00:00.031 –> 00:24.132
[SPEAKER_00]: The education is a key part for me and I do it because I want to do it but the customers that buy our products I think they like value that we give back and that we’re not just selling to make money we’re like selling to make a difference so it’s a personal thing really but incidentally obviously it has an effect on the business.

00:26.542 –> 00:29.049
[SPEAKER_01]: It’s the e-commerce master plan podcast.

00:29.610 –> 00:33.681
[SPEAKER_01]: Here to help you solve your marketing problems and grow your e-commerce business.

00:34.222 –> 00:42.323
[SPEAKER_01]: Cutting through the hive to bring you inspiration and advice from the e-commerce sector and beyond, here’s your host, Chloe Thomas.

00:45.273 –> 00:46.375
[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, and welcome.

00:46.395 –> 00:47.497
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s great to have you here.

00:47.597 –> 00:51.223
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for hitting play and choosing to listen to one of our inspiring guests.

00:51.624 –> 00:55.591
[SPEAKER_02]: Huge thanks to Craig Thomas for the intro to this episode’s guest.

00:55.611 –> 00:56.292
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, Craig.

00:56.773 –> 01:03.805
[SPEAKER_02]: And in this episode, we are talking about bees, because that is the why behind this person’s business.

01:03.785 –> 01:08.653
[SPEAKER_02]: you’ll be hearing about how passionate she is about that and also how that passion has shaped the business.

01:09.114 –> 01:26.603
[SPEAKER_02]: We’ll be talking about community, we’ll be talking about partnerships, we will be talking about how they’ve grown the business from an idea eight years later to over two million in sales and we’ll also be getting quite deep into the Kickstarter campaign.

01:26.583 –> 01:33.433
[SPEAKER_02]: that they were about to run when we hit the record button on this and that will have finished by the time you hear it.

01:33.934 –> 01:40.463
[SPEAKER_02]: So well worth going and checking out their Instagram and LinkedIn to see how all that went as well because you’ll have heard the before on here.

01:40.904 –> 01:48.855
[SPEAKER_02]: And make sure you listen to the end of the episode so you don’t miss out on my guest top tips including a brilliant traffic top tip all about the IB club.

01:49.456 –> 01:54.784
[SPEAKER_02]: And if you’re making assumptions about what that is you’re probably wrong so you’re going to have to listen to the end to find out what it really is.

02:00.552 –> 02:02.695
[SPEAKER_02]: And now to introduce our special guest.

02:03.135 –> 02:11.946
[SPEAKER_02]: Fay Whitley is the co-founder, a managing director of B5, creators of the original B revival kit, and recent Dragon’s Den stars.

02:12.387 –> 02:21.438
[SPEAKER_02]: Founded in 2018, they’ve sold over £2 million worth of the product via their Shopify store and over £350 wholesale customers selling their products in the UK.

02:21.779 –> 02:22.780
[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, Fay.

02:22.760 –> 02:24.787
[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, thank you for having me.

02:25.409 –> 02:26.835
[SPEAKER_02]: Awesome to have you on the show.

02:26.855 –> 02:30.688
[SPEAKER_02]: How did you get started in the world of Ecommerce?

02:30.708 –> 02:34.542
[SPEAKER_02]: Was B5 your first experience or do you go back further?

02:34.977 –> 02:54.707
[SPEAKER_00]: I do go back further so my previous career was in fashion design and so yeah I was a graduate and actually worked for a multiple brands on like the high street slash a rock star clothing designer which was amazing the call got made redundant.

02:54.687 –> 03:01.140
[SPEAKER_00]: and kind of led me on this new path that where I started working for a workware company essentially.

03:01.160 –> 03:08.876
[SPEAKER_00]: I was a business development manager, but I feel like I always had this itch in me that I wanted to run my own business.

03:09.618 –> 03:13.506
[SPEAKER_00]: And so whilst I was working full-time, I set up my own like

03:13.486 –> 03:14.127
[SPEAKER_00]: smaller.

03:14.247 –> 03:22.517
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it was startup, where I would embroider sweaters with animals on, because I’ve always loved insects and nature.

03:22.557 –> 03:25.720
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that was my first intro.

03:25.760 –> 03:27.482
[SPEAKER_00]: So I built my own website.

03:27.643 –> 03:28.924
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it was on Wix.

03:29.865 –> 03:32.708
[SPEAKER_00]: And I launched, I launched from there.

03:32.729 –> 03:38.295
[SPEAKER_00]: So I had, I had some, but I was definitely learning as I was going.

03:38.275 –> 03:53.567
[SPEAKER_02]: and then what led you to to go from embroidering jumpers and being a business development rep to creating B-Vive, a completely completely new product, brand new business, what was the catalyst for that?

03:53.969 –> 03:56.937
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so it was really by chance.

03:57.920 –> 04:00.306
[SPEAKER_00]: My partner had taken me away for my birthday.

04:00.326 –> 04:05.420
[SPEAKER_00]: I was working, had this business, and so he took me to the Sheppard’s heart to have a break.

04:05.741 –> 04:06.924
[SPEAKER_00]: And it’s not working for a bit.

04:07.666 –> 04:10.273
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was on our last day that we were like,

04:10.253 –> 04:25.343
[SPEAKER_00]: exploring a local town and we came across this bee that was grounded on the floor and we just couldn’t leave her like she was really struggling almost rolling over on her back and so scooped her up and carried her to well first we tried to find flowers.

04:25.508 –> 04:33.340
[SPEAKER_00]: which sadly they were not in the vicinity and it was Jake he said on my grandma said you know if you can’t find a flower then you know drop a sugar water will do.

04:33.380 –> 04:49.744
[SPEAKER_00]: So we carried her to this cafe, asked a lady for some sugar water and a spoon gave us a really odd look and yeah ten minutes later south side on the little bench and the bumblebee to cough and if you’ve ever saved a bee

04:49.724 –> 04:51.406
[SPEAKER_00]: The feeling is so great.

04:51.766 –> 04:54.789
[SPEAKER_00]: We felt like heroes as we kind of described it.

04:55.310 –> 05:00.896
[SPEAKER_00]: And so on the way home, we were like googling like, I said something that I can carry around with me for the next time.

05:00.916 –> 05:01.517
[SPEAKER_00]: This happens.

05:02.418 –> 05:07.063
[SPEAKER_00]: And really, that just that was the catalyst of a year’s worth of research.

05:07.824 –> 05:12.829
[SPEAKER_00]: And we found out so many amazing fun facts about bees that kind of…

05:12.809 –> 05:14.851
[SPEAKER_00]: made us full of further in love with them.

05:15.612 –> 05:37.298
[SPEAKER_00]: But also the challenges they were facing and we were thinking if we could create a product that not only had a purpose but it was a tool to raise awareness and create conversation that we could inspire people to take action like lots of different you know planting building be houses, those kind of things and so that’s when there’d be a

05:37.885 –> 05:42.711
[SPEAKER_02]: And how, as you let’s just talk about the product as it is now, we are product range.

05:42.731 –> 05:49.659
[SPEAKER_02]: Because you sell multiple versions of the B revival product and then you have other products as well now in the mix.

05:49.679 –> 05:57.748
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so the original B revival kit is like an aluminium shell key ring and it contains a bottle which is pre-filled with a B food syrup.

05:57.828 –> 06:06.238
[SPEAKER_00]: So it basically mimics nectar and it is resistant to microbiological spoilage, which means you can carry it round with you safely.

06:06.218 –> 06:26.083
[SPEAKER_00]: and each keyring we create has a tag attached and if you scan the tag, it loads an identification guide so you can visually identify what type of B you’ve saved and then if you really want to learn more you can click on the link and read a further blog about that B so the idea being that people could

06:26.063 –> 06:37.575
[SPEAKER_00]: Go out for a walk, let’s see if struggling be, couldn’t find a flower, save it, scan the guide and be like, I’ve just saved a redtailed bumblebee and like share that experience with other people.

06:38.112 –> 06:41.237
[SPEAKER_02]: and then what was the next product you launched?

06:41.257 –> 06:48.348
[SPEAKER_00]: So then we moved on to the bamboo version of our key ring, which was a hundred percent plastic free, and it also came with seed balls.

06:48.409 –> 06:57.403
[SPEAKER_00]: So we did it in collaboration with a company so that people could plant as well as like sugar water is a emergency solution.

06:57.383 –> 07:14.295
[SPEAKER_00]: But the bigger problem is that we’ve lost 97% of the wildflower medows in the UK, and that’s food and habitat for bees, and so more and more often we’re finding that we can’t carry a beta flower, so the seed balls came as a package with that.

07:14.275 –> 07:31.380
[SPEAKER_00]: and then back to that same point about the loss of wildflower medows, that’s where they live, like solitary bees, bumblebees, and they live in the wild, and those particular species that aren’t kept by beekeepers, like honeybees are, are losing their, they’re losing their homes.

07:31.901 –> 07:41.835
[SPEAKER_00]: So there are bee hotels out on the market anyway, but back from like all my research that I’ve done, and by this point we were quite a few years in,

07:41.815 –> 08:02.018
[SPEAKER_00]: I decided I wanted to create my own be hotel kit that was like based on science and we made it so it was flat packed so you could build it yourself at home in like 20 minutes and then you come it came with some instructions to make sure you put it up in the right place in your garden and they’re designed for cavity nesting solitude ease.

08:02.740 –> 08:10.257
[SPEAKER_02]: And then after that, having had a good poke on your round on your website, you’ve gone into to selling other people’s products as well, which is a big leap for a manufacturing company to start stocking other people’s things.

08:10.338 –> 08:10.959
[SPEAKER_02]: So what led you to do that?

08:10.979 –> 08:11.360
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, absolutely.

08:11.440 –> 08:18.657
[SPEAKER_02]: I think basically, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we

08:18.637 –> 08:22.184
[SPEAKER_00]: Quite quickly realized that our products had become very giftable.

08:22.845 –> 08:29.037
[SPEAKER_00]: So, although people were buying them for themselves, they were then buying them for other people, to like shared experience.

08:29.057 –> 08:31.782
[SPEAKER_00]: But also our products are very unique.

08:31.802 –> 08:33.806
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, there’s nothing like it on the market.

08:33.926 –> 08:38.876
[SPEAKER_00]: So, therefore, like, you probably didn’t have a B revival kit on you.

08:38.996 –> 08:41.100
[SPEAKER_00]: So, people were buying them in like, you know,

08:41.080 –> 08:54.783
[SPEAKER_00]: multiples and giving them as way for like Christmas, birthdays and adversaries, the BeHoTow kits for like moving in presence and we kind of wanted to expand on that range of like giftable products.

08:54.803 –> 08:57.488
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have like for example three different types of books.

08:57.548 –> 08:59.711
[SPEAKER_00]: They’re like my favorite books I’ve read about these.

09:00.272 –> 09:03.578
[SPEAKER_00]: The aren’t too science, science heavy, we’ve lots of Latin in.

09:03.558 –> 09:07.664
[SPEAKER_00]: And then, but it’s a very carefully-created collection.

09:07.725 –> 09:10.268
[SPEAKER_00]: We don’t just stock anything that has a B on it.

09:10.689 –> 09:13.133
[SPEAKER_00]: It has to really have a purpose.

09:13.954 –> 09:20.945
[SPEAKER_00]: And I’ve just met so many other amazing founders and manufacturers on our journey events.

09:21.386 –> 09:28.878
[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, talks and things like that that I felt were relevant and had the same like values and ethos as us.

09:28.938 –> 09:31.742
[SPEAKER_00]: So those are the kind of other products we’ve brought in.

09:31.722 –> 09:36.250
[SPEAKER_02]: And then you, as well as buying other people’s products, you now sell your products to other retailers.

09:36.270 –> 09:39.095
[SPEAKER_02]: So how did you end up going into the whole sale?

09:39.115 –> 09:41.599
[SPEAKER_02]: Was that like a strategic plan?

09:41.619 –> 09:43.382
[SPEAKER_02]: Or was it an opportunity that just arose?

09:43.863 –> 09:52.979
[SPEAKER_00]: No, it was definitely strategic from like the beginning, because when we were launching, well, we were like looking to launch the B-revival kit, obviously nothing else existed like this.

09:53.039 –> 09:54.962
[SPEAKER_00]: So we’re like, what price point?

09:54.942 –> 09:56.224
[SPEAKER_00]: can we retell this out?

09:56.264 –> 09:58.187
[SPEAKER_00]: What are people going to pay for this item?

09:58.667 –> 10:01.512
[SPEAKER_00]: But also we need flexibility to like grow.

10:01.532 –> 10:07.961
[SPEAKER_00]: And I knew from my business background that in order to manage wholesale you obviously have to allow for the margin.

10:08.762 –> 10:15.011
[SPEAKER_00]: And we really, it’s not just the key ring, like it really has a use.

10:15.472 –> 10:21.861
[SPEAKER_00]: So we knew I knew that it could have a higher retail value as opposed to a couple of

10:21.841 –> 10:24.245
[SPEAKER_00]: and it’s, you know, a face of a bee.

10:24.426 –> 10:26.990
[SPEAKER_00]: It genuinely has, it does something.

10:27.050 –> 10:29.214
[SPEAKER_00]: So I’ve acted that in from the beginning.

10:29.735 –> 10:34.664
[SPEAKER_00]: And we launched in 2019 of the Back of a Crowdfunding campaign.

10:34.704 –> 10:38.871
[SPEAKER_00]: And we, about a year later, went into COVID.

10:39.256 –> 10:45.083
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we started on Ecommerce, we didn’t really gain like enough momentum to launch retail.

10:45.103 –> 10:51.731
[SPEAKER_00]: So it was only really when we came out of COVID that we were able to start approaching those type of customers.

10:52.432 –> 10:55.115
[SPEAKER_00]: And actually, most of them were coming to us.

10:55.275 –> 11:03.205
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel so grateful to say that that we feel like a reputation over that period online.

11:03.185 –> 11:13.219
[SPEAKER_00]: I think our passion for what we did really shown through and so therefore they started being like, well, we won’t be viving our store so that people can pick them up.

11:13.239 –> 11:21.890
[SPEAKER_00]: When they’re visiting a net of like, um, a world-left truss center or maybe they’re in Q Gardens, those those kind of outlets.

11:23.052 –> 11:30.542
[SPEAKER_02]: So we’re always speeds up the deal a little bit if they’re coming to you because they know you know what you’re talking about in the first place and it is like,

11:30.522 –> 11:32.985
[SPEAKER_02]: that’s an easier, an easier discussion.

11:33.025 –> 11:37.311
[SPEAKER_02]: So, I’m guessing the other thing that’s really changed to the business since you launched is the team.

11:37.411 –> 11:39.074
[SPEAKER_02]: So, what does the team look like?

11:39.094 –> 11:40.696
[SPEAKER_02]: Because I’m guessing it’s no longer just you.

11:41.036 –> 11:42.118
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, it’s no.

11:42.198 –> 11:57.559
[SPEAKER_00]: So, it was me in the beginning and I was making you have doing it all from my spare room and that it grew to big and that we realized we had to move it out and so we moved it into our first premises.

11:57.539 –> 12:02.647
[SPEAKER_00]: and that was kind of off the back actually of a video going viral.

12:03.408 –> 12:13.084
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Mackie Bella, um, amazing author, she had a key ring that I wasn’t aware of and she was running one day and came across the bee.

12:13.064 –> 12:34.347
[SPEAKER_00]: saved it, recorded the whole thing and posted it online which didn’t ask her to do and her following was they follow you along your journey so like if you do something they’re like oh that’s great let’s do it too they’re really hot they’re really in it with her and so um we like sold out of our products in like 24 hours and it gave us enough

12:34.327 –> 12:38.898
[SPEAKER_00]: funds to fund that first move into and I actually did move into it alone.

12:38.938 –> 12:41.744
[SPEAKER_00]: Then I had the space to actually bring people in.

12:42.366 –> 12:48.220
[SPEAKER_00]: We have since moved to another unit which is like a barn conversion with taken all of our machinery there.

12:48.340 –> 12:51.728
[SPEAKER_00]: We’ve upgraded it all and now we are a team of seven.

12:51.708 –> 13:07.573
[SPEAKER_00]: So we manufacture in-house, so we have components come from multiple different places from the UK where possible, but also Europe and China and then we put it all together.

13:08.110 –> 13:10.413
[SPEAKER_02]: So you’ve got the manufacturing team out of that seven.

13:10.453 –> 13:12.655
[SPEAKER_02]: What else are you doing as a team?

13:12.835 –> 13:15.078
[SPEAKER_02]: Are you out sourcing anything or is everything in-house?

13:15.638 –> 13:18.862
[SPEAKER_00]: So like our web development is out of house.

13:20.123 –> 13:23.607
[SPEAKER_00]: We do our marketing in-house, the manufacturing in-house.

13:24.168 –> 13:25.689
[SPEAKER_00]: I manage most of the sales.

13:26.510 –> 13:27.532
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but we try.

13:27.652 –> 13:30.675
[SPEAKER_00]: We’re a small team, but we keep very busy.

13:30.655 –> 13:33.180
[SPEAKER_02]: clearly very busy.

13:34.242 –> 13:48.011
[SPEAKER_02]: So one of the other things I noticed you’re doing a lot of is kind of it’s not just about selling products, you’re busy with charities, with organisations, with schools and training and everything.

13:48.371 –> 13:48.732
[SPEAKER_02]: What

13:48.712 –> 13:54.224
[SPEAKER_02]: led you to, I think a lot of startups would just go, yeah, we’re just going to, that’s just not, we’re all about growing the business.

13:54.886 –> 14:01.641
[SPEAKER_02]: But you’ve made that an essential part of the business, tell us a bit about why that’s a key part of B-Vi-F-E.

14:02.363 –> 14:20.018
[SPEAKER_00]: The education is a key part for me and I do it because I want to do it and because I feel like really grateful that I have the time, like when I was working full time, I’d be like, and schools would reach out to me, I’d be like, oh, I can’t, like,

14:19.998 –> 14:26.645
[SPEAKER_00]: I just calm like I’m employed during the day and then I’m packing orders at night and obviously the schools aren’t open on a weekend.

14:27.145 –> 14:32.291
[SPEAKER_00]: So I was like, oh, one day when I run V-v-v full-time, I’ll make sure that I have time.

14:32.851 –> 14:48.688
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess maybe it’s more of like a personal reason for doing it and like, but off the back of it, then it just incidentally comes along

14:49.006 –> 14:58.042
[SPEAKER_00]: I think they like value that that we give back and that we’re not just selling to make money, we’re like selling to make a difference.

14:58.803 –> 15:07.699
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, it kind of, it was for me, it’s a personal thing really, but incidentally, obviously it has an effect on the business.

15:08.420 –> 15:11.586
[SPEAKER_02]: And you partner with a lot of charities and other organisations as well.

15:11.926 –> 15:13.950
[SPEAKER_02]: Tell us a bit about that, how that fits in.

15:14.099 –> 15:28.355
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so like I remember having a dream board like my first dream board like white board when I first started and I had like key names written on there and the WWF was one of them and I will never forget the day they reached out to us.

15:28.455 –> 15:31.382
[SPEAKER_00]: I it took a few years because obviously they had to see I like

15:31.362 –> 15:37.654
[SPEAKER_00]: brand reputation build and you know, see that we’re going to still be in it for the long game.

15:37.674 –> 15:48.595
[SPEAKER_00]: And now we actually have a collection of like co-branded products with them and all the sales from the shop on their website go to fund their vital projects.

15:48.575 –> 15:57.852
[SPEAKER_00]: And that are pollinated, pollinated, but also worldwide, as we know, and yeah, that’s just like a very, very rewarding feeling.

15:58.393 –> 15:59.074
[SPEAKER_02]: Very cool.

15:59.295 –> 16:08.572
[SPEAKER_02]: When you, like someone who you’ve always wanted to work with, just kind of comes to you, must be an amazing, an amazing moment of kind of, we are on the right track.

16:08.592 –> 16:09.734
[SPEAKER_02]: We are doing the right things.

16:09.894 –> 16:12.118
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it’s definitely validation.

16:12.098 –> 16:14.022
[SPEAKER_02]: that’s the word I was looking for and couldn’t find.

16:15.645 –> 16:29.972
[SPEAKER_02]: So you were telling me about me before we hit the record button that you’re just about to launch a Kickstarter and you’ll see you you began the business with a Kickstarter and what eight years later you’re about to do another one.

16:29.952 –> 16:33.997
[SPEAKER_02]: And audience, by the time you hear this, the Kickstarter will have fully happened.

16:34.578 –> 16:41.025
[SPEAKER_02]: So you can kind of see the results, I suppose, if you’re going to have a look on the link linked in our when you’re hearing this.

16:41.386 –> 16:46.152
[SPEAKER_02]: But we’re going to talk about how why you’re doing it, how you put it together and so forth.

16:46.172 –> 16:51.218
[SPEAKER_02]: So why a Kickstarter now when you’re you’re such a growing business?

16:51.398 –> 16:54.762
[SPEAKER_02]: Why did you choose Kickstarter as the way to do what you’re about to do?

16:55.298 –> 17:03.168
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so as I mentioned before we started with the crowd funder, it was basically the two reasons on the funding.

17:03.429 –> 17:07.834
[SPEAKER_00]: So we’d got to the point of like final prototype and we needed to place the first order.

17:08.375 –> 17:09.376
[SPEAKER_00]: So we needed the funds.

17:09.396 –> 17:11.219
[SPEAKER_00]: We’d like run out of our own personal money.

17:11.860 –> 17:17.627
[SPEAKER_00]: But also like for me, like the crowdfunding aspect of it is

17:17.793 –> 17:34.215
[SPEAKER_00]: is like you’re creating a community to launch a product before it’s like a thing and you take them on that journey with you and you educate them on the product that you’re trying that you’re creating and like why do we need this product and how will it benefit the

17:34.685 –> 17:37.950
[SPEAKER_00]: my garden on the environment or so and so.

17:38.671 –> 17:50.770
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we know that Kickstarter is a good platform for us because it’s going to help us reach a new audience and build our community further as well as funding this new

17:50.750 –> 18:16.639
[SPEAKER_00]: item and essentially we’re looking to fund for the mold and creating the keyring was not as complex as this mold is and so therefore we are going to be like offering incentives so essentially you can get the the item at like cost price and so you’ll kind of be like all of our community can get like

18:16.990 –> 18:24.281
[SPEAKER_02]: So the basic why is we’ve got an idea for a new product, we need to be cash injection, we know this works.

18:24.301 –> 18:25.502
[SPEAKER_02]: So what we’ll do this.

18:26.243 –> 18:27.245
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

18:27.265 –> 18:32.112
[SPEAKER_02]: Other people would, I don’t know, ask family and friends, go to the bank, Chuck it on a credit card.

18:32.372 –> 18:34.856
[SPEAKER_02]: What for you was the reason for doing the Kickstarter?

18:35.296 –> 18:37.059
[SPEAKER_02]: Is there more elements that?

18:37.079 –> 18:46.052
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if you’ve talked about community a lot, so I want to say that element in it as well, of the joy of running a Kickstarter could one say, the side benefits of it?

18:46.437 –> 18:49.604
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it’s like, camaraderie, like, let’s do this.

18:49.644 –> 18:57.099
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think by building a Kickstarter, I mean, the amount of assets that you have to curate to create a Kickstarter is immense.

18:57.701 –> 19:04.615
[SPEAKER_00]: And it wasn’t so big, like, back then, like, actually remember, I did, like, one video sat in a field.

19:04.595 –> 19:10.646
[SPEAKER_00]: and like pitch the idea of my prototype in my hand for about 30 seconds.

19:11.086 –> 19:16.015
[SPEAKER_00]: But nowadays, obviously what you’re able to create is so vast.

19:16.035 –> 19:23.809
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the Kickstarter, it’s like a catalog into what this new product is going to be and how it works.

19:24.470 –> 19:25.692
[SPEAKER_00]: And so,

19:26.026 –> 19:48.085
[SPEAKER_00]: it’s yeah you could go to a bank or maybe ask family and friends or credit card but they don’t they don’t listen to you, they don’t understand, they don’t understand it and we want to get this product out there because the more people that see it then the more bees that we’re going to be able to hone and help survive

19:48.065 –> 19:52.675
[SPEAKER_02]: So how did you decide when to run the Kickstarter?

19:52.695 –> 20:01.112
[SPEAKER_02]: You said the first time you did the Kickstarter, you reached the point where you needed to place the first order for raw materials, which is obviously the point in which you needed to cash.

20:01.473 –> 20:03.778
[SPEAKER_02]: This one has clearly been

20:03.758 –> 20:05.561
[SPEAKER_02]: been very strategically thought out.

20:05.722 –> 20:09.549
[SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, is it like the day after the kickstarter ends?

20:09.589 –> 20:14.719
[SPEAKER_02]: That’s when you need to hit go on the buying the mold or is it?

20:14.899 –> 20:19.268
[SPEAKER_02]: You’ve got an idea and you want the cash ready to then you’ll build the mold a month later.

20:19.709 –> 20:22.594
[SPEAKER_02]: How did you decide when to actually run it?

20:22.574 –> 20:23.396
[SPEAKER_00]: It’s ready.

20:23.997 –> 20:26.243
[SPEAKER_00]: We have been working on this for a long time.

20:26.303 –> 20:29.651
[SPEAKER_00]: My partner and co-founder of B5 Jake.

20:30.213 –> 20:38.473
[SPEAKER_00]: He is background as in architectural technician and so it’s basically a combined effort of like my research.

20:38.453 –> 20:42.522
[SPEAKER_00]: and his technical ability kind of amalgamated.

20:42.542 –> 20:44.667
[SPEAKER_00]: Then obviously our design background.

20:44.687 –> 20:50.680
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have like very very very opinionated or like what it should look like and those kind of things.

20:51.081 –> 20:57.154
[SPEAKER_00]: But it’s literally ready to go like it’s been as soon as we receive as soon as we hit 100%.

20:57.134 –> 21:12.460
[SPEAKER_00]: then it will literally be like go and we want to get them in people’s hands before so that these nesting this spring summer can utilize it otherwise waiting another year another life cycle and so yeah that’s the that’s the reason why

21:12.440 –> 21:13.121
[SPEAKER_02]: Got it.

21:13.141 –> 21:21.173
[SPEAKER_02]: And then how long, not some bolts time, how many days is your kickstarter going to run for and let’s tie into that?

21:22.335 –> 21:26.962
[SPEAKER_02]: How much of the business is going to be, you know, the resources of the business, the humans, etc.

21:27.022 –> 21:32.431
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s going to be focused on that kickstarter for that time period, because I would assume it’s down tools on everything.

21:32.471 –> 21:34.294
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody is manning the kickstarter.

21:34.694 –> 21:37.198
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it’s like, so it’s 30 days.

21:37.297 –> 21:46.476
[SPEAKER_00]: My partner is pretty much his full-time job, and then the rest of the team were basically manufacturing all of our other products.

21:46.516 –> 21:49.201
[SPEAKER_00]: So essentially, we’re getting prepared.

21:49.282 –> 21:52.909
[SPEAKER_00]: So May is like one of our business times of year.

21:52.889 –> 22:22.187
[SPEAKER_00]: the bees are out, they’re buzzing, they’re like causing loads of joy in the garden and then it’s no mome, so like the campaigns that we run around that and then on the 20th of May as well would be day where we celebrate bees and so what we’re doing is preparing all of our stock and so as soon as the Kickstarter is over funded and the products start arriving then everyone is all hands

22:22.167 –> 22:26.173
[SPEAKER_02]: Gosh, it’s more like the actual kickstarter time period.

22:26.653 –> 22:32.261
[SPEAKER_02]: You’ve got Jake ring fenced to work on that, you know, what’s pulling on anyone else.

22:32.281 –> 22:35.787
[SPEAKER_02]: We need to be a bit the rest of you are working on preparation for kind of post kickstarter.

22:36.347 –> 22:43.838
[SPEAKER_02]: And then the time when everyone’s like fully on it is as soon as you can do the dispatching and make all those people who’ve supported you happy.

22:44.138 –> 22:46.560
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it’s almost like pre-imposed.

22:46.840 –> 22:50.023
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you’ve just got like the communicator in between.

22:50.464 –> 23:06.818
[SPEAKER_00]: And that communicator is actually really important because if I had invested in somebody else’s idea, I would wanna know where it’s at, what are they doing, let’s see some photos, like communicate with your audience, like they are believing in you and what you can create.

23:06.878 –> 23:12.863
[SPEAKER_00]: And that’s why we haven’t launched it until we knew we were ready, like everything is covered.

23:12.843 –> 23:27.038
[SPEAKER_00]: everything is thought about and then yeah and then basically as soon as they land we know how to do with it and it’s good because we’ve done it before and yeah so we prepared our tea.

23:27.811 –> 23:30.417
[SPEAKER_02]: a full wand is for all.

23:31.660 –> 23:42.985
[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly exactly and so yeah and then we’ll work basically that those who contributed they’ll get there’s first and then we’ll the rest what we’ll follow online.

23:42.965 –> 23:56.165
[SPEAKER_02]: And you mentioned, you know, we talked about four wonders for our, and you talked about having so many assets created in advance for the Kickstarter, and you talked about the communications between end of Kickstarter and actual product delivery.

23:57.047 –> 24:11.689
[SPEAKER_02]: How much of that, you know, kind of percentage wise of that communication, that copy, those graphics, the videos, have you already done, and how much will you be kind of, I guess pivoting on what, you know,

24:12.513 –> 24:17.541
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so everything is created apart from one video.

24:17.681 –> 24:20.806
[SPEAKER_00]: I’ve got one video, less left to film tomorrow.

24:20.846 –> 24:22.548
[SPEAKER_00]: And that was because of the weather.

24:23.350 –> 24:26.014
[SPEAKER_00]: And today’s, yeah, so it was either today or tomorrow.

24:26.034 –> 24:33.525
[SPEAKER_00]: So today I’m here and tomorrow, I’ve got a final video to record, which is like the opening scene of,

24:33.505 –> 24:50.630
[SPEAKER_00]: basically telling everyone what the product is and why we’ve created it and how they can get involved and then yeah and then it’s and then it’s ready to go but yeah you’re right you do have to pivot in between and so we’ll just basically take as it as as it comes.

24:53.814 –> 25:00.424
[SPEAKER_01]: Ecommerce Masterplan is supported by some of the greatest companies in the Ecommerce sector

25:06.563 –> 25:08.847
[SPEAKER_01]: It’s time for the top tips round.

25:11.571 –> 25:16.900
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, I love this section because me and our listeners some really quick ideas for taking our businesses to the next level.

25:16.920 –> 25:18.603
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, are you ready for the top tips?

25:19.504 –> 25:19.925
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, go.

25:20.867 –> 25:22.369
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, then the book top tip.

25:22.389 –> 25:28.960
[SPEAKER_02]: If everyone listening to this podcast agreed to take Friday off and read a book to make their business better, which book would you recommend?

25:29.716 –> 25:32.722
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is my top book that I recommend to everyone.

25:32.883 –> 25:36.290
[SPEAKER_00]: It’s called It’s Your Ship by Make Michael Obrashos.

25:37.111 –> 25:43.725
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can read it if you have a team or an anticipation of building a team, because it’s all about,

25:44.600 –> 25:46.562
[SPEAKER_00]: it’s your ship.

25:46.763 –> 25:47.924
[SPEAKER_00]: It’s not my ship.

25:48.164 –> 25:49.546
[SPEAKER_00]: We’re like in this together.

25:50.047 –> 25:57.456
[SPEAKER_00]: And that probably actually now saying it out loud is like all the way through my business, but it also is all the way through your team.

25:58.377 –> 26:04.725
[SPEAKER_00]: And it has to feel like they’re part of the mission, part of the, you know, like we all do it together.

26:05.426 –> 26:07.789
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, so yeah, I loved that book.

26:08.039 –> 26:09.463
[SPEAKER_02]: I don’t think I’ve heard of that before.

26:09.483 –> 26:10.747
[SPEAKER_02]: I shall have to go and have a look.

26:10.767 –> 26:11.389
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

26:11.650 –> 26:17.307
[SPEAKER_02]: The traffic top tip, which marketing method do you either prize above all others or think doesn’t get the press it deserves?

26:18.097 –> 26:21.722
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like, so social media gets the press, it deserves.

26:21.902 –> 26:24.125
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think it’s the way that you use it.

26:24.706 –> 26:34.279
[SPEAKER_00]: So plugging, not necessarily putting loads of money into meta ads, like, gives you the return on investment that you would like.

26:34.980 –> 26:37.444
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we’ve done other types of incentives.

26:37.644 –> 26:40.628
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, we have the ViB.

26:40.608 –> 26:41.009
[SPEAKER_00]: club.

26:41.269 –> 27:01.907
[SPEAKER_00]: It’s a very, very important B-viva play on words and basically it came from where people were saving bees and then videoing it, sharing it and we were like how do they were taking the most amazing photos and videos and we were like how do we reward them for this marketing and so that’s how we did it so you could write into us.

27:01.887 –> 27:08.153
[SPEAKER_00]: and claim your VIP, but we still can, people do it all that every day, and we ship it out.

27:08.354 –> 27:19.084
[SPEAKER_00]: It’s always like a, it’s been compared to like a blue-peer badge, and I just think that way of that marketing style, I think, is underestimated on those platforms.

27:20.125 –> 27:29.515
[SPEAKER_02]: So the VIP club isn’t a kind of influencer recruitment campaign, it’s a customer reward campaign for doing what they were going to do anyway to something certain.

27:29.495 –> 27:30.777
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.

27:30.797 –> 27:31.517
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

27:31.898 –> 27:32.619
[SPEAKER_02]: Very cool.

27:32.639 –> 27:33.220
[SPEAKER_02]: I like that.

27:33.580 –> 27:36.664
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s clearly fits with your business ethos as well.

27:37.024 –> 27:37.925
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it’s like kind.

27:37.985 –> 27:47.177
[SPEAKER_00]: I just remember the first year looking at a folder of images that honestly I had like 1500 images and I was like that’s so cool.

27:47.237 –> 27:50.581
[SPEAKER_00]: I haven’t had to pay for photography for in the entire year of my business.

27:51.282 –> 27:53.865
[SPEAKER_00]: What can I do to say thank you?

27:53.845 –> 28:06.261
[SPEAKER_00]: and then that’s this pin came in my head and I was like, that’s going to cost me nothing compared to, but make them feel so valued and they’re doing something really great and they can put it on their coat.

28:06.661 –> 28:09.264
[SPEAKER_00]: And people can ask them like, what does that mean?

28:09.324 –> 28:17.895
[SPEAKER_00]: And then they can, it’s just, it’s really, I think it’s a really fun way of marketing that everyone kind of benefits from.

28:18.483 –> 28:18.944
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

28:18.964 –> 28:20.408
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it’s genius move.

28:21.109 –> 28:22.152
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it’s all top tip.

28:22.312 –> 28:31.294
[SPEAKER_02]: Maybe a collaboration tool, a social media plug in, a phone app or just a way of working, is there a call little tool you use that makes you and your team more efficient from day to day.

28:31.780 –> 28:42.557
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so we use a sauna as a project manager and tool and we love it is actually one of my colleagues who brought it into the team.

28:42.617 –> 28:54.936
[SPEAKER_00]: I had previously another company and now we say we have like just a funny thing about basically if it’s not on a sauna or it doesn’t happen and yeah.

28:54.916 –> 29:01.286
[SPEAKER_02]: So true, Asana is the rocker that we do everything via, and just the idea of trying to leave it.

29:01.306 –> 29:02.187
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s just a point.

29:02.207 –> 29:03.188
[SPEAKER_00]: I know, you can’t.

29:03.208 –> 29:03.649
[SPEAKER_02]: My creation, huh?

29:03.949 –> 29:10.299
[SPEAKER_00]: The flows, the ultimate, the autumn, autumnizations that I just, I just like, really like it.

29:10.840 –> 29:11.220
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah.

29:12.022 –> 29:17.410
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you’re preaching to the conversation, but hopefully we’ll, hopefully we’ll, you’ll convince some of the audience to switch over as well.

29:18.151 –> 29:20.534
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, thank the carbon top tip.

29:20.554 –> 29:24.400
[SPEAKER_02]: What’s your favorite way to reduce the carbon footprint of an e-commerce store?

29:25.325 –> 29:52.480
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh so I think when I think of the commerce, I think a lot about packaging, like all the time, because packaging could be so much better for so many businesses and it takes me back to the whole like reduce for use for a cycle and I honestly believe that by monitoring your packaging

29:52.460 –> 29:56.426
[SPEAKER_00]: We’re using, so like, how can you reuse your recycling?

29:56.446 –> 29:59.451
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, we have one of those great, like, industrial shredders.

29:59.912 –> 30:05.540
[SPEAKER_00]: So it turns cardboard that comes in back into a cardboard that goes out and recycling.

30:05.841 –> 30:10.468
[SPEAKER_00]: So actually, I was at talk the other day and we were talking about household.

30:10.448 –> 30:21.140
[SPEAKER_00]: recycling and how 55% of people don’t recycle their household recycling, and it’s similar in business but apart from it’s slightly lower, 37%.

30:21.580 –> 30:36.777
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think that all of the amount of the million of tons, like even if we progressed, one, two, one, two, per cent every year,

30:37.043 –> 30:38.385
[SPEAKER_00]: I think I answered your question.

30:38.405 –> 30:40.468
[SPEAKER_02]: I think you did answer the question.

30:40.488 –> 30:41.991
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but you make such a good point.

30:42.291 –> 30:45.777
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s like there’s so much, you make two good points.

30:45.797 –> 30:56.173
[SPEAKER_02]: I think there are so many good ways of being able to reuse stuff within your own control without having to pay for recycling bin or whatever else you have to do as a business.

30:57.014 –> 31:02.663
[SPEAKER_02]: But there’s also small changes can have a big impact.

31:02.761 –> 31:26.693
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I’ve been talking about like progress over perfection because you can’t do everything in one day and maybe you don’t have the resources to Or the finance too, so it’s like what can you do in your control and there’s so many ways to reduce carbon But I think I’m thinking from an e-commerce perspective if you’re delivering products packaging has to be one of them

31:27.398 –> 31:28.680
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, totally agree.

31:29.281 –> 31:31.484
[SPEAKER_02]: The in packaging and the out packaging.

31:32.005 –> 31:32.265
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

31:32.305 –> 31:38.334
[SPEAKER_02]: Before we say goodbye, could you please at the listeners know where they can find you and your business on the web and social media?

31:38.995 –> 31:42.980
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, so you can find us online at bv.com.

31:44.162 –> 31:47.827
[SPEAKER_00]: And similarly on Instagram, Facebook at bv.

31:48.268 –> 31:51.793
[SPEAKER_00]: And I also have a discount code for you all.

31:52.094 –> 31:57.321
[SPEAKER_00]: If you made it this far, just to say thank you.

31:57.301 –> 31:57.942
[SPEAKER_00]: the scent off.

31:58.664 –> 32:05.498
[SPEAKER_02]: I suppose now is the perfect time to be getting your be revival kit because they’re out and about aren’t they the bees they’re everywhere now?

32:05.879 –> 32:18.465
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah so they’ve just started waking up obviously early March and they might not have much to forage from so that this is a great kind of opportunity to use your be revival kit and then solitude be species.

32:18.445 –> 32:23.994
[SPEAKER_00]: get around now, but well now, get the be-ho-tow up, keep and make your own.

32:24.074 –> 32:43.305
[SPEAKER_00]: We have an activity you can download from the blog of our website, but if you want one prepackaged with instructions, then you can also, you can also get the you can support these all throughout the year, like even people say like you can spot them in December, they shouldn’t be around, but

32:43.285 –> 32:43.746
[SPEAKER_00]: you know.

32:44.407 –> 32:45.109
[SPEAKER_02]: But they might be.

32:45.950 –> 32:47.894
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

32:47.914 –> 32:59.438
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s been fascinating chatting with you and I wish you huge luck for the Kickstarter and the packaging that comes after the Kickstarter as well because it sounds like that’s going to be the busier time period.

32:59.498 –> 33:02.243
[SPEAKER_02]: So so good luck with it all and thank you so much being on the show.

33:02.945 –> 33:04.568
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for having me.

33:10.201 –> 33:16.552
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, listening to this, you can’t help but be aware of how passionate they are about bees and the purpose of her business.

33:17.173 –> 33:22.362
[SPEAKER_02]: And it makes all those different bits and pieces she’s got going on fit together so seamlessly.

33:22.402 –> 33:29.354
[SPEAKER_02]: And fascinating to hear about how they are structuring the business around that Kickstarter this year.

33:30.295 –> 33:31.838
[SPEAKER_02]: First of all,

33:31.818 –> 33:37.386
[SPEAKER_02]: you know, prepping everything in advance, so just one person is permanently distracted by it for the 30 days, it’s running.

33:37.987 –> 33:41.372
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, the rest of the team during that time catching up on everything else.

33:41.452 –> 33:50.827
[SPEAKER_02]: So as once the kickstart is done and they’ve got that mold in and then then able to quickly do the manufacturing to fulfill those orders and then continue with the product launch.

33:50.847 –> 34:01.082
[SPEAKER_02]: Really fascinating house strategically, they are kind of focusing week by week on what they’re doing to get through all of

34:01.062 –> 34:06.049
[SPEAKER_02]: It’s not exactly a custom-armed appastor club, it’s not exactly a loyalty club, but it has the impact of all of that.

34:06.830 –> 34:14.962
[SPEAKER_02]: You can get your hands on our notes from this episode, including the top tips and the links to what we mentioned by heading over to ecommercemasterplanned.com.

34:14.982 –> 34:24.757
[SPEAKER_02]: And you can also use our special direct episode short links just put ECMP.info for such the number of this episode into the URL bar and you’ll go straight to the right page on the website.

34:25.117 –> 34:28.302
[SPEAKER_02]: When you get there, why not add yourself to the Chloe Thomas?

34:28.282 –> 34:28.743
[SPEAKER_02]: email.

34:28.943 –> 34:29.644
[SPEAKER_02]: Newsletter list?

34:29.804 –> 34:30.125
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

34:31.427 –> 34:37.416
[SPEAKER_02]: I would love to be sending you messages to keep you up to date what’s going on on this podcast or other podcast and the other stuff we’re up to.

34:38.417 –> 34:40.620
[SPEAKER_02]: So do sign up for that whilst you’re there on the site.

34:40.721 –> 34:50.475
[SPEAKER_02]: And if you like this episode, why not have a listen to episode 428 where I’m chatting with another B-obsessed business with a guest called Fay.

34:50.455 –> 34:51.516
[SPEAKER_02]: What are the chances?

34:52.537 –> 35:08.752
[SPEAKER_02]: Faith from Green and Blue, an episode 428, is all about their journey becoming a B-Corp and staying a B-Corp. And if you’re really passionate about B’s, then episode 160 is where that faith, Faith from Green and Blue, not Faith from B5.

35:09.612 –> 35:13.136
[SPEAKER_02]: First came on the show to talk about their guest blogging program, that’s episode 160.

35:13.156 –> 35:17.880
[SPEAKER_02]: So it’s 1648 to fill your B needs.

35:17.860 –> 35:23.447
[SPEAKER_02]: You can also hear all our episodes with Shopify, sellers at ECMP.info for as I Shopify.

35:23.907 –> 35:28.553
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for tuning in to this and every episode that you do of the Ecommerce Master Plan podcast.

35:28.573 –> 35:36.522
[SPEAKER_02]: I bring you a new interview every week so I want to inspire and help you all to succeed and thrive with your businesses, including progressing along the path to net zero.

35:37.103 –> 35:42.309
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you know someone this show can help please tell them to listen to the Ecommerce Master Plan podcast.

35:42.670 –> 35:45.353
[SPEAKER_02]: I hope you have a great week and don’t forget to keep optimizing.

35:48.151 –> 35:51.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for listening to the e-commerce Master Plan podcast.

35:52.008 –> 35:57.250
[SPEAKER_01]: Find out more at e-commercemasterplanned.com slash podcast.