Three ways to Stay Strong in Business by Emma Watson, Founder and Creative Director of kidswear brand HOTDOG WATSON

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EMMA AND HER BRILLIANT BRAND HERE

​Mothers Meeting 
Staying Strong in Business


Recently I listened to Alyson Hogg (owner of Vita Liberata) talk about how she has succeeded in business and one of her biggest lessons was surrounding lack of complacency. That ultimately, staying strong, being tenacious and flexible in challenging times was vital to a business success.

Staying strong in challenging times has been a large part of my business journey at LITTLE HOTDOG WATSON https://www.littlehotdogwatson.com/ sometimes the challenges have been bigger than others, and some days I have felt a little overwhelmed but each major challenge has taught me something in business and has improved how I do things.

Here are three of the biggest challenges I have faced so far and how I stayed strong and fought / flexed through them. You may recognise some of them yourself now or in the future.

1. BREXIT - when I launched Little Hotdog Watson we got off to a great start having built a loyal social media following. A few weeks after we launched the Brexit vote hit and the UK was plunged into uncertainty. Sales slowed almost overnight not just for me but across the UK and small businesses were left in a very precarious position. My plan for the business had been to focus on a direct business model and concentrate on the UK market for the first year. I quickly realised that if the business was going to survive I would need to pivot and accelerate my plans and introduce wholesale. Within a couple of weeks I had signed up to my first tradeshow Dot to Dot, London. At Dot to Dot, we won Best New Brand, secured a handful of wholesale contracts. If it hadn’t been for Brexit I wouldn’t have begun wholesaling, so I’m grateful for that door opening.

1. COPYING - it’s a tale as old as time and they say imitation is the highest form of flattery but in some cases it just isn't! A few months into the business I was copied on a huge scale with my branding, face, and products being used. As I had protection in place I was quickly able to enlist legal help and I worked with the social media platforms to have all copyright infringed images removed. Over the last three years this continues to happen and in each instance I have taken a different tact to dealing with the issue, whether it’s been a kindly word to someone not realising how much they’ve been inspired by me to legal action or engaging with other small business for support. It’s taught me to always ensure that I am ahead of the game with the products that I develop so I am always pushing for newness, I protect my designs and I have a zero tolerance of any inspiration of my design, I also don’t show anything on social media until they are ready to launch. This meant I had to change my behind the scenes social media strategy a little but has ultimately protected me more and lets me worry less.

1. FAMILY - setting up and running a business around kids is tough. Anyone who tells you different must have the best behaved kids around. I had the idea for Little Hotdog Watson when my eldest was 3.5months old. I worked on the idea for a long time and launched when she was just over a year old. I was living in a new city and didn’t have childcare for most of that time. Later on my parents moved close by and nursery a few mornings a week became an option but running a business is full on and kids are full on. It’s not by any stretch the easy option. We had our second daughter in January 2019 and right upto the day I went to hospital to have her I was being emailed and called constantly. When I arrived home from hospital with my new daughter I was greeted by the health visitor and a lorry with a LOT of hats. It was at that point with two children that I had to stop and reassess so I didn’t go crazy. We shifted to warehousing and I adapted my working day again around sleep patterns and streamlining my focus. The difference it has made it huge. Had it not been for the arrival of my youngest I probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to take a leap and push my business to the next step.

Strength comes in all forms but knowing that solutions to the problems we face can actually make better businesses I’ve found super helpful to taking the stress out of the situation.

Emma Watson, is the owner of Little Hotdog Watson. A kidswear brand making sun hat combining style + innovation to get kids away from the screen and out into the fresh air. The sun hat offer triple protection from UV, Mosquitoes and Overheating and are currently stocked in 100 + stores in 7 countries worldwide.    

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