Social Mum of the Week – Gitte Louise Lamb

Our Social Mum of the week is Brand Stylist Gitte Louise of Presence Brand Management who is a member of our Social Mums North Hampshire Facebook Group. She shares with us what inspired her to start her business and a great piece of advice for anyone just starting out.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.

I’m Gitte Louise. I’m from Denmark, but now live in Hampshire with my husband (who is British) our two girls and our beagle, who’s the baby of the family and so cute. My first name is pronounced [Ghittə]. The [ə] sound doesn’t really exist in English, so when I started my business I debated for a while whether to just be Louise, but I also wanted it to come across that I was Scandinavian. I have spoken English fluently for about 25 years though, so I feel confident that I would have been able to “pull it off” if I had decided to just go with the English-sounding “Louise Lamb”.

WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS?

I work with female entrepreneurs on their branding. Often, small businesses think that branding is just their logo and maybe their colours and fonts, but in reality, those are just a couple of the elements that make up a brand identity. When I start asking some in-depth questions it transpires that they haven’t really thought about what they stand for, what makes them special, where they fit into the market or indeed who their customers really are. I offer a full brand pack for female entrepreneurs, which gives them total clarity on their brand and enables them to take their brand to another level entirely.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START YOUR BUSINESS?

We moved to the UK in 2014 and decided I would stay at home for the time being while our girls settled into school. I knew I wanted to do something where I could mostly work from home, but it wasn’t until four years later, when I had booked a woman to come help me sort out my wardrobe worries, that the inspiration came. She was a solo entrepreneur and I really admired what she had built up and the “secret” world she seemed to belong to. I could see though that she could use some help on her branding and that’s when the idea started to brew.

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DO YOU USE AND WHY?

Currently, I use Instagram the most, because I find it more intuitive – it’s the easiest one, basically. I also find Instagram very inspiring as I am quite a visual person. I have a Facebook page as well and belong to a few Facebook groups. I have a Pinterest account which I use with clients as well as for business and personal inspiration. I also have LinkedIN.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

The biggest challenge is definitely being consistent and coming up with ideas for content and having the images to go with the posts! I also struggle with using Pinterest to “sell” my business, and on how to use LinkedIN as a business platform.

WHAT IS THE BEST SOCIAL MEDIA TIP YOU HAVE PICKED UP FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

The best tip I’ve picked up for my business was through a “social media friend”. It is not so much a tip as a bit of advice: “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle”. It really struck a chord with me, because like most of my clients, I am also just starting out and I don’t have it all figured out yet either.

WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND MOST USEFUL ABOUT BEING PART OF A SOCIAL MUMS FACEBOOK GROUP?

The Social Mums Facebook Group I belong to is run by a mum I met at a networking event (Lottie Hayman). I feel like I know her a bit already, which means I’m not scared to ask “stupid” questions in there. Even if I didn’t know her, I think I would still feel that I was able to ask questions, as most of the mums in the group are probably, like me, a bit technically challenged.