A recent interview I did for BIPC Newcastle as part of their High Street Heros Instagram series and my top piece of advice...

Our first 2021 #HighstreetHero is @bipcnewcastle business, @finaleshoes.
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“My mum purchased Finale after the old owner retired. We now stock a bigger range of styles & a larger price selection. We pride ourselves on providing great customer service & knowing everything we can about our footwear. We do all the buying & have close relationships with the brands we stock to ensure the best for our customers.
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My mum’s had Finale for 16 years & I joined to help out on a temp basis 7 years ago & have never looked back. My mum worked in fashion when I was growing up, so I feel it’s like coming home working alongside her in the shop. Currently, I’m constantly trying to improve my skills in areas such as marketing & website management as these are fast-moving areas where you can’t stop moving with the times.
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We’re hoping 2021 is much better than 2020! Having to be closed for so long meant we really had to focus on our online presence & make sure our marketing was getting our message across to our current & potential customers. We want to keep that relationship going by sharing news on our social media on a regular basis.
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I found the BIPC through their marketing expert, @chloe_bumbleandbloommedia, who I worked with briefly when I very first joined Finale. I jumped at the chance to utilise her skills while we were in the first lockdown to improve my social media marketing. Chloe looked with a critical eye at what I was already doing, helped me to re-focus my efforts in the right places & virtually held my hand while I implemented my first paid for ad campaign.
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The best piece of business advice I’ve been given is ‘you do you’. As someone without formal training in the industry, I suffered terribly with imposter syndrome & sometimes still do. This year has been the most challenging year of my life but I try to remember that as long as I’m doing ‘me’ I’m trying my best for both myself & the business.
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I read to switch off. I love @maryportasofficial, Shop Girl. I have a signed copy after I met her at a book event & she told me she loved my boots - it was a true fangirl moment when I told her they were from my shop."

Interview taken from BIPC Instagram.