Haines Watts working with Soul Bliss

I’ve always loved fashion and as I was growing up, I discovered that I was quite good at sketching and designing things. I loved everything about the industry, from the latest trends to designing items and always wanted to be a part of that world. However, I was also good with numbers, which you could say is quite a strange combination!
I started out on a traditional route by going to university in Manchester to study Economics and Accounting. When I left, I went on to work for two large accountancy firms where I gained experience of the sector. However, the world of commerce was in my blood and I later used my maternity leave to rethink my career and kickstart my first accessories venture, Lisa Kay London, which was formed in 1990. The rest is history, and my two sons are now 26 and 30.

The best part about running a business is having an idea and being able to run with it. Obviously, you have to take responsibility for everything, but you can think of something, action it and it’s great. It’s not having to go to anybody for ‘Can I do this?’ Instead it’s just ‘I can do this!’ Of course, you need to see whether it works out or not!

There are a lot of advantages with me having an accountancy mindset. Understanding figures is very important for an entrepreneur. It’s all very well having the ideas, but I think you need to have an analytical eye to truly understand whether your idea has been good or not. Seeing things in numbers and being able to read a balance sheet and understand what a profit and loss account is, is all very sound training.

The most memorable experience of my career is definitely the launch of Sole Bliss – our online shoe brand which provides comfortable footwear for women who suffer from bunions and other foot problems. It’s different from all other ‘comfort brands’ in that the styling is truly fashionable. We launched with just four classic styles and it took five years for those four shoes to come to fruition. The launch of our website and this first collection was very exciting!

Today, we have more than 100 different styles and we have a lot of celebrities wearing them, from the Duchess of Cornwall to Dame Helen Mirren, who regularly wears our heels.

One of the biggest challenges for me was the digital transformation of our business. I knew that Sole Bliss needed to be an e-commerce business and I was optimistic about it. The world was changing and we needed to move away from bricks and mortar to an online platform for the new business. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world of retail and we consider ourselves very fortunate that we had already made this transition.

It’s now four years since the launch of Sole Bliss and it’s been really successful, although not without its challenges. Before we launched, there was a detailed website to set up and a whole host of marketing skills to learn. The experience has certainly made me more knowledgeable and resilient as a business owner. Today, it’s all about making sure that you are visible online. We have fantastic customer loyalty so it’s a case of building on the foundations of that.

I think when you set up a brand and you are so close to it that you want to make sure that all of its personality and all of its advantages and selling points are related straight to the people who are buying it. With the correct marketing, you can communicate all the benefits of it directly to the people whose feet you want to be wearing your shoes. It’s a powerful tool.
It’s about being transparent, consistent in your messaging and building up trust with your customers. And very importantly, it’s about offering first-class customer service.

I would generally say, go for it, but right now it depends on your circumstances. You should go with your gut instinct, but also be self-critical. Don’t stick to what you’re doing just because it’s what you’ve always done. Be adaptable and look around you. Make sure you’re offering what people want and that you know how the world is changing around you and react to that.

My accountant, Sam Clarke, has been a brilliant sounding board over the years. He’s a realist and I love the way he raises his eyebrows at me sometimes! There is a lot of mutual respect, I like his friendly cynicism and his very good sense of humour. He’s much more than just an accountant, Sam is a sound business advisor who I can run my ideas past. At times I’ve been reigned in and that’s good because it makes me check everything I’m doing. He’s a positive force in these times of economic uncertainty.

a growing desire for flat shoes and loungewear. So, we rolled out our Comfort Technology into new footwear options to include trainers, ballet pumps and other comfortable flat shoes.

We launched our first ‘Miracle Trainers’ during lockdown. They are the perfect all-day, everyday shoes and so they’ve been incredibly popular. Like the rest of the Sole Bliss collection, they feature disguised depth for wider feet, a stretch panel to accommodate bunions and a cushioned footbed for sensitive feet. And of course, they’re extremely on-trend.

Their success has certainly helped us re-imagine our business, and these new shoes will play a central role in the Sole Bliss collection for seasons to come.

I have long-term relationships of 15 and 20 years with my suppliers, so it’s been great to give them increased business during these difficult times.

I think things are going to be challenging for a while, but will eventually settle down. There will always be opportunities for entrepreneurs, but the world is a smaller place. So, there will be more competition, but also bigger rewards for those who succeed.

For us, the focus is on expanding our export business. We have been awarded Export Champion status by the Department for International Trade (DIT) this year. We had just launched Sole Bliss in the US with its own dedicated website in March when Covid-19 hit, and now the US market is our priority again.

Let’s hope that the challenges will be gradually worked through. We need more clarity on moving goods around as we sell internationally. Our main overseas markets in America, Ireland and Australia. At the moment, we bring in goods weekly and we are an adaptable company with good relationships in Europe.