A WOMAN who never went to uni or had a “proper job” has revealed how she managed to turn a teenage blog into a multi-million pound brand.
Sarah Ashcroft started a fashion blog called That Pommie Girl back in 2013, when she was 18, to help her to get a job in fashion PR.
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The now 29-year-old said that within six months, the blog had begun gaining traction, alongside her Instagram account.
Sarah describes herself as one of the first influencers and a “dinosaur” in the industry.
She started to earn money from the blog and from Instagram by sharing commissionable links and earned £1500 in her first month.
Sarah said that her parents weren’t too impressed at first, and told her to get a “proper job”, but are now very happy with her career choice.
She said she never enjoyed school and didn’t want to go to university, but believes that this route is not necessary for success.
Speaking to Amelia Sordell on her podcast Branded, she said: “Never be afraid to not go to uni.
“Trust your gut and go with what you feel is right.
“I’m living proof that if you follow your passion, it will all work out alright.”
After Sarah had gained a decent amount of followers and was making good money from social media, she decided to set up her own brand.
In 2019, she launched SLA, a premium occasion wear fashion brand.
Sarah said that she decided to start her own brand after realising that if her influencer work dried up, she wouldn’t have anything tangible that she could sell.
Sharing a message to influencers, she said: “If you don’t turn your platform into something, what are you doing?”
Sarah said that she believes her business, which is now worth millions has been so successful, as she spent years creating a loyal following, and learning exactly what kind of products they would want to buy.
“I’ve got such a community of people that have grown up with me, and I’ve really nurtured that”.
How to start your own business
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
Sharing advice to anyone who has a large following on social media, and is thinking of transforming this into their own brand, Sarah said: “If you’ve got the feeling that you can do more, you’ve got to try.
“I didn’t know that SLA was going to succeed, I had no idea.
“But I knew that it was a passion, and I wanted to see if it would work.”
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