Episode 35: Meltdowns and milestones - the stories behind SnoozeShade with Cara Sayer

00:54 You're listening to The Business of Stories with Susan Paton, showing you how to share stories that do the selling in your business so you don't have too. Bizarrely on the day I was planning to record an episode about what stories to share when your business is scaling Cara Sayer founder of SnoozeShade reached out to me I've known Cara for years and have heard her story many times of how she invented a product after facing a problem that many parents face, wanting to be outside when their baby was due a nap. She'd tried hanging things over the pram to block out the light and noise so her baby could sleep

01:43 But nothing really worked, so she invented a sort of portable blackout blind for her pram called SnoozeShade. That product is trusted by sleep consultants, health professionals and most importantly parents everywhere and one is bought somewhere in the world every 10 minutes! So, Cara had reached out because she'd seen me launch the Stories source and wanted to see if it would be a good fit for her BottleNet Breaker program that she was about to launch. We jumped on a quick Zoom call to chat about that but as we chatted I quickly realized that Her Business was a perfect example of the stories we can share as our business is growing and scaling

02:34 So I asked her if I could hit record and without any planning or preparation, she kindly let me record the rest of our conversation so that I could use some of it in this episode. Because the stories we tell at different stages of our business growth change! In Episode 28, I talked about the stories you can share when your business is new About that journey you've been on, that's led you here. Because it might feel like your business is new but its an evolution and something you'll be bringing all the lessons and insights and wisdom that you've gained from everything you have done previously Your unique blend as I call it

03:20 Then, as your business grows your stories will evolve and you can start to add stories about what that growth has looked like. What's worked? What hasn't? And the milestones along the way... The decisions you had to make and the advice you'd pass on Those stories can build trust and authority, and show that you're putting the work in to build something of value that you're invested in and developing every step of the way because this is important to you. So this conversation with Cara was perfect timing as she honestly shared what that rollercoaster of a journey has looked like for her

04:01 From the meltdowns and overwhelm, to having a supermarket steal her product and packaging. To becoming the UK's favourite baby sun & sleep shade trusted by over half-a-million families Let's pick up that conversation as I'm asking her what her business looks like today Can you start by telling us what your company looks like today? And then we can talk about some of the things that have happened along the way and what that journey has looked like for you. But, can you just start by saying how old is SnoozeShade now? And what does the company look like today? So Really Simple Ideas Limited was registered in October 2009 and then SnoozeShade launched as in went on sale in about February-March 2010

04:52 And in terms of size of the company now, countries that sell SnoozeShade in. What's that snapshot? Well so the size of the company always makes me laugh because I think people think my business is a lot bigger than it actually is In terms of like... The other day I had someone contact me who was interested in distributing the product into Boots and Boots had somehow approached this particular company who I didn't know and said can you get SnoozeShade on board and so they then messaged me and I called her she was like And There's me and I work from home. I mean, I'm sitting in my garden office in the garden right now. I quite often work from my sofa or my kitchen table on my kitchen counter and then I have Rebecca who is normally about 15 to 20 hours a week and she looks after like admin customer service and various other things that I have Haley who handles all the social media side of things

05:59 I've got Olivia now who looks after all my baby sleep experts and also helps Hayley. And then we have Mika, who is a VA based out in the Philippines who's lovely. Then I've got Matt who looks after Google and SEO and my websites and all that. Then I have my manufacturer I've been working with since I started because they were the first person I went to. They're based in the UK and they help me with all like warehousing 3PL logistics product I've

06:42 So, let's get started. And And

07:48 So, let's get started. The Business of Stories podcast is brought to you by

08:24 The Business of Stories podcast is a series The Business of Stories podcast is brought to you by Sitting in like my mansion in Barbados, you know. Going darling let's do this podcast come to me I'm going to fly you over on my private jet! You know but like also to be honest as well I'm not really interested in that kind of thing. I was gonna say that's don't-I don't think that's you anyway? It's not really a me thing though. I mean I was brought up in a very affluent like entrepreneurial background where there was a lot of money and we were not very happy and for me money buys you choices it does not buy happiness

09:24 Whilst I wouldn't say no to a Barbados house, at the same time actually... I'd rather go on holiday to different places every year and enjoy have new experiences. I'm about experiences rather than anything else, to be honest And I love that you said that you wake up in the morning and think, how can we get this out to more mums? Because it's such a game changer. Let's get started.

10:20 A, one of my stories is not really a story. It's a passion which is safety because I am safety obsessed like...I used this product with my own daughter who was the product of IVF who had had a febrile convulsion so I was very temperature aware So whenever we get questions from parents it's like well will it make the baby hot? Will it do this? Will you do that? Yeah! You should be asking these questions right And the story is like part of how I try and, you know, communicate that. And I do get regularly people go, oh well I could have bought a cheaper product but I wanted one that was safer or wanted the way I come across is obviously how I am which is really annoyingly passionate about safety and now wish we had more safety regulations and I see so many unsafe products coming into marketplaces and it's absolutely horrifying

11:06 No, absolutely. And I know because I've heard it myself a couple of times that you share that story a lot at the beginning right? I still share it now because I mean that story is so important because I did it. I didn't just like think, oh, I'm going to create a product and make money. That's not what I thought. I was at home. I had a child who like...I wanted her to sleep and I wanted it to sleep safely while we were out about. I am sociable being. I need to be out and about. I wanted to go do a buggy fit class you know? That was one of the reasons why I did because I wanted to be out at certain time and always clash with our nap time. Yeah. And actually invented in time for me to use it but then I was too busy to get into buggy

11:49 And The Business of Stories podcast is a The Business of Stories podcast is brought to you by

12:42 And this is what makes me cross. As your business has grown and scaled, your story will have evolved. Stories, I think...I'm sure you've probably got the facts and stats but i'm sure i've read like many times about the fact that people love stories. People engage with stories they're like even if it's a story they don't agree with then they're interacting with it they're engaging with it in a way that they wouldn't do if you just give them like well this is what this does blah blah blah I mean every conversation I have has got multiple

13:38 And Well, I always say business is done by humans and humans have stories. Correct! And humans like stories. AI still isn't very good at telling stories really. It can create copy but it's interesting how humans...I mean i'm writing a book at the moment and I have a human editor

14:16 because I know that I don't want a book that sounds like it's been written by AI. AI has absolutely 100% enabled me to write a book for the first time, but the thing is also you need that human perception because AI writes in a certain way it's like... It doesn't have any quirks, it's not got personality. No and you need a human To tell you, does this make you feel something? Yeah and also does it make sense as well. That's the other thing I mean one of my apparently with ADHD like one of the biggest things that yeah i always at the end often at the end of emails I didn't even realize I'm doing okay Does that make sense because I'm like well It makes sense to me but I am aware of the fact that My mind works in slightly different ways and so therefore I have just sort of double check that other people are understanding Me. I say that a lot.

15:01 So, thinking about the stories and how they've changed over the years as your business has been growing. Was there a point where – and I know you're still very much about the product and the purpose behind the products and why and safety in all of those things – but was there a point when you realised that this was going beyond the product? That there was a vision, there was a brand, there was movement What was the point where you thought, actually this is... This is something bigger now. Because I was moving into the Amazon world, which is a lot of people who are just selling products that are pretty much the same product with a limited packaging and then I started realizing I was a bit different from that because I actually really cared about what I was doing. I had invented it like okay...I didn't reinvent the wheel, but I did create a new category like there was no sun and sleep shade category existing. There still isn't to a certain extent but there are now products that do talk about

15:59 And I think, you know when I started speaking like people asked me to tell them how to build a brand and I'm like well and unfortunately my answer is always what's a lot of bloody hard work. You know it's not easy... But i love that! I love that you share the ups and the downs Oh that's what I was going to say actually That is also one of the other things I'm really passionate about Is I am really positive person in that life has thrown some big massive curveballs at various different points And I've just kind of plotted on and carried on. Sometimes, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster and I'm going up and down, up and down... And I like to share the downs as much as the ups. I talk about how I've had breakdowns – now actually think that I didn't really have breakdowns but more ADHD overwhelm – but I didn't realise what it was at the time! But then again, I talk about my ADHD because I think its so important to share the shit times

16:53 Because otherwise, like everyone just wanders around. There's all these gurus out there selling the dream and they're like oh you know if you just do this it'll take 15 minutes nothing decent ever takes 15 minutes and You know it's always interesting because you know the businesses that are around And have lasted are the ones I think who've got founders who acknowledge that It's not a quick win. That you're in it for the long term and I mean you know it's funny I have had moments where I would have sold In fact especially in the early days I'd have sold SnoozeShade for £1 The Business of Stories podcast is a series And

17:59 We'll get through it. We will get through it. I always say you've got through 100% of every challenge that you have faced so far to date, and I'm the same. You know? I make a point of sharing the hard days, launches that didn't go the way they were planned I don't know, the shitty email you get from somebody. And I share all of that and I know you do too and I remember when the supermarket copied your... not just copied the product but literally packaging everything! Almost identical. It was like literally all they did was take out invented by mum And

18:54 But it can also be very rewarding. I mean, I have like the best life! I seriously have the best life. The one thing that i am so grateful for is that yes SnoozeShade has been really exhausting and draining and everything else... There have been times when I've literally had meltdowns and various other things But you know what, what it's primarily done is I've been at home for my daughter for the last 18 years and I'm there for her. And I earn more money than I used to earn in the corporate world but I have so much more freedom! That for me is about the freedom, it's about the experiences, it's about learning. Yes and that's exactly what I think storytelling in business is all about

19:37 Bringing those lessons, those learnings, those insights the wisdom that you know what you've learned from going through. We're all gonna have to do the ups and downs. It's no different I'm 54 now I wish i could tell a 20 year old me so many different things yes and and I'm lucky in that I have got bit more of a platform I can tell other people who are maybe earlier stages of business or even not early stages I mean the person I was talking to the other day whose business is not doing that well has been around for like at least 10 years or more I suppose, the other thing is that I'm just very honest and possibly sometimes a little too blunt. But I say too blunt? I don't think I am. I have learned to probably calm that down a little bit but I'm just very direct and I also say to people look this is my advice you do not have to take it or listen to it but its based on my own experience and thats all I can do. Like I've seen this a few times

20:34 And if you're not making money in a business, stop doing the business. Try and find or try and find another way around which is what I've done because otherwise you're going to be out of business and then there's no point in having a business. You might as well go get a job! Yeah okay so amazing that SnoozeShade is 16 1⁄2 years old incredible where do you see the business going from here? What is the vision as you move forward from 2026 I know, scary isn't it? 2026. So i don't really ever see myself necessarily exiting from SnoozeShade because i love what i do, i enjoy it, i can see myself potentially getting someone else in to run it and then i just kind of consult like on that side but i've also got a whole range of products i want to bring on like a range of products which would be like the SnoozeShade Essentials products which are complementary products

21:22 And then also on top of that, I have got a whole new business which is called The Bottleneck Breaker. That is basically something that I again have kind of created from my own frustration and need to help me run my business better which is basically sort of system which sets up when you want to use AI it sets it up in a way that means that you're actually utilizing And And so I'm launching that kind of at the moment. So, um... That is very sort of imminent and I kinda hope that I can run the two things- I will be able to forget the hope! I know I will be able to because interestingly the system The Bottleneck Breaker has done exactly that it has broken the bottleneck of me being the only person in the business It helps the team run the business without me and with my minimal involvement versus how it used to be which was me heavily involved Which then gives me time to think about doing other stuff

22:39 And that's a whole other story, isn't it? It is the point where we become the bottleneck in our business. Yeah 100% yeah! And again you're someone that saw a problem and then looked at how to solve it and now you're sharing their stories. Yeah I want to help more people, you know again I'm not thinking like how do I sell more stuff... This will genuinely help small business owners 100%. I can guarantee it. I'm using this system on a daily basis and it works and it's just life-changing. Well, it sounds amazing to me. You were telling me about it before and I can't wait to have a go so thank you so much because this was completely unplanned and unprepared! That's all the best things are Absolutely but it's been amazing. I knew that you'd be very open and honest cause you always have been. You share amazing stories

23:26 That makes you very real, very relatable. Very human. You're not some person up in a corporate office somewhere that we don't know. Yeah absolutely and you will have helped so many people by sharing those stories. And that's my hope again I think I should probably have she helped on her gravestone because if i have then I feel like I've kind of achieved what I want to do. So now what I'm trying to do is help others in a way that doesn't drain me because historically, I probably would have helped and then I suffered. Whereas now I've learned ways of coping mechanisms etc where I build things in a way where I don't have to do that kind of one-on-one which I find quite draining.

24:13 And again, I think that's part of the business journey isn't it? Is working out what drains you. What gives you energy how your brain works what business model works for you and then just finding your way through and seeing what that looks like and sharing the journey along the way. Also my biggest thing is always take some baby steps right yeah because waiting until something is perfect or just right never happens And One of the many things that jumped out of my chat with Cara was how focused she is on the difference her product can make, the difference she can make

25:28 Her motivation has always been to help as many parents as possible know about it, rather than simply make more sales. That coupled with her obsession with safety and the fact that safety sits at the heart of everything her brand stands for has clearly been a huge part of her success and story So what about you? What's important to you as you build your business, whether it is about your standards, values or boundaries. The way you work, the way you support clients and show up in your business – what are the things that really matter to you?

26:21 Take a little bit of time to think about that and then share it. Let people see what drives you, what you stand for, what matters to you, what difference you want to make And as I finish every episode with an action step for you to go away and do here's your action step for today Get clear on what you stand for and share it so that people can see the heart and human behind your business And I'll see you next time for more stories that do the selling for you, so you don't have to. Thank you so much for being here! I love that we get to do this together Would you do me a huge favour and please rate review and follow this podcast in Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts? And i'll see you next time For more honest conversations meaningful connections and of course stories

27:22 The Business of Stories.