My story so far...

Last night (Thursday 28th April) I was asked by our local ladies Inner wheel group to do a talk on my little business as their theme for the year was entrepreneurs. I was delighted and excited to share my story. 

So here goes...  (Please take into consideration I wrote this how I talk and I am also very dyslexic, so please excuse punctuation, as you may have guessed by now this isn't my strong point)!! 

Good Evening All, 

Firstly I would like to thank Lynne for inviting me this evening, and also for my lovely meal. Please bare with me, as I may be a little rusty on the public speaking.I have not done this since I was about 15 at young farmers taking part in public speaking, talking about my dream life. A very different life I planned as a 15 year old party animal! 

I’m Becky and I am here this evening to talk about my small business, Born To Farm. I am a 30 year old farmer's wife, with 2 small children. Alfie, age 3 and Rory, age 1. I live in Somerby on my in-laws family farm where I run and manage our livery yard of up to 12 horses, which I set up in 2016 as a diversification for the farm.

But back to the reason I am here, Born To Farm. My little business that all started with an idea during lockdown and has grown massively in the last 18 months. We create country clothing for adults and mini Farmers, from sleepsuits, to gilets to hoodie to mugs. It is slowly becoming a full time roll for me and fitting in around been a mum, a wife and the horses.  I am really excited to be here this evening and share my story. 

Back in October 2020 I was looking for farm theme clothing for my longest friend who is also a fellow farmers wife. I was 4 months pregnant at the time with my second, Rory, and was also looking for farm themed items for him but couldn't find a lot to choose from. So I decided to create my own and ask a friend who runs an embroidery business to create the items. I started designing, creating, and then I had the thought that clearly there is a market for this. My brain went off on a whirl wind of ideas and then before I knew it Born To Farm was born! 

At this point I kept my idea very secret, I had not even told my husband. If the idea was out there and people knew it was me, it opened me up to failure, to be shot down, or someone to copy! So while Andrew was at work and Alfie happy playing, I sat at my kitchen table and planned. I Designed my designs, created social media accounts, worked out costings and prices, found suppliers but then I needed a name. I sat for hours staring at a piece of paper and began to brainstorm. All the different farm related  and new baby words I could think of, placing them together, mixing and matching and then it came to me. Born To Farm. 

My initial idea started with tractor sleepsuits, as this is what i was looking for as a gift. But of course you can’t just have one colour tractor, as in the farming community this causes a lot of debates! So my designs developed and a Blue, Green, Red and Pink tractor. As livestock farmers I knew some animals were needed. We have pigs and cattle at home they were a must and my next favourite a sheep. I then played around and my main children's logo was created.   

I then spoke to my embroiderer, confirmed costings, spoke about designs and placings and I sent my first 10 sleepsuits to be created. I was nervous, but excited, and I thought if all fails I am having a baby, he can wear them! At this point I told my husband. Casually one evening while watching Emmerdale, So ermm I’ve started a children’s clothing business, and as you can imagine he was very confused but also excited at where this could go once I explained.

So while my items were in production, I began to work gaining awareness on social media. Posting hints, photos of designs, counting down to launch date and building up the excitement.  I also made some brand values and an aim, to design and provide great quality and affordable clothing for newborns to age 5 and Adults .We also want hard wearing but still cute and adorable and affordable. With more products always been developed and designed we hope we have something to everyone's taste. At this point I still kept all of this under wraps, I had friends messaging asking if they knew who it was, I told a small white lie of no. 

Launch day arrived, 19th October 2020. My sleepsuits had arrived and I was in love. I had fire in my belly and I could not wait to get going.  I launched on social media, and I had a fabulous reaction. I started with 4 sizes of sleepsuits and I began to take pre orders once I had sold my initial 10 sleepsuits. I also then decided to launch a born to farm t-shirt, put on a launch offer, get the brand out there and it went absolutely crazy! The t-shirt was long sleeve, available in 2 colours, pink and blue and had the childrens born to farm logo on the front. Orders where coming in, business was a go.  

With launching in October I wasn't sure if people were Christmas shopping early and if it would die down, but it continued. As more orders came in for pre order it gave me funds to develop new products and order stock. My original intention for the business was children’s items, new baby gifts. So the next items I designed were our white baby blankets and bibs. 

I kept advertising on social media, promoting, marketing, still keeping my identity hidden. The closer we got to christmas the more the orders picked up, I was absolutely chuffed and couldn't believe it. So I kept designing new items, more t-shirts and hoodies to keep people interested. Christmas was an absolute success. Over the festive period my embroider closed and it was ok as i had a little bit of stock built up and I thought January would be quiet. But I was wrong. The orders continued to come in.  

I then decided to put my face behind my brand. The best decision I made.  I told people are story, about my boys and our farm life and the livery yard. People absolutely love the story behind a small business and it was so lovely to share ours and hear such great comments and feedback. People also thought I was mad, at this point 6 months pregnant, a 2 year old and the livery which I was still working on 2 days a week. 

As the orders continued coming in through social media it took up a lot of admin time checking people had paid, checking stock, address so I decided it was time for a website. So I went onto maternity leave at the end of January and I spent my last few weeks before baby was due creating my own website. This was a very challenging process, and definitely a skill in itself. It took time and patience but I am so proud that I have achieved and created it myself. I needed to listing items, working out the best way for the website to function and be organised, for it to be neat and professional. It look a long time, and a lot of cups of tea! February 22nd 2021 my website went live and I received my first order within 4 minutes! Which was amazing but also to know it all worked correctly! Orders can be placed via our website for postage or if you are local for collection, just search Born To Farm on google. 

With baby only a few weeks away, I made it very clear to customers he was due to arrive and I would be taking some time off. I had new items planned for when I would re open to keep excitement flowing and people interested while I was away.  

On the 12th March 2021 I announced my little bundle of Joy had arrived and I received some of the nicest messages and comments. Rory was born via a planned section on his due date, which again we kept as a secret from friends and wider family members. I knew as soon as I stopped being active on social media people would have guessed something was going on. So I had posts saved and scheduled and I continued messaging and posting on my instagram story right up until I walked into the theatre. With Rory been born during covid I spent a lot of the time in hospital on my own, and as little man gave me zero sleep, I continued to work on social media so nobody guessed! Mad I know! Once I was home and settled we shared our news and gave myself some time away from working. The website remained opened but it was advised that orders wouldn't be posted as quickly as normal.  As the next few weeks passed by, I settled into my new role as a mum off 2, and running a business. I worked during nap times and kept things minimal. My time off I said I was going to have didn't happen, I loved my new adventure too much to stop, and it fitted so well with having a new baby to wear all our super cute sleepsuits and blankets. This was also when I released our gorgeous fleece gilet, which I knew would go down well as a fleece gilet with brown pipping is loved in the country community. This is now one of my best selling items.

At this point I was still on maternity leave from working physically on the yard but I just had more of a manager's role of day to day running. With my husband we had discussions of what would happen after my maternity ended. With children and him been busy working and in the middle of drilling, We decided with Born To Farm going so well and heading in the right direction that I could push this to become my full time income so I am around for the boys. 

So I got my notepad back out and I started to brainstorm for new ideas how I could branch out further. Initial when I thought of my name and brand it was children's items, Mini farmers who are Born To Farm. But as I continued to brainstorm I thought it isn't just children who are Born To Farm, adults do too. My Husband for one, he is so passionate and fantastic at what he does and it makes me so proud to call myself a farmers wife. So I decided to re brand and expand to adults clothing too. So I invested some money into some new machines got practising and on the 8th June 2021 Born To Farm was relaunched with a new logo and our adults clothing. I then started doing vinyl printing myself, still from my kitchen table which had slowly become my desk. I started with a few T-shirts and our gorgeous grey Born To Farm ¼ Zip. I had new designs, ones for country girl, items for farmers wives, accessories for every day life, childrens lunchboxes, mugs to open up my business to more people. 

At this point I became very busy, and I spent most evenings when the kids were in bed creating clothing. It felt so amazing to be actually creating my items as well as having them embroidered by another small business. At this point I realised I needed to give myself some breaks, have a holiday, not post 24/7 on social media and I am incredible lucky to able to have this flexibility with work to fit in around my children, work when I want and not let it take over 100% of my life.

As the months have gone on my knowledge of social media has grown, aware of algorithms, ways to gain new followers and find new accounts. This in itself is full time role. With lockdowns still a thing, social media became a huge part of everybody's life, keeping connected and communicating so this was a vital part of my business to get the brand out there. But as the business grew I needed to find new ways to market by business and find new customers. So 8th August 2021 I headed to East Halton show and had my first trade stand. What a day! It started as a disaster when my gazebo turned itself inside out and died a death and I thought game over! I stood in the middle of the show field and cried. My friend arrived to help and she said we are not going home.. Lets just use your horse box. We got this! Then Luckily a lovely gentleman offered me his spare gazebo. I wiped away the tears, it was back on. And what a day we had! The response was incredible, I made lots of sales and had an amazing day. East Halton was also a brilliant chance for something new. It is a very equestrian based show and a perfect opportunity to launch Born To Ride. As a keen horse rider myself it was only a matter of time before Born To Ride appeared. Hoodies and T-shirts were created. Our gorgeous Born To Ride hoodies are now available in grey and pink and we have more Born To Ride T-shirts coming very soon, and in a new colour! I then over summer booked into a few more and again had brilliant feedback and sales. What an incredible first summer.  

Then, because I am not busy enough, I decided to launch an Autum/Winter collection. A range of items will be available for both adults and children, so behind the scenes I was busy creating designing and photographing and on the 6th September the Autumn/Winter collection was born. New ¼ Zip jumpers, our best selling cross neck hoodies, long sleeve t-shirts. Children's tshirts, new bobble hats. To go along side new items I also created a new design. A design which gave customers a choice, to essentially design their own item. There were 5 to choose from, Farmers wife, Country Girl, Born To Ride, Farm Girl and Born To Farm. This is our round design as shown on our hoodies tonight. I built up excitement over social media and counted down and then launched. I had a fabulous response to all items and the new designs and my website and sales went absolutely crazy. So much so I had to shut my website for a few days to catch up on orders.  At this point I knew I could no longer work from the kitchen table and I took over our snug as an office. It now felt official, I had a proper space to work.

Before I knew it, it was October 19th 2021. Born To Farm had been open a year. It was our 1st Birthday, a real pinch me moment. I ran a successful business for a whole year! To celebrate this I launched our first embroidered adults sweatshirt. Social media went crazy and the support I got was amazing. Over the last year on social media I had not just gained followers and customers but I have also gained and made amazing friends. Some I have now gone on to meet and talk to on a daily basis, some are purely online friends that I hope to meet one day, but its an amazing community to be part of.  

November 2021 came and it was time for my maternity leave to end. My Husband and I with the support of my Father in law who I run the livery yard with, decided Born To Farm would become my full time role and I would manage the livery. This was a huge leap for me. It means I can take Alfie to pre school, pick him up everyday, take him to his swimming lessons, help out at the Christmas pantomime, and be involved in his school life which I am incredibly grateful and feel so lucky to be able to do.

The build up to Christmas 2021 was massive. Ensuring I had enough stock and time to get orders out and posted in time for the royal mail festive rush. November was out of this world, I was so busy, I worked every evening creating and wrapping orders. When people say the saying, small business owners do a dance with every order, it is true. These orders meant I could provide for my family, get my son the bike he asked for and enjoy the festive season with all my family without worrying that I needed to work. 

January 2022 was here. A new year. It would be my first full year of being self employed so I created a plan of action. Set Goals and challenges and get outside my comfort zone. New products were designed and created ready for my spring collection launch on March 21st, the first Monday of spring which is currently available on our website. It has lots of nice vibrant colours and items perfect for spring time. My Show season calendar then came out, events were applied for, childcare arranged and I was very excited to see what 2022 had to offer.  

I have already this year attended my first show at Countryside Lincs earlier this month and my next show, which i am so excited about, is the Great Yorkshire Show in July. What a dream! I am originally from Harrogate, and never when I used to attend every year as a child and young farmer, did I ever think my business would be having a stand! I have put my absolute everything into the prep for this show, I've invested a lot into it, time and money and I hope if any of you are attending the show you will come and say hello. I have a few more shows booked in for over summer, and next year as I grow, I hope to attend at least 1 a month from April to October. 

My plans for Born To Farm for the future is to get a few more wholesale stockist, I currently have 2, one over Halifax way and one in Leyburn. My mum has also just invested in an embroidery machine so we can embroidery in house and have a quicker turner around time, so this is very exciting. I am hoping by the end of the year she will be doing at least 70% of my items. I have plans for a few more items for a summer collection for children and adults and Christmas items. I would also like to attend a few Christmas shows to end the year. I also plan to support charities close to my heart, earlier this year donated 10% of a weeks sales to a charity called Tommys who look and research into miscarriages and stillbirths.  As much as I want my business to grow and succeed it has to still fit around my family and my boys. Some days are very challenging as unfortunately not everybody in the world are lovely and supportive and some love to be keyboard warriors but luckily I have very supportive friends and family with open ears and here to help and advice if needed. Running a small business has taught me so many things about myself that I didn't even know, I've learnt about accounts, end of year tax, website building, stock management, show applications, customer relations, photography, social media, the list could go on. My role is so varied and I absolutely love my Business and I'm now proud to put my face to Born To Farm and say it is mine.

So I think I have told you my story of how Born To Farm started and our journey so far, Thank you all very much for listening, Any questions? 

.... So what do you think?? Let me know! I would love to hear some feedback.  

Right, time for a Friday Gin. Chow for now! 

x