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How One Mum Built a Start-up That Cuts Your Energy Bills in Half · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willis, and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a working one with over 17 years of experience and I'm the founder of the Investing Women's Job and Community.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: In this show, I'm honored to be chatted with remarkable women redefining our work.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We cover it all.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Think of this as coffee with your mate, mixed with an inspiring petal, sprinkled with the career advice you wish you'd really had it before.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, make sure you cozy and get ready to get inspired and chase your oldest dreams.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or just survive Mondays.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is brought to you by Investing in Women.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Investing in Women is a job board and recruitment agency helping you find your dream part-time or flexible job with the UK's most family-friendly and forward-thinking employers.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're proud to partner with the UK's most family-friendly employers across a range of professional industries.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to find your perfect job?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Search their website at investinginwomen.co.uk to find your next part-time or flexible job opportunity.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now back to the show.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Work It Like a Month podcast.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm chatting with Coralie Wardhead, who I could not wait to get on our podcast.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: She has done something quite remarkable that I'm really excited to delve into a little bit further with her.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: But Coralie has spent the last decade in renewable energy.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: But this year she decided it was time to build something of her own and she left her job and teamed up with her former bosses to start with the energy.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Their mission is simple to help more people access electricity savings without the need for solar panels.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am really into this, but I was like, solar panels can I, you know, people got solar panels and all like this, but I think they can be a little bit ugly.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm really excited to hear about probably the business.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: But alongside running the business, we also host a giant inside official weekly service where it shows stories and lessons from other entrepreneurs.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Help to learn from people who've been there before and help hopefully that is not something you thought about.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um outside of work, probably is onto talking, love to keep it active and is really into time.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: All things clean energy, which we're going to be discussing today.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Start off, being a woman in energy, being a working mum, and honest conversations about the highs and lows of building something from chat, from chat from start.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Nice to meet you, Coralie.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: No, nice to see you.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm good, thank you.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Are you all right?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, good, thanks.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me what was the inspiration behind Vimmer Energy?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Vimmer Energy.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: So having worked in renewables for such a long period of time, and the same with my bosses, um, I think that the assumption is that everybody's barrier to solar panels is cost.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: When in fact, exactly like you've said, a lot of people just don't like the look of them.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's also a lot of people that just also simply can't have them.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um why can't they have them?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're if you've got if you've had an extension up into your loft, you might have like dormers, if you've got a lot of windows, there'll be there could be multiple reasons why you can't really fit many panels on.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then just basically makes it just not viable.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, it just isn't cost-effective or viable.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And then the assumption then is I can't do anything then, I can't take control of these bills then.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas Bimmer is now making that accessible to all.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, we are a battery first proposition.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: So you can have the battery without the solar, and the way that works is to charge overnight on a cheap off-peak electricity tariff, and that then powers your house in the day.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of you paying your sort of 26-27p in the day, you pay in your 7p because you charged up overnight.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you got an EV tariff, basically.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there are ones you can do without an EV, but it came about, I guess the idea came about because of EV tariff.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: So for instance, so I got my first EV um a few years ago, and it took me, I've got to be honest, it took me some time to change to the tariff because I just I don't know when things are bit a bit boring, you put them off to them, yeah.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then when I did it, the savings were instant.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: I could I just saw them straight away.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And on um on my app for my electricity provider, you can sort of see what you spent each day, and I was seeing that it was costing me sort of like three pounds to charge my car, and then I also it was just nothing, you know, overnight.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it makes you want to move your electricity load to overnight, yeah.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, that's not really viable.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: You're not gonna get up in the middle of the night and cook your dinner, but also um if you I mean, I'm not good with compromise, right?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: And having to change what I do because you're already so busy and warm up work, etc.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: So if I want to put the washing on, I want to put the washing on when I need it.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: No one wants to get up in the middle of the night and put the washing on.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to be messing about, do you?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna get up at midnight and move it to the dryer.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: No, so that sort of mindset of well, I want these savings overnight, but I want to still be able to do, I still want to just live my life how I would live my life.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's battery-enabled that.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: So Vimmer enables you to just carry on, do what you were doing, use everything at the times you were using it, but cheaper.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, because I'm not sure how solar panels work.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously you just see them and don't you on people's rooms, and they look like mirrors, don't they, or whatever, on people's rooms.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how what's the technology then behind a solar panel?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because you mentioned there's a battery, there is a is there a battery then?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: You can.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of people who got solar panels in the early days wouldn't have got a battery because the batteries, the technology's just got better over time.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: So there's probably quite a lot of people who have got solar without a battery, and what that means is that obviously they when it's sunny, their solar panels do what they need to do.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they can power their house then from the sun, essentially.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you've got solar panels and a battery, then when you are using the power in your house that's been generated from your solar, it'll fill up your battery.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: So there's sort of two options there, but it's both of those options need the sun to be shining.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas so you've got a battery, I because that's so this is me accomplished, obviously.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: You have a solar panel, you have that then what charges the battery when the sun's shining, and then you use what is it your charge basically in your battery to power what you're doing in your home.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how they usually work.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you've got solar and a battery, that's how it would usually work.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: Normally, obviously, then you can really lower your bills.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you can.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and I am a huge advocate for solar, it does really work, but all of that needs the sun to be shining.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you took solar panels somewhere.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, and you need you need somewhere to put it.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: You also, you know, there's an element of disruption that comes with getting scaffolding up, messing about on your roof, etc.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for And do you have to pay for getting solar panels put on as well?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or yeah.
• 8:06
  unknown: Okay.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the cost has got less over the years.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: When I first started um working in solar, people were paying upwards of 25 grand for what would now cost you half of that.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was a lot more money.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it has got a lot more cost effective over the years.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, so there's an element of disruption with solar, and there's an element of people just not liking the look of them.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and in and like I say, for those cost savings, you need the sun.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't have to be bright sun every day, it's just just some sun.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: But the way that the Vimmer would work paired with solar would mean that you would still generate your power from the sun.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: But we would still, your Vimmer would still charge on your cheap electricity tariff, meaning that even if it's not sunny, so when your solar starts to produce less view over the winter, you still get all the savings from the battery.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how we would sort of pair the two rather than it charging up from the solar.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you do you need solar panels then to use your Vimmer?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but you can use it with a solar panel.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you can you so it would if you use it with your solar panels, it replaces what the battery you might already have with your solar panel?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: I most if we would we tend to be do it if you haven't got a battery already.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: So our customers that inquire with us have either got solar without a battery or don't want a solar, and we can help both of those.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: So how does it work then if it the sun's not shining with your particular battery?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: So with our battery, it's completely electricity that's being pulled from the grid.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it charges up overnight.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, like an electric car, really.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly like that.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, storing it up in a towel on the battery, but you know, in a towel in a metaphorical tank.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are on an off-peak tariff, you you've usually got a window.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: So mine's something like 11:30 till 5am.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And in that window, the battery will charge.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then as soon as 5 30 hits in the morning, and you, I don't know, you come down, you put the kettle on, you start making, you put your washing on, whatever, then you start when you'd be using that more expensive day rate, instead it's pulling from the battery.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's costing 7p instead of 26p.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you've basically filled up your battery overnight and then you're using that in the day to cook, do your wash in, whatever you need.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we can halve your electricity bill essentially through doing it that way.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's clever, isn't it?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: So you can do it with solar panel or without a solar panel.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is it more eco-friendly?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's more cost effective, but I get the solar panels eco-friendly because it's the sun.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: How is this more eco-friendly if you don't have solar panels or is it not?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So it yeah, it wouldn't be technically.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just more cost effective.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's more cost effective.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: It is more eco-friendly if you've got panels as well.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: You can always add panels at a later date as well if you start with the battery.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we offer, we do offer solar as well if people wanted them as an add-on, but we are battery first.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if you, for instance, said, I'm interested in both, we would still come and probably install your battery first.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because when you get solar, it can take such a long time because you have to have permissions from your um your DNO.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so it's basically like planning permission.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: So northern power grid for us would have to say yes or no.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And they are allowed 45 working days to do that.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then that's all time that you're not saving.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we can come up with a battery and start saving already, and then you could have solar.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: When they say yes, or you could have solar in three years, you could, you know, whenever you want.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: How big's the battery?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Size wise, yeah, size-wise.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, size wise.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we offer we offer three different ones so small, medium, and large.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're all pictures on our website, so you can sort of see, but they're not.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've got the medium on the size of side of my house.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's probably it's smaller than me, definitely quite a lot smaller than me.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we install what they're grey, they're quite nice and sleek, and they're thin as well.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: So sort of like, I know that's not a very good dimension.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: We know, like a car charging, you know, when you see them with the electric cars, they've got the charge.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Is it similar to that, but maybe slightly bigger?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Bigger, yeah.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it is bigger than a car charger.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um but similar sort of look.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so ours just look like a grey rectangle.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: We had we did a show and we had people walking by literally going, what is it?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a fridge?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is it what is it?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you wouldn't necessarily know we need to put it on the side.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you've got a terrace house, does it work on a terrace house?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we can put it sort of at the back, we can it needs it it needs room to breathe.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: So we can put them in containers, you know, like um your meters probably and outside your house.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we can put them in stuff like that, it just needs sort of the vents and it needs to be safe, etc.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: But we can hide them if you like.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, um, mine's just on the side of my house, but um a friend has got it on the back and it's just so depending.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you say you've got three different sides, you've got small, medium, large.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: So does the large one can store more electricity?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And is the large one more cost-effective because you can basically store more electricity?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, but it depends on your usage, you see.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we would assess how much you actually use and whether you're you know, whether you're about to start using more or whatever.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because, like, for instance, for me, I didn't need a large because we don't use, we don't we will don't need it.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then other people, a large, you're even pushing into maybe where we'd then go bespoke because they use so much.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it does depend on sort of size of your house and your usage at the moment.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: We work all of that out for you, so we make sure that the customer is aware what their savings would be with each version and um obviously which one would suit their home best.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like it.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: So you um and I guess does it like hold how long does it hold?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously, if you went on holiday, yeah, would you like bulk store it up?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can like have a really cheap electricity when you get back.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: It would just hold as much as it as much so mine's and the medium is 10 kilowatts.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it would just hold that, and then when you get back, it would um it would How much would 10 kilowatts like last?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean, during how much would you be able to get done during the day with 10 kilowatts?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: So ours is sized to last you the day, basically, so that you should never last you the whole day.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so that you should never need to start pulling at the peak rate.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, for that can vary.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: So um we haven't run out yet, but you could have a situation where the wash is on three, four times and then the dryer's on three, four times, and potentially that would be a that would be a really stroke.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's that's a potty training day, that isn't it?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big day.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean that's that's a Sunday for me, but yeah.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um so yeah, so for your usual usage, which is what we base it on, because we we'd be able to look at that from your electricity build, from your use usual usage, we would make sure it will last you a day.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that you could get cheap electricity 24-7, basically.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: How much does it cost then?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: So the small, medium, and large vary.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the one that's on the side of my house that's just less than 5,000.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: For a small it's about 3,700, and for the large it's just over 6,000.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: And how long do they tend to last for?
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've got a comprehensive warranty of 15 years, that's part and labour, which is unmatched in the industry.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, so a 15 years sort of guarantee on it, and we we have a look at your what your usage is, and then base your payback on which you know, we show you the payback for each model.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So if your payback is somewhere between four and six years, for instance, and then you start to get your money back, but you've got a 15-year guarantee, you sort of make money back and then almost make your own.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so you can see when you're gonna start getting positive, net positive, I guess.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: What a great can you use it with energy, energy company, or do you have to go with specific ones?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: No, don't have to go for specific ones at all, just ones that have got this time of use tariff.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we do have a look at which ones have the best rates around.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: So that you you're looking at more of that 7p rather than you know, there's ones that are slightly higher.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's completely if you were already with a provider and you just wanted to switch to their time of use tariff, that's absolutely fine.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: We can make it work because we'll configure it to charge in whatever time the energy is the cheapest.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, what made you want, yeah.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously we talked about you know the solar panels and things like that, but what I guess made you you know what what was the spark for you really that made you think this is what I want to go into?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think into renewables generally.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: I started in renewables just by accident.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: I sort of did a did a year at a solar company straight out of uni just because that was where I got a job.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then I went, I left and I went off travelling.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then when I came back, um I moved to Leeds because I'd met my now husband while travelling in Australia, which is just crazy, isn't it?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like not what I expected.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and applied for job ski year and again got one that was at a solar company, but I must admit, it's just something that I'm passionate about, that sort of clean energy.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're moving that way.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: I was really excited to get in an electric car to teach my kids about being in an electric car.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I always remember my my daughter, she watched a pepper episode where they've got an electric car, and yeah, I don't know, she just she just wanted to be like Pepper for a long time.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Just with everything.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I want this, I want red shoes like Pepper.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, I want an electric car like Pepper.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Well, we have an electric car like Pepper.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: So she's like um, so yeah, it's just it's something, you know, I've always had that social conscience, I guess.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like from I guess my parents, perhaps, and um, you know, always been interested in it being buying the sustainable cleaning products or the sustainable wipes for the kids, you know, that sort of thing.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And what's been the reality then of running a startup with you know, family and I mean how old's the business?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: How old's the business?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um not even a year.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we started earlier this year.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's been it's just chaos that you get the the roller coaster that you go on is wild.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yours is even more intense because I guess it's a product and there's all that engineering as well.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's a yeah, I'm lucky that we with my co-founders, we all sort of know our strengths and we've worked together for such a long time.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: How many co-founders are there?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: There are five of us.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but there's three that are sort of actively involved, and then the other two are very much not so involved, but very much involved when it comes to dev work and that kind of thing.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: But otherwise, it's three of us that pretty much run it day to day.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so they're those two are the ones that were my bosses for a long period of time, and now that's just that bit of a dynamic shift.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: I've sort of like no I guess eh now.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's your role then in the company and there's um my role is is pretty much the running of the actual business, the what you see.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm doing the um building in public bit of it, which is terrifying.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of the face of it, I guess.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then also the customer journey is all me, because that's what I've always done.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the website, sort of how you see it come across, that's in whether I think that's customer friendly or not.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sort of the guinea pig in a way as well, because they're so techy that when they talk, they talk so techy that I'm sort of like, no, you're not making sense, you know, yeah, bring it down a bit, a bit more layman's terms, a bit more layman's terms.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, I'm the customer service side of things and plan out the um all the processes that we have in place.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's kind of for me.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: And what do they do then?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: What are they rolls?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: So primarily the other one, there's the other two where they're involved.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: So the other one, he does more like um the actual building of it.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: So he today, for instance, we've got a new CRM getting in place, and he's gonna be like, that needs to go there, that automation needs to go there, sort of off me saying it, what I want it to look like, he can get even more into the detail about it.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Matt, the other one, he um a lot of the due diligence.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: So the battery that you see, if you were a customer that we're installing, that's one of probably five that we actually went and trialled and installed.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: And Matt installed them all, decided whether it was easy or not to install from installers' perspective, whether how well it went for the customer, how well the customer support was, um, that kind of thing.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then we sort of trialled them all and then picked the one that we picked.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: So Matt's very heavy on the installer five.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and do you have a manufacturer then?
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the battery itself is not exclusive to us.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's just that the way that we install it and the warranty is exclusive to us.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that battery, yeah.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's one that's already out there, it's been child and tested for quite a while.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And do you have funding?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: How have you sort of funded the business?
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it self-funded?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, self-funded.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's um it no, we've not we've not done any investment rounds or anything yet.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that we all have been through in previous businesses, and we're sort of putting it off for as long as possible for Vimmer.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm interested to know why you're putting it out.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be that has never got funding, but you know, and you always see people very so much, and it sounds quite glamorous.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm always keen to know like the the you know, seen as you've done it before, the fors and against.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: It I mean, it does sound glamorous, doesn't it, when you hear the figure or what you went through.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, I suppose for for me, because this is I'm sort of first-time founder with Wimmer, so I've only ever done the investment raises before as part of the team supporting.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, like the it is just it's intense.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: The figures you've got to get, the rounds they've got to go through.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is really intense.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then obviously that you've then got somebody else in your business usually who's wants to understand stuff that you understand already and sort of have the saying things that's already things that you I think, yeah, um for for now we're putting that off for a little bit, but maybe not forever.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Are you full-time then in the business?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: I am.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: I am full-time in the business.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: I so I am the only one that's full-time in the business.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: So this is my complete, this is all I do, it's in there.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then yeah, and the other guys have all of them have other businesses as well.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I hate this question, I do think it's always aimed at women, but I also think it's quite important.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, like I guess how I'm always like keen to like peel it away, and actually, this is the reality of like you know, working full-time, raising a family.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do you do it all?
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's just it's chaos.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: Every day is chaos.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: How old are yours?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they are three and five now.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, turn three, just turn five, and um it's just a lot of planning, a lot of planning, a lot of knowing exactly who's gonna be where when, and now that my daughter's in school, it's a lot of it's like a military operation every time there's a school holiday.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, yeah, we've got one coming up.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Wild, isn't it?
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, a lot of stuff like that.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: But also, I think what Vimmer has given to me that I wasn't able to get in any of my other roles is more of that balance because yeah, you know, like last last night I put the kids to bed and I log back on and I get stuff done.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: But I can also mean that I can go and pick my daughter up from school and have a chat with her about her day and just balance it a little bit more like that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: I have Fridays, my son's not in nursery on a Friday, so Friday, my morning is always with him, and then when my husband gets home in the afternoon, I can then just log on and it I've got that freedom to just say I'm not available Friday morning.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's my time with my little um and yeah, just really focus on that at the moment because it goes so fast, it goes really quickly, and that is the beauty of I think of running a business, even though it's hard work and it's long hours, you can flex, you have the freedom to flex them, don't you, around?
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and no one to kind of answer to for that, which or to feel guilty about because you know what?
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I I can just do that, and I value that a lot at the moment, as a sure.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to anyone listening to this that's thinking that they, you know, have got a business idea and start a business?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Do it, do it.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I am just all for like as you know from my sort of giant insect series, I just I'm just all for it.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that the reason that I love sharing that so much is that you hear people's journeys and that I think that when you see entrepreneurs, female founders, maybe especially online, it's really glamorised.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like you you see so many people who've made it and they've And they all look like models.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they look like um how do you have time to work out?
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, just I think that it's not it's not been my reality.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: I know I'm obviously so new to it, but it's certainly not my reality at the moment or or yeah.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that um by sharing these real honest accounts with people going, it was hard at this time, and these were the challenges I had to overcome.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: But the this win was so worth it.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: And giving that advice to other people is just sort of invaluable.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for me, I would say crack on, like, do it, do it in your spare time, do it when you get a second, do it when the kids are in bed for now, even.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think I went all in, so I left the job, I left the income, I lost the car.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's added probably a pressure that gives you a bit of a kick, but also a pressure that may well turn you into a breakdown.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the stakes are high at that point, really high.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I think that if you've got an idea and you think you can make something of it, I would always just say go for it.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't matter if it doesn't work out the first time either, because you just learn, you just learn there all the time, don't you?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Everything to learn.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: What's been the hardest part about running a business?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: Everything's brand new to me.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I found that really hard.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Everything takes I'm such a like I try and do everything as efficiently and quickly as I can want as I can, everything.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I can't now I get I feel stuck with things.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't I've no team, I've always worked in big teams.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: I've no teams.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you could delegate things if you need.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I could delegate that.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: I could also talk things through, I could also support.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um whereas now it's like you know, it's me and me and Google, it's me and Chat GPZ.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, how are we gonna work this out?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: How do we do this?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um things take me quite a long time.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Have you ever had a coach?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: A business coach coach.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: I would love a business coach.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's quite good to have a business coach.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a few, yeah, I have got one and I've had one in the past.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: I've not had one the whole time.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Have you?
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, I haven't.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've several times I've had one and sometimes I haven't.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I have yeah, because I think you do get that talking throat and sparking ideas and different perspectives.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think you've got to be careful who you pick because there's so many people on what I can't stand is people that can't themselves as business coaches that would never run a business.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Right, okay.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that would do I think you've obviously got to deal with the person, but I do think if you find the right person for you, and obviously it I think it's that isn't it's who's right for you.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then yeah, I think it's worthwhile the investment is worth it.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: I would really like to do that.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: I've never even had like a a female mentor, I've never even had a woman sort of take me under the winning a bit and sort of support me in business.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that is something that I would, you know, applications are open if anyone's key.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: Anyone's key, for anyone's business coach, but you have to run a business.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely something that I think will be good.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that's um you're right, there's probably external support I could be getting.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: But for now, that without a doubt, the hardest thing is just learning everything here.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to, and you've got to try and figure it all out at breakneck speed as well, haven't you?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah, yeah.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: What's been the highlight of the year running a business?
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh um, I mean, for me, it's really funny because I'm running this business with a with a load of men who aren't particularly excitable anyway.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: And um, they've all done it before, but for me, everything is just so exciting and new.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: And our first our first show, I was just like literally buzzing with excitement.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: So excited.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: Our first board meeting, yeah, you know, just launching and putting it out there, and I sort of did the post on LinkedIn and this is what we've created.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Can everybody come and have a look?
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's just it's just that's all been so exciting and so amazing to be able to do.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um being able to pay myself a wage.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's always a good feeling.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Love that, yeah.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely to know that you've actually got some money coming in from it because you, you know, people are buying into what you're doing and stuff.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's pretty unmatched so far.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: So if anyone's interested in purchasing a battery, where can they go?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so our website is vimar.energy.com and we are actually just launching a new website this week.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, so we've sort of redone it a little bit, hopefully give customers a little bit more of information that they've been seeking.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, you basically on there you can ask for a call back with one of our experts, and we will talk through everything that we've already just discussed.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, what usage you've already got in your home, which one would be best for you, um, and what your savings would then look like.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then we can just we can just do it.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: And because it's not solar, and if you don't already have solar because that gets a bit more complicated, we can pretty much come out and install within two weeks because there's no permissions, there's no we don't, there's nothing sort of, there's no barrier to us coming and getting you started saving.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Lovely.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And how can people find you as well and connect with you, Clorine?
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I am not very good on LinkedIn, but I am on LinkedIn.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: And my Instagram and YouTube, I'm about to start sharing more.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think YouTube might be a better platform for me because I like to talk, and Instagram doesn't give me much.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm gonna start doing some blogs on YouTube.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I've got YouTube and Instagram is my at Coralie underscore W, and that's where you can see all my giant insights episodes as well.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: Lovely.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much, Coralie, for your time today.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you're on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request at Elizabeth Willett and let me know your thoughts on this week's episode.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can also follow my recruitment site, Investing in Women, on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep on chasing your victory.