The industry insider: Therese Ørtenblad
Mentoring expert Therese, from Small Business Collaborative, knows everything there is to know about wholesale. After teaming up for workshops, as well as a fellow Small & Mighty Co, we wanted to let you in on Therese’s insider knowledge.
CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND EXPLAIN WHAT YOU DO?
I work as a business mentor specialising in helping small business owners with their wholesale. I give you the knowledge to approach your wholesale with more confidence and help you get more planned out and structured with your sales so that you can grow your business.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED AND TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
I’ve worked in the home and gift industry for over a decade. It wasn’t a planned move but I studied Fashion and Textile design in Italy and came to London to study a master's in costume design. I then decided that it wasn’t for me so I had to find a “proper” job and I ended up in sales. I really love this industry and find it to be creative and that it allows me to be creative without being a designer or product maker myself.
I’ve sold a wide range of products to all sorts of retailers, independents, high-street, fashion, online, supermarket’s and many more but the last few years I felt that I wanted more purpose and to work more with small business owners that I admire and that are innovative and care about the same sort of things I care about. That’s how I came to start Small Business Collaborative.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MENTORING YOU DO?
I work with a wide range of small business owners, some that are just starting out and some that are more established and who wants to scale their wholesale and sell to larger retailers. All my mentoring is done 1:1 apart from my online courses and group training programs so it’s completely tailor-made to your business and our needs. I want my clients to be able to ask me absolutely anything without feeling silly or repetitive and I’ve come to learn that it’s not all about passing on the knowledge and practical advice. But also, about confidence and finding a way of selling that suits each business owner as well as how to stay organised and carve out time for your wholesale.
I would say my methods are very collaborative, warm and friendly but I will also keep you on track and accountable with clear action points to take away after each session.
WHAT’S YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
I guess this is a bit of a tricky one as it’s all about what will help the business owner I’m working with but perhaps where I get to be a bit more creative is in my podcast (Let’s Talk Shop) where I interview guests from the retail industry. I love talking to buyers, brand owners and industry experts and the mission for the podcast are for my guests to share a little bit about themselves and their process to make buying and selling a little less scary and intimidating.
I also really love that I get to talk shop for an hour about an industry I am so passionate about and that still really excites me, and I hope that comes across in the podcast.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE SO FAR?
I actually thought about starting my business a few years back after meeting so many fantastic small business owners at various trade shows but not quite going for it because I was worried about job security and finances but when I was made redundant in my last role I decided to just go for it.
My husband was then made redundant the month after so to keep going has been my number one challenge. Particularly when I was called about a job fairly early on that could have been a great fit for me and that would have made the last year a lot easier but I have absolutely no regrets. I love what I do and hope that I get to continue to do this for a long time.
ONE THING THAT BRANDS MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SERVICE YOU OFFER?
I think the thing I don’t get asked because people are so nice and polite but that brand owners might wonder about is why should I work with a mentor? Why spend all that money that I don’t really have? Will my investment be worth it?
Working with a business mentor will help you gain clarity of what you want to achieve in your business both short and longer-term which will make you more focused and use your time better. It means less trial and error which is not wrong as you can learn a lot by working this way. However, if you’re feeling overwhelmed and like you’re jumping from task to task putting out fires here there and everywhere or like you lack the knowledge and confidence to grow your business on your own then working with a mentor will help you gain confidence and prioritise better.
I think the best example I can give is that I recently worked with a few clients before they exhibited at Top Drawer in September and I believe that having worked through what to bring, what to say, what to do before, at and after the show really made a difference to my clients. They were able to have valuable conversations with buyers at the trade show that lead to sales and very importantly gave the buyers enough confidence for them to take a chance and place orders right there and then.
WHAT’S THE PROJECT YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF?
Receiving messages from clients that x store has just got back to them and that they are going to stock them is just the best. I love seeing client’s products in shops and it makes me proud to think that I might have had just a tiny bit to do with it.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE TO SMALLER BRANDS WANTING TO INVEST IN YOU?
Working with a business mentor is an investment and it’s important that we are the right fit for each other so if you want to work 1:1 together then book a discovery call so we can get to know each other a bit more.
To be as accessible as possible I have lots of different packages and types of services ranging from the online Masterclasses that I developed with Catherine Erdly to full strategy days with ongoing support. You can read more about it on my website.
5 TIPS FOR OUR MEMBERS ON WHOLESALE?
1. Buyers are just people, people that are passionate about products and yes, they can be tricky to get a hold of but that’s just because they are always very busy people.
2. Start small, I always recommend that you start by reaching out to independent retailers if possible and suitable to your product range as you will gain a lot of experience and knowledge this way. Of course, if a major retailer comes knocking you can deal with it when it happens.
3. Get clear on your pricing, before you do anything else, it’s important to make sure you know your prices and margins, so you are not doing all this work for nothing.
4. Be persistent and consistent with your wholesale, allocate time each week for some outreach.
5. Take care of your existing stockists, it’s much easier to keep a stockist happy and to encourage them to take on a bigger range than finding your next stockist.
If you’re looking for some business clarity, you can find more about Therese’s mentoring here or follow her on Instagram.
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