I loved working with Claire Senior of The Curious Pancake - she’s motivated, funny and loves a bit of swearing. Plus her business is awesome!
Go check out her greeting cards business here - honestly, you’ll not be sorry you do: https://www.thecuriouspancake.co.uk/
When we first started working together Claire was running her online gift card business part time, while also juggling another job. This obviously led to a lot of frustrations, and the sense of just wanting to make the big leap. Claire and I worked together on her business over 4 months, tweaking her website, getting her sales funnel and email water tight and focusing on growing her audience on social media.
Claire quit her part-time job in the middle of our session and took the leap to run The Curious Pancake full time - which made me do a happy dance of joy.
Here’s what Claire said about our time together:
“I had 4 x 2 hour 1:1 business coaching sessions with Debbie as part of her Get Clarity & Confidence programme, and it was bloody ace! It was so nice to get an outside perspective on my business and the direction I was going. Debbie was motivating, exciting and filled me full of energy and enthusiasm for my business and I left with a clear plan of action which I'm still working on several months later! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Debbie's services if you're feeling in need of direction and purpose for your business 😊😊💛”
Here’s more about Claire…
What is it that you do?
I run an online greetings card and gift shop called The Curious Pancake. We specialise in quirky, sweet, sweary and heartfelt greeting cards.
What inspired you to do what you do?
Since I could hold a pencil, I have always loved being creative. I think this goes right back to the days when I used to watch Tony Hart do his arty stuff on BBC Children’s TV, back when we only had the 4 channels. Against all advice, I went to Uni to study illustration and came away with a First-Class degree in colouring in!
As you can probably imagine, this made me about as employable as the next unskilled person and I spent many years post-graduation doing part-time retail work in greetings card shops.
Although it was often easy to be angry at pretty much everything during this period, what bugged me the most was that the cards we were selling in these shops were utter pants!
There were no cards that expressed the sentiments I wanted to send, and I often thought that I could probably illustrate something much more fun and interesting.
Around this time, I happened to hear about a retail trade fair through a greetings card company I had been to see, and decided to go along (pretending that I already had a business so that I could get in for free!). I was so inspired by all the creative greeting card talent at this fair that I decided there and then to set up an online shop promoting awesome illustrative talent (and have a go at my own range whilst I was at it!).
What is your morning routine?
I hope you’re not looking for anything inspiring here! Even though I work from home, my other half doesn’t, so I always get up about 8.15, have some porridge, watch the weather forecast, do the cats’ litter trays (I know you’re jealous!), shower, dress and go upstairs to my office.
I’m not one of those who can work in their PJs, unless I’m ill, and I find it quite easy to be strict with my daily routine. No Homes Under the Hammer for me!
I tend to sign in to the admin section of my website as soon as the computer’s booted, double-check the orders I’ve received overnight, then I either do some freelance work, order stock, answer customer emails or do some newsletter planning/marketing depending on the time of year/workload.
Where is your happy place?
Again, I’d like to be inspiring here, but my happy place is generally on the sofa with my other half and our two huge Maine Coon puss cats.
Second happy place would be somewhere remote and beautiful like the Scottish Highlands, with a pub and roaring fire within walking distance. My other half has told me that we can emigrate to Scotland one day, as long as we’re guaranteed good, reliable broadband!
What one book do you recommend most to others?
I don’t recommend any business books. I generally find them huge vanity projects, full of waffle and advice you can find on YouTube or Hub Spot blogs or just by Googling “How can I……” etc. I’m a big fan of webinars (especially the free ones!) and just asking people how they’ve done things.
I advocate trial and error. DO the thing, see how it works and refine from there. I don’t have much patience for reading someone’s rags to riches story as it usually involves so much serendipity that it’s of no practical use at all.
My favourite author is Douglas Adams. He wrote The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but that's not the book I’m recommending. “Last Chance to See” is the book I recommend; Adams co-wrote it with zoologist Mark Carwardine.
It straddles a line between travel, nature and comedy, it’s a gloriously funny, surreal and heart-breaking tale that Adams narrates as the duo tour around the world’s most endangered animals finding out why or how they’ve become endangered, and meeting the people striving to save them.
I read this book in 1993, a few years after it came out in 1990 and a small part of it has lodged in my soul forever. The book is worth the price alone for the story told in the last chapter “Sifting Through the Embers”.
What couldn’t you live without?
Broadband… and maybe oxygen?
Which lesson has been the hardest to learn?
Patience. When I first started my business in 2011, people said it’d take 5 years to get established online. I thought that sounded like an eternity.
I’m in my 9th year of business now, and I’m not a millionaire (not even close, and not sure I ever want to be!) but my hard work and persistence is finally starting to pay off.
I’m not sure I’d have ever started my business if someone had told me “it’ll take you the best part of a decade to earn close to what you’re currently earning now working for someone else” but I know I’m infinitely happier working for myself, and the joy that comes when someone buys one of my own designs is indescribably wonderful!
What moto do you live by?
Don’t be a dick :D
Don’t forget to check out Claire’s fabulous business https://www.thecuriouspancake.co.uk/ and check her out on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - she is really funny and manages to brighten my day every time!
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