I am writing this in quiet disbelief that Blue Ticking is three today! It hardly seems like yesterday that I was dreaming up the idea whilst on maternity leave with Miss Maggie. So much has happened since then; there have been some real highs and some definite lows. I don’t want to focus too much on the latter, but it’s important to say that whilst this working for yourself and setting up your own business malarky is hugely rewarding, it’s also bloody scary and stressful. The first year felt like I was just playing at things a bit and whilst it was important that we were progressing and making money, I could always slightly play the, ‘well we are just starting out and finding our feet’ card. Year two got more serious when we went for the concession at Manns of Cranleigh and we began to feel like we were making in roads with people knowing about us. Then this last year has felt on a different level again and for me the pressure is on to take Blue Ticking to the next level. We are determined not to be one of the many start ups that fail within the first five years. So with that in mind I want to push on forward and celebrate, because that’s what birthdays are all about after all. There have been lots of highlights over the last year but the three that i’m most proud of is the pop up shop, The Maggie video and general promotion and building our presence on Instagram.

Pop up shop

John and I were really keen to build on the success of our concession whilst trying something a bit different. This is where the idea of a tester pop up shop came from and something we wanted to trial before Christmas. We don’t ever see Blue Ticking having lots of physical shops, we will always be an online business, but we feel it’s important to try different things realise the importance of engaging with customers face to face. I am a big fan of The Medicine Garden and we both felt it would be a great location for Blue Ticking. We spent two days there on different weekends selling our wares and though it was a lot of work they went really well and provided invaluable learning. There is also something rather lovely about meeting customers and talking to them about your brand, something you don’t get to do very often with a predominantly online business. I found myself gushing over anyone who said lovely things about us and in particular The Maggie (which proved to be a big hit!) We also got to wear your classic retail apron which was a big highlight and something both John and I had been wanting to do for some time! We felt like proper shop keepers!

The Maggie

One of the other real highlights was producing a short video to promote The Maggie and to really start spreading the word about this great product. We felt really strongly that we needed something more visual and fun to show off its many facets. Both Maggie and Edith were of course involved in the filming. Once we had plied them with whatever snack their hearts desired they were very willing participants! About three hours later and once the sugar high had begun to wear off they retreated, but luckily we had got all the necessary footage. The kids were actually amazing, I was a very proud parent that day!   Since releasing the video we have had such a great response from the general public and also key influencers like bloggers. More and more Maggie’s are finding their way into homes up and down the country and helping to solve those storage and seating dilemmas! Watch this space for some Maggie collaborations with other fab brands!

Instagram

Social media is a wonderful thing but it can also be hard work and you can often feel like you are plugging away for very little reward. We have realised however that instagram is the one that is really working for us and the platform where we should be investing most of our time. Since the launch of The Maggie video we have tried to engage with key lifestyle/family bloggers to get them talking about Blue Ticking. We have also got a lot better at engaging with other brands and building dialogue. As a consequence we have seen our audience grow and many more sales are coming from Instagram. There is much I still need to get to grips with on Instagram, Instagram stories being a major one, but one step at a time as they say! So it really only leaves me to say a whopping thank you to each and every one of you that continues to support Blue Ticking, whether that be by buying our goods, sharing the love on social media or saying lovely things about us or to me when I am having a moment. You are all wonderful and both John and I are very grateful. 🙂 Here’s to year, four, five, six, seven……….