Make it British Podcast

Latest Episodes:

163 – How to Use Data to Transform Your Business – Jodi Muter-Hamilton Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Data and digital are drastically changing how we all shop and the way that products are made.

In this conversation recorded at Make it British Live! Online, a panel of digital experts from within the fashion industry discuss the importance of data for businesses both large and small, and how it can initiate much more personalised conversations with customers.

The panel is chaired by Jodi Muter-Hamilton, who is joined by Cathy McCabe from Proximity Insight, Craig Crawford from Crawford IT, Peter Needle from Segura and Chloe Watts from chloédigital.

Watch the video recording of this episode.

Discover:

Introduction to the panellists 03:03
What data businesses should be capturing and how it can be used 10:49
How data can be used to show information on sustainability within supply chains 12:21
What to do with customer data when you have it? 16:33
How data can help you make the communication with your customers more personal 18:44
How you use data to find customers 21:06
Understanding the numbers when it comes to working with influencers 25:44
How small brands can produce digital content to attract customers and build a community 30:36
Using data to map supply chains 34:31
How brands and retailers can use customer insight to lessen returns 38:29
Why email is not dead! 44:22

More about the speakers

Jodi Muter-Hamilton, Founder of Black Neon Digital (Now called Other Day)

Cathy McCabe, CEO of Proximity Insight

Craig Crawford, VP & Founder of Crawford IT

Peter Needle, CEO of Segura

Chloe Watts, Founder of chloédigital

Jodi Muter-Hamilton podcast > A vision of a world built with integrity

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

162 – Fail to plan…plan to fail! Apr 16, 2021

Show notes

A range plan is an essential tool for any product business. Without it you are setting yourself up for failure.

Yet many of the small businesses that I speak to that are developing products say they don’t have a range plan. Or they don’t even know what it is!

So in this episode, I explain what a range plan is and why it’s a valuable tool for our business.

And if you really feel like geeking out on why you should not offer your customers too much choice, take a look at this study I mention in this episode.

Discover:

What is a range plan? 01:45
How a range plan can help you to calculate how much you need to spend on stock 03:08
When should you create a range plan? 03:28
How a range plan helps you to assess whether you are offering your customers too much choice 04:28
What to include in your range plan 05:58
How to work out how much you need to invest in stock 07:19
What's the best way of creating a range plan? 10:15

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

161 – 50 years of manufacturing in the UK – John Elliott MBE, Ebac Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

John Elliott MBE founded Ebac nearly 50 years ago. The company has also sold 1.5 million dehumidifiers over the years and is the only manufacturer of washing machines in the UK.

John is very passionate about UK manufacturing and his thoughts on the UK Government, the supermarkets and Which? make for entertaining listening.

Discover:

How John left school at 15 with no qualifications and set up Ebac by making a small order of dehumidifiers 01:35
How he used the profits to plough back into the business to set up his own manufacturing 05:27
Why more people should work in manufacturing 05:46
How you need to play to your strengths when running a business 08:36
John's thoughts on the Government and how they should prioritise manufacturing 09:27
John responds to the Which? reviews of Ebac products 14:55
What do the Ebac customers think of their products being made in the UK? 16:55
Why aren't more companies making white goods in the UK? 18:05
How leaving the EU will affect UK trade 19:50
The difficulty of getting a new white goods brand introduced into the retailers and why no one makes electric kettles in the UK anymore 27:40
Which other UK manufacturers John admires 31:32

More about John Elliott and Ebac

Ebac website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

160 – Should You Start With a Seamstress or a Factory? Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

If you want to launch a clothing label should you get your first samples made by a seamstress or should you go straight to working with a factory?

In this episode, I cover the pros and cons of both so that you can make the decision for yourself as to which you think is best for your business.

Discover:

How a seamstress can translate your ideas into an initial prototype 02:32
Why you should start with a small production run 04:11
The price difference between a seamstress and a factory 04:50
One of the downsides of working with a seamstress is they may not have certain types of machinery that a factory might have 05:47
The difference in the way a seamstress might make something compared to a factory 07:29
The advantages of working with a factory when your sales take off 10:33

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

159 – Tips for Trading With the EU as a Small Business – Rachel Bowditch Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

How Rachel Bowditch discovered a gap in the market and turned it into a thriving business with loyal fans.

Alice Bow became an overnight sensation when it was reported that the Duchess of Cambridge was a big fan.

Rachel discusses how she rapidly grew her business overnight by bringing her manufacturing in house.

She also has some great tips about how to protect your brand's IP, as well as how small businesses can trade with the EU post-Brexit.

Discover:

How Rachel spotted a gap in the market for comfortable insoles 01:53
Why you should make a decision from the start to not treat your business like a hobby 05:39
How to get manufacturers to take you seriously when you are a start-up 06:20
Sourcing raw materials from trade shows 08:43
Becoming an overnight sensation when it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge was a fan of the brand 10:50
How to deal with spikes in demand when you are a small brand 15:10
How they get their leathergoods made in London 19:30
Rachel explains how the UK-EU trade agreement works for businesses that make in the UK but sell to the EU 20:54
Why you need to keep an audit trail 26:06
How to get your paperwork right 27:42
Why it's important to communicate with your EU customers 28:43
How to protect your design IP from competitors 32:37
What the new EU VAT changes mean for small businesses 49:10

More about Rachel Bowditch and Alice Bow

Alice Bow Website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

158 – What is a Critical Path and Why do You Need One? Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

Does the phrase critical path fill you with dread? Or make you jump for joy?

When it comes to manufacturing a product a critical path is...critical!

In this episode, I cover exactly what a critical path is and when and why you need one.

You’ll also find out how to create one, and most importantly, keep it updated.

Discover:

What is a critical path? 01:23
Examples of when you would need a critical path 03:11
Why you need a critical path if you're working with a factory 06:19
How to create a critical path 08:19
Do you need a critical path if you are making the products yourself? 14:58

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

157 – Tapping into Deadstock Materials – Dessy Tsolova Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

How can you find deadstock materials for your brand?

In this episode, Dessy from Fashion Insiders & Co and I discuss some of the challenges of starting a fashion brand, including one of the biggest challenges of all, which is how to find raw materials in small quantities.

Dessy has recently launched a platform call My Factori which hosts online pop-up sales selling raw materials that designers may otherwise not have access to.

It also solves a problem for the manufacturers that have cash tied up in raw materials sitting in their factories that they can’t use.

Discover:

The moment Dessy realised she didn't want to work as a fashion designer 02:03
How she launched the manufacturing platform Utelier 03:59
The biggest challenges for people setting up a brand in 2021 05:40
What criteria you shoud look for when trying to find someone to help you with manufacturing. 08:49
The challenge of finding raw materials and how Dessy has set up a platform to help solve the issue 11:56
How manufacturers can sell their deadstock raw materials 24:31
Other places to find stock / small quantities of sustainable raw materials 34:17

More about Dessy Tsolova and Fashion Insiders & Co

Fashion Insiders & Co website MyFactori website

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

156 – 5 reasons why you might not be able to find a UK manufacturer Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

If you're struggling to find a UK manufacturer there's usually one of five reasons why you can't find one.

In this episode, I explain what those five situations are. And give you suggestions for how to have more success in finding your ideal manufacturing partner.

Discover:

Why more people are looking for UK manufacturers now 00:45
Questions I ask when someone says they can't find a manufacturer 02:14
Why your prices may be unrealistic 02:58
Why you might be looking for a type of manufacturer that doesn't exist 05:15
How to increase you chances of success 10:48

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

155 – Creating change in the UK fashion industry – Lee Akpareva Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Lee Akpareva is a fashion designer, tailor and technology consultant.

He's also creative director of Never Fade, a fashion store and creative space on Old Compton Street in London.

We chat about collaborations within the fashion industry, helping new designers get a head start, and how blockchain and technology are impacting the fashion industry and manufacturing.

Discover:

About Lee and his background before becoming a designer 02:40
Having a second-life career 05:34
Why he decided to go to fashion school as a mature student 07:58
How he started working with Never Face 10:27
About the Never Fade store and the designers they work with 12:17
Why Lee is focusing on UK production 15:32
How they select the up-and-coming designers for Never Fade 16:09
How money and funding is a big constraint for new designers 17:43
Why there's not more diversity in fashion colleges 18:21
Why aren't there more black tailors? 21:40
Lee's future plans for his business? 23:23
Why collaboration is the way forward for the industry 25:31
The rise of Blockchain and NFC 26:26
The rise of 'digital' clothing and accessories 29:32
The adoption of technology in fashion manufacturing 32:35
How we can reinvigorate our high streets 37:06

More about Lee Akpareva

Lee Akpareva on Instagram

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

154 – Made in UK vs Made in Britain Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

Should you use Made in UK or Made in Britain? And what's the difference?

A few people have asked why we chose to call the awareness campaign Made in UK Day and not Made in Britain Day.

United Kingdon, Great Britain, The British Isles...it can be very confusing trying to get your head around all the different ways you can describe the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

In this episode, I break down what each one means.

You'll also get to hear which one gets significantly more internet searches than the other.

Discover:

A thank you to everyone that got involved with Made in UK Day [00:45]
The reach of Made in UK Day campaign and the huge demand for products made in the UK [01:18]
Why Made in UK Day and not Made in Britain Day? [02:36]
What Great Britain covers [04:26]
The area known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [05:29]
The British Isles [06:04]
Ireland [06:19]
Online searches for ‘made in UK’ compared to ‘made in Britain’ [07:55]

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator