There’s no doubt in my mind that this year, Christmas will be weird. But that doesn’t mean it can’t still be good. It doesn’t mean that, as a small business, you can’t make Christmas sales and delight your customers. It doesn’t mean that as an influencer or brand ambassador, you can’t do your bit to help the brands you love. And it doesn’t mean we can’t make the best of the situation… and hopefully this podcast will help you do this.

Is it too soon to mention… why you need to be doing your prep now to maximise your small business Christmas sales

I know it feels like Christmas is miles away, but I promise you that the weeks will fly by and you’ll be pleased you did the prep now, to make your Christmas go well – maybe even better than ever. And by getting ahead now, you could well be able to support more small businesses because you have time to plan, to order, and to deliver amazing things to your loved ones that also directly help the people behind the small businesses and brands you love so much online.

In this episode we chat about how to support small businesses you like without spending money, how you can potentially spend less but buy things with more meaning and a story for your loved ones, how getting ahead of the game can save you money, and how now, more than ever, it’s important to be kind. I also chat Black Friday, why you MUST tell your customers what you sell if you sell a product… and I chat all about the Small & Supercharged Christmas market too.

tullis matson stallion ai

Photo Credit: Horse Power Creative

Stallion AI and I go WAY back, in fact, I first met this business over 15 years ago when went there to pick a stallion for my beloved cob mare… and how things have changed in that time!

Saving species, Big Star, Suffolk Punches and so much with Tullis Matson of Stallion AI

In this episode, I talk to Tullis Matson, the founder of Stallion AI. I find the journey fascinating, from the tragic event that started the whole business through to breeding a Suffolk Punch filly using sexed semen a few months ago (a deliberate choice as a step to help save an endangered breed), working with endangered species all over the world to looking after stallions like Big Star. In addition, Tullis shares some other aspects of his business, from a new project that will help preserve tissue to cloning, canine breeding to the conference suites they have too. And, of course, we have a good chat about social media and pivoting due to Covid too!

To find out more, see:

The website

Facebook 

Instagram

Rhea Freeman, Sophie Callahan, Victoria Bodey & Martha Lily Photography

Welcome to the second special episode of Small & Supercharged Conversations. If you didn’t listen to part one two weeks ago with the same group of ladies, you might want to go back and tune into that before you listen into this one.

Small & Supercharged Conversations with Martha, Victoria & Sophie – Pt 2

Small & Supercharged Conversations with Martha, Victoria & Sophie – Pt 2

For this episode, I’m joined by equine portrait photographer and brand photographer Sophie Callahan, equine portrait and event photographer Martha Lily Thompson, and designer and shop owner Victoria Bodey from Equiboodle.

This time, we’re chatting about photography and use of images, copyright issues, why it’s important to upskill, social media strategy, and prejudices shown due to gender… I was pretty shocked about this one too!

As always, if you listen, please do screenshot, share to Stories and tag us all – I’d love to know if you enjoyed it!

Sophie Callahan

Website

Instagram 

Facebook

Martha Lily Thompson

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Victoria Bodey and Equiboodle

Website

Instagram 

Facebook

Instagram Stories guide

This feels self indulgent BUT, you asked, and I answered! In all seriousness, this one has moments where everything gets a little deep, and there are bits I haven’t shared that much before, but I hope it will interest you. Actually, more than that, I hope it will inspire you.

8 things about me – you asked and I answered – from social media to death threats to who I like to work with!

I don’t know about you, but I find it really interesting to hear about people’s journeys. What makes them tick. Why they are how they are. How they run their business. And it turns out that a lot of my followers were interested in a bit about my business journey and more too. Which was flattering, rather surprising, but it was fun to share – a bit like therapy too.

So, here we go, eight things about me… I chat about the kind of businesses and people I like to work with, what inspires and motivates me, how my children influence my decisions (they don’t know they do!), what I’d change about social media, and how I started down my career path… you ready?! I really, really hope you enjoy it.

You can obviously find me here, on my website, but I also spend a lot of time on Instagram and Facebook, so please do connect with me over there if you’d like a chat or to find out more about the amazing people I work with, what I do and how I do it, the bits I share… and pictures of horses too, of course!

Small & Supercharged Extra

 

Amanda Dowie Georgian Dollar

Amanda Dowie is the lady behind equestrian jeans brand Georgian Dollar, and as with so many businesses, there’s a lot more to this brand than meets the eye.

Dubai to Devon with four horses and lots of denim with Amanda Dowie from Georgian Dollar

From the chat that started the whole journey to having to admit to owning one more horse than her husband thought, being stocked in shops and the associated buzz, to the real cost and stages that launching a new business faces, Amanda shares it all here.

And the name? Oh yes, you’ll hear all about why her brand is called Georgian Dollar, and how each of Amanda’s much loved horses has at least one hoof in the brand too.

Get ready to smile – Amanda’s enthusiasm and zest for life is infectious.

To find out more about Amanda and her amazing jeans, you can find her in all the places below:

Website

Facebook

Instagram 

 

Small & Supercharged Extra

Rhea Freeman, Sophie Callahan, Victoria Bodey & Martha Lily Photography

Welcome to the first special episode of Small & Supercharged Conversations.

Small & Supercharged Conversations with Victoria Bodey, Sophie Callahan, and Martha Lily Thompson


This episode is with equestrian/brand photographer and lifestyle blogger Sophie Callahan, Victoria Bodey who’s the founder of Cirencester tack shop and gorgeous clothing range Equiboodle, and equestrian and event photographer Martha Lily Thompson.

I’m lucky enough to work with these three ladies in different ways, and all are members of my Small & Supercharged Mastermind group. To get to share their knowledge and loveliness with you is brilliant.

Oh, and did I mention that in addition to covering a couple of big topics, the ladies also answer questions from listeners? Enjoy.

Find out more about…

Sophie Callahan

Website

Instagram 

Facebook

Martha Lily Thompson

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Victoria Bodey and Equiboodle

Website

Instagram 

Facebook

Horse of the year show Rhea Freeman

What does ‘brand’ mean to you? And what does building a brand mean to you? That’s exactly what we’re talking about in this blog right here, and on episode 122 of the Small & Supercharged Podcast.

What’s a brand and how to start building one…


It can feel a little overwhelming to think about your brand or building one, but I hope that this podcast will help. We often think of them in terms of logos, colours and font, don’t we? These attributes are definitely part of the mix, as they help people to identify your brand, but it is so much more than this.

Your brand should be in your every fibre and its fingerprints over everything you say and produce. It should be what you believe in and who you are at your core. And by your, I mean you if you’re developing a personal brand, or you as a business if we’re building that way too.

A brand is about what people can expect from you and what you deliver, consistently. It’s far, far more than a specific colour.

This is, indeed, quite a big thing, and a big one to put across in everything you do, but it’s more than possible, as I explain in this episode of the podcast. Enjoy!

If you fancy following me online (and I’d love you to!) you can always join the fun over on Facebook, Instagram – or why not join the Small & Supercharged group? This FREE community based Facebook group has been created by me to help support small businesses, brands and influencers in the equestrian and rural space… and it continues to do a pretty good job of this for people in some many different areas. I’d love to see you there!

Instagram Stories guide