Brand Series - Dinky Artist
1.Tell us a bit about your jump from a corporate career to full time business owner. And what made you decide to make the leap?
I didn’t get any grade above a D in my GCSEs, my brain just doesn’t fit into the school way of learning and I’m not academic in the slightest! I wanted to go get hands-on, get actual real experience instead of sitting in a classroom so I left school and went to do an NVQ in Business, this led into me getting a job in retail and consumer technology (mobile phones) which I loved, this led on to me going to work for Samsung and other large corporate brands in their consumer tech marketing teams and I absolutely loved it. Because I loved it so much I got promoted into some fantastic marketing roles. I then was marketing director for a large global laptop brand but the higher up you go in these corporate companies the less enjoyable I found the job, it’s too political, too much red tape, institutionalised people leading the business who’d had been there 20+ years with no outside experience to draw on – it’s not a healthy environment and I began to really hate it, I was suddenly a round peg in a square hole or whatever that analogy is!!
I set up Dinky Artist in 2018 but I just launched a website and a social media page and that was it! I knew I wanted to own my own business one day but being a single Mum to 2 children there was no way I could leave a great salary and job security to try it out so the website just sat there as I didn’t have any spare time to work on it.
In 2020 I made a plan to leave my job and take Dinky Artist full time so I started saving up, as the world had gone into lockdown I was naturally saving money as no holidays, no going out etc. I reduced all my monthly outgoings, cancelled Sky TV, changed my car, changed my mobile bills, changed where I shopped etc so I knew I could live off my savings for a while whilst I built up the business.
2. Where did your original idea come from for Dinky Artist?
I’ve kept all my children’s drawings, letters and cards they’ve given to me since they were babies. The first handprints, first scribbles, first time they drew a person! I know I’m not the only 1 who does this! They are kept in boxes in the loft and it was such a waste! A waste of all this great first writing and lovely drawings so I explored how I could create something to have them on…. I gifted a few things to family and they absolutely loved it!
Personalised gifting market is massive and very saturated, you can get initials printed on anything now but is that really “personalised?”
I wanted to create a business with a meaning, something which would be treasured and kept as it was so precious and thoughtful ….. and that’s where Dinky Artist was born!
3. What would you say is your best marketing tool?
My best marketing tool has to be me! :-D I actually don’t use that many tools other than Mailchimp for my emails. I’ve been in marketing for 15+ years growing consumer brands so I’m now using all that experience in my own business. At the moment social media and growing my email list are my 2 main marketing focuses. I don’t use any scheduling software for social posts at the moment….. it’s all ad hoc…. I really should get better at this!
4. You have received some press coverage with your brand - what advice would you give other brands trying to get press coverage for their own?
I joined PR Dispatch, it’s an amazing business where you get all the contacts of all the press/ journalists for you to reach out to yourself so you can build your own relationships. It’s been amazing as also they send through any requests from journalists for things they are currently working on where your brand could fit.
I’ve been featured on channel 4 (Steph’s Packed lunch), in the Daily Mail, in Closer mag, in Baby mag all through the contacts I’ve been given at PR Dispatch but other members have got way more PR than me! I recommend having a look at what they can offer you, it’s not the cheapest programme to join and if you’d prefer to get contacts by yourself then I’d recommend looking them up on LinkedIn and twitter, most journalists can be found there it just takes some time to trawl through to find the right people.
PR is one of those slow burn activities isn’t it, It takes time and effort and it may not pay off initially but it will eventually!
5. How do you come up with new product ideas?
New product ideas come from 2 places, 1) from what my friends and family would buy and want as they are my target audience And 2) from my customers and what they ask for. I’ve just launched a handprint range of products, this was never in any plan I had initially but it was asked for so much and everyone loves them that it’s become a whole range I offer now!
Gift sets are also a new product range which I hadn’t thought of until I launched the business and people wanted to add tea lights to the candle holder for example so it’s a fully ready-made gift. I’m totally led by what people want rather than what I think will sell well.
6. What one piece of advice would you give another small business owner who's earlier on in their business journey than you?
My advice would be 2 things:
1) No one has the right answer so go for it! Take those risks and see what happens. Reach for the stars, aim high and don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do it or it’s a bad idea! If you know in your heart it’s right then it will be!
2) Really look at your pricing before launching something whether it’s a service or product business.
To follow Dinky Artist over on Instagram or to learn more click here.