EP04 Hayley Crannage
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Hayley Crannage: [00:00:00] I think our biggest kind of moment of, I guess, learnings was sales are coming in, like that was validating us to keep moving, moving, moving, but sales doesn't mean success. It doesn't mean growth. You know? Revenue isn't profit. So that for me is a massive learning
Liz Nable: Welcome to a special six-part miniseries, What I Wish I Knew About Small Business Before I Started. This special six-part series inside Media Magnet is brought to you by AMP Bank Go, and I'm your host, Liz Nable. AMP Bank Go is backing Australian small businesses to get a fair go with tools and support that actually make day-to-day business life easier.
In this new series, we're stepping back from just media and PR to talk about the real lessons of running a small business in Australia right now, the money, the systems, the visibility, the learnings, and the mindset shifts we usually only discover the [00:01:00] hard way. Let's dive into today's episode
Most people, if they've sold a business they've poured five years of blood, sweat, and no salary into, would take the win and put their feet up for a while. My guest today looked at her payout and thought, "Great, let's do it all again, but harder, faster, and with a lot more on the line this time." Full disclosure, this one hit close to home for me because I've had my own moments of wondering whether starting something new straight after finishing something big is smart or just completely mad Hayley Cranitch built her first business, Love Lu Eyewear, with her sister and co-founder Jade in their parents' garage on Sydney's Northern Beaches, with no savings, just a nervous conversation with a family member about borrowing the startup cash.
It grew into a brand you've probably seen on your favorite influencer or even worn yourself before it was acquired by a much bigger Australian eyewear company. Jade couldn't join us [00:02:00] today. She's just seven days postpartum with a brand-new baby girl, so Hayley very kindly stepped in solo, but this is every bit her story, too.
In this chat, we get into the number that made their accountant tell them to stop, the email that changed everything, and the one piece of advice about selling a business that Hayley says she'll never forget. Then we talk about why, instead of just enjoying the spoils of their sale, the sisters went and built a second brand almost immediately, and what they're doing differently this time around.
If you've ever wondered what it actually feels like to sell something you've built from nothing or whether you'd have the guts to start again, you're going to love this episode. Let's get into it with Hayley Cranitch from Buy Sid. Hi Hayley, welcome to the show.
Hayley Crannage: Thanks so much, Liz. I'm excited to be here.
Liz Nable: I'm excited to have you. We've just worked out that we're actually around the corner from each other, so we probably could've done this in person.
Hayley Crannage: I would've loved that. [00:03:00]
Liz Nable: I know. Next time. Next time. Well- I feel like we could have a round two. We could have like a sequel to this, because we've already chatted a lot off line about how our worlds kind of align.
Yeah,
Hayley Crannage: align.
Liz Nable: I do believe before we get started, though, that congratulations are in order for your co-founder and your sister, Jade.
Hayley Crannage: Thank you so much. Yeah, we're very exciting. Buy Sid's welcomed a little girl, Holiday Hayfield.
Liz Nable: Gosh.
Hayley Crannage: I know. So cute.
Liz Nable: So cute. Um,
Hayley Crannage: which is just so special, 'cause my sister has watched me go through the motions with two kids.
I've got a son, Dusty, he's five, and a daughter, Honey, she's two, and she's been the best auntie in the world, so it's really beautiful now that it's her turn. Oh my gosh. She's been here, you know, packing boxes, moving everything, like me, worked l- literally worked right up until giving birth. So she's at home having some much-deserved time off.
Liz Nable: It's so funny 'cause I think I spoke about this briefly on my socials like last week about some of the weirdest things that people have done as small business owners, like to keep the wheels turning, [00:04:00] and people were talking about having their laptops in bed while they're in labor and like just going through the most extraordinary life events and just in the back of their mind going, "Oh my God, I've gotta keep running this business."
Hayley Crannage: I sp- so it's funny you say that. I spoke to my accountant mid contractions. This is like i- actually it was quite psychotic. I think we've- 'Cause I went in fi- went, gave birth five weeks early. I was just like, "I need to have this conversation before baby's here." Yeah, why
Liz Nable: not
Hayley Crannage: have it
Liz Nable: in labor? Like,
Hayley Crannage: labor's the last minute.
He said, "You do labor," and I said, "I'm gonna have to go." And I thought he probably thought that was so weird, but to me, very normal.
Liz Nable: No, very normal. Very normal for small business owner. We're all, everyone listening on this podcast- Oh, my life, oh ... is nodding their head, going, "Yeah, been there." Maybe not labor for the blokes-
but similar life events where you probably could take a break but you don't 'cause you're a small business
Hayley Crannage: owner. Totally.
Liz Nable: Just keep going. Um, and funnily enough, I, you are the co-founder, with your sister, of Pi- By Sid, which is an incredible Australian fashion brand. Let's start, I guess let's start at the beginning, because I'd actually [00:05:00] discovered you because I'd bought one of your leather jackets or faux leather jackets.
Yeah, beautiful. Um, because I saw it on Nat Bar, who I am friends with from Sunrise. Oh. So we can thank Nat for that. Thank you, Nat. And then realized who you guys were and did a bit of my background research. But do you wanna tell us a little bit about, I guess, your, your history in business and, and your, your first brand, and we can sort of start at the beginning, I guess.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, of course. Of course. So my sister and I, we have a pretty unique story. We were both brought up to get a government job and have the job that's, you know, y- teaching, nursing and, and do that kind of- The safe
Liz Nable: job ...
Hayley Crannage: the safe job, because our parents come from that background. And I do love that we did that, and we followed those kind of guidelines of the parents.
But then we really wanted to do something creative, and we always had fashion kind of in our background. And we just decided one day, let's do sunglasses. That was exciting for us, and something we thought we could really do. And I'd worked at General Pants as a, a assistant buyer with a beautiful team there, and they gave sunglasses to me as a baby category.
So that's where the eyewear part, [00:06:00] I felt like, you know, it stemmed from. Mm. And then, you know, we started with a s- in, in our parents' garage with a small collection of eyewear. We really just wanted to s- make it for our friends and family to see, you know, what's it all, what's it like having a business and selling online and this was pre-COVID times as well.
Right. And it just took off, which, which was amazing. We d- we were both still working as teachers and nursing, and probably our, it really took off in COVID times, as did a lot of businesses, and that's when we went, "We need to kind of manage ourselves here. We need a space. We need an office." More of a warehouse, I should say, rather than an office.
And, and so we made our first move into our first little warehouse. And then that was when it started to feel real and, and we grew from there and started wholesaling and built, you know, a beautiful community of people who loved the eyewear. And I think we're at a really attainable price in the eyewear market.
Mm. Yes. We weren't high-end. You know, we loved Saint Laurent and Gucci and all those beautiful [00:07:00] brands, but we c- we're coming in as more of a quiet luxury brand and, you know, wanting it to be for everyone. You know, our mum was wearing it, our nan was wearing it, and- Mm ... we loved it was an ode. Lu was after our nana, so we loved that it was this really...
It, it grew up on the Northern Beaches, and then it just built from there, you know? Mm, yeah. It got to an age knowing it was real when, you know, we were seeing celebrities start to wear it, and that's when, you know, globally you go, "Oh my gosh," like-
Liz Nable: So cool ...
Hayley Crannage: so cool. Yeah, but- Yeah ... yeah, so it, it was a really amazing time and, yeah, really exciting that we had- Cool
something that we were onto something that the product was good enough to sell.
Liz Nable: Yeah. You really were, 'cause I first discovered Lov Lu, I've got two pairs of your sung- Oh ... well, of your, your former brand sunglasses. Oh, yes. Yes. And in a shop in, like the lower North Shore in Sydney, and I think I did, like the deal breaker for me, or like the clincher for me was when I looked at the price and they were like, I think they were like maybe between 180 and 200 and something dollars.
Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. And I was like, [00:08:00] "These are gorgeous." And heaps of people s- I've worn them actually- Yeah ... in some of my stories in social media and ha- you know, weirdly, just before I reached out for you for this podcast- Yeah ... I wore them in a story, and people were saying, "Where are they from?" And so you obviously did kind of- Have a brand that was in demand from the start Yes Can I ask a couple of things here?
And of course, our audience is small business owners, so I'm being nosy, but I'm also, like, trying to share the background and the behind the scenes. Of course. How did you finance the business? 'Cause a product-based business- Yeah ... you need some cash- Oh ... even if you start small.
Hayley Crannage: Great question. I think, you know, even while we're doing it again now with By Sid, back then it was a little bit of a cheaper buy-in, so I think we needed, you know, 20 to 30 grand for our first.
We went very small with our first collection, but we didn't have that money sitting there. We both had... I had no savings, and so we... It was actually my husband's... Was he my husband at the time? But Brock said to me, "I'll lend you the money- Mm ... and then maybe your parents will chip in a bit, and you've [00:09:00] just gotta go for this.
This is a great idea." Mm. He is really, like, a, a risk-taker and- Yeah ... and very much like, "You've gotta give it a go." And we were from a safe... You know me and Jade were like, "This is rogue." Like, "How scary. We don't even have that money sitting there," you know, savings for a house or anything. Why, surely we can't just pop it into our stock.
And Brock was like, "Just go for it." So we actually borrowed the money off, you know, my partner and then off- Yeah ... my parents. But it was, yeah, probably about 30, 30 grand at the time, so not a huge buy-in. Mm. What year was this? This was in 20- God, really good question. When did we start it? What are we now?
We're 2026. Oh, don't quote me. It, it
Liz Nable: feels like, like COVID was yesterday- I- ... but it's actually
Hayley Crannage: six years ago I actually can't even tell you right now. I'd have to look it up. That's how bad I am with time. That's
Liz Nable: okay. If you remember later in the podcast, drop it in. I,
Hayley Crannage: I will. I will. And
Liz Nable: we'll put it in the show notes too, guys.
So it's pre-COVID. Yeah. Pre-COVID. Um, so that's, that, it's risky but, I mean, some people would be like maybe that's not a huge amount of money- That's nothing
Hayley Crannage: now. Yeah ...
Liz Nable: but it's still risky because it's not- But, um- ... [00:10:00] your money and you didn't have any, you had to pay back.
Hayley Crannage: Like, 100%, and we still had jobs, you know, that just average wage, like- Mm
really tough. Yeah, it was, it's a lot to us, and with parents who are quite conservative it looked like a crazy thing. They're like, "What? You're just handing money to a supplier in China before the, the, the money even gets, before the stock even gets here, and you just hand that over and trust?" And I'm like, "Yes."
Sort
Liz Nable: of, yeah. So-
Hayley Crannage: And I've had a few founders ask me that, "Do you have to always pay before stock gets in?" I'm like, "Yes, you have to trust that, you know, you're doing business with great people," which a lot of the time that's, like, in a positive... I, I think a lot of the time it's, it is wonderful, our relationships over there, and yeah, it's trust.
Liz Nable: Yeah. And you do your due diligence as much as you can, obviously. Of course. And, but there is an element of trust. So just to back up slightly, I know you said you, you were running sunglasses for General Pants, you had some experience in that area. Why sunglasses though for you? Were you like, this is a, like, was the price point like an opportunity or, like?
Hayley Crannage: For sure. Really [00:11:00] good question. I think 100% we looked at, like, would we do swimwear? We love swim. Oh, no, there's wonderful swimwear brands already out there. What's, like, missing from the accessory point of view? Bags, I think. Yeah, we kind of explored a few different options. Mm. Price point for eyewear is where we really went, I wanna own a few pairs of sunglasses.
I don't wanna just have to go with the one pair.
Liz Nable: That's so funny that you just said that because normally, I, I mean, I'm probably your target market, right, so I'm- Yeah ... I'm right on brand. But I would have one pair of really nice sunnies-
Hayley Crannage: Yeah ...
Liz Nable: and then I would be like, "Well, why would I have multiple pairs?"
Because they're expensive, and- Yeah ... they get scratched, and I had little kids. Yeah. But then when I saw the price point of your sunnies, I was like, well, I could... There was one particular pair I bought that I bought to wear to a dress with, at the races. Yeah. So you can't just wear anything to the races, kinds have to match, you know, outfit, blah, blah, blah.
Correct. That's interesting 'cause you're right on target there. That's,
Hayley Crannage: yeah, that's exactly what we noticed. We're like, oh, when you go to a wedding, you know, you want, might wear something finer. Yes. When you're going, we called them, like, the walking su- the [00:12:00] mum walking, I'm having a busy- Yeah ... day. You know, your eyewear changes with your looks, and I can't buy $800 eyewear, you know, a piece.
No. So that, the price point is 100%.
Liz Nable: And I probably wouldn't do that now knowing that there's a competitor or competitors probably now, you've probably got competitors yourself, but that you don't have to spend $800 on a pair of glasses to look fashionable and for them to be quality.
Hayley Crannage: Exactly. Exactly right, and I think- Yeah, it, there was.
There was a massive gap in the market, so we just went, "Oh, this is exciting. Let's, let's do it." And just because our prices were cheaper, it didn't mean that we're a cheaper brand. We still wanted to build a beautiful brand- Mm ... that felt luxurious, that had the gorgeous case, you know, i- but you don't have to pay, and, and still cover our margin, but you don't have to pay, you know, your Gucci 'cause, 'cause we weren't them.
You know? We were, we were quite like- No,
Liz Nable: and look, if you lose them or scratch them, it's still expensive no doubt- Yeah ... but it's not $800 expensive.
Hayley Crannage: Exactly, and then you can still afford to have your [00:13:00] beautiful pair of, you know- Yes ... those beautiful heritage brands. I love you've got that piece there, but then you can, you know, pepper in your- Yeah
the other Lou's or your sh- you know, a collection.
Liz Nable: Yes. Love it. Uh, great, great foresight, guys. Yeah. I love that idea, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker, so here I am. Yeah. I have my own collection now. So tell me a little bit about the journey of Love Lou, because I know, like, in the beginning of, like, social media and those sorts of things, what I noticed when I had started my business was, like, there was so much BS on- online about how easy it was to make money in business and, like, all the shiny, sparkly bits of, like, "Look at all this money I'm making."
Mm. And I try really hard in this podcast and on my socials to be real about how difficult this is, despite- Oh ... what social media tells you.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. Nev- look, in those, I actually just got the date, December 2018 is when we started, just- Okay ... to make that. And, and for the first, I'm gonna say th- we owned it for five years.
For the first three to four we were [00:14:00] hustling. So for majority of our ownership of it we were hustling.
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: And when I say hustling, it didn't mean we didn't have the highs, but I was still working as a full-time teacher, you know, till I was full-term pregnant. My sister was going in after finishing her shift at nursing to ship orders.
Wow. We didn't have a department of people. We kept it very... We had a beautiful friend, Leah, who, who still is, works with us today, who would help us with our graphic design and marketing, and then it was us. It was our family. It was my dad packing orders, my mum, my nan. It was... We weren't making enough money to validate doing a 3PL, and it was just all hands on deck.
But that's what made it so beautiful to celebrate the highs. Yeah. We weren't taking a salary for those first two to three years, I would say. Yeah,
Liz Nable: yeah. Yeah. And what was some of the biggest sort of pain points, I guess, you had, which, which might be a bit different now? Yep. But pain points that you had in the beginning that you were either lucky to get through, or you [00:15:00] strategized?
Like, is there any sort- Yeah ... of learnings from that growth period? Because we're gonna talk about how the business was acquired in a minute, but obviously- Yep ... you, you had success.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, definitely. So I think, you know, the wheels were turning, the momentum was there. We moved from our first space at the ware- to a bigger warehouse, because we knew we were growing and wholesale was growing, which was awesome.
But I think our biggest kind of moment of, I guess, learnings was sales are coming in, like that was validating us to keep moving, moving, moving, but sales doesn't mean success. It doesn't mean growth, you know? Revenue isn't profit. So that for me is a massive learning. So in that year, third year to fourth year, we're like, "Yeah, this is all happening.
We're getting noticed overseas. Let's buy into PR. Let's maybe do a activation overseas." And we were saying yes to all these amazing opportunities, and that's where the cash flow started to go down, down, down. And we had six months, si- six to eight months where my accountant said, "Girls, if you keep going like [00:16:00] this, you're going nowhere.
It's gonna go into the ground." And we didn't know that. We, we were just kind of looking at our sales and our Shopify and hearing, "Oh, my goodness." And, and we had to get down and dirty with our numbers, and she's like, "Why are you offering free shipping? You c- you don't make enough money to offer that, and you're a small business.
You don't have to be the Iconic." They can, you know- Afford
Liz Nable: it ...
Hayley Crannage: afford that. So we were trying to compete, we were trying to grow, say yes to everything, and, and expose the brand and build. But I think the learning was slow down. It, it, you know, getting bigger doesn't mean that you're gonna then get the sales to validate all of that.
Mm.
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: A healthy business is much more viable and valuable- Mm ... than this big glossy thing that actually when you get to the numbers, it's not.
Liz Nable: Yeah, and I think that's probably one of the biggest learnings, and I'm still learning about this in businesses- You know, y- people are like, "Oh, I make $10 million," and, "I make [00:17:00] $100 million."
And I saw this thing actually on social media yesterday that, like, basically equated, like, $2 million and a percentage revenue- Mm ... is the same as $10 million and a certain percentage... Sorry, and a certain percentage profit- Yeah ... is the same as $10 million without all the headaches. Yeah. Slightly different in my business 'cause I am a service-based business, so- Yeah
but still, like, understanding that, like, go, go, go, go, grow. Like, I've gotta have everything, and I think you get to a certain- Scale, scale ... especially in your first business, I got so excited by scaling and I was like, "You know, our name's gonna be on every corner," and blah, blah, blah, and then I got there and I was like, "Holy moly," like we- But-
we're making this much and we're spending this much. We, we're not making... We've got no profit at the end of the day.
Hayley Crannage: Yes, and I actually went to a founder's event recently which was so amazing, put on by Number 22 Home, and sat across from Rachel Wilde, who I just love-
Liz Nable: Oh, yeah ...
Hayley Crannage: oh, what she does. And, and she said to me, we had some great conversations.
She said to me, "Bigger-" Because I said, "You are just running an [00:18:00] empire. Like, it's so inspiring, and now you're doing politics." I said- Mm ... "I just love you." And then she said to me, "Bigger business, Hayley, bigger problems." Mm-hmm. And you know, second time round our, our goal is actually very different now with the se- our second business.
Our goal- So
Liz Nable: true
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. Our goal is- Yeah ... to build a beautiful life and to build something we're proud of and a brand and a, a lifestyle. Mm. You know?
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: Totally. I think successful and profitable but, you know, slowly and yeah, just a different... We're attacking it differently- Yeah ... which is a really nice place to
Liz Nable: be.
Growth and scale is not all it's cracked up to be, and as women, fortunately or unfortunately, we're looking for that balance 'cause we wanna be there for the kids and we wanna pick up and drop off and be the gala day netball coach and, and you can't do that if there's- We were doing it, yeah ... $100 million on the line and you haven't thought that out properly.
Hayley Crannage: 1000%. We were literally just having that conversation in our office, just that balance word. Like, how do you... You know, we wanna do it all and I do... Yeah, it's, it's tough. It's [00:19:00] every day different priorities, different juggles. Um- Yeah.
Liz Nable: Yeah. So tell me one more quick question about Lovelu before we talk about that transition period.
Yeah. So you, you, you put in your 30 grand, you, I guess you decided what lines you wanted to go with and, and what- Yeah ... products you wanted. Yeah. Were you just walking into stores and selling it or like how did, what did you decide? Where was your, you know, was it retail or wholesale or what was that, that, that system like and how did you get to that?
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. So I'd love to say there was an amazing like system and- Strategy ... we thought, "Oh, it was." We knew nothing. We were naive, like blissfully naive- Yeah ... and I think that was the secret. to it is that you, we just were confident to go, "Let's just launch online." We didn't even ex- have the conversation, like, should we wholesale?
It was, let's just launch online and see if anyone likes it, and then we're doing pickup orders from home, and then within the first, oh, six weeks, a beautiful business who's not around anymore, sadly, Splice, where I- Oh,
Liz Nable: I love Splice.
Hayley Crannage: [00:20:00] Yeah, so they're a local business. They said, "We'd love to stock you, and that way people can actually try them on."
And I was like, "Wonderful." So then it built from there with the wholesale, and that was actually a really valuable... And I know for small businesses this is a big conversation, to wholesale or not, and we're even going- Yeah ... through that now too. You could talk about that, you know, for days. Mm. But for us, it made sense with eyewear especially, 'cause you wanna try it on your face, and that was then a really valuable part of Love Lu.
It, it grew a lot with the wholesale. We had beautiful accounts. Really, it, it just brought so much revenue in, which was wonderful, then we could pay for our, our stock. Yeah. Obviously the margin part isn't as wonderful, but at the same time it was helping serve a healthy business and reinvest in stock.
Yeah. So the money that would come through from that, yeah, would just, was just so helpful. Yeah. And then the Iconic jumped on board, and again, you have the conversation, like, oh, units, the margin, like is- Yeah. And, and it was the right decision to do, and I'm so glad we did, and it was a bit risky. We didn't know how to fulfill an order.
We were [00:21:00] fulfilling it ourselves to the Iconic. We dropped our first order off. Um-
Liz Nable: Yeah. Well, pretending it was, there was like a whole team of people behind you.
Hayley Crannage: Absolutely. It was my husband driving the truck, and I was like- Yeah ... "Oh no." Bookin'
Liz Nable: accounts.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, literally. So you know, it's, yeah, it, it was really quite organic, the growth.
I'd love to say there was a plan. There wasn't first time round. It was, let's just go with what feels right, our gut, and but know our product's good enough for all of this, and then the wholesale stuff I believe just... And then I guess we would reach out to a few different wholesales, but it came in pretty organically- Mm.
Mm ... which was really, really amazing.
Liz Nable: That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So did you start the business with that exit in mind? Like, tell me about- No ... the acquisition and how that came about.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, of course. So the acquisition was something that came into play, as I said, after like a f- five years of owning it, I think, and- It, my sister was actually in Europe when we got an email, and it's...
I, I'd never even thought about selling a business. I didn't think anyone would even wanna buy an eyewear [00:22:00] business. It, our, our goal with Love Lu, we were just enjoying the ride. Mm. And we were right at the peak of it being wonderful, and finally getting to d- we'd got it to a healthy place with accounting and numbers, and we're like, "Let's keep going."
We had some really big plans for the year following, and when I got this email, I was like, "This is really interesting." Like, definitely something you obviously have to explore.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: But didn't think it would eventuate. But then the business who acquired us, they're called Sunshades Eyewear.
Liz Nable: Uh-huh.
Hayley Crannage: An Australian business.
They're a wonderful business who run a very successful eyewear business. Like, they've got a lot of beautiful brands. They own Le Specs, so that's been around, you know, Australian-
Liz Nable: Yeah ...
Hayley Crannage: many years. And then they also have the licensing to wholesale for Gucci and YSL and some beautiful luxury brands.
Liz Nable: Wow.
Hayley Crannage: I really respected that business.
They were Australian. They, it was such a well-oiled machine that I was like, "This is a really exciting opportunity. Let's just go through the motions and see if it's something that-" You know, what it's all about will serve us, so that's where the [00:23:00] conversations started.
Liz Nable: Wow.
Hayley Crannage: Yes. It was, it was he, they had their eye on us.
Whether they were looking, you know, who knows? But- Mm ... they wanted to have the conversation, and we explored it, and it was a really wonderful thing. It came to be a really wonderful opportunity for Jade and I- Mm ... and we're grateful that it, you know, it's still doing so well today. And, um- Mm ... yeah, the brand's still as beautiful as it was, and yeah.
Liz Nable: Yeah. And that's amazing, isn't it? Because sometimes the acquisition process can be really messy, and I've seen a lot of those or heard a lot of those stories where it all falls apart and-
Hayley Crannage: Yeah ...
Liz Nable: there's all these different kind of terms and conditions to the payouts, and it just falls apart. Or maybe the business gets acquired and, and it ends up, you know, running into the ground because it's, there's, the love and attention's not there anymore.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. I feel super lucky. We were very supported. We made sure before the conversation had started that we got business advice and- Mm-hmm ... understood what Lov Lu... I think the big piece for us was we had a, [00:24:00] a, more than the numbers, we had a special brand-
Liz Nable: Mm ...
Hayley Crannage: that, that had the legs to grow globally, and we didn't have the finances.
This is probably a good-
Liz Nable: Yeah ...
Hayley Crannage: reason if small businesses are exposed to that conversation and wanna explore it, you've gotta be realistic with, like, it, it costs a lotta money to go global, and, and Europe and America, and that's where it needed to go. It had the opportunity to go. We didn't have the finances to do that.
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: So it was the best thing for the brand, it s- num- was number one, and I really loved that business, and it felt right, and it felt like we were making the decision for the right reason on that part. Yeah. But secondly, it was also gonna ch- help Jade and I, at a time in our life, move forward with our life, you know?
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. We didn't own homes yet. We didn't have s- all of our stuff was into our business, so we're like, "This is a really exciting moment to move forward."
Liz Nable: Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of small business owners wait until they're sick of their business, or till it, or, or that it's on the decline or going through- Yeah
a [00:25:00] hard patch, and they're like, "Stuff it, I'm gonna sell it." Yeah. But I know now, in hindsight, from my own business, that I held onto my bus- first business for way too long. Yeah. Way too long.
Hayley Crannage: Yep.
Liz Nable: And by the time I wanted to sell it, I was over it. Yeah. So it just creates a different conversation and a different mindset, I think.
Whereas if you're hitting your peak, ideal time to... I mean, I'm not a business broker or giving advice, but-
Hayley Crannage: No, you're right. We got-
Liz Nable: Ideal time to sell ...
Hayley Crannage: I spoke to so many businessmen and women, and that one piece of advice that stuck with me was sell your business when you don't wanna sell it And, and that was exactly where, where we were at, like, you know, the day that we were getting all the boxes out.
Like, it was emotional, of course it was. Yes. It was, it was exciting, but it was emotional, and we were still enjoying working. Mm. So it was like, "Oh, are we gonna have to go back to teaching and nursing?" Well, yes, I'm actually back teaching casually at the moment to-
Liz Nable: Yeah, wow ...
Hayley Crannage: still, yeah, to still maintain my SED.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: So it's, yeah.
Liz Nable: It's interesting, isn't it? And it- it's so good to have these [00:26:00] conversations because a lot of small business owners listening to this will see a bit of themselves in you guys or perhaps think, "I, I, maybe I should've done that." I'm c- interested to know, and I ask this a lot on the podcast to all different kinds of business owners and experts- Yeah
do you think luck played a role in, first of all, the success of the business and the acquisition, or do you believe in that? Or do you think like a right place, right time kinda thing? Or do you feel like it was hard work and smarts that, that got you where you were? 'Cause I think somet- particularly now, 'cause business is so frigging hard right now- Yes
I know a lot of small business owners feel annoyed or angry or, or-
Hayley Crannage: Mm ...
Liz Nable: you know, they're like, "Well, that's all right for them because, you know, someone approached them," or, you know, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. What, what, what are, what are your thoughts on that for you guys?
Hayley Crannage: My thoughts are, like I am definitely a bit woo-woo, and I love when things like get put together.
Align. We talk about horoscopes all the time, and I definitely have that side to me, but I do think, like I love saying to anyone, "You can start a [00:27:00] business. Anyone can actually do it."
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: And, and I think if you're a person, if you're a people's person and you say yes to opportunities, and you love talking because she might know the next person, and like- Mm
I believe connections and community is why we got to be where we were because- It, it, yeah, I, so I don't think it was luck, I think it was the opportunities all built up and then led to where we landed Mm.
Liz Nable: Like an abundance mindset?
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. Yes, I do. Mm. Yes. And yeah, I do. So yeah, I, I, I do feel like it was like a, emo- like we got approached, that was different, we weren't trying to sell- Yeah
so that, the really amazing- Fortunate ... amazing thing, of course. But I also think the only reason we got approached, 'cause it, they were looking I'm sure at the eyewear industry, and, you know, we weren't doing huge numbers in ads or anything, we just had our Instagram, we were being true to who we were- Yeah
we had a direction and a brand, and anyone can do that.
Liz Nable: [00:28:00] Yeah. If you want. Well- It's interesting, I do think attitude does play a role, and I think if you've been in small business- I think so. Mindset ... yeah, if you've been in business a really long time, and if you're over it- Yeah ... you can end up shooting yourself in the foot a bit, because y- it, it, it's really obvious that you're over it.
I know, 'cause I was probably like that at the end of my last business. People just knew that my heart wasn't in it anymore.
Hayley Crannage: Well, that's interesting. I agree, I think I've always, like y- yeah, your, your motivation and your inspiration like spark that, kind of those wheels that just keep going- Mm ... and, yeah.
Liz Nable: Mm.
Interesting. I love that mindset, and I, and I think it's all, I mean, I'm in a new busine- newish business now, I've been doing this business for about five years, but only sold my last business in April, so I've only really been doing this full-time. Fresh.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. And, and you love being, like I'm loving- Love it
being back.
Liz Nable: Love it.
Hayley Crannage: I think I work best on ground level, I've decided.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: Like to do a bit of everything.
Liz Nable: Yeah, I absolutely love it. I've got this renewed vigor for small business, 'cause I just love what I'm doing, which is amazing. So, and I probably got 20/20 hindsight too, like you, with the [00:29:00] mistakes that I've made, and I'm like- Yeah
"Oh my God, I can't believe I did this or didn't know this," or, you know.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Sometimes I admit things on the podcast and I'm like, "People must be going, 'Oh my God, is she like dense?' Like how did she not know that?" Oh,
Hayley Crannage: you're real, and, and even we look back at some of the decisions, people say the same thing, "How didn't you know that?"
And I'm like, honestly- No ... in our second time round, there's so much we don't know. Mm. It's a different climate, it's-
Liz Nable: Mm ... but
Hayley Crannage: I think that's part, that's part of why it's great having a small business. It's, it's a journey. It's-
Liz Nable: It's a journey.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah ... you gotta keep teaching yourself- Yeah ... and you gotta keep learning, and
Liz Nable: what, I mean, with that- It's so, yeah, it, it's a, it's an evolution, and I, I love the learning too- Same
which, which I wish I wasn't learning with my own money.
Hayley Crannage: The tea- it's the teacher in me- I'd like to- ... that like I love upskilling, and I'm like, "Oh, what can I-" Me too ... you know, "What can I ask Chat today?" And like,
Liz Nable: yeah. I know. I'd love to learn on someone else's dime. Yeah, so do I. It seems to be my money that I'm learning on.
But anyway. Yeah. So let's talk about Buy Sid. Yeah. Are you guys crazy selling your business and then going back in for more, starting a new business?
Hayley Crannage: Yes, we are crazy, yes. [00:30:00] Management and all I think looking at our timeline, we've done it quickly, and we keep saying here in the office, like, now we're still acting like we're like a three-year-old business.
It's like, "Oh, we only launched in April." Like,
Liz Nable: it's- What? Yeah. Did you only launch this past April?
Hayley Crannage: Yes.
Liz Nable: Oh my God. On
Hayley Crannage: my dad's birthday. How is that? Yes, April the 23rd. Stop it. And I founded By Sid, so now Dad gets his turn, you know, in, in the ring. Yeah. It's all about- Thanks,
Liz Nable: Dad ...
Hayley Crannage: thanks, Dad. He's very chuffed.
But yeah, it only launched in April, so I think, yeah, it's crazy that we're here. We are nuts for doing it again, but we always knew the love that came with Lovely. We're like, oh, this is, this is what we love- Yeah ... the magic of starting something, building something. And then I think working for yourself is such a privilege.
If you can- Mm ... you know, do that, it's actually- Yeah ... amazing, especially with kids.
Liz Nable: Yeah, absolutely. Um- Tell, tell us about, do a little shameless plug for By Sid. Yeah. Tell us a bit about the product and why, like, why you're doing what you're doing, and what, I [00:31:00] guess, your lane is that you're, that you're driving in.
Hayley Crannage: So By Sid is a fashion label. That was always something Jade and I have always wanted to tap into because we love clothes. Mm. And I think there's still room for more in the market. So when you look at that product fit, which I think's the place to start when you're starting a business, you know, is it over...
Everything's oversaturated in, in that, now day and age, I would say. But clothing, I still felt like for looking at me and Jade, we looked at what we like to wear, and we felt like there was more room for more Australian brands in, in our kind of realm. So I think we loved looking at our winter collection where, like, Jade and I sit somewhere in she's cool girl, she's chic, but she's also a bit edgy.
Mm. And our styles, like, really cross over, which is nice. We're covering kind of a broad, I would say, target market, which is nice 'cause our two styles are kind of meshed in there. Yeah. It's just modern silhouettes that are easy to wear. You can be a mom, you can be a 20-year-old. My mom's wearing it. She's in her 60s.
It's, again, just [00:32:00] trying to- Make it wearable. It's affordable. I don't want it sitting, again, in that place where you can't afford a wa- a wardrobe, a whole, a whole look. Yeah. Um, so trying to find that perfect balance, yeah, of where- Yeah ... where it sits in the market.
Liz Nable: Yeah, that's so interesting, 'cause when I saw Nat post about it- Yeah
the reason why... So she posted about your, it's like a maroon, like bur- burgundy colored bomber jacket. A rommy jacket. Obsessed. Rommy jacket, right?
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. Obsessed.
Liz Nable: And so it caught my eye because- Yeah ... I am telling you, at one point I had probably 50 tabs open on my laptop. Don't, don't tell my husband. He'll be like, "Oh my God."
Yeah. And I was looking for a bomber jacket, because I wouldn't normally buy that, but I was like, I really, you know, I saw one. I ended up buying one, I probably shouldn't admit this on the podcast, for more than $1,000.
Hayley Crannage: Re- obviously real leather, beautiful.
Liz Nable: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it came, and I was like, "Nah."
It, it just didn't suit me. It just looked-
Hayley Crannage: Yep ...
Liz Nable: big and baggy. I mean, I'm nearly 50. Like, I'm like a- Yep ... it's gotta be stylish on, on you, right?
Hayley Crannage: It's gotta feel
Liz Nable: good. And so... Yeah. And so it was beautiful, do not get me wrong. Yep. But I sent it [00:33:00] back. Yep. And I was like, "I just cannot, you know, I can't." Like, reason with keeping this if I don't love it.
Hayley Crannage: Yep.
Liz Nable: So that was fine. And then she posted about that, and I was like, "I wonder how much it is." And I went on and it was 299. Is that right? Yes. 299. Correct. And I was like, "Oh my God, this is amazing." So I bought it. Love it. And it's not, it doesn't look faux, like it's not. No. That's what I loved about it. I thought I needed the real one-
Hayley Crannage: Yes
Liz Nable: and the real one wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Nope. So if you ever need, like ideas for, like what I think each, the color should be next year, I've got a whole bunch of ideas for you. Um-
Hayley Crannage: I will definitely take those ideas ... '
Liz Nable: cause I've deep dived into bomber jacket, like- Yeah ... research for some random reason.
Hayley Crannage: Love
Liz Nable: that. Um, but I love it. And, and the price point, again, I was like, okay, ridiculous to buy one for more than $1,000, particularly as a small business owner. Like, it was just the price point for me was beautifully, it was beautiful, it was- Yeah ... quality, and the price point was great.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah. And I think that was so...
But I see, you know, we went to, Jade and I booked the trip to [00:34:00] Shanghai. We did our sourcing. It's come from, like designed with intention is actually the honest truth for us. We've worked hard on our first collection, and we wanted it... Of course, I would love to do the real leather at, a, 1,000. Mm. Of course.
But I just know that the women who are surrounded by me, we don't have that cash flow right now. No. Our husbands or our partners or our sisters might pick us up and say, "You're crazy. Send it back." Yeah. So we had to design something that we could afford that still feels beautiful, that is still, you know, all the things we want it to be- Mm
but at an affordable price point. Yeah,
Liz Nable: yeah. And
Hayley Crannage: I... And, and, yeah, it does. It all feels, it's all I wear. Yeah. It feels luxurious.
Liz Nable: It's quite hard to do that with a bomber jacket too. Not that... Guys, this is- Yeah ... all, like legit. I'm not saying this just because Hayley's my guest.
Hayley Crannage: That's so nice. No, it's
Liz Nable: been our best seller.
So you- It's really hard to look good when it's faux. Like it, it j- and it does. Yes. It just looks, it looks real.
Hayley Crannage: Real. I totally agree. I had it on in an elevator the other day, and they're like, "Oh, is that real leather? That's just beautiful." And I, I- Yeah ... I'm always honest, I'm like, "It's not. It's faux leather."
But it's... [00:35:00] And also, you know, it's a specific style. It's got that biker, it's the funnel neck, it's-
Yeah ... what is trending, and, and it's, it, yeah. It- Yeah ... we couldn't do it in real leather- Yeah ... 'cause it would have to be $1,200 to make.
Liz Nable: Totally. Yeah. So- And Zara had this viral leather bomber. Correct. You were sure to know. Yeah. But yours is way better. And- And I don't know what their price point was, but yours was very, very attractive price point.
That's- So...
Hayley Crannage: That's such good feedback, and the sales have definitely backed that up, which has been so exciting. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like, everyone is loving the product.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: It's doing what it needs to do- Yeah ... which is great.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: And that's a, a, a huge, you know, we've got a supplier that is just wonderful. We work really closely with them to get this quality.
Yeah. They know where our benchmark is, and we work together to, to get that- Yeah ... which is awesome.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Amazing. All right. Yeah. Sorry for taking that down a rabbit hole, guys, but I, I'm a big- No, I love it ... fan of the bomber jacket. So tell me a little bit about what you learned from- How you ran Love Lu.
Like, what are the things- Yep ... that you took with you, and what are you doing differently now [00:36:00] knowing what you know? I mean, the whole point of this podcast is, like, what I wish I knew about small business before I started. So what do you wish you had known when you started Love Lu and, and you've learned that the hard way, and then how are you taking that into the new business?
Hayley Crannage: Mm. So I think when I look at business one and look at, like, first time, I think our... it was let's do everything. We just, we were so new that our, our motto was, "Let's do it all," which we were saying yes to everything, you know? But second time round, it's actually not about that. It's let's tighten it up.
We've got... We're right at the start. It's what's gonna move the needle. Mm. So you can't do PR, ads, your stock, your big campaign that could cost 30 grand, paying influencers. You can't do everything at the start. Mm. So what is actually gonna move the needle? And, and here's our priority list, and we're just gonna...
It might take six months to start then upping our spend on ads. It might take another six months before we get to do a collaboration. So slow it down and make those decisions [00:37:00] a little bit more, like, more potent of what's gonna get us- Yeah ... to, you know, the, the next part. Whereas with Love Lu, we, we were just, in those first few years, we, we did, we just said yes to everything and move, move, move.
Liz Nable: Um- Yeah, you get excited.
Hayley Crannage: I don't wanna get to that place again in three years or four years when we're sitting in front of Na- our beautiful accountant-
Liz Nable: Mm ...
Hayley Crannage: and her saying, "You gotta... We're starting from scratch here. Let's build it back up. You're going into the red." So I think we're smarter with our decisions, with what to put our money into from, from a marketing perspective, and we're also more aware of our numbers this time round.
We're not taking three years to look at our numbers. Yeah. We look at them from day one.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: And we're making numbers fun.
Liz Nable: Yeah. So from a marketing perspective, what are you doing right now in terms of- Yep ... what's your focus?
Hayley Crannage: Beautiful. So our focus was, and I really think this is huge, is your imagery and the way you come out to the world is so important.
That tells people, like, what you stand for as a brand and how... I guess it's like what [00:38:00] outfit you put on, like-
Liz Nable: Yeah ...
Hayley Crannage: you want people to respect you and, and you know, and look like you're put together. You put effort into your look and your outfit. So I guess first thing that I knew we had to put money into and make it beautiful and get video and get, get imagery.
Second to that, it has just been gifting and, and that's cost no money at all. It's reaching out to a community of people and saying, "Hey, no pressure. If you need to be paid, understand that, but we're gifting, and we'd love to see you and buy a seed if you'd like to receive something." Mm-hmm. And that has cost us $0.
Of course, there's influencers I'd love to work with in the future, but we're not there yet to pay. Mm. I'm not paying myself a salary yet, so we just don't have that- No ... budget from a marketing perspective to pay influencers where, whereas I'd probably say with Lovely we probably jumped at the gun just 'cause we just thought that's what you had to do.
Yeah. You know, people wanna support you, and obviously I look forward to paying them in the future, and then you'll go back and say, "Let's work on some cool content and, and do a paid collaboration."
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: So yeah, I would say- [00:39:00] Great campaign first is where your outgoings should, should start and go, and then save money or don't, don't do anything crazy on the influencer.
Yeah.
Liz Nable: Yeah,
Hayley Crannage: that's from a marketing. Yeah. And then ads, we, we did hit go on ads straightaway, we didn't wait- Yeah ... on the organic front because I wanted to jump on that and get it out there.
Liz Nable: Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: Get our subscriber list up. So I would say paid ads, but be conservative. Yeah. It doesn't have to be wild.
Liz Nable: Yeah, yeah.
And what's your plans with, with By Sid in terms of are you guys just going to grow it slowly and see where it lands or, you know, are you looking to expand overseas?
Hayley Crannage: Yeah.
Liz Nable: What's your sort of plan there?
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, definitely have a really directional plan second time round, which is really nice 'cause you kind of know where you're steering the ship.
The plan is to grow it slowly and, and be smart with cash flow. We still needed to borrow a little bit of money when we started this business, so we just wanna grow it slowly. Wholesale isn't really on the radar at the moment. We, we just wanna grow it organically on [00:40:00] our website. Mm-hmm. And then the dream would be to have a bricks and mortar store- Oh, wow
and be able to really put By Sid in, in a, in... and, and give that custom experience. Yeah. So that's actually our first, that would be the dream. Yeah, wholes- no wholesale just yet, which is a different direction to where Love Lu was. Yeah. Which comes from a place of, yeah, just, just where we're at, that's just what the game plan is, and grow slowly.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. And do you think there's anything that you definitely wouldn't do this time around, any sort of major mistake that you made first time around that you wouldn't do again?
Hayley Crannage: Yes. To answer your question as well, globally we actually didn't open orders to the US or we're literally just shipping to Australia and New Zealand- Uh-huh
at the moment, and that was- Right ... just to keep it controlled. We're not ready to go bigger yet, so I think that's something that small businesses, we think, "Oh, you must need to ship international and offer that." Well, if it's only gonna be, you know, three to four customers coming through the door, like, let's just harness our Australian [00:41:00] market- Yeah
and then we'll build. Yeah. So what I would do that probably- It would be on that collaboration PR front Mm-hmm, mm-hmm I, at this stage in the game, I wouldn't pay big money for anything like that just yet. Mm, mm, mm, mm. 'Cause we don't have the finances. Where I did do that- Yeah ... got stuck. I did a contract and it- With a
Liz Nable: PR company?
Hayley Crannage: Yes. Yeah. And they're wonderful. And you know what? From a brand point of view, beautiful. Did all the things it needed to do, but unfortunately when you're getting that brand exposure and, and building on the brand awareness, you don't always get the return on investment. No. So then your cashflow was going down, down, down.
But I think looking at that now, was that meant to be? Because it-
Liz Nable: Yeah ...
Hayley Crannage: it's
Liz Nable: a real- It got you out there. It got us out there. It's interesting 'cause that's what I do. I- I know, yeah ... teach small business owners how to do it themselves because of that very reason. Yeah. Because it's 10,000 or 8,000, 10,000, $12,000 a month and you commit to three months or [00:42:00] six months or whatever.
Yeah. That's a huge hole in your budget when you're just starting out, and PR's amazing for credibility and reputation and brand awareness. But it's very difficult to measure the return on investment on that.
Hayley Crannage: Correct. Yeah. And I think, like, there's such a place for it, but I think for us at our, it's a project-based approach.
Yeah, 100%.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Yeah.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah,
Liz Nable: yeah.
Hayley Crannage: So working on what's the project, because especially in our year, when I look at our projections and, and when I think our sales are coming in, we're living in such a different world with climate- Yeah ... of we're right now having this sale conversation. We're a new brand. You wanna keep your brand here, but you've also gotta be involved in the Afterpay days and to some degree as a small business- Yeah
I personally believe, because that's just the world we live in. Yeah. We've got Black Friday, we've got Afterpay Day. You don't do them all, but-
Liz Nable: Mm ...
Hayley Crannage: yeah, where do you decide, so yeah, that's, that's what we're navigating.
Liz Nable: I think that's a really good point, and a lot of small business owners, particularly with product-based businesses- Yeah
[00:43:00] there's so much pressure, like external pressure in small business right now. There's obviously inflation- Yeah ... interest rates- Oh ... cost of goods, supplies, fuel. Yeah. I mean, we could go on for days. Yeah. And then there's this, like, bargain hunter mentality by consumers who are also under the pump-
Hayley Crannage: Yeah
Liz Nable: waiting for a sale or waiting for a discount. Like, how do you navigate that as a product-based business and stay profitable?
Hayley Crannage: Yes, and it's such a, a, you will speak to one person, and one person has a completely different view to the next. So it's, it's obviously what works for you and your brand.
Liz Nable: Mm.
Hayley Crannage: I believe that I want, I want people to wear By Seed.
So I want to offer... I know times are tough at the moment, so the actual soft part of me is like, "20%, like, wonderful. Give that." You know? Mm. I, I think it's, it's hard, 'cause you've gotta look at your numbers. So hard. And should we be doing it right now? Probably not, but we are gonna do an Afterpay Day sale because I think that they'll shop somewhere else on that day.
Yeah. Because that brand will be doing a 20% off, so do I want- Yeah ... some form of a sale? [00:44:00] Do I want it in the customer's wardrobe so then when we drop summer and it's amazing and it's not on sale, they're coming back to shop with me?
Liz Nable: Yeah, yeah. So- It's such a tough conversation or, or like- It is ... isn't it?
And small business owners are so... disadvantaged in that space 'cause you kinda gotta go with everybody, you kinda gotta go with the flow even though your heart's like, "I don't wanna discount it because I don't think it's worth the price."
Hayley Crannage: And our product... Well, exactly right, and we, we sacrifice a little bi- bit of our margin to have a more attainable price point.
Mm. So we're the same. We're like, "Oh gosh, it, it's tricky, isn't it?" Oh,
Liz Nable: yeah.
Hayley Crannage: But we're building, so I think i- for us, it's a moment of people are more motivated to shop with us. Mm. Like, they can experience our products- Mm-hmm ... and then that trust is building. We've got, you know... Yeah, they're, they're being exposed to us.
Yeah. I, I think it- Yeah ... it's, it's almost a, a strategy of building for us.
Liz Nable: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you have- Yeah. Thank you ... a beautiful brand, and you guys have done so well. Yeah. My last [00:45:00] question for you is any advice, I guess, to someone who's maybe- Yeah ... just starting out in small business or thinking of, like, quitting their job and starting a business.
Obviously, it's different times to 2018 when you started out, with there's a whole bunch of different external factors happening right now. Any advice to someone in, or a micro-business side hustler that, that you wish you'd known before you started?
Hayley Crannage: What I'd wish I'd known. I, you know what? I think after selling our business and, like, sitting where I am today, I think it's, I, I now know the value of brand.
That you can sell a business because your brand is strong and healthy. So to me, the most important thing is if you've got that idea and you think you can build a brand for, for a community of people, go for it. I, I think that it's, i- if, yeah, just building that beautiful aesthetic brand piece- Mm-hmm ... is more valuable than you think.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Uh- Build it and they will come.
Hayley Crannage: [00:46:00] Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think, and being honest, putting yourself out there and being honest with then people and also trusting the experts. I haven't actually spoken about this, but this is a big thing for me, trusting the, the experts in, in your, kind of, small circle, listening to that advice and, and taking it on, 'cause you don't know it all.
So, so gathering your troops, like, I'm, I'm a big question, I like ring- I love questions. Yes. I ask so many questions. And, and bringing those people in your corner and trusting- Yeah ... your little, little community of people that help you and that will then get you to the next level, the next level. Yeah.
Liz Nable: Mm-hmm.
So who do you have in your, like, like, superpower advice squad? So your accountant, obviously.
Hayley Crannage: Accountant. Yeah. I've also got a beautiful business mentor, Paul Dennis, who's like a friend. Mm-hmm. He helped us a lot with the sale. He does culture, um, for businesses. He used to be the general manager at MCM- Uh-huh
an amazing guy to have in your corner. I've also got our girlfriend, Leah, who's like the other sister, so she's [00:47:00] just our graphic designer, but also just a friend who's seen everything, so she helps us with our advice.
Liz Nable: Yeah. Uh,
Hayley Crannage: and then my mortgage broker, that's always helpful. He just knows everything, so he just comes along for the ride.
But the key one is your, it's actually your accountant-
Liz Nable: Yeah ... '
Hayley Crannage: cause that's what keeps the lights on.
Liz Nable: Yeah. I know, an accountant, and
Hayley Crannage: very- And then
Liz Nable: my family ... well-versed small business
Hayley Crannage: accountant And friends. Family and friends. Yeah. Don't underestimate... I, I think take their advice and, and obviously leave what you don't need, but I, I take advice from my family and friends.
Liz Nable: Mm-hmm.
Hayley Crannage: Yeah, which was, yeah, so I, I guess my handful of people aren't that much of experts
Liz Nable: Yeah, they're just support But
Hayley Crannage: they're, they're support
Liz Nable: Yeah Yeah Love it Yeah Well, I've just loved chatting to you. Tell Jade that we missed her Absolutely Obviously she's mothered one week, one week, mother to a one-week-old A week Yes Yes,
Hayley Crannage: yes
Liz Nable: So she's otherwise occupied, fair enough Yes, very much so We missed her, and congratulations on your new business Thank you so much It's incredible.
I'm already a converted customer, so- Yay. Thank you [00:48:00] Yeah, it's been amazing talking to you, Hayley. Thanks for coming on the show
Hayley Crannage: Thanks so much for having me, Liz, and we'll chat soon no doubt
Liz Nable: Definitely. Thanks for listening to What I Wish I Knew About Small Business Before I Started, a special six-part miniseries from inside the Media Magnet podcast and brought to you by AMP Bank Go.
If this episode helped you, follow Media Magnet wherever you get your podcasts, and go back to catch the other episodes in this series. And if you know a small business owner who's learning everything the hard way right now, please share this episode with them. It might be exactly what they need today.
I'm Liz Nable, and I'll see you in the next episode
