Nicola Cosgrove, a co-founder of #celebsforsmallbiz, talks to GGR about this fantastic social media networking initiative for small business owners.
How and when did the Celebs for Small Biz Initiative start?
#celebsforsmallbiz is a twitter networking hour that myself (Nichola) and three other ladies (Elizabeth, Alison and Maisie) started when the COVID lockdown came into place. The 4 of us struck up a close friendship whilst networking on twitter and have run/hosted networking hours before, so we knew between the four of us we could make something amazing. The bond we’ve created online has been amazing and once we are able to travel again we aim to have a meet up.
Lots of small businesses fell to the wayside when it came to government aid. The rules were too strict or a lot of businesses didn’t even have a year’s worth of accounting, so we literally got nothing. I’m based in France and it was exactly the same there as it is in the UK. We knew we needed to do something drastic to keep our businesses afloat. There are plenty of small business networking hours on twitter, but we needed something to get us seen further afield and bring in new buyers. Since we were all in the same boat, we figured if we could get some well-known people on board that would help us to get our businesses seen by new eyes and new followers. All we asked is that they retweet the sales posts during the hour so that their followers can see and perhaps be interested and potentially buy. We didn’t ask for sponsorship or endorsements, just a helping hand in spreading the message of shopping small.
There are 4 ladies involved in the running of #celebsforsmallbiz, Myself, Nichola @NaturaEmporium, Elizabeth @HedgeBuddies, Alison @CauldronCandles and Maisie @LScrunchieCo and @anotetosayhi
What sorts of companies/products are you promoting?
The hour is for all small businesses, whether they provide a service or create a product. There is such a wide variety of artists, handcrafters, accountants, musicians, authors, designers, you name it, you’ll see if during #celebsforsmallbiz. I have created a 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free skincare and wellness brand after working in Chemistry research and wans to change the beauty industry and stop the unnecessary use of harmfum synthetic ingredients. Elizabeth has turned her hobby and love of birds into creating amazing bird & hedgehog food mixes, feeders, homes and now supporting other small businesses by buying bird related gifts. Alison creates beautifully scented vegan candles along with her daughter as well as running her transcribing business and Maisie, an 18 year old makes and sells an amazing collection of hair scrunchies, that sell like hot cakes, all whilst attending college.
Which celebrity champions have you had so far?
So far we have 19 star guests who turn up as and when they can to retweet our sales posts. Some are there religiously every week banging the drum about the importance of buying from a small business. Some can’t make the night but retweet during the week or weekend. (See attached photo for the current lineup). We have authors, muscians, journalists, actors, film director, a chef and a famous antique dealer. We’ve also had Sandra Martin from Googlebox fame, author Dee Dee Chainey, Mrs Lisa Ruddock (Razor Ruddock’s wife) and theatre critic Mark Shenton)
The support we’ve had from our star guests has been brilliant. We’ve had the lovely Annette Badland record 2 videos for us and Nichola records a weekly video using her love of hats and dressing up as a way of getting people interested. It has certainly worked as we are always trending, which is difficult on a Friday night and have around 5000 tweets in a hour. We have people tweeting until the early hours of the morning because it is so popular.
What has been great is hearing the feedback from the small businesses who attend, their sales have increased, they have more people following their work, which creates a big knock on effect. What has been incredible is that we did this off of our own backs, running our own businesses, myself homeschooling and Maisie finishing college just by contacting people directly. Sometimes you just have to be bold in life and jump right in, we figured what’s the worst they can say? No? We expected lots of no’s, but were surprised when we didn’t hear them. The only downside has been trying to get a national newspaper, radio or tv station to run some positive news stories on what we are doing, so that we can let other struggling small businesses know that there is someone out there who cares and wants to help.
How did the pandemic and lockdown impact your business(es)?
For a lot of use when the pandemic hit and we were in lockdown we didn’t know if we would survive. I certainly didn’t qualify for any government help like a lot of small businesses and with it being my only source of income, it was an incredibly stressful and worrying time. At one point I even shut my shop as I searched for an alternative employment. Unfortunately there were a few casualties who had to close their businesses, which was very sad. Fortunately and thanks to #celebsforsmallbiz I’ve personally been able to carry on and whilst things are still a struggle as it hasn’t been long since I launched my brand, I can see a steady growth. Lots of other businesses have diversified as well, jumping on the face mask train, which has helped them to stay afloat.
During lockdown there was a steady increase in online sales once the initial disruption of postal deliveries was over and we had some sort of routine. Customers were also very understanding about delays, which can be a big issue for online businesses. When lockdown eased and shops reopened that’s when we felt the crunch all over again, which is why we decided to keep #celebsforsmallbiz going. Times are changing in so many areas and small businesses have always had a rough deal, well we want to change that once and for all. There are no special tax schemes or handouts for us. We’ve all developed our businesses with barely anything but our hands, sweat and tears. When you say you are self-employed you get looked upon as if you are on the dole, yet I don’t know anyone in my family who would set themselves up as self-employed. It takes a certain kind of person to go it alone and I would love to see it respected more.
I think there is a change in customers seeking independent, small and local businesses to support. Like with everything you get rogue businesses, but more often than not you get a much better and personalised service. I take pride in sending out an order. I want my customers to smile and feel good about themselves when they open up their mail and so far that’s what I have been doing.
Thanks to social media we have access to news all day long, so when we heard about the likes of Jeff Bezos making billions of dollars per day, yet he does very little to help the small sellers on Amazon and his workers, people start to notice. industrially made products don’t have that wow factor, they are cheap for a reason, because they are pure tat. Yes you will have to pay more when shopping small, that’s because we don’t get the nice discounts off our raw materials or postage, but we make up for that slight price difference by making sure you receive a top quality product and aftercare service. I’ve built up a reputation that people can contact me privately for a consultation and I will help them honestly. I’m not here to convince someone to buy my products, the online reviews do that for me and it’s the same for everyone else, our work speaks for itself, you don’t get that when buying from a big high street brand.
I personally don’t sell in a physical shop yet but we do know that a lot of small businesses sell in boutiques usually locally within their area. I’m already in contact with a friend who runs their own hair salon and she has already seen my products and wants to sell them in her salon as it will also bring in new clients for her too. Selling at markets has always been popular and I know a lot have been running online, with mixed success. I don’t think they will replace a physical market, in the same way as cinemas can’t be replaced, you cannot replicate the atmosphere of being in a cinema and likewise from walking around a market or craft fair. Maisie would be open to selling her products in a physical shop, as would Alison. Elizabeth has her bird feed at her local disabled project shop, which has closed since the pandemic but will reopen once safe to do so.
