She's On The Money - Business Diaries: How Brittney Saunders Built Fayt

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

No business degree? No problem. Brittany Saunders went from YouTube star to fashion powerhouse by figuring it out as she went—and she’s here to tell us how. In our first-ever Business Diary, Brittney gets real about the highs and lows of building a business from scratch—think: launching from a garage, learning everything from Google, and tackling the unexpected challenges of managing a growing team. Whether you’re dreaming of starting your own thing or just love an inspiring story of grit and hustle, Brittany’s candid insights and lessons learned will leave you feeling empowered and ready to take on your own goals. This one’s packed with advice, laughs, and a big dose of honesty. Hit play and get inspired! The book we’ve all been waiting for—The Business Bible—is finally here! This is Victoria's ultimate guide to levelling up your hustle, career, or big biz dreams. Grab your copy here. Follow Brittney on Instagram and find FAYT here. Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast where we share the secrets to starting growing and thriving in your own business. I am your host, Victoria Devine, and today we've got something extra special for you. It's one you've asked for again and again, and honestly, we could not be more excited to share it with you. It's time for another episode of the Business Bible, but today we're going to be doing something a little bit differently. We are going to be doing our very first business diary. So not only are we diving into the biggest questions about building your dream business but we've also brought in someone who really knows their stuff and trust me you're going to want to stick around for this one. Today's guest is a total powerhouse. She's

someone who started her journey as a YouTuber and creator, turned it into a thriving empire and has become a trailblazer in the fashion industry all while staying unapologetically herself. She's proof that with grit, creativity and a little bit of chaos you can take an idea and turn it into something extraordinary. She's the founder of a brand that doesn't just sell clothes. It redefines what inclusivity in fashion looks like. Her journey includes expanding her size range to make sure everyone feels represented, opening a flagship store on the Gold Coast, and becoming one of Australia's most relatable business icons. And somehow, she's found the time to host a killer podcast that deep dives into the realities of running a business herself.

That's right. Today, we are joined by the incredible Brittany Saunders. Brittany, welcome to the show again, I suppose. Yeah, I'm so glad to be back and I'm going to be chatting with you this time, which makes it even more exciting. So thank you for having me back. I'm so excited. Thank you for doing my mat leave cover, by the way, that was really kind of you.

No worries. You know, business owners don't usually get mat leave and I was like, I'm just going to have to pull a few friends in here and make this work. And you really came through clutch. so I do appreciate it. It was my pleasure. I'm also super excited to do our very first business diary which is something our community have been asking and asking for because we do our money diaries which are like I guess the pervy details on somebody's money life but we've never done business ones and I'm just so excited that you kind of get to rip the bandit off and be the

first one. So let's see how we go and start as we're going to always start business diaries with Brittany, can you tell me a little bit more about your business journey? Yeah, well, it's a long story, which you kind of touched on in the intro. But back in the day, I started a YouTube channel before the word influencer was even a thing. This is when we just had YouTube. And I think Instagram was like, barely new when it was just a photo sharing app. And to cut a long story short, I made these silly videos for fun. And then I... Just so you know, they weren't silly. I took them very seriously, just so you know. I took them very, very seriously as an OT subscriber. Silly? No, no, no, no. That was my teenhood,

just so you know. Well, I'm glad to know. I thought they were really cool back then, but looking back, they perhaps were a little silly. But anyway, to cut a long story short, I grew this online platform while I was in high school and then I dropped out of high school. I went into full-time work and I was just making these YouTube videos for fun. And I just so happened to organically build an audience. From there, we then saw the rise of platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. So, I used that YouTube community to then build onto those social platforms. And I then became one of the first influencers, I guess you could say, in Australia. And I got to be there for the start of all these small businesses popping up on Instagram. This was

when we saw Instagram brands come to life. And these Instagram brands then clued on to the fact that they could work with people like me to promote their business and grow their social media. So, I spent a lot of years there in my early 20s working with businesses and promoting them in an Instagram photo because this was before Reels or anything existed. With a good filter, of course. Oh, yeah. With the stock standard Instagram filters that you just select as you posted them. And yeah, for many years from the age of 21 onwards, that was my full-time job. I'd always had an entrepreneurial spirit, which I can't even remember if we touched

on last time I was on the pod, but I dabbled in so many businesses throughout my late teens and early 20s. I did mobile makeup. I did mobile spray tans. I tried anything and everything. And back then, I honestly didn't know that I was attempting to start businesses. it really just felt like I was doing little hobbies. So then when it comes to starting Fate, which is my business now, it really was just another one of those things that I was trying,

much like my spray tans and my mobile makeup and the YouTube videos. I thought, let's give this a go. And I guess the only major difference with doing that was I had had all this experience working with other brands and I had a following. And a lot of people have said to me over the years. Well, you had a leg up in your journey because you had all these followers and subscribers on YouTube, and then you got to launch your business into that. And to that, I say, I absolutely agree. I had a headstart by building that following, but it's not to say that just because you have followers online, you know how to run and sustain and grow a business because they're two completely different things. I love that people go, oh, you had it easy. It's like,

have you done payroll before? Because that stuff gets real complicated real quick. And I, as an ex-financial advisor, have seen a lot of influencers come to me and go, V, I think I've really messed this up. Help. And behind the scenes, it's an absolute mess. So I applaud you because also you were kind of born into a space where everyone had an opinion. And as a small business owner, oh my gosh, that would have been so hard in comparison to just starting small and growing with your friends and your family. Like you just went in hard. I did. And I'll be completely honest. You know, people always are inspired to hear people's business journeys and, you know, people say, you know, what was the inspiration behind Fade? Like, cause they'll look at what it is now

and think, wow, this must've been some big grand plan that she's had. You are so strategic. But back then I wasn't like, I will admit I went into this not having a clue of what I was doing. I didn't say to myself, oh, I'm going to grow this to be a massive multi-million dollar company. I quite literally just launched this thing with the knowledge that I had taught myself. I Googled everything. I still Google everything every single day, let's be honest. But I didn't start out with this huge grand plan for this business. And I think a lot of owners, especially people that are starting in business now,

they might feel that pressure that they need to have some huge business plan with goals and a vision. And whilst I'm all for that, it's also okay if you're just going in and getting started, even if you don't really have a crack. Yeah. Like, cause that's exactly what I did. And that's what a lot of business owners have done. Like they're these tiny ideas that you think, yep, I think I'll give this a go and see where it goes. And it's just absolutely snowballed over the last seven years to where it is today. And I never would have thought that when I started it. I just simply started. I love that. And I feel like just starting is the most important thing to do. Tell me, did you seven years ago, sit down and go,

all right, I'm going to write up a big business plan. Is that what happened? Because I feel like so many of us, when we're starting a business, get caught up in this idea of, you know, downloading a business plan template and filling it in. Like, did you do that? No, I did. Honestly, none of that. I think I had like a Kmart whiteboard and I would write stuff on that physically. But back then, seven years ago, I was just going in completely winging it. If I was to start another new business today with the knowledge that I have now, I'd absolutely have a bit of a plan, write everything out, map it all out. But back then, I was what? I don't know how old I was, 24 or something like that. Just a baby. I was a baby. And I just went in

and thought, fuck it. Yeah. I'm going to give it a crack. And I think that that naivety at the time is what makes up some of that secret sauce. It's like, well, how hard could it be? Like other people do it. But now that you're in business and you see the cogs in motion and you see what's going on, you're like, this is pretty hard. Like, I think if you knew the reality of what seven years later would look like, you'd be like, oh no, that's too much. Like, I don't think I'm capable. and like that's the same as me that's one of the great things about it is you know going in and not knowing what it's going to look like you just learn every single thing as you go and I'm learning even now seven years in I'm learning every single day I'm making mistakes and learning for next time

like I think that's the beauty of business is just going in giving it a red hot crack and seeing what the universe throws at you so how did you know that fate could become a business instead of just be a fun idea that you're like, Oh, I, you know, you explained before that you felt like your business benches before felt like, you know, little hobbies on the side. At what point were you like, Oh, fate's not a little hobby on the side. It's like actually business. Yeah. So I would say that moment for me. So I started fate. I lived in a townhouse rental with my partner, AJ, who I'm still with now. So he's been with me since the very beginning. I started it. We had a double garage underneath our townhouse. And I said,

all right, we're moving our cars out and I'm setting this thing up in the garage. We're parking on the street. He was like, yeah, okay, honey. And so it was in the garage that I hired my first casual employee. So I guess that moment when I hired my first casual employee, that felt real because all of a sudden I had been self-employed for who knows, five years by this point. And all of a sudden I was going to be financially responsible for paying someone. That's terrifying. Yeah, it is. That to me made me so anxious. And I don't think people talk about it enough. Like I would stay up at like late at night calculating how many months we could not make money. And I could keep that

person employed because it was the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's really scary. And I remember saying to AJ, cause it was his like mom's friend's daughter, like, you know, the family, family friend. And I remember saying like, what if I don't have enough money to pay her one week? Like these were the thoughts that I was having back then. But it was at that moment, I think that I realized, hang on a second, like, because I'm hiring someone like this is a real business. And I'd say the second moment that made me realize, hang on, this is turning into something was when we moved out of the garage and we got our first commercial lease. It was just a little 90 square meter storage shed essentially and signing that 12-month lease and knowing that

I was going to pay you know $35,000 a year in rent that was also a really defining moment for me of like holy shit like not only am I renting our house but I'm now renting a shed so those were like two moments to me where I knew. And that's a lot of money like oh. Oh yeah it was it was back then and it's still a lot of money now. But like in the grand scheme of business I is the same, but I think it's so funny going from, oh, I'm signing my first $35,000 a year lease to knowing that you have a flagship store now and you've got multiple locations and the locations you've chosen are very strategic because they have beautiful locations. They have great foot traffic. They're in the right places for your demographic. I know how much research you've put

into that, which means they're not cheap. No, exactly. That $35,000 rent a year now is nothing in comparison to the commercial leases we have now. Which is terrifying. Yeah, it really is. But it's all part of the journey and again, like growth. And I look back and remember signing that first lease so vividly and being so scared. And again, I thought, what if we don't make $35,000? And I can't pay the rent for the year, but I think it's like when you're in those moments and you're scared, like I think I'm not really woo-woo or anything, but I think that's the universe saying like, this is your opportunity. Take it. Yeah. A hundred percent. So tell me when you first launched, how did you plan to

make it work financially? Again, I didn't have much of a financial plan. If I'm being completely honest with you, I had obviously been an influencer for the years leading up to launching fate. And I'd been really smart with my money back then, which I don't know how I did that because I was in my early 20s earning a decent amount of money. I don't know how I didn't go nuts and just waste it all. And I'd never grown up with any guidance from any family members or anything like that. But somehow I managed to be smart with my money in my early 20s and I had a decent amount of savings. So I used money from my savings to launch Fade and just pay for all those initial things. Obviously, I wasn't worrying about commercial rent because we were in the

garage, but buying all my shipping bags and labels and stickers and a printer and just all those things that I needed to get to launch as well as stock, I used my savings for that. And I guess for me back then, it was just important to always know that I had money sitting in the bank account. I didn't have any kind of financial plan, nothing like that, which again, like if I was starting today, I would obviously have a bit of a better understanding of my finances and what the six months ahead are going to look like. But back then I couldn't even see past that day because I didn't know what I was doing. You were just having fun. I was just winging it. And I think for me, it was just from the get-go, I knew that all of the money

that I was earning through our sales when we first launched wasn't my money. I think a lot of people can maybe get caught up if they launch a new business and let's say it's a successful launch or you have a great first month. In my mind, and I don't know why again, because no one taught me this, but in my mind, I knew that that money that was coming in from our sales that we were generating online, I knew that wasn't my money to touch. So I kept it there in the business bank account. And the only thing that I would spend it on is more expenses for the business. I never touched any of it, I knew I can't go and buy handbags and high heels with this money. This is the business's money. So it was just, yeah, ensuring that I didn't touch any of those funds.

And I was fortunate to be able to do that because I was still influencing. So I had an income that I was making myself and I kept the business money in those business bank accounts. Smart. So smart. And like in hindsight, you're like, I don't even know how I was that smart, No, but it's genuinely great advice because you're right. So many people and so many small business owners get caught up in going, oh, we had a great first launch. I'm going to treat myself. And I'm like, it's not your money. Like, I know that it feels that way. I know. And it's hard because you get excited and because you're seeing that money come in. And like, I was so uneducated. I mean, I'd been self-employed for a few years by this point,

but when you see the full amount coming in from your online sales, you know, the tax isn't taken out or anything like that. It's just really important to know that number one, that's not your money. And number two, all that money there, like a lot of it has to go to tax. Yeah. And that bites. Yeah, it does. And I came from working nine to five Monday to Friday and getting my pay slip every week and the tax already being done for me. So then to go from that to just money coming in, but the tax isn't done, that wasn't a huge adjustment for me. Yeah. So talk to me about your first, I guess, big investment in the business. I know that you probably started going, oh, okay, well, we're going to do it in the garage. It's not that

much of an investment. I'm going to buy some mailers and all of those things add up. But what was the first point that you were like, oh, I actually need to invest in this thing for my business? Oh, good question. There was lots of things that I invested in initially. so one would be like camera equipment so I taught myself how to shoot e-commerce website images again I was doing it in the shed so like I got it I don't care where you're doing it just the idea that you're like oh how hard could it be I'll do my own shoots oh I'll do my own website oh you know what I'll do all the mailing I need a hand I'll get a casual employee at no point where you're like oh I could outsource this I could invest in some product photos like camera yes we'll do it

myself. I did everything myself from the beginning, all in that shed. But yeah, a big investment would have been like a Canon camera with a good lens, some flash photography, little triggers, and then my backdrop and then teaching myself how to do that. And other than that, the next big investment, I would say, was obviously just moving into that first warehouse and the deposits that you have to pay when you're moving into a commercial space. I just somehow knew like, even though this was going to be more expensive and I had to put down a security bond that that investment was going to be worth it. So yeah, I'd say they're the biggest investments. Other than that, just continually reinvesting back into the business, coming out with new pieces, creating new collections.

And then from there, I guess it would then be moving into the next warehouse after that. And then in 2019, I opened my first boutique here in Newcastle where we are based. That was a huge investment as well, like getting the shop counter and the change rooms built and all that kind of stuff. And shop fit outs are so expensive. Oh, they are. And because it didn't need much done to it, I did get a lot of like friends of friends in and we kind of did it really DIY. But it was a lot of money back then and it took us a lot of months to set it up. And again, like I proudly say, I had no idea what I was doing. I remember Googling how to get a point of sale for a retail store. Yeah, good. But how else do you do that? You're not born knowing. You just taught yourself

along the way. And I think that's what's, for me, so inspiring about your journey. It's kind of like this idea that how hard could it be? I could do it. It's fine. Exactly. I think that's always been my mentality is just figuring it out as you go. And people would probably look at me and what I'm doing today and be like, wow, how do you know how to do all these things? And my 100% honest answer is I've just figured it out as I went. I have Googled every single little thing and I'd say that one of my best skills that has gotten me to where I am in my business journey now is being a fast learner. If you're a fast learner, you're going to move forward in your business really quickly if you put yourself to it. And I feel like resourcefulness as well is

something that you are very, very good at. You're just like, I can find the answer. If I don't know the answer. I'm going to find the answer. I'm going to find the person. I'm going to find the thing I need, whether that is like, you know, someone to fit out your shop or somebody to help you set up a point of sale system. Like you're just like, I can work it out. I will work it out. You've got to have that mentality in business. Like no matter what, we will figure it out. Exactly. All right. I want to know more about, I guess, a day in the life, because I'm assuming that a day in the life when you were just starting out looked very different to a day in the life today. What does today look like? And then tell me a bit about how they differ.

It differs in every way. Obviously, I started being extremely hands-on, which I think is a really amazing way to start a business. So back in the shed, I was packing every order. I was replying to every customer service email. I was going down to our PO box to pick up the returns. I was processing the returns for customers. I was shooting all of our website photography. I was doing our websites through Shopify. So I was setting up our Shopify theme, making sure the website was looking amazingly. I was doing our email marketing, EDMs. There wasn't a thing that I wasn't doing. I had my fingers in every part of the business and it was like a one-man band kind of thing, plus my casual employee. And slowly over the last 7 years,

what I've had to do, which a lot of owners will experience in growth, is delegating and letting go of those tasks. And this can be a really hard thing for business owners to do, especially if you like being in control of everything and you can get so comfortable doing everything yourself because you know how to do these processes. You're quick at them and you know that you're not going to fuck it up because you know what you're doing. So over the years, I've obviously hired a lot of people to take tasks off me so I can focus on things that are more important because let's be honest, as much as I'd love to be sitting here replying to our customer service emails every day, you know, if I'm concentrating on doing that, then I can't concentrate on growing

the business. So it's been a long journey of letting go of a lot of tasks and bringing new people on. And now I guess today, my role is obviously CEO of the company. My number one goal is to grow the business. That's through expanding our stores and obviously through our social media. So you'll see me in a lot of our content. So I do a lot of our content. I'm responsible for the rollout of all of our stores. And believe it or not, I'm still our buyer for all of our stock and I run our Facebook ads. I love that. I love that. Also very funny because you literally said, yeah, you've just got to let go. And then you're like, oh, so I'm doing the Facebook ads. Yeah. I actually speak to a lot of other founders on my podcast and it's actually

made me realize oh shit I still actually am very involved like this far in like I've spoken to other owners oh no so am I in my business I really like it though like I don't want to lose it and like I'm good at these things let me have a turn like let me still be involved like I started because I wanted to do these things not because I wanted it all to be taken off me and me to sit in an office in the corner like I don't know I feel like obviously everyone is different but I feel like you and I are very similar in that I still want a little bit of hands-on stuff. Like I know that my team will tell me like, V, you don't have to do that. I'll be like, yeah, but it's not really the point, is it? No, I'm still very much involved obviously in

the day-to-day operations. Like today I'm in our office, I'll just be working with everyone here and maybe tomorrow I'll be at our warehouse, but I'm more so just there like overseeing the operations, assisting everyone in their roles kind of thing and just focusing on my tasks as well. But I've found if I'm in the office or in the warehouse or around our teams, I can't actually do anything that I want to do. Like my day is helping them and then I'll go home and do what I want to do. But I've definitely given up a lot of roles over the years. Like there's more little roles so I can focus on the bigger things. Yeah, no, I totally agree with that. And I laugh because that's, you know, literally my days at work as well. Complete side note, I was having

a conversation with my husband. We're talking about, you know, what happens when we have other kids like are we gonna have to move house what are we gonna do and he's like oh well we could like convert your office because you've got an office like you could just go to your office and work like and it's probably better for you to do that because you know we can convert your office into another kid's bedroom one day and you can go to the black office to work and I was like babe I can't work at the office like I don't think you get this like I come home to do the work like I'm not productive in my office at all because one I want to know what you're up to but two like it's my opportunity one-on-one time with everybody in the team, checking in,

seeing what's going on, helping them problem solve, being part of the team. Yeah. I think another thing as well that I've been struggling with a lot, and I'm sure you and a lot of other owners would struggle with as well, is feeling guilty if you aren't there for the team. Let's say, for example, because our office and warehouse are separate. They're 10 minutes apart from each other, which is easy. But let's say today, for example, I'm here at our office and I probably won't be at the warehouse at all. It's just like an internal thing, but I struggle with thinking, oh, like where did the warehouse team think I am? Like, and you have all these internal thoughts. Do they think I'm slacking? Do they think I'm out at lunch?

Yes. Do they think, oh, where is she? You know, like she's not here if I'm not at the office for a certain amount of days, cause I'm in Sydney or at the warehouse. Like I think, oh, they're judging me, but these are just like internal guilt thoughts. Oh, they're definitely internal. I have them as well. It's why before. So today I'm podcasting, which means I'm not in my office either. And I won't be all day. So I like messaged everybody on Slack to be like, Hey, hope you have a good day. Just so you know, this is where I'm going to be because you just get the guilt. Oh, that's me. Every time I'm down in Sydney, every Monday for my podcast too. And I'm always like, I've got four hours on the road today. Like ring me if you need like,

the car time is golden. Please call me while we're driving because in an instant, an hour has gone and we've had a really good chat and solved a few problems. Like, please call me when I'm in the car. It's my favorite. All right. I have more questions. I'm sorry. I feel like we could chat about this. What is something that nobody warned you about when going into and running your own business? Well, to answer that broadly, it would obviously be everything because I didn't go to anyone for any advice before going into business so to answer it broadly I'd say everything but if I had to narrow it down to like one thing that's kind of slapped me in the face I would say like how complex dealing with people is as in like team members and how much your business journey that

you've started and let's be honest like when we start businesses ourself it's almost like you're starting it for you and if if you're going to be the one doing everything like it's your business you're doing everything but at a certain point if you scale and you all of a sudden have all these employees how much that business is no longer about you at all and it's actually about everyone else and just like managing people and like one of the things that I always say is like it's really hard or if not impossible to be the perfect manager and the perfect entrepreneur because they're two complete different things. And obviously when we start a business, we're starting it from our entrepreneurial fire. Like we've got all these ideas, we want to bring them

to life. But then if your company grows to a certain point and you're all of a sudden got all of these employees, yes, you've got to keep being an entrepreneur. You've got to innovate. You've got to move the business forward, but also you have to then figure out how to be the best manager that you can be. And I had no management experience. I barely worked in jobs for like a year throughout my early days. I would get a job and quit it after six months and go on to something else. I worked over 20 jobs since I dropped out of school. You were just collecting experience so that you could build this. I was. You're like, oh, I know how to use a point of sales system. Onwards and next. What's next? I know how to put fries in the fry machine. Next.

Exactly. We've learned that. Don't bore me. I'm not going to keep doing it. I need to go do now. what's a cheeseburger look like? Exactly right. But yeah, I would say the biggest eye-opener for me has just been dealing with the people side of business and how complex that truly is. Just finding that balance of, yeah, growing your business and keeping it moving forward, but also being an attentive and good manager, which again, no one taught me that. I'd never managed a single person before starting Fate. And now we've got teams upon teams. you know? A hundred percent. And I feel like, you know, this is probably outing both of us, but I feel like when you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you are an entrepreneur, that does not

mean that you are a good manager. Like it's something that over time you really have to learn. And I think that people in our demographic, like you and I, I know are probably very driven by doing the right thing and being the best manager that you can be. But that's a lot of work because it's indirect competition with this idea that you can just go and do whatever you want to become an entrepreneur and you know leave a job after six months because you're like well I'm bored of this I want something new like you have so many people that you're responsible for their salaries their careers you know their personal growth and honestly their mental health and I think that becoming a good manager it takes so much work and I don't think people realize what

that journey actually looks like because like your first person you're like oh this isn't too bad I've gone you know become a little bit buddy buddy with them that's fine I love doing this and like over time you start adding team members and the dynamic starts to shift and then you're like oh hold on what do I have to do here about this and oh what does the next team hire look like and then we're starting to talk about things like cultural fit and you're like I don't even know what the definition of that is like and it's just it's a lot hey. Oh 100% that's been the most eye-opening part of business for sure and like dealing with people and culture it's something that you're never not going to deal with. And I think when a company gets to a certain size, you just kind of

have to always expect that there's going to be some sort of problem happening within the people within your team. And it's just like learning to manage that. It could be something as little as someone has said something that has upset someone else. It's dealing with little things like that. And I think really with any business, like the bigger your business gets, the bigger your problems get. 100%. And I find that the bigger your business gets, the more impactful the tiny problems are. So someone saying something and it not being addressed ASAP becomes a massive snowball issue as opposed to just going, oh, sorry, I didn't mean that and moving on. It's wild how the small things can throw the big issues off. 100%. To any business owners out there or aspiring

business owners, if there's one thing that I've learned in my seven years, it's no matter how tiny a little problem is, speak about it straight away. Don't sweep stuff under the rug. And I know in the start of your business journey, when like you said, you've got one or two people working for you and you're all really buddy, buddy, and you're going out for drinks on the weekend because you've also become friends. Trust me, I've been there and done that. You can so easily just go, I'll just sweep this under the rug kind of thing because it's easier to do that. But I've learned the hard way and I'm sure every business owner does. We all have. We all have. Yeah. It doesn't matter if it's as tiny as someone has said something to someone that they've just maybe

even taken in the wrong way. It's just so important. I always say you've got to have a hard conversation to have an easy life. If you just have easy conversations all the time, you're going to have a hard life. So as awkward as it is, it's really important to throw yourself in the deep end and have those hard conversations, sit the person down, you know, figure out what's going on. Don't just sweep shit under the rug, even though that's the easy option. And we're all people pleasers. We don't want to upset anyone. We don't want to catch anyone off guard, but in business, like you'll thank yourself for it down the future because that- And you'll thank Brittany for it as well. You'll be like, oh, thank God.

You will. Because if you don't do anything about it now, that tiny little comment that was made on that Thursday afternoon in six months time is going to turn into an absolute nightmare for you. Trust me. Trust me. A hundred percent. And do you know what? So many people listening to this are not going to trust us and they're going to do it. And at that point, I'm just going to go, babe, that's a rite of passage. Call me when you get through that part. Exactly right. Let's go to a really quick break because on the flip side, I have so many more questions for you guys. Don't go anywhere. Okay. So we're back. Tell me now, what do you think are the top three most important skills

of yours that have made your business successful? Number one, I would say, and we've already touched on it, being a fast learner. I feel like that's one of my best skills and just having that mentality of I can figure it out on my own and I can learn that. I don't know where I got that like false sense of self-confidence from like back when I started, Faye. It's not false. You've got grit. You just want to try and try again. But I'd say, yeah, like that willingness to just learn things really quickly. And now like seven years in, my confidence is through the roof. There's nothing that I, in my mind, I can't do. Like it doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter if I've never done it before.

if there's a task that needs doing and I don't know what it is, I'm fully confident in myself that I can pick that task up, learn it straight away, bing, bang, bong, it's done. I love it. And it might take a little bit longer at the start, but like I tell my team this all the time. I'm like, there's a YouTube tutorial for everything. Don't worry about it. Like we can work it out. Like, can I build a website? Yes. I learned on YouTube how to build an entire Squarespace website. Like I've got this. I don't need it. With TikTok now, like we didn't have TikTok when we were starting Fade or for those first few years. TikTok makes everything so much easier. It's how I parent Brittany. What do I do about, and I go to TikTok straight away and then

some mom tells me exactly what the answer is. Same thing for business. 100%. So yeah, I'd say my first skill is being a fast learner. The second one is I would say being a really good problem solver. business is going to throw you hurdles every bloody day. Like there's never a day where something hasn't gone a little bit pear-shaped. It could be something drastic or it could be something tiny. And I think in business, it's really important to just have that problem solving mentality. You can't just cry and crawl into a little ball and say, this is too hard. You've just really got to embrace having that mentality of, all right, this has happened. shit is absolutely hitting the fan. XYZ has happened, but let's work out a solution for

this. And I've definitely learned so far, touch wood, that there is a solution for every problem that your business is going to throw at you. So I would definitely say that is being a good problem solver. And the third most important skill, I mean, this is more niche to me, but I would say like another skill that's helped me a lot in my business journey is knowing how to make bloody good content to social media. Yeah. Can we talk after this? Cause like I suck your content. You are absolutely correct. And I mean, I did ask what was, I guess, something about you, not necessarily what everybody needs, but bloody hell, your content is just so good. Like I do want to watch that video of you packing

orders. I really do. Like I stop and I watch and I'm just like, why is this so good? Like what is your secret sauce to content creation, Brittany? Okay. So I've obviously had a lot of experience. I started making those YouTube videos. Which is why I'm asking. I'm like, oh, we've got this golden opportunity. I started making those YouTube videos in high school, which was like over 15 years ago now. So I've had a lot of practice being in front of the camera. I think I'm naturally an entertainer. I think I have an entertainer type of personality, which is definitely something that I've used to my advantage. And I think one of the big things as well is for the whole time that I've been on

the internet and I'm almost like ancient on the internet now, I would say for the entire time, I've just always never been afraid to be myself. I think that's been one of the biggest keys to my success is I've just shown up on the internet for the last 15 or so years and I've just been myself. Sure, I've gone through a lot of phases in my life over those last 10 to 15 years, but I've just been like unapologetically myself. And I've been confident in showing up as me, which I think is just so important, especially now because consumers are more switched on than ever. Followers are more switched on than ever. They can see straight through the bullshit. And I think what has really helped me in my journey is I've just always been me. I've never

tried to be something I'm not or showcase my life in a way that it isn't or fit into an aesthetic. you know, I've just always been me, Brittany from Newcastle, you know, and I think that's really helped in my journey for sure when it's come to creating that fun, everyday organic content. Totally. And do you find that now I feel like you are wildly successful at the end of the day, like fate is not a small business and you are still very approachable. You're very relatable and I adore that. And this might be a hard question, but are you finding it harder and harder to show up as you, as time goes on and your business becomes massive? Or are you going, nah, it's really easy because, you know, to preface this question, that's something that

I really struggle with that over time. And maybe it's because I'm in this money space and like money is a fickle topic for everybody. But when I started She's On The Money, I was relatable because I had debt. I was relatable because I hadn't purchased my first home and I went through that journey. And now I have multiple properties and I go, oh, is that that relatable? Like, should I be sharing these things? Like, is this something that as a business owner, I guess in the fashion space, is that something that you have to think about? Or are you just like, no, I'm just me and it works out. It's all good. I definitely have had that thought, honestly, but I think, you know, whatever it is, like we've been renovating our house for the last

two years and I haven't really made content about it, but I've done little bits and bobs on my Instagram story like that's the only place I've posted about our house and even then like we're doing a really nice renovation I've got some like really expensive things in the house and I've been really mindful with posting it even though like everyone has been loving seeing my story updates on the house and if I don't post anything for a week or two people say have you got any updates on the house like they've really been loving loving seeing the journey but even then I've thought fuck like you know whatever it is I'm showing I'm like this is a really expensive stone bench. And I've thought, fuck, are people going to take that in the wrong

way? But I think what it comes down to is like, yes, I can show those things on my social media, but what really matters. And I guess what has helped is like that I'm staying true to myself. I'm not all of a sudden going, oh, and I've got this fancy stone bench. Like I, and of course I do. I'm still me showing up. You're like, look at this sick stone. Look at this fucking stone. It is so sexy. I think it's just important that I've just stayed true to myself. And I know that, you know, if you are showing things online that may seem out of touch, you can have those thoughts. But then again, I think as well, people idolize the Kardashians and watch their lives and all the shit they do. And if people are going to say

something about me putting a bench in my kitchen. It's a good point. It's a good point. Yeah. Like people idolize celebrities and, you know, billionaires. But yeah, I guess as fate has grown, I have been more mindful with what I share and I would never want to come across like I'm out of touch. And I have had those thoughts that you have. But again, I think it just all comes back to just still showing up as myself and not allowing the money to like change who I am. And I don't think I would ever change no matter how much money I come into, into my lifetime. Like I'm always going to be just like Brittany from Newey that loves going to the pub to have a chicken schnitzel with my partner. No, I love it. And now you have just a really nice kitchen

and that's lit. And now we can have a nice chicken schnitzel on the nice stone bench. Exactly. Exactly. So talk to me about, you have, I guess, grown up with social media. Like you have taught us about social media, I suppose. You have a massive following on Instagram and on TikTok. What would be your number one tip for small business owners who haven't had that, who are going, oh, I'm doing this for the very first time? Where would you tell them to focus? I would say capture everything. One thing that I didn't do when I started Fate was I hid it from my social media, which is really weird because I had a booming YouTube channel and I've logged my day-to-day life. But when I started FATE, I made very secretive videos

where people knew that I was launching this business and I had a spare room in my townhouse and I set it up as my little office. And I would show that because I had a nice little office works desk with my computer on it. And I was like, this is my office, but I never showed the garage because I was worried that it would look dodgy or people would say that's cringe or embarrassing. So all I have from that very beginning of my journey is a few photos that I took, like packing my first order. And then I had one of my friends come over every now and then and he would help me pack the orders. So my friend Wade has these videos of us doing a time lapse of packing in the garage. That's so cute. Yeah. And so obviously the internet was really different

back then. We didn't have reels and we didn't have TikTok or anything like that. But if I was starting my business now, I would capture all of those little moments. Because imagine if I had known back then what it would turn into today. I would have loved to have shared that part of my journey more. But instead, I hit it and was embarrassed of it. So to anyone starting on socials now and launching a business, if you're open to it, I would organically share the journey of what it's like. I would make videos saying, hey, I'm setting up my business in my spare room. come decorate my office with me and I'd make a video showing I'm going to have my labels here I'm going to have my printer there this is where I'm going to pack the orders like I'd show all

that stuff and people now like are so interested in seeing all of that stuff and that's how you can start to create a community is by sharing the journey and like yeah I completely didn't have the opportunity to do that because I didn't have Instagram reels or TikTok but now with the way that TikTok especially is. People love seeing that behind the scenes shit. Yeah. And they even start requesting, hey, Brittany, can you pack my order in one of those videos? Like they want that. And that's so engaging. 100%. So I would say, don't be afraid to capture all of those moments. And maybe you don't have to post them all if you're, you know, too scared, but I'd even just capture them and save them for your own memories. Cause you never know in seven years, you might

look back and be like, holy shit, look how far we've come. That would be really good content for me today. I know, literally. So yeah, that would definitely be my advice. I know you work as an influencer or used to work as an influencer. How did that shape the way that you have then approached influencer marketing in your brand? So we don't do a whole lot of influencer marketing with faith. We definitely do. And obviously, yeah, I was an influencer for so many years and worked with so many brands. I think the influencer landscape has changed a lot since I was influencing back in the day compared to today. It's definitely a really saturated market. And what we actually do now at Fate is we mainly and pretty much only work with

micro-influencers. You won't see us working with any huge influencers just because it's so saturated and obviously there's no guarantees with working with influencers. You could pay someone 10 grand for a TikTok. And you are not promised one sale. So it's really risky. And I'm not saying working with influencers is bad. They're obviously so amazing for businesses. Influencers have played a huge part in scaling businesses over the last 5 to 10 years. But what we do now is we mainly work with micro-influencers. So people that might have 5,000 followers, 10,000 followers, 15,000 followers. And whilst that's not that many followers, you will probably find that those people have far more engaged audiences than someone with 100,000 followers. So yeah, we

invest our money into micro-influencers. It's obviously more affordable for businesses and it's less of a financial risk. Rather than paying one person $10,000, we could take a $10,000 budget and go and work with a ton of micro-influencers. So yeah, that's kind of our focus for influencers and that's really what we do. And I think that that's important as well. And it's so interesting to learn, but it's also just, it's so obvious that it's more engaging. So like I can tell that the selection that you guys have made with the influencers that you work with, like I already know that they are good brand fits. Not only are they that, but they've probably already purchased your products and they were super stoked when you slid into their DMs and

said, hey, we'd love to work together. They're like, holy moly, like I already love your brand. And it's just so obvious that that's your strategy from another business owner, I suppose, because it is so organic. And whenever somebody pops up and they're doing, you know, an unboxing or they're doing, you know, look at my outfit, I'm like, oh, that makes sense. Of course that was fate. Like, of course they've weaseled their way in here because that's the perfect fit for them. And I just, I wanted to ask, cause I was like, I feel like you have a more organic approach to it. It's still there, but it's not, Oh, who can we get? Who's trending this month? Who's the biggest dog on the, on the app at the moment? I think as well, like, as I said, like the influencer

landscape has changed so much and I was obviously there through the rise of it, but I think now people are kind of getting really fed up of like big influencers, just constantly promoting products like it's not authentic anymore and people probably see a sponsored ad and scroll past as quickly as they can so it works really well for us like working with you know those micro creators who have small engaged audiences because their audience really trust what they're saying and just recently as well another thing that we've done so we have a facebook community group which is called fate society which is like the best group ever and we uh launched a like fate society um pr list into our community oh i love that yeah we're starting uh we've already

started it but it's something like we're building and we're going to do a lot with um in 2025 and instead of like you know working with influencers on tiktok and stuff we're actually working directly with members of our community and we're getting them to create halls and stuff and we're really going to build that within our own community and like hype up our own customers you know being on the fate pr list so it's just like another activation that we've launched recently that we're going to scale more into the new year i'm obsessed i actually adore that so much i am biased like i agree that fate society might be good but the she's on the money community it's different like our facebook group is my fate and you're probably the same like i just

love going in there and seeing what people are talking about and joining in the conversation about our brand. Oh, it's so great. Like people for us, like they're sharing their outfit photos in there. They're posting about an item saying, can I get styling tips? I bought these pants or like, what size should I get in these? Does anyone have photos? Like, it's just so great having a community group. And we launched it at the start of this year, just like, oh, we'll make this group. And now it's become, yeah, it's become such a amazing part of our business and community. I adore it. I adore it. Tell me, obviously launching a Facebook group is actually something that a business can do for free to, I guess, promote community within their brand and really

help awareness. What would be your advice for small businesses with tight budgets when they want to start, I guess, building community? I would say definitely going back to what we spoke about, creating that organic social content, if you're confident enough to do it yourself, by posting on Instagram and TikTok videos of you and behind the scenes in your business. And it's not going to be perfect and it doesn't have to be. Post 99 videos and the 100th one will do well. I know that sounds a lot, but it's just a matter of starting. That's how you're going to build that organic community is by creating content and having people follow along your journey. And be honest and transparent about your journey.

don't try to make it look a certain way you know just again like show up as yourself on socials and start building a community that way and I know it's so hard and it's so scary especially when there's so many businesses already out there now that are so established but you just got to remember like we all started in that same position where we had no idea what we were doing and I'd just say use apps like Instagram and TikTok to your absolute advantage because you never know what may come of it. And then from there, if you have started to build up a community on your TikTok and your Instagram, you might get to that point where you feel like you can start a community page. And that's a great comment about the Facebook groups. It is free. It is

free to make a Facebook community group. And I absolutely love that. Our community group is going so well that we're actually getting rid of our mobile app at the end of this year. because really yeah we got the mobile app because the number one feature that we liked the most was the fact that we could send a notification to people's phones and so i think like the subscription for our app that we've had for almost two years now i think it's like it might be around twelve thousand dollars a year for us to just have the app and that's on top of like our shopify and everything. It's just another $12,000 a year. And since launching our community group, I can go in there and post every day. And it doesn't feel as annoying to the customer because we're not

sending a notification to their phone home screen. Instead, it's like Britney's posted in Fate Society and people will be probably more interested to go and see what that is rather than a generic notification on their phone. So yes, starting that group has been the best thing. One of the best things we've done all year, to be honest. I love that. And your community are probably going, yeah, exactly, Brittany. Exactly. We love it there. It's my favorite. And it's crazy how much they can take off. Ours, obviously, is the backbone of our business. It's where we started. It's why the podcast even started because the community were like, what else are you going to do? How else do we get content like this? And I was like, oh my gosh.

But now it's a full-time job in our business for someone to manage our Facebook community. That makes it not free though. So that does change the ball game, which is a good thing. It's the best problem to have. Brittany, I have one last question before I wrap it because I know that you've been very generous with your time. Do you think that the social media landscape is still evolving? And what do you think the next big, I guess, business trend is? Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I think social media is always going to be evolving. And I know that a lot of business owners can hate that thought because you just feel like you're constantly having to try to keep up with the trends and stay up to date.

And business owners can naturally find it really comforting to just stay doing the same thing all the time. But in business, you've got to be willing to change the way you do things every single week, especially when it comes to social media. That's just the way the cookie crumbles, if I'm being honest. I think it's going to change a lot. it's obviously changed a lot over the last five to ten years and I always say like I'm intrigued to see where social media goes like in the next two three four years you know I'm sure as much

as we love TikTok and Instagram now I'm sure in a couple of years time there's going to be other apps that we're all using instead of those like maybe we'll see those die out I don't know because meta is huge but we're gonna have to keep up Brittany like we get we are gonna be like what up with the kids on these days. We've got to keep up, especially if you want to keep growing and moving forward. But it's also equally as important to foster those loyal customers and keep them involved. And that's where your community comes into play. Yes, you want to stick with the trends and find new customers and more people to join your community. But you really want to nurture and foster that community that you have now that is hopefully going to stay with you throughout

all of those changes regardless. So I'm really intrigued to see where social media goes in the next few years. I can't say what direction it's going to be in. I know that affiliate marketing is becoming really popular when it comes to influencers. It's wild, isn't it? Yeah. Like the LinkedIn, my Amazon storefront. Where's your dress from, Brittany? Oh, it's in my Amazon storefront. Where's your dress from? LinkedIn bio. I know. I can't keep up, Brittany. I just want to know. I actually like that. We haven't done affiliate marketing at all at Fate. And for those listening, if you don't know what affiliate marketing is, it's essentially where we can create a storefront and influencers can get their own custom link. And we don't pay

the influencer anything upfront. We, let's say, give them the outfit. It's on them to promote that outfit and get people to shop through their link. And then they'll make a commission through that. So I think it's a good thing because the influencers... I think it's genius to be honest. Influencers have to work for that money. They have to make the sales. And if they're not generating sales, then they don't get anything, which honestly makes so much sense. I will say it is a little bit more shady because people just share their link on their story and say, here's the link, but they don't disclose that they'll make commission through that. And I think that's where it's getting ick, right? Like in affiliate marketing, I think is brilliant,

but the way that it is rolling out across social media, because so many people don't get it, I feel like you're right. It is a bit shady and that needs to be cleaned up so that people can go, oh my God, no, I really want to shop Britney's link for that outfit. Yes. I think there will be a lot of rules brought into place the same way that all the rules were brought in around sponsored posts and needing to disclose when something's paid. And I do see influencers sharing their link and saying like affiliate, you know, in the little stars on the screen. But yeah, I'd say we're definitely going to move into even more of an affiliate marketing space. And again, we haven't done that with Fate yet. I'm definitely open to exploring it because again, it's like less of a

risk for the business. We just have to give the creator the outfit and it's on them to make the sales, which I think is really clever and a lot more safer of a risk for a business. But yeah, that's my one prediction. I feel like it's more organic as well. Yeah. I feel like the organicness of social media will go back to where it used to be. It feels more like a genuine recommendation because an influencer is not going to be promoting it if they don't think it's going to sell. And more often than not now, as you said earlier in the episode, you could pay an influencer 10 grand and it doesn't guarantee you a sale in this. An influencer isn't going to get paid. So they're going to be like, oh, I wouldn't work with Victoria because like my audience aren't

going to be interested in her product. I'm going to go to find one that actually fits my audience. And I think that that's a push in the right direction that low-key I love. Like, I just think it's smart. Who wants to sign up as a Fade affiliate? Let me know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Brittany, we did an affiliate marketing podcast recently. It was a deep dive, a little solo yap from me being like, all right, this is what it

is. This is how it works. So if you haven't listened to that, go back and check it out. But Brittany, what an episode. This was our first business diary and I am so flipping excited about it. You have shared so much gold. I know our community is going to be like, oh my gosh, that was the best. Can we have more of this? And you absolutely can. So thank you for being so open to share, I guess, your journey with Fage

because that's really special and we don't get the opportunity that often for people to go, oh, well, actually this is how it started. And, you know, even with my friends who are founders, right? Like we go out and we talk about people management, but I never get to sit them down and be like, so tell me, how did you start your business? Like, what did that look like? Oh, why were you embarrassed of your garage? Like, why wouldn't you share that? That's so cool. Like, these are the things that even founders who are friends with founders don't get that info. And I just think that that's so special. I know our listeners are going to be very inspired, but also just very grateful to have a little peep into the life of Brittany.

Oh, well, it was an absolute honor and thanks for having me on. I love talking about this stuff. So anytime you want me back, just let me know. Oh, I feel like you've done so much for the She's on the money community and shameless plug for those of you who don't know my new book, The Business Bible is officially out now and it is packed full of lessons and advice and insights from incredible entrepreneurs, including Brittany, because you got involved. How does that feel to have, I guess, your business story in a book that is published on shelves around the country? It's bloody amazing. I'm honored to be a part of it all. So thank you so much. I was so excited when you said yes. I was like, yes, the content is going to be elite.

Oh my gosh. I literally wrote it with everybody, I guess, in our Facebook group in mind because they're the people that are like the backbone of our business. They're the people that I always am trying to create content for. So grab a copy if you want. Brittany, you don't have to. Yours is in the mail. It's on route. Don't you worry. But oh my gosh, I love this. And next year, there's going to be a few changes in the She's on the Money community. Business Bible episodes are actually going to head on over back to the business Bible feed, not going to live always on the She's On The Money feed. So jump on over there.

I'll put the links in the show notes so that you can subscribe and never miss an episode like this one. Brittany, again, thank you. I know our community has adored this because I have. And we're all the same, right? Like we're just girls who want to learn more about people. We're just girls. We're just girls.

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