In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- The power of diversity in your models and why it’s so important
- How to find the best influencers for your business, manage those relationships and make it work for your business
- Building relationships and how to foster those relationships for growth
- And so much more
Transcript
[00:00:00] Dahna Borg: Can you tell me a little bit more about your decision to use influencers?
[00:00:02] Nikki Parkinson: For starters, you can get a range of sizes and heights. Most modeling agencies will have now a range of sizes, but generally they’re still tall and generally the shape is still hourglass, so not a reflective. Situation in comparative to the whole of the population. We wanna have people who have bigger bums, bigger tummies, bigger boobs, and they still might be a size 10.
[00:00:30] Like it’s just giving different alternatives, as many as we can do. And definitely very few people are super tall, supermodel tall. So how is a garment gonna sit on an average size, a smaller than average? Person
[00:00:42] Hi, and welcome to the bright minds of e-commerce podcast. I’m Donna founder of bright red marketing, and after helping so many businesses in the e-commerce space over the years, I wanted to bring you the best advice from Australia and experts in e-commerce and e-commerce store owners. If you want to relatable stories and actionable advice and the latest Facebook advertising strategies, you’re in the right place.
[00:01:02] One help with your Facebook and Instagram ads. Remember you can always book in a free strategy session@brightredmarketing.com.edu. Forward slash free dash strategy dash session will run through your ads. See what’s working and what’s not. And no sales pitch. I promise. So let’s get into today’s episode.
[00:01:21] Dahna Borg: On today’s episode, we’re joined by Nikki Parkinson from styling.
[00:01:24] You welcome Nikki.
[00:01:25] Nikki Parkinson: Great to be here.
[00:01:27] Dahna Borg: So excited to have you. So can you give us a little bit of background on how styling you started?
[00:01:32] Nikki Parkinson: It’s a very convoluted, story of pivoting. I was actually a journalist for 20 years, which seems like a very strange place to land in now that I am designing clothes and selling clothes on the internet. But it does actually have step by step. Connections to each other. And I guess the first is quite obvious is I have always produced content of different forms and I’ve had to change that over the years.
[00:01:58] And I jumped into blogging very early. Like when I say early 2008, and I had just left my career of 20 years and my blog was my website to publicize. If you want, for one of a better word my fledgling personal styling business. So what I didn’t realize at the time is that in asking for a website that I could update myself and still share information like I had done as a journalist, I ended up on this trajectory social media.
[00:02:31] And in 2008, Instagram did not exist. Twitter was. No, Twitter was 2009, I’m pretty sure. Facebook existed and Facebook business pages had just started. So really on the cusp of everything that we are fully absorb, absorbed in personally and business these days. And I was just so keen, I think I just I love a chat and I think it was the missing piece to 20 years of broadcasting information.
[00:02:58] Now journalism is very different these days and there is a lot of interactivity involved. But back then it was like you sent something out and you might have got a letter to the editor as feedback. And usually it was crap feedback. It wasn’t community feedback. So, it was the kind of feedback you really didn’t want.
[00:03:14] And I just went, oh my God, this is amazing. And Twitter was incredible when it first launched for that community factor. And through there I met like-minded people who were doing stuff on the internet. And then some people would have in their bio that they had a blog. And I went, well, I’ve got one of those.
[00:03:36] And then I’d go to their blogs and they’d be people living comments and all this kind of stuff. And I just went, you know what? I’ve just gotta change. the way I’m sharing content. I’ve gotta start a conversation because no one’s gonna leave a comment if you’re not really. Encouraging people to do so.
[00:03:52] And that’s what I did. I had fun with it, like it was so creative and so different from journalism. The only thing I would like in those early days of blogging to would be writing a column in a newspaper. So it was great, and I just, I went from there. And that’s no
[00:04:10] Dahna Borg: So how did you go from the blog to the label,
[00:04:13] Nikki Parkinson: Okay, so in between the blog is building up the community and then all the social platforms that happen.
[00:04:19] So Instagram, I joined. I was probably one of the first people in Australia to join. I look back at the three friends I made very early adapters on things since 2010. What I would do, I even knew at that stage that you just had to get your handle. You had to get your name on anything. It might have taken off and there was a lot of platforms that have come and gone that I still got my name on, or I had to decide whether you just take it and you never know whether your demographic was gonna end up. So I did all that. I just kept building a community organic. Had amazing growth, you know, when magazines were still fighting for some part of the media. Reid, I had more. Visits to my website than to my blog than Vogue for the month. Way more so there was something there, there was a community, it was a community of women who didn’t feel like the fashion industry talked to them, like I didn’t.
[00:05:16] And so I was able to build that community and from that community, Sell them things, whether it was for other brands, and I still do sponsorships for other brands, or it led to my own online store selling other people’s brands. And then that led to creating my own label because I really wanted specific things that that I wasn’t quite getting in my own wardrobe or from every other label, which sounds quite egotistical, but when you really nut it down, Basics, and that’s what I concentrate on.
[00:05:48] There’s certain things with fit that don’t happen because of the way a, a typical label is designed. So that’s the long story. But basically it’s community like I built a community who were engaged with what I had to say, trusted me not only my recommendations for other brands, but then came across to our own brand.
[00:06:10] Dahna Borg: Yeah, amazing. I think it really worked in your favor that it was sort of the heyday of that social engagement community building in that. , everyone got amazing reach on Facebook and Instagram and those sorts of things. Have you ever thought about how you would go about building that community now knowing that, you know, reach and saturation and things are a little harder to come by?
[00:06:31] Nikki Parkinson: Look, honestly the same way because I started with no social media, so I wasn’t relying on that. Oh, Facebook, sorry. And on my personal Facebook page, it comes up every year on the 28th of July, or 29th of July. I always forget which one, and it just goes. Here’s my website. Please subscribe, . And I was saying that back then.
[00:06:54] So I built a database from the get-go. I had my own platform that I owned. So I still have those two major assets. So every time there is a change to these social media platforms that we rent, and some people don’t even pay rent on them, then you can’t complain because they’re bonuses. They are actually bonuses to you being able to sell.
[00:07:17] So,
[00:07:17] Dahna Borg: Yeah. Amazing.
[00:07:18] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah,
[00:07:19] Dahna Borg: Wonderful. Now I am obsessed with how well you guys do inclusivity and diversity, and I know it’s such a core part of your business. Can you share more about how you’ve built that into your business and why it’s so important to you?
[00:07:31] Nikki Parkinson: so that, again, started from me. We’ll go back. 2010, I first started these blog posts called The Model in Me, and it was a photo of a campaigning binge of a model wearing a garment, and then me. Now, back then, 10 years ago, there were no fashion campaigns featuring women above a size six or eight, none.
[00:07:53] Zip zero. Hard to believe now because there has been so much progress within that. I was only offering one alternative, but it was one more than anywhere else. And also online fashion shopping at that stage was very much in its infancy. I just built on that and I always knew when I started my own label, even before when we had our online store and we were selling.
[00:08:17] Other people’s labels , I started with just me in the clothes and then I went, well that’s not gonna work cuz what about smaller people? So I got another model and then I expanded to three to get a different height as well because it’s not just about the size. So when it came to starting my own label, I thought, you know what?
[00:08:36] I really have to put my money where my mouth is here. Let’s be the first label globally. To photograph on every size that we stock, and we’re still the first label.
[00:08:48] . I don’t wanna be the first label. I don’t wanna be the only label forever. I want other labels to do this. And yes, it costs more money. Yes, it takes more time when it comes to loading the products and doing all the videos and editing, that sort of thing.
[00:09:00] But we have been able to sell to women from the get-go with greater confidence online. And we don’t have a permanent physical bricks and mortar store. So, We intentionally set out to make it easier for our customers by not only giving them visual cues, but also the specific measurements of all of those models, whether it’s the height, whether it’s the bus, to work out what it’s gonna look like on a top. Those are things that now when I go shopping on other, Oh my goodness. It blows my mind. There’s no information. It says how tall the model is. I know how tall models are. They’re nowhere near me. I can tell that dress is gonna be longer on me. Most people don’t. So you
[00:09:43] Dahna Borg: Or it says that they’re a size 10 and it’s like, well, a size 10 where
[00:09:47] Nikki Parkinson: Yes. Size 10. Where ? Yeah. What is her hip measurement? What is her bus measurement? What is her waste measurement? So I can match that to mine. It will not be like that, but that’s the information that we need. If you want to be able to successfully sell online and reduce your refund rate, then you just need to do that.
[00:10:09] And in doing so, we’ve also. A subset of a community from the styling new community around the label. And this is, these are women who finally have clothes that they feel great in because we’re cut a little differently.
[00:10:23] Dahna Borg: Yeah. Amazing. It’s such a different experience browsing neural site when it’s like, Ooh, I’m looking at a size eight or a 10 or a 12 or a 14, and the model changes you, oh, that looks more like what it would look like on me. . Like, it’s like, why is no one else doing this? It’s fantastic.
[00:10:39] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah.
[00:10:39] Dahna Borg: So you touched on it briefly, but I know that a lot of people when they’re, especially when they’re starting out, but even more established brands, just say it’s just too expensive to show that sort of diversity and include more size ranges and things.
[00:10:52] What sort of advice do you have for those people or encouragement?
[00:10:55] Nikki Parkinson: Encouragement. Just start slowly, even if it’s adding one more alternative. To your lineup because the, to be honest, I think the biggest cost starts with getting the extra samples. Most brands, particularly produce globally, will have access to one sample size garment, and mostly that is the size six to eight that most garments are sampled on. Not only is that tricky in showing your product online, It’s also tricky in getting a real handle on how that’s gonna fit on all the sizes that you stock. So I feel like that is a really good investment if you can even double the different sizes you get as samples. And if you are wholesaling, then yes, you’re having to do that ahead of your bulk production.
[00:11:44] So that has an expense attached to it. We’re made in Australia which is more expensive, but it does mean that we can pull our photo shoot samples from the bulk production, so it’s not costing us anymore. To access those samples, but that’s because we have good lead times and we’re not also wholesaling.
[00:12:03] We simply sell ourselves online and we turn things around really quickly. every month from photo photoshoot to launch Then you have the extra cost for your photographer. There’s gonna be more photos to take if there’s more models.
[00:12:16] And then you’ve got the production costs of that, and then you’ve got the setup costs on your website are gonna cost a bit more in time. . So there are all those things, but I feel like at the very least, if you can do one alternative, it is going to be better for your business.
[00:12:33] It’s gonna be a good investment in your. As well as give you returns on it.
[00:12:38] Dahna Borg: I imagine the returns are quite high. Cuz as you said, like when you’re online shopping, it’s very hard if you’re not a straight stand standard sort of size. I imagine it does give people a little bit more confidence to buy from you. I imagine things like your conversion rate would be higher and your returns rate would be lower.
[00:12:53] Would that be accurate?
[00:12:55] Nikki Parkinson: Yes. Our returns rate is generally below. Industry so it definitely helps you still, particularly in the demographic that I am reaching, they’re not completely confident with online shopping which is understandable. I am, I’m a pro at it, and I wish I could have a degree in it, , but even I still get it wrong. And if I get it wrong when there’s not access to good, detailed information about the garment, the fit and the models represented. And what we do is we minimize that for people as well as being able to, if someone sends me their measure, Nine times outta 10, I’m gonna nail the size.
[00:13:35] They should be in our label because we not only see how each garment looks on eight different models, I see the fit of that as well. And I can say, well, you are, that person’s bust. But you are smaller in the waist, so I feel like you’ll be that size. So I’ve kind of got that detail and I think as a designer that also helps and that’s helped me to tweak des future designs or tweaks of existing styles. And I just don’t know how I would get that if I got a sample size six to eight, which I could never wear myself until it arrived and really understand the fit because. Mostly we just want clothes to make us feel comfortable. When we feel comfortable, we feel confident. Whatever your personal style is, and I just don’t think you can get that from an online store if you’re not being super, like if you’re not giving more information than you ever think that someone’s gonna need.
[00:14:31] Dahna Borg: Yeah. No, I love that. I really love that. I know that in terms of these models that you’re talking about, you tend to use a lot of influencers. Can you tell me a little bit more about your decision to use influencers?
[00:14:40] Nikki Parkinson: That’s a very good question. For starters, you can get a range of sizes and heights. Most modeling agencies will have now a range of sizes, but generally they’re still tall and generally the shape is still hourglass, so not a reflective. Situation in comparative to the whole of the population. We wanna have people who have bigger bums, bigger tummies, bigger boobs, and they still might be a size 10.
[00:15:12] Like it’s just giving different alternatives, as many as we can do. And definitely very few people are super tall, supermodel tall. So how is a garment gonna sit on an average size, a smaller than average? Person. So that’s what leads me to booking influencers. And most of these influencers do their own content and own promotion, but they also, they find themselves as models for other brands as well.
[00:15:39] For all of those many reasons, and for me, a lot started because they were friends, they were people I’ve mentored. I knew they had the right personality for the brand. The extra spinoff is they will probably share your content, even if I’ve not engaged them to share content. They’ve got these lovely photos or videos that we’ve done, and so that gets shared.
[00:16:03] So that’s a really lovely bonus to what you get. But mostly using influences to get that true diversity.
[00:16:11] Dahna Borg: So I know that people sometimes struggle with finding those influencers. I know you’ve said you’ve gone to agencies, you’ve done call outs. Some of them you just knew. Do you have any sort of tips around working and building relationships with influencers if you maybe haven’t before?
[00:16:24] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah. So, spend time on social media following people who actually you feel like they could represent your brand well. Cause not everyone’s going to, and that’s fine because you are looking for not a certain look, but probably more of a certain personality for me. You know, , we’re always laughing, always smiling.
[00:16:43] It is. It is a fun day on our shoots. So you need people who are up. And if you spend time following people, you’ll get a good read on whether they’re right, a right fit for your brand. The big key is do not expect any influencers to come up, come to you for a photo shoot for free. Like you have to ask what their rates would be or say, this is my budget.
[00:17:05] Are you happy to do it for this because you are selling something off them
[00:17:12] Dahna Borg: Yep.
[00:17:13] Nikki Parkinson: you’ve got a value. What they will bring to your brand. And honestly, that is my hottest tip. Do not expect just because they’re influences that they’re gonna come and be on your photo shoot for free or for exposure. It’s not respectful in any way, shape, or
[00:17:29] form.
[00:17:29] Dahna Borg: anyone that’s half decent, any good, knows how to be in front of a camera, can take a good photo. is good enough that they’re getting paid by other people. Why would they do it for you for free?
[00:17:40] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah, correct. And if you’ve built up a relationship with them, you might be able to negotiate what that fee is, or they might have an understanding that you’ve just started. And that’s what it is. And I come from the flip side where I have brands still asking me to do stuff for free.
[00:17:57] Dahna Borg: No, not with
[00:17:58] Nikki Parkinson: really
[00:17:58] good.
[00:18:00] I have a good au I have a good auto reply on that now because it was just like boundaries. I was like, I’ve got my time and energy has a big focus over here, so, and I have paying clients who are consistent and I can’t go and do something for free that just is so wrong on my level, on my existing clients level.
[00:18:18] Dahna Borg: The audacity of people like.
[00:18:21] Nikki Parkinson: I ju I just believe in valuing what people. To the equation, and in doing so, you build relationships. And that is the whole reason why I love this online world. It’s the relationships that I’ve built over 14 years and all of these women who I work with would do anything for me, which that sounds extreme.
[00:18:45] I’m gonna give you a case and point 2020. Remember that year?
[00:18:49] Dahna Borg: Good
[00:18:49] fun. Yeah.
[00:18:49] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah. Yeah. Fun. So at the start of the first lockdown, I’m sitting there with a hundred thousand dollars worth of stock that had been delivered from Sydney because no one knew whether trucks were gonna have to stop or freight would have to stop.
[00:19:05] I’m only in the second year of the label and I’m going, holy shit, . I’m not even gonna be able to do a photo shoot here. What am I gonna do? I went, To, not all of those models, but a select one of those models who I knew were really used to taking their own photos. And I said, guys, I know this is highly unusual, but can I pay you the same amount I would pay you to come on set?
[00:19:30] But you take the photos and you send them to us. They did it when those photos come up now, just random. Like there was one product that we just reshot recently that hadn’t been shot since 2020 for those photos. And I know, I dunno. It just gets me, cause that was so symbolic of the time. Not only did we get those photos, we had photos for the website.
[00:19:51] They weren’t by any stretch of imagination what we’re used to, but oh my god. That is symbolic of the relationships that you can build. So I was still able to sell the product. People responded because we told them what had happened and they felt more engaged with. we survived. Like what would’ve been the worst, could have been the worst season of our very short existence.
[00:20:19] Dahna Borg: Oh, I love that and I think there’s something to be said, especially in a time like that. Of doing something that’s a little out of the box, cuz you kind of have to, we had a client who could not do photo shoots. They had the stock in their living room and they took really bad selfies. the products sold out cuz everyone really related.
[00:20:35] So I think there’s sort of that side of it as well. But also it’s just really nice to have, those relationships where you can ask for those
[00:20:42] things.
[00:20:44] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah, and I think you’ve gotta let go of perfection. Like if anything we’ve learned over the last two years, if you’ve just gotta get something done or if you’ve just gotta sell something, maybe you can’t get it out there in a perfect way or how you had in your head. but isn’t it more important to get it out there and share your story and sell your product and stay in business?
[00:21:07] Dahna Borg: Exactly. I agree with that. the note of relationships, now, I imagine this has sort of come from your background in journalism, I know that you’ve managed to sort of collaborate and be sponsored by some really wonderful brands. You’ve got a lot of PR and that sort of thing. Do you sort of have any tips or strategies on how to get those sorts of relationships?
[00:21:26] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah, so the relationship side of thing in terms of sponsorship comes from the styling you side of things. So my business is broken down to the label and styling you. The label is the huge, biggest chunk now, but I do take on sponsorship campaigns when there’s, it has to be like a super amazing fit. One brand that I’ve worked with consistently since 2013 really is Frankie four Footwear, and that is a consistent brand and it aligns.
[00:21:57] Completely with my demographic, it works really well with the label. When we have shoots, we can use their shoes, but then other things that come along. So that’s a big chunk of time because that’s a consistent booking. 12 months it’s set. So, If anything else comes along, it has to fit in with my timing with the label because that there’s a lot of energy involved there.
[00:22:18] I only have two part-time staff, so, and then it has to really align with my brand. And obviously when you’re starting out, if on the influencer side of things you might be tempted to To say yes to everything, but my biggest advice would be to really sit with the offer, what it is and go, is this something that I would’ve bought anyway?
[00:22:45] Is it something that I really feel authentic about sharing? Because there is so much power in saying.
[00:22:54] Dahna Borg: Agreed.
[00:22:55] Nikki Parkinson: always believed , that you can say no to something that you think, oh my goodness, I really need that to pay the bills this month. You say no to that theme. The woowoo in me says, you’ve left space for the right thing to come in.
[00:23:08] And nine times out of 10 that’s happened. And the times that I have gone, I’ll just do it. I’ve regretted every step of the way. Every
[00:23:17] step.
[00:23:18] Dahna Borg: 100%. Agreed. No, I love that. I think especially in the early days, I think a lot of B brands get sort of caught up in that, oh, I have to say yes to every opportunity and I have to take everything, and they end up getting mud. and then the brand isn’t clear and it just gets a bit confusing. So I love that.
[00:23:36] I mean, that’s just good business advice in general is to say things, say no to things that don’t align.
[00:23:41] Nikki Parkinson: And don’t beat yourself up if you’ve made a decision that you regret later. It’s just a learning, and it just set. It’s there to remind you, even if you have to put it on your computer and go. Do never say no to any say, never say yes to any of this, and that might help you the next time that you’ve gotta make that decision.
[00:23:58] Dahna Borg: Yeah. And sometimes you have to make the same mistake three or four times before you work it out, but that’s, business and
[00:24:03] Nikki Parkinson: Oh, 10. Oh, 10 times
[00:24:05] Dahna Borg: Exactly. what are your favorite, I know we’ve touched on a lot, what are are your favorite marketing strategies for reaching new people and introducing them to your brand?
[00:24:13] Nikki Parkinson: Ooh, that’s a good one. I would say it is being active online. It’s not just posting and running, it’s actually being active with your own community, but then engaging as your brand authentically with other like-minded. As your social platform. I think that is a really, that doesn’t cost you anything except time, but that’s a really great way to get no one over time and organically,
[00:24:45] Dahna Borg: It’s such timeless advice
[00:24:47] too,
[00:24:48] Nikki Parkinson: Yeah, and I
[00:24:49] think
[00:24:50] you have to let go of the urgency of it though. It is. It literally is. Building relationships and not, it’s like making friends. It doesn’t happen. I walk up to someone or will you be my friend? Like I see it with some brands talking to me on social media and I’m going, you can just ease in a little bit slower.
[00:25:09] I’m interested in what you’ve got to say. Can you say something? You can tell they’re a bit copy and pasting what the comments are and I feel like you could do it authentically, like follow the brand. You really like what they’re doing or the way they’re doing something or their product, all of the above, and just chat to them.
[00:25:26] That way they’re gonna get to like, like I noticed that and that has meaning to me. And I’ll probably end up buying your product if I really like, so
[00:25:34] Dahna Borg: That’s so true. I
[00:25:35] Nikki Parkinson: a marketers dream. ,
[00:25:36] Dahna Borg: I
[00:25:36] think even from a, a Facebook ads point, cuz that’s what we do is, you know, a lot of ads that I see are very like, buy from us now, immediately you’ve never seen us before buy. And it’s like, well, hang on a sec, who are you? Why? What are you doing? Why, what problem? Like, you’ve gotta sort of ease into these things.
[00:25:53] So I love that cuz I think that advice is timeless, whether it’s you. Someone’s listening now or are they’re listening in 10 years time and Facebook and Instagram, I know more and there’s some new platform, like who knows what’s gonna happen. But that advice I think will always hold.
[00:26:07] Nikki Parkinson: Yes, and I do talking about Facebook. Definitely if you have an e-commerce business, I feel like you do need to investigate. Don’t be bamboozled by it. Find someone who can talk to you about it and explain how you can get those people who are probably never gonna see you otherwise. And that is kind of crucial, but there’s a lot of power in it.
[00:26:29] So I came from old media where it was paid thousands of dollars for. would do like a half page full page every week, and I’m going, that’s such a limited, almost like a scatter gun approach to marketing and advertising. Whereas with paid online advertising, you can target it so specifically that you’re gonna get more for your dollar if you are working with the right people.
[00:26:54] Dahna Borg: Exactly, which is why we love what we do. love the targeted nature of it. Last little question that we’re starting to ask everyone is what are your top three tips for e-commerce businesses?
[00:27:04] Nikki Parkinson: Well, number one would be start with Shopify. That was just my just there’s, you’d be surprised. I’ll go to sites and I’ll go, oh, I bet this isn’t a Shopify pie site, and I’ll right click inspect source, and I’ll go, oh, it’s right. So clunky Shopify makes it easy out of the box, and you literally could set it up yourself.
[00:27:22] If you’ve got a little bit of mouse and just logic in that, but also it doesn’t cost you much to get someone to, to fix it up and make it particularly yours.
[00:27:34] It’s also possible just to go in and like at the moment where fine tuning products that are launching next week and I can just go in and play and I’m not gonna break anything very easy.
[00:27:44] Dahna Borg: it easier for your Facebook advertising team because some other platforms are a nightmare.
[00:27:50] Nikki Parkinson: Yes.
[00:27:52] In your phone, so maybe not every one year, but definitely every two years so that your camera is up to date.
[00:28:00] There is so much you can do now with the latest phone cameras as someone who. Started a business before smartphones existed and then watched every camera phone update, Crucial. I can do, if I have to, I can do my whole business from content to uploading to social media on my phone. So that is something that is my greatest tool that is always up to date.
[00:28:27] And thirdly, is always think about the community and building the community around your. how you get them talking about you. That’s how you get them coming back every time you’ve got something new to sell. And at the crux of it, wanna buy from people. And I think especially if you are a female and your target demographic is female, wanna connect with the people, the person behind the brand.
[00:28:56] So out there and show me who that is so that I can connect with.
[00:29:02] Dahna Borg: I love that, and I think that’s a great note to finish those questions on. the last little questions that we just ask everyone, you have any strategies or habits that you follow to help you stay on track in business?
[00:29:13] Nikki Parkinson: it was a public holiday here in Brisbane and I had a big project to start working on, which is planning for winter next year, what we’re dropping. So what did I do? I procrastinated by office works and up on pretty new post-it notes and pens. my defense, I may have lost an hour, but I did feel very productive by the end of the day.
[00:29:34] And, you know, nice pens make that
[00:29:37] possible . So I’m
[00:29:39] Dahna Borg: I agree. So business hack is go to office works and by produce stationary. Love it.
[00:29:44] Nikki Parkinson: if, floats your boat. My business hack is just understand how you personally work because how I work. Could be different from the next person. So someone who just batches everything on one day and that’s it, and they sit back for the rest of the week, well, good luck to you because that’s great.
[00:30:02] But no, I’ll get sidetracked by all the different things and I’ve got more than one job to do in a day, but I can handle that. And that’s. I’m, how I almost, how I like to work. I like to just keep doing different things and bouncing from different things that may not be very, for another person.
[00:30:21] But for me, if I get to the end of one of those days and I’ve actually ticked off everything, even though I’ve gone like this all over the shop, about it. So I feel like you’ve gotta be kind to yourself, but you’ve also gotta work out how do I best. Work. What boundaries do I need to put in place? How can I do this so that I tick off everything I need to do today or
[00:30:42] this
[00:30:42] week?
[00:30:44] Dahna Borg: I love that. Everyone’s just so different.
[00:30:46] Nikki Parkinson: We’re,
[00:30:47] Dahna Borg: a favorite business book?
[00:30:50] Nikki Parkinson: know what? It’s not strictly a
[00:30:51] business book.
[00:30:52] Dahna Borg: That’s good. That’s okay.
[00:30:54] Nikki Parkinson: one that has struck a chord with me in the last few months, and that is, um, by Kemi Camper. very, it’s a good one for women in business to read and absorb. If you’ve ever heard Kemi speak, she’s amazing. She has the ultimate boundaries in her life in her. And every time I feel like I’m just letting those boundaries slide and blur, I think, what would Kimmy do? . And it just is amazing because if you don’t put those boundaries in the starters, you get the blurring between life and work, which, you know, I’m okay with a bit of that, but more you get the blurring of your, where your energy needs to be.
[00:31:39] So I always come back to where does my energy need to be? hour, this week, this month. And that helps me to set boundaries around all of the aspects of my life because we don’t get to operate like this in a little bubble. Everybody has different things going on. And so I feel like even though it’s not strictly a business book, I think it’s book for women particularly to learn how to set those boundaries and not just.
[00:32:08] The people pleasers. We seem to be innately wired
[00:32:12] to be
[00:32:13] Dahna Borg: All right. Adding it to my to read list. . you have a favorite podcast
[00:32:18] Nikki Parkinson: do.
[00:32:19] Dahna Borg: business or not business? I
[00:32:20] Nikki Parkinson: Ooh, I’m gonna say, one I really love to listen to every week now is Mama Mia’s style. fashion connection. Plus also they’re, going out of their way to be diverse in their content and they’re also looking at fashion from similar point of view to me, in that it is about how clothes make you feel, and it’s not about everyone looking the.
[00:32:46] Dahna Borg: I love that. how can people visit you? And I believe you have a special offer for our listeners,
[00:32:51] Nikki Parkinson: . find me at styling you and styling you the label and our special offer is 20% off everything, which we don’t usually do. Percentages off everything. the code is bright red
[00:33:05] or
[00:33:05] caps.
[00:33:07] Dahna Borg: Thank you very much. We greatly appreciate that. I think people will go and have a, sticky beak. After all, we talked about how well you do the inclusivity and diversity piece. thank you very much for that. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the show. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have you.
[00:33:19] Nikki Parkinson: you so much for the chat. I loved it.
[00:33:22] Thank you for listening to the bright minds of e-commerce podcast. As always you’ll find the show notes@brightredmarketing.com.edu forward slash episode 37. Thanks for listening
