This week it’s all about mum of one Fiona who is a member of our Social Mums North Surrey Facebook Group. She tells us how she came up with the idea for her business on maternity leave and what her social media pet hate is!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family
My name is Fiona and I live near Weybridge in Surrey with my husband and son. I am originally from Bristol but moved with my husband in 2016 as his job moved to London. Before we moved to Surrey I worked as a Development Officer, fundraising for major donations for an independent girls school in Bristol.
What is your business?
My business is Pegasus Gifts. I make aprons, makeup and accessory bags, bunting, reusable kitchen towels and unsponges, personalised frames and pompom wreaths. I also make personalised bunting to order. My best selling items are toddler aprons and bunting. My products can be found at local craft fairs or on nuMONDAY.
Who inspired you to start your business?
I have always loved making gifts and following the birth of my son I dusted off my sewing machine and started making things again. After gifting a few things I was persuaded to start making things to sell. With no job to go back to after maternity leave I set up my business in July 2018 and haven’t really looked back.
What social media platforms to you use and why?
I use Facebook and Instagram to market my business. I have used Facebook for business in previous jobs but I was quite late joining the Instagram party so I have spent most of my ‘social’ time building a following there. In 6 months I managed to grow a following of just over 1000 on Instagram, my next challenge is to work on my Facebook followers as well as continue the hard work building my Instagram audience.
What do you find most challenging about marketing your business on social media?
I try very hard to make my photos on social media look appealing and for people to want to find out more by just looking at them but sometimes photography lets me down. I also find it a challenge not to get too upset/angry with people who unfollow. One of my pet hates on social media (Instagram especially) is people following your page and unfollowing within 24 hours.
What is the best social media tip you have picked up for your business?
Whatever your business, build a network of like minded people – one of the things I have found rewarding as well as useful for my business is making connections with other crafters online especially other mums. Crafters seem to all be very supportive people whatever arts/crafts they make and I have found a few very supportive people I interact with regularly. We all like and share each others work and help get our posts seen by more people.
What have you found most useful about being part of a Social Mums Facebook Group?
I have been following Social Mums on Instagram for a while but have only recently joined a Facebook group so haven’t had too much interaction yet BUT in that short time I have made a few connections with local mums and I find the daily #SocialShare a great way to get my recent posts seen by people who may not have seen them before. I am looking forward to learning tips from other Social mums.
Where can we find you on Social Media?
