Introducing 'Learn from our mistakes'. I'm asking impressive women 'what would you do differently' in my new Substack series. Kicking off with fellow Dragons' Den survivor, Karlee Oz of Hello Klean
Plus, a note on people that send unsolicited Loom videos.
Introducing: Learn from our mistakes
I’m fortunate to have a plethora of impressive women in my network. But impressive doesn’t necessarily mean perfect. We know the 2024 ‘hustle’ is tough and most of us are struggling with some kind or work/life balancing act. We also know that most of us don’t get everything right the first-time around. Swapping knowledge can mean less time and budget wasted and less heartache endured, which is why I’m passionate about sharing my learnings with others, with the goal of helping them avoid taking some of the same wrong turns. So, with that in mind I’m starting a weekly series, where I ask people how their fails have shaped them, and what they’d do differently if they had a time machine.
Kicking off with Karlee Oz, Founder of Hello Klean
Focused on the issues caused by hard water, Hello Klean is an innovative line of shower, hair and skin essentials. Fellow Dragons’ Den veteran, Karlee answers ‘what's the thing you'd do differently if you could start again?'
Say ‘no’ more
To people who were not the most efficient use of my time, that I felt like in situations were too demanding of me, or just at certain times when I didn’t have the mental capacity to say yes to some things. By saying no, it makes space for me to focus on the things I feel really passionate about, instead of getting derailed and overwhelmed.
Set up a healthier schedule for myself
Set times to not check my emails, when I just need to shut off, because I feel like with all businesses everything is an ‘emergency’, but in reality, it isn’t. Most things can wait a couple of hours, or until after you’ve had a good night’s sleep. I don’t think ‘it’ was worth losing sleep and getting anxiety over, which then compounds a prolonged process of me not actually being able to show up the next day properly and focus on my actual to-do’s.
Be kinder to myself
Because there’s always going to be critical voices, but I find the hardest critical voice is the one that’s inside my head. That’s the one that gets to me the most and makes me doubt myself. It’s not to say I shouldn’t think about anything and just do things on the spur of the moment, but it’s about going with a gut feeling and trying to not doubt myself so much. Because, ultimately as business owners you know your customers the best, you know the market the best and so you should trust your judgement at times when you have to make a decision.
If you know anyone that would be great for ‘learn from our mistakes’ let me know.
I’m sorry to anyone just doing their job, but please don’t send me an unsolicited Loom video.
Solicited Loom videos, fine, I’m doing a social media course at the moment and Ryan who sends me them is not only very engaging, but also the videos are essential for our learning. But… ones that start with ‘I thought it would be easier…’ - easier for who Barry? I think we need a male Karen equivalent and I’ve decided his name is Barry (sorry to any Barry’s out there, although if someone is reading this called Barry, I’d be extremely surprised). I’m all for convenience, I love a voice-note for example, but I’m not sure I’d send one to someone completely out of the blue though. A Loom just feels like it’s crossing a boundary. There’s something about clicking on watching a video that seems like a faff, even if the video is a couple of minutes long. I’m a very fast reader and I’m happy to give an email a quick scan to get the point, but a moment is what I’m happy to give you - not minutes - to get to the point and ultimately the crux of whether I’m interested or not. Usually not.