I didn't want to tell you about my new business

Is an unsuccessful business any less valid than a successful one?

I launched a cap brand this week with my husband, Dan. ‘Launched’ is probably an exaggeration, we hit ‘live’ on our website and our mate Chris bought one ‘Allergy Club’ hat (thanks Chris). We’ve been working on Best Policy for about a year now. Dan and I love to create brands and this is something we regularly do for other people. Naturally, this means we have A LOT of ideas. But the difference between us and other people, is we do actually like to put our money (or more our time), where our mouth is. One of the reasons I appreciate our work on Faace (the skincare brand), is because it’s allowed us to test so many things for our agency clients. We really do know what it’s like to run a brand (we are doing it daily), and we really do test absolutely everything available to try out so our brands don’t have to.

I’ve gone off on a tangent there, but anyway, Best Policy. I didn’t really want to tell anyone about it, and I’ve been asking myself why that is? I think it comes down to wondering when is something good enough to let people know (or let people in). Or rather, my perception (my pride) in letting people know I am working on a new thing. Putting something out into the world that you’ve created for yourself feels personal and revealing, and in some ways that makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s also uncomfortable when you’re thinking that something is highly likely not to succeed. That might sound strange - why would you bother to put your energy into something that you don’t whole heartedly believe will work out well? In my case, it’s simply because I like it. I think the brand looks cool. I like the website Dan created. And also, in the same vein of why I started Faace, I want to learn. This year for me is all about being braver in business and that means being completely honest with myself about what it is I am working on and towards. I felt like Faace happened to me. I’ve talked a lot about how it’s been one thing after the next (see post here) that I’ve reacted to and not planned for. And with Best Policy, this has been something we’ve enjoyed creating and now have put out into the world. We don’t have grand plans for it, but that doesn’t mean we’re not curious to see the response.

bestpolicy.co.uk

I feel brave and exposed all at the same time, by putting the Best Policy site live. I feel a little bit like a phoney without overnight success for it too. But, why does it need to be successful to be any more valid? If you have an idea, and it becomes a reality, then it’s real. This is a shop that sells hats, so by definition, it’s a new business, successful or not. Wish me luck.