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The Biskery: Baking Up Success and Breaking the Mould · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willits and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after kids and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I'm a working mum with over 17 years of recruitment experience and I'm the founder of the Investing in Women Job Board and Community.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: In this show, I'm honored to be chatting with remarkable women redefining our working world across all areas of business.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: They'll share their secrets on how they've achieved extraordinary success after children, set boundaries and balance, the challenges they've faced and how they've overcome them to define their own versions of success.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Shy away from the real talk?
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: No way.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Money struggles, growth, loss, boundaries and balance we cover it all.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Think of this as coffee with your mates, the mixed with an inspiring TED talk sprinkled with the career advice you wish you'd really had at school.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and make sure you cozy and get ready to get inspired and chase your boldest dreams, or just survive Mondays.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: This is the Work it Like a Mum podcast.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Investing in Women.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: 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.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: They're proud to partner with the UK's most family-friendly employers across a range of professional industries, ready to find your perfect job?
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Search their website at investinginwomencouk to find your next part-time or flexible job opportunity.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Now back to the show.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Work it Like a Mum podcast.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Today I'm delighted because I'm going to be chatting with the founder of a brilliant company called the Biscuitry, who provide branded biscuits to individuals and to companies, and their biscuits look absolutely delicious.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: And Lisa Shepherd, who we're chatting to today, has such a brilliant story that she's going to be sharing with us about how she founded the business, how she's grown the business to where it is today.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: She now employs several members of staff.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: She's going to be talking all about her business and also what led her to launching the business as well.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: So thank you so much, lisa, for joining us.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: It's such a pleasure to chat with you.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: And then, what about your organisation?
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: I just love it.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: I think it's so.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: It looks brilliant.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: And I know that you employ a lot of women as well, and you're really passionate about women in business.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me, Liz.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: What a nice intro.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: No, thank you.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: So biscuits.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Did you enjoy baking?
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: as a child.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: I did, I did, and my mum doesn't have a sweet tooth, so there was never anything sweet in our house.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: So when I went to my grandma's house, I stocked up on all of that, and she's actually the one who gave me a recipe folder on my 25th birthday, and our biscuits are still baked to her recipe.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Oh nice, and you didn't do catering.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Did you do study catering at university?
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: No, not at all.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: I studied languages and then I worked in digital marketing, which was both really helpful for what I'm doing now.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: But no, we're all self-taught bakers, none of us professional bakers.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: So what made you take the lead then initially, then to start the business?
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I think initially I met Saskia, who was my business partner.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: So we had a two woman founder team when I just moved to Leeds and we both worked in the international team of a digital marketing agency and we got chatting over sourdough starter.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Both realized that we were kind of baking geeks and kind of socialized outside of work we both had.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Well, she had a young child and so she wasn't really into the socializing that other people did, you know, going out and drinking.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: So we met and baked together and we had all these pipe dreams of you know, one day we might have a cafe and all of that.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: But then I had a child.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: But then Saskia I think my daughter was eight months old Saskia emailed me one Christmas and said you know what?
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Time will never be right, let's just do it.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: So we started selling our wares at local farmers markets and shortly after we started doing that, turned to work from maternity leave and realized that I couldn't really go back into my old role.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: My employer kind of deprived me of my senior title.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: That told me I couldn't be client facing anymore because I worked part time.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: And that was a real pivotal moment where I said you know this, what I'm doing with Saskia here, which was more of a space for us to be creative and to kind of reconnect with our old selves, aside from being mothers, aside from work.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: I was like, actually that is a hobby now, but I'm going to put my energy into that rather than my digital marketing career.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: If you don't value me, then I'll put my energy elsewhere.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: I think so many people resonate with this.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Like a lot of people, you know they do manage to get a part time.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Rather not, obviously not everybody can.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Is that feeling of being overlooked, sort of input on the shelf, and feeling like what you want?
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: To scream up all these skills and experience?
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: I can do it and you know people not appreciating you and yeah, and I would hope that COVID helped a little bit with the flexibility that people realized you don't have to be in the office five days a week.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: You know you could maybe join a meeting remotely or, you know, god forbid, you could ask the client if he could do it another day because the person is not in that day.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I personally, as a business owner, I don't understand what the problem is.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Obviously client, you know they are, we appreciate them and but they could be on holiday, they could be ill that day.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: I think flexibility is key and that's really something we wanted to bring into our business was really really important for us.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely interesting, like you say, cuz you know, as a business owner as well, like you, I don't expect my supply is to respond straight away, wouldn't bother, you know.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: I mean I was really really, really urgent, but most things are not sure and you know I don't want to make a day or two.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Definitely so.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: I think it's just a bit it's just excuses sometimes that people can't be bothered almost, and it is a lot of admin.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: You know all our, every member of our staff has a different schedule.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: Everybody works different hours.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Some work ten, some work twelve somewhere.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: How some work, you know just for this week, some work a few hours every day and it is a lot of admin.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: But we can be bothered because we understand that it makes just all the difference to those people's lives.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: And if a small business can, you know, manage it, then a business with a hr team should be able to.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: As all comes back to trust as well, I find you know, if you stop micromanaging and Kind of chasing people, if they've done now that there's no doubt that my people are doing that I was, you know.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: I trust them hundred percent.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Where do you get your biscuits now use?
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Do you still make them?
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: I miss you.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: When you started, you were baking from home.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we bake them from home for probably close to five years.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: And then we it was in the pandemic where we saw a huge increase in orders because people obviously wanted to spread a little bit of joy and connection With letterbox gifts.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: So we outgrow our home kitchens and moved into our first commercial premises, which we outgrow after a year.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: So now we have our own place in north leads and everything is produced from there.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Everything is made by hand, packed by hand and shipped all across the UK.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: So everything is online.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Every now and then someone pops the head in and say can I order some biscuits and collect them next week?
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: And you know, but that is a tiny amount of what we do.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: What brilliant.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is testing, isn't it?
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Because you obviously had it as a site.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: You see, you know what's happening at work.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: You're being able to put your energies.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: I guess, was it on days?
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: No, working day was the evening.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: You put your energy it was evening.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: So you know I don't want to paint this picture of you know I had my job and then I did a few hours here and then, and then I had the successful business.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: It was a lot of hard work, it was a lot of time, as I can.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: I basically met most evenings after our children had gone to bed.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: So you know, between half past seven and midnight we baked and then we would go to our day jobs and then have the kids and so you know, it was full on for years and it was To certain extent maybe.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: I mean, I don't have teenagers yet, I don't know how hard those years are going to be, but you know it was too small kids.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: That was was hard and it took it's toilet times.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: But now I, for the first time really with with our main film, I can really stir this and it's given me something back and, like all these years of work, I finally paying off.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: So I would definitely say to anyone you know, don't do it because you want an easy life, because the first few years are going to be much harder.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: But if you commit it and if you have a passion for what you do and if you have that bigger vision.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: You know, for us Someone asked me the day if I'm really into biscuits and I can do like biscuits, but that's not my driver.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: You know, if I was an artist, if I had any Talent there, we might be selling cards right now.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: It's just that I like baking.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: But it's a bigger vision.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: You know the whole empowering working moms and bringing the female qualities into the world of work and just Business a little bit unconventionally differently.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: That really drives me.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: So I would say, if you have a passion for Something, then definitely start.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: But you know this the stories you see online about these unicorns will start one day in the next week.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: They have a million.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: It's not the truth, so I'm not gonna paint a rosy picture here and it is a slow process.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Yes it's a good one.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Good for me and you must have used all your marketing.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Yes, I mean that was such a benefit and we didn't realize when we first started.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: But we met someone from our marketing agency, asked him if he could be a bit of a mentor for us and he said you don't realize what an advantage you have with your knowledge.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: And I mean it took us maybe a year or two when it was asking.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I, as I said, working from our home kitchens In the evenings and we were ranking number two and three on Google for key, you know, keywords like personalized biscuits or branded biscuits.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: We literally competed with the biggest players in the market and that was just us, you know, not zero outspend, it was just organic rankings.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, that is definitely a huge benefit.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: And what's it like?
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: I mean, obviously you've not, probably not got any other experience, but working as a co-founder, how have you found that and you know it's been a job share as you sort of launched this business together and what have been the pros and the cons?
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I mean I can.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: I keep saying we could not have done it without the other one.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: I think I had soft to anyone who does this by themselves and who starts a business by themselves.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: I think I would have given up at some point in Saskia probably would have to, or she would have, you know, would be a different in a different capacity now.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: So we kind of push each other, we inspire each other, we carry each other, which is compliment each other.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: It's beautiful, like we have no idea.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: We didn't know each other that well when we started out, but it we seem to be very aligned when it comes to our vision, I guess the whole building a business around our children and not the way around, the other way around, and that whenever we have to take big decisions it comes back to that.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: It's like what are we going to regret more?
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: You know we're going to regret more not having been at the Whatever ceremony the children had or little game, or you know, we want to be there, want to be, want to see your children grow up.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: We want them to know that we are round and we put them first and we care so much about this business, and I realize it's a bit of a contradiction maybe, but again, I don't want to tell people something that I just can't.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: That's not sustainable for me.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: You know I can't put all in and then the next week I'm like, oh well, but I have my children now, like my children always here, and I give what I can in the hours I have.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Then I turn the laptop off and I'm with them and that's how it's always been.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, it's really nice to have someone who shares that vision and who has so many similar values.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: And yeah, I mean, if you find someone who you can start this with, then I can only vouch for it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: It's been an amazing journey of growing together, getting to know each other, but I also realized it's a risk, because you don't know if it's going to work out.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, how do you split the role?
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: How do you split yeah?
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: But for the longest time we both did everything, which wasn't very efficient, but again, we hadn't done it before, we didn't really know.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: We both came from the digital marketing background, so that, to certain extent, was both our strengths.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Sasuke was always more technical, so she's the one who built the websites and did all of that.
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: I, would, you know, bury my head in the sun as soon as it came to that.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: I was always more the kind of salesy speak to people and she was like, oh no, I don't want to make that call, I'm like, I'll do it, I don't mind.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: So that was naturally where we split things a little bit.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: But in the beginning, I mean for the first five years, we did everything you know we baked, we went shopping, we went to the post office, we took the product shots with everything.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: So it was only when we had our team in the summer of twenty twenty one that we said, okay, we now need to work on the business, because there's so much that we've just not had time for that we really need to solve.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: We need new packaging, we need a new name, we need, like all these things, all these massive projects, and it was only the beginning of this year that we said, okay, we really need to refine our roles now, because we're still on top of each other too much, even though we trust each other, but we just have never Officially divided our roles.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: So today's ask is marketing and tech together with another member of our staff, and I am kind of business development and sales together with another.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Do you?
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: still do the baking.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: No, every now and then, when it gets really busy at Christmas, we help out.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: Every now and then when we get a really complicated hand-iced order, I feel like, okay, I'll get involved and then I'll hand it over to the team, but I'll do the prototype.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Saskia does the 3D printing of our biscuit cutter so that that's as product-related as it gets at the stage where we don't really get involved in the production anymore.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: You've gone from that shift really of doing everything to now it sounds like being a CEO and you're scaling your business.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: I mean, how quick was that process then?
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Because it sounded like the way we've taught you.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: It sounded like you're doing everything for a long, long time and now you've got staff and now you talk us through that shift.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: I mean I'm interested because that's obviously where I am at as well, so you need to hear how you got there.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: And that was such a head test for so long, because Saskia and I knew that at some point we would outgrow our home kitchens and at some point we wouldn't want to bake every night anymore and we couldn't really hire anyone to help us, because who would come to your house to bake from 7 to 11pm?
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Who does that?
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: So we knew we had to change something and again, it wasn't the pandemic that we had this huge spike even in the business-to-consumer side of the business, which traditionally is our weaker side.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: So we sell most of our biscuits to businesses for corporate events.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: Were you working?
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: still at this point as well.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: We were still working, but Saskia got made redundant because she worked for the Dutch market and all the Dutch clients left the company.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: So she was made redundant, which was probably a blessing, because we're both quite risk averse.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: Again, as entrepreneurs, most people say, oh, they need to be risky.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: We're not risky at all, so Saskia probably wouldn't have quit her job, but because of that decision being made for her, we're like, okay, might as well give this a go.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Then this is a sign.
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: And three months later I followed because I was like you know what, I'm not in this anymore, that's not where you want to be.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: No, and I felt like she was maybe ahead more and she needed me to be involved more and I couldn't give her that time.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: So that was a big risky step.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Were you waiting for your business to be making a certain amount of money?
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: Was that quite an important thing to you before you quit your job?
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: Well, we didn't have any clear sales targets, but we knew we needed to at least make enough money to pay ourselves, maybe not what we'd earned before, but to make ends meet.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: So we did know, okay, we needed to make a certain amount, which we did.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: So I quit my job and then the next step obviously was to hire a team and at the same time move into commercial premises, because, as I said, it wouldn't really be comfortable having someone in the house, and for those people as well.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: So we then thought why not start with someone part-time, because it's less pressure, we can see how it goes and obviously, less financial pressure.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: And that's why we naturally went to.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Well, we attracted working moms, because most working moms want to work part-time.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: So we interviewed three women and they all interviewed really well.
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: So then we did another risky thing, which was hire all three part-time.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: They all just did 10 hours each, but we thought, let's see, and if it isn't for one of them, then we still have two.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: But they all stayed.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: And then we moved into commercial premises and again we didn't really make enough money to pay us, pay the team and pay for the premises, and I should have probably said that we never got any outside investment.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: We started this idea well, our business with 500 pounds from each of our pockets.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: When we first set up as a market store, that's all it was to pay for a website and the hosting fees Saskia Booth and herself, but yeah, then ingredients just tiny bits to get us started, but that was all so we didn't have backing anywhere.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: I love this story.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: You still do.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: You know he's grown from such a small little seed that you really, you and Saskia have just watered so patiently over the years, and how it's not blooming Asia leaves the world.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so then we went to our old employer, who obviously made Saskia redundant and who I had quit a few months earlier, and asked if we could use that canteen, because we knew it was empty Because since the pandemic, the caterer hadn't returned.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: And we said we only have this much money, that's all we can give you.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: And they let us use it.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: So, again, unconventional, you know, again, when people think about business, they're like, oh, I need to wear this suit, I need to bring in this and I need to.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: You don't, you know?
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: Just ask for help, ask around, think outside the box.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: That's what entrepreneurship is for me.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: Be creative, thinking outside the box.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: And we're like, okay, this is all we have.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: We literally have 400 pounds a month to pay for premises.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: That sounds impossible, but let's just, you know, ask the question and they let us do it.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: And that made all the difference.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: We could hire the staff and, because they were part-time, there wasn't a huge financial pressure there.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: Once we had the premises and the team, everything changed because Saskia and I could finally do all these things that we needed to grow the business.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: A year later, we had outgrown the premises and we had everybody in the team had increased their hours.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: We were looking to grow the team and today we're a team of seven and we have bigger premises which we moved in just under a year ago now.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: That step was a bit messy, a bit risky, it sounds like it was a scary step because there was actually a lot happening.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: By trying to do it at the same time, you were taking big steps.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: So what I need to be getting that commercial property suddenly had rent, paying yourselves because you didn't have no longer had the safety net of your normal job, your job and paying somebody else.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: There's quite a lot you took on, yeah.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: But we had not really paid ourselves up until then.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: I think we took like 300 pounds a month from the business or something.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: It was literally like pocket money, so we had a nice little saving in the bank.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: So at that stage we thought let's just give it a go and if it doesn't work, then we know, then we need to go back to marketing or whatever it is.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: But it worked and again that patience and organic growth paid off because we didn't need that external money which comes with all those pressures and opinions that might not marry up with your own vision and values.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: But I was realised it's not for everyone.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Some people might.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Would you ever take investment, or are you?
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: I think it would have to be not just an amazing deal.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: I think it would have to be for something that we can really be convinced works for our brand and what we're trying to build, because just growth and you know the ego pleasing thing that was stocked itself it is now that it's just not good enough for us, because we're not driven by money or by, you know, being a recognisable brand.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: We really just want to create something we're proud of, in the sense that you know, we really see our team.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: We know them.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: We don't just grow, grow, grow for the sake of it, and I just can't see many investors being behind something like that because there isn't quick money to be made from us and our decisions are not always, don't always translate to the quickest and easiest way of making money, because we use high quality ingredients and eco-friendly packaging and everything.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: You could squeeze so much more profit out of it, but we don't want to because of our standards and the quality of our product.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: I haven't come across.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: We speak to investors and they like what we do, but haven't come across anyone who sees what's in it for them in the short run anyway.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: So what's next for the Viscuris?
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: You've got it sounds like you've got it to a really good place, you can see.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: You know you work with some brilliant, brilliant brands and you know it's got to obviously a nice place with you.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: You're hopefully not working all the evenings till midnight anymore.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: No, no, I don't, which is amazing.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, literally my team have changed my life in that sense I have hobbies again.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: I see my husband.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: It's been amazing.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Watching TV and, yeah, it's been quite a nice sort of stage.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: What's next for us?
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: So one big thing is people mainly buy our products as gifts because they're personalized and you know they are just that price bracket with people.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: You know that too much to just order and launch on.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: So we are now at a stage where we have a lot of people who love our products but have never tried them because they always just ordered them for other people.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: So we're in the process of launching a subscription box which will be like a replenishment box mainly aimed at working moms.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: So it will be a box obviously with biscuits, because that's what we do, but it will also be an invitation for working moms to slow down and take a moment to really enjoy that biscuit, maybe with a cup of tea so there might be some tea in there and handle, maybe listen to a podcast.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: So it's also part of this community we're building again which is for working moms, because it's our lived experience.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: We feel that's where we can really relate, like, yes, there's business owners female business owners out there, yes, there's moms out there.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: But doing both is just another well, it's hard and it can relate to the challenges and we've learned so much on the way in terms of not burning the candle at both ends and doing little, making little changes and boundaries and all these things to make it all work and sustainable.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: So we would like to start sharing that with people who are in similar positions, because we see so many, so many working moms who are just depleted.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: You know that's too much and life is just too much, and I see that and I think I just want to give something back.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: So we have this community as well, which is on a Facebook group called the Raising Agents, which is free.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: So the resources and everything we share there is free.
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: But then the subscription boxes, maybe for someone as I want to go a step further and treat myself to those biscuits and then there's also access to, like, a monthly talk with an expert in an expert in a certain field that might help them make some changes to their lives, to just make it more manageable.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: So that's something we're really passionate about.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: It's like we're finally giving something back to the community and to women in similar situations.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: And what about you, then?
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: How do you look after yourself?
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: You know when you, when you managed to switch off the other ones.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's a work in progress.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: I'm not someone.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, get up at five and I meditate, and then I'd love to be that person, but I don't always have the discipline.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: What I do is I try to get up before the kids, just because it sets me up for the day, for doesn't start with that chaos and being pulled here and then everywhere.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: So I do try to go to bed early enough so I can get up early and have half an hour hour to myself.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: And then I do whatever I need that day.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: You know I might, I might go for, you know, exercise, or might read, or my journal hate, you know, whatever it is, even if I just sit down and set my intentions, am I to do this for the day?
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: So I have it downloaded and not in my head.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: That's really been a game changer for me.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: I also try to.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: You know I walk to work so I'm at the fresher and I exercise a bit.
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: I have a very supportive husband.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: I could definitely not have done any of this without him.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: So he pretty much a 50 50 parent.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: So there is no.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: Oh, my god, you know what am I cooking for dinner, like we do all of this together, like we make a meal plan, kind of split the cooking.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: His job is quite flexible, which helps.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, get your partners involved if you can, yeah.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: And then just little things, like I don't drink a lot of alcohol, so I don't have these kind of recovery sessions on a Monday or any of that, so I drink a lot of water.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: So just little things to help your, your body and your health.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: Really help me and try to get enough sleep.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, nothing groundbreaking, but I just try to follow these things that people say and it does, it does help, yeah.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: I think it's fantastic what you've done with the best career.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: I think you're a real inspiration.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: People will be listening to this and I know I know there's a lot of people that listen that you know have a side hustle at the moment that they want to grow it into something much bigger.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: They want it to replace their 95.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: So I think you are a real inspiration to them.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: And what would you say to anybody listening to this that has a hobby that maybe I could do it, maybe, you know, I could grow it into a business?
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: What would you say to them?
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I'd say, as long as you, if it gives you more than it takes from you in terms of you might spend all your free time on it but it doesn't translate to enough sales yet, or whatever.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: But if you feel it gives you more terms of joy or fulfillment or all of these things, then then keep going.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: And you don't need all the answers.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: You don't need a business plan.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: You know, unless you need investment, then you need some for those people, but for yourself.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: You know, I'm very much a believer that things change all the time and we change and our views change and our visions change and our ideas change.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: So, you know, do what works right now for you and stay agile, stay flexible.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: See what people are into depending on if you do a service or product.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: See what works.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: Don't try to flock an old horse or dead horse, whatever the saying is.
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: Try to see what people respond to and go into that direction and give them more of that.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: And I think it's so easy as a small, tiny micro business to look left and right and go oh my word, they do this and that's so amazing, and I'm not there yet.
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: And try to stay focused on what you do, because you're.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: You know it might look amazing, but they are 10 years older than you or you know they have a lot of investment behind them.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: So just do one step at a time.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Don't get sidetracked.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Don't compare.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: You never know the full story.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: You know your own full story.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: So stick with that.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: Put your energy in that and a lot of self belief, I think, especially as women was so quick to you know, listen to the imposter and like, oh, I can't do that, it's too hard.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: If it feels too hard, then definitely quit.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: You know, if it's not right, then you don't need to force it.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: But if it feels right and I think again, women have a big intuition then then keep going and don't have to prove anything to anyone.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be fast, but just chipping away I think leads to more than you know.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: These big, huge investments into ideas that aren't really fully fleshed yet.
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: That just wants to have a time.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: What brilliant advice.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, lisa, for joining us today.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: Remind people where they can find you, where they can order your biscuits from, and just repeat your the Facebook group name as well, that's okay.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we are online at wwwthebiscarycom.
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: The Biscary is Port Banto, so two words bakery and biscuits.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: So it's Biscary with a K, and then Harry K, the Biscarycom Social media.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: We are everywhere really.
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: Instagram is probably the most active at the Biscary.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: Personally, you find me on LinkedIn the most Lisa Shepherd Shepard, s-h-e-p-h-e-r-d.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: As spreading kindness and biscuit form.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: And then the Facebook group for working moms is called the raising agents.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: You just have to you know us, to be invited, us to join, and we accept and then you're in Brilliant.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Perfect Well.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, lisa, for joining us today.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: It's an absolute pleasure to chat with you, learn more about biscuits and, obviously, your business as well.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: Thanks for having me.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work it Like a Mom podcast.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and subscribe, and don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: 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.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: You can also follow my recruitment site Investing in Women on LinkedIn, facebook and Instagram.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: Until next time, keep on chasing your biggest dreams.