Big business energy (and why it's problematic)

Also why are Tuesdays the worst day of the week?

Big d*ck energy is problematic for obvious reasons, and it’s the same in business. I just saw fashion designer Olivia Rubin open up about downsizing and refocusing and how she has felt about that, which sparked a thought for me. I have had a similar experience with Faace (my skincare brand). When we launched, we got a lot of interest from press, retailers, and consumers relatively organically. For our first couple of years of business, I rode on that wave, presenting Faace with some serious big business energy. We also wanted to put our best foot forward to help raise investment and pique interest of retailers and for all opportunities in general. But four years in, I feel this was problematic. Ultimately, people (you know the ones you actually need to buy your product to survive), almost get forgotten in this process. With the rise in popularity of things like TikTok, people are wanting to see the real you. The real people behind the brand, real experiences of your business, and real customers who they can relate to, as this is what often engages and compels people to want to support a brand. All the time you are presenting (only) your big business energy, you might not actually be giving an authentic account.

[Shot by Elspeth Vincent, in my jeans, not on my worktop]

Now I am not saying we did anything dishonest - we did launch on an airline and get featured in Vogue seven times internationally - we have only ever told the truth. But it’s more about what we didn’t say alongside this. We didn’t say that actually, sales are slow on our DTC and our business is heavily reliant on our wholesale accounts, which could be quite problematic. We didn’t share that actually, I was working full time hours around my other business and home life responsibilities, paying myself zero money and essentially getting burnt out. Whilst this narrative isn’t particularly appealing and perhaps would not entice someone to buy a skincare product from us, I do feel like sharing the real highs and lows could have meant that people felt a deeper emotional connection to our brand and would have wanted to support because of that.

Now, we are in a better place (sharing our financials on national TV meant we couldn’t hide), but that’s done us a favour. It’s forced me to reflect on the smoke and mirrors issue of the industry we are in and do better as a brand. I guess what I am saying to anyone out there who feels they are underachieving is that, it’s likely the brands you are comparing yourself with are not doing as well as you think, and even if they are (I hope that they are!), that you shouldn’t be afraid to be true to your own experiences, as people will likely respond to that better. In fact, this isn’t even my theory, I’ve seen a lot of great businesses share content with their communities asking for help when things have got tough, and the response has been really positive. Olivia Rubin herself has an incredible fashion brand and 250K engaged followers on Instagram, so if you don’t want to take my word for it, go check her out.

Why are Mondays, Tuesdays the worst day of the week? I can’t come up with enough copy to make this a solo Substack, but I wanted to share and find out if I am alone in my feelings towards Tuesdays.

It used to be Fridays; Fridays were the most chaotic day of the week. When I was employed (all my fellow PRs will relate), agencies were big on reporting, and we’d spend hours and hours compiling reports for every single client on the current activity. What we’d done, what was achieved as a result of this, what was coming next (rather than just doing the doing). Bear with (I am going off on a tangent now), I understand that clients need to know some of this info, but at my agency we do this in a much more streamlined and reactive way (brief but regular calls, WhatsApp for fast approvals and updates, notes taken on shared Google sheets, results shared daily), thus removing this (unnecessary) admin. Anyway, Friday also used to be the worst day of the week when we’d try and achieve absolutely every task that we’d had to de-prioritise over the week in the space of a few hours, rather than (gasp), pushing it into next weeks to do. We don’t do that anymore either. Mondays have all the makings of the worst day of the week. Post-two days off, full non-working bliss (for all you nine-to-fivers), but I find that for me anyway, Mondays are full of optimism about what is going to be achieved for the week ahead.

Tuesdays on the other hand, Tuesdays are Mondays annoying little sister. Stressful, as you look at the mountain of work you aimed to climb, with the realisation that - in fact - it might not be feasible. By Thursday I’m over it again and on Friday, I’m so laid back that I almost forget I’m working (joking), but you get the gist. I’d love to know if everyone else feels like Tuesday is a low point, or is it just me that has this unnecessary and potentially irrational feeling towards each day of the week?