business started and, of course, the Kate Effect. We talk about what it was like when the ladies realised the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing their fedora, how quickly the hat sold out, where the interest has come from following Kate wearing that fedora and so much more.

In this podcast, Rosie and Alice chat about the challenges of having their business catapulted into the spotlight over a very short space of time. We chat about stock, but also running out of boxes and branded tissue paper… and even how challenging it is to deal with couriers shipping hats all over the world. We also talk about how people’s perceptions of the brand has changed and how they have been asked about distributors and customer service in different countries, in addition to putting a handwritten card in with every single order… even when that meant taking a stack of cards home each night!

And of course, we chat about the positives too – and I really smiled when Alice shared one of the biggest positives for her. It might not be what you expect.

As always, I would love you to tune in, screenshot and share to Instagram Stories tagging us both if you love it. You can find out more about Hicks & Brown through all the links below:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Subscribe to the Small & Supercharged podcast on iTunes

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Getting to know Victoria Bodey, the lady behind Equiboodle

Victoria Bodey Equiboodle, Abi Lyle, Georgie Round

Victoria Bodey is the lady behind Equiboodle, a gorgeous tack shop in Cirencester that I’m lucky enough to work with. In addition to seeing Victoria grow and build her own amazing and continually expanding collection, I’ve also hosted a Small & Supercharged LIVE Podcast in her shop, and we held a great event last November called Equiboodle & Friends that saw a number of businesses in the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group have a ‘stand’ in her shop at a special event. Here, we get to find out lots more about Victoria… I know you’ll love her as much as I do…

In 10 words, tell us what your business does/sells/makes: Large friendly equestrian store with own brand and big brands!

Tell us why you started your business: Started my company as I love all things equestrian and sales. I’m happiest on the ground around beautiful horsey items!

What’s your favourite event or show? My favourite event is badminton, it’s the perfect mix of ultimate equestrian heaven and seeing loads of my friends in the industry. I love catching up with everyone there. I go with dear friends and it’s an event we all look forward to!

Tell us about your four legged team members: I sold my horse last year as I’m too busy in the shop and with my family, I will continue to ride when I can this year, so for now my four legged friends are my dogs and cats

What’s your greatest achievement/pinch me moment in your business so far? I have many great achievements, moving into my brand new incredible shop, being nominated for retailer of the year a few times, meeting and becoming friends with famous riders who shop with Equiboodle, designing my own equestrian range. I’m very lucky! But ‘luck’ was generated by sheer hard work and determination!

Best bit of business advice you’ve been given: Best bit of business advice I’ve been given is by my husband and my family who constantly encourage and support me, it is summed up by this quote: “Success has a price tag on it, and the tag reads courage, determination, discipline, risk taking, perseverance, and consistency – doing the right things for the right reasons and not just when we feel like it.” James M. Meston

Favourite equestrian brands: My favourite equestrian brand is. Of course. My own beloved Equiboodle. A unique well respected, popular, trusted, fun, fashionable brand! And still turning into bigger and better brand all the time. However…..my business model in work is that if I or the team don’t use and love a product, we don’t sell it. Therefore every brand we sell in store comes with the assurance that a customer can freely discuss with us, with any of us giving them our honest opinion based on our usage

One thing we might not know about you? One thing you may not know about me is that: I’ve got my power boat license and that there’s always a small part of me that would like to be on a boat somewhere (normally Cornwall) with sea salt hair and a hint of a tan!

If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why? I’d want everyone to have fun and it be the most talked about dinner party for at least a week so I’d love to invite Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Noel Fielding. As they are eclectically funny which I love

What is your superpower? My super power is….being able to read people…..I’ve always been able to understand body language and expressions/gestures more than I realise most people do. Whether this is instinctual or a skill developed through years of sales I’m now not sure, but I quietly take it all in when I meet people and react accordingly.

What’s your pet hate? My pet hate is dishonesty. I can deal with anything as long as the person is being honest. Maybe it’s part of my ‘super power’.

Find Victoria on Facebook, Instagram, her website, or go and see the shop in Cirencester, you won’t be sorry!

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You do you – why we need YOU – Small & Supercharged Podcast

you do you

You hear the phrase ‘you do you’ lot, don’t you? There’s a book called it, a YouTube series, posters, and Jasmine Star says it too. Now, she’d add ‘Boo’ on the end, but I am not cool enough for that and that’s very much her take on it… and that’s an important thing… and actually is a great example of what I’m talking about on this podcast. On this episode, I’m talking about you doing you. And why that’s really important. Are you ready?

You do you – why we need YOU


If you’ve ever looked around at other people’s social media and felt a little ‘meh’ about your own. This is for you. I think we can all, if we’re honest, say that in our scrolling we’ve found posts that are doing really well, and seen accounts that have grown really fast, and we wonder why it’s not happening for us. Now, when this happens, we have a choice. We can nod, smile, be pleased for them but accept that we’re different people with a different tribe. Or we can get jealous and try and morph into someone we’re not.

We’re not going to do that latter. It has no value for you. And I want you to put the work into your social media so it benefits you.

There are trends on social media that circulate a lot, and I want to urge you to view these as more than just a way to get fast likes. If the trends align with your brand and your values, then get on it, but don’t just do it because you feel it’s a fast fix. It isn’t. Because the people you might attract through jumping on something that isn’t a good fit for you are very unlikely to be part of your tribe going forward. See what I mean?

There’s more than one way to win in life. And more than one way to win on social media. But you’re only going to truly win if you’re you.

So, imagine you have two athletes. One comes from a poor background and has had to work really hard to get there – working many jobs, winning scholarships, etc. The other comes from an affluent background and has always had the money for the best of everything. Both have great stories to tell. The athlete from the poor background could talk about his struggle and his journey and that would be compelling… but if the affluent one talks about the same thing IT WOULD MAKE NO SENSE. But if the affluent one talks about the pressure that comes with his background and opportunities, that fits. That makes sense. Switch the content around and not only does it make no sense, but if someone resonates with it from the wrong person, how is that going to end? Because they’re resonating with something that is not true to that person.

See what I mean?

So you do you. Ok? We don’t need clones. We need YOU and your unique mix. Being you will attract your tribe. Promoting yourself as something you aren’t won’t. And that’s a waste of everyone’s time… isn’t it?!

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