Our little black book: Contacts every small business owner will find useful

I have a confession to make: I was supposed to get this blog post up in January! Not for any reason other than it falls into that category of “sorting shit out” which I personally am most open to reading in January when I have ambitions to become more organised. But really, when you’re a small business owner, every month is “January” in that there’s always new problems to solve and to dos to tick off! So even though we’re well past the start of the year, hopefully this is still relevant now.

In my experience, the most overwhelming part of being a small business owner is having to wear so many different hats, especially as the business grows. In the beginning, when things are lower stakes and you’re operating on a smaller scale, it’s easier and often a necessity to “have a go” at sorting things out yourself. But as the business gets bigger, your time becomes more stretched and you want to run a more professional operation, you may find you need to start outsourcing work. Not only because you feel super frazzled all the time, but because often working in the other areas can actually make you start to hate working for yourself. Before you know it, your days are consumed trying to find a photographer, or sort out your accounts or, and you get away from the things you feel most passionate about.

So, when it comes to outsourcing work and finding trusted contacts, where do you start!? We get asked for recommendations and contacts all the time and so we thought it was about time to compiled all these names into one place, to save you the time and energy of finding them yourself.

For transparency: none of these are paid advertisements. These are either people we’ve either worked with personally, or have come highly recommended to us.

1. A trustworthy accountant to sort out your books

Let me tell you: when we first set up the business we had no clue where to start! Among the list of questions we had: Who do we need to tell that we’ve set up a business? How do we not break the law when it comes to doing our accounts? Do we need a business bank account? If so does it matter what business bank account we have? Where should we save our tax money? What’s the deal with VAT? And on and on (and on) they went.

We did a hell of a lot of Googling but it was really difficult to cut through those weird clickbait websites that write spammy articles with no actual information in just so they can get to the top of search listings (SO INFURIATING WHOEVER YOU ARE DOING THIS I REALLY LOATHE YOU) and find the actual cold hard factual information we needed. I had daily worry tummy thinking someone in an overcoat was about to breakdown my front door and scream “I NEED TO SEE EVIDENCE OF YOUR BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT!!!!!!” and so we were keen to find answers quickly.

Luckily our friend recommended us her accountant Kevin Jones of Jones Thorne Accountants, after we’d tried to get in touch with some other more local accountants first who didn’t even get back to us! We put it off for literally ages and hit it back into each other’s courts for month before Liv finally spoke to Kevin on the phone and we then discovered he is officially The Nicest Man In The World™️.

Reasons we recommend him: He’s really straightforward. He never makes us feel stupid for asking questions. He always takes time to give us a thorough explanation. He’s really responsive and is available via both phone, email and online meetings. His mum is also on his team and does our payroll! We enjoy hearing about his golfing holidays. We’ve used Kevin as our accountant for a couple of years now and he’s made the whole process really manageable.

I love sitting back, safe in the knowledge that I’ve haded over this whole area I find terrifying and difficult to someone I trust. It feels great! And frees up my time and brain power to work on projects

2. An imaginative graphic designer to overhaul your brand

At the beginning of the year we set about rebranding the business, which felt like a giant task! We really didn’t know where to start with it. We had a clear idea that we wanted a new aesthetic to match our new name, and we’d saved up some inspiration imagery, but in terms of specifics we weren’t sure. So we set about finding a reliable and imaginative graphic designer who could not only bring our few ideas to life, but had lots of incredible ideas of their own. It was really important to us to find someone who had the confidence and ability to develop our vision and take it to the next level.

We trawled through Instagram and after hours and hours of looking for something that excited us, found a single event poster that really spoke to us! It was interesting, beautiful and informative. We discovered that Lucie de Maid was the talented woman behind the design so we instantly reached out to her and started the process of working together. And we’ve been really blown away by the results.

I honestly think being a graphic designer must be the most difficult job, because you’re having to bring to life random ideas in someone else’s brain, but Lucie really smashes the job. She took our ideas - we wanted something that felt energetic but editorial, was informative but still creative, and was pretty unisex - and transformed them into beautiful graphics we feel so proud of. The process of working together has been great; Lucie is so open to hearing feedback and is a master at decoding and implementing changes we’ve asked for in a way that stays true to our vision. I don’t know how she does it, and I honestly think she’s so clever!

We’ve already seen the benefit of working with her in our social media engagement, in reaching new businesses, and just in hearing so many lovely compliments about it, we really think our new graphics have taken our small business to the next level. Working with Lucie was a big investment for us but we definitely think it’s paid off!

As such, we’d really recommend her for your next project, not only because the end results have been so incredible, but on a personal note because she’s passionate about working with small businesses and really does care about helping them achieve success.

3. A photographer to elevate your imagery

For the first few years of our business we were really reluctant to invest in much. We operated with a profit first mentality, making our salaries our first priority and our only outgoing! When you’re responsible for the final number in your bank account each month it can be scary to pay out big lump sums on things that aren’t 100% essential, like photography. As the market has expanded, and our income stream has become more reliable, we’ve started thinking about different areas in the business we really wanted to invest in and elevate this year. As part of our big rebrand when we switched from A South London Makers Market to Salad Days and took on a whole new aesthetic, we knew we needed some professional photography! We realised there was no point spending big sums on having chic new social media graphics, and a slick new website, if the imagery we used alongside was crap. So we started looking for a photographer.

At our event at The Hoxton, the hotel hired and paid for a photographer, which was the first introduction we’d had to working with a proper pro. Jordan Bunker was that guy, and we were so blown away by not only his work, but by his whole self! He was super friendly, polite and interested in the market concept. He stayed at the market well past his contracted hours to speak to the makers and understand their craft, which I believe was part of what really helped him capture the mood of the day and the products. We fell in love with the photography from the day; it felt beautiful, editorial, and somehow really tender. He’d managed to capture so much of the love and positive energy at our events, as well as showcasing the products in a way that made them highly desirable, which were of course just the things we were hoping to achieve! So when it came to us choosing someone to work with ourselves, we knew he was the guy for the job. We hired him to shoot a couple of our events last year, and absolutely fell in love with the imagery. We’ve since used it in so many different ways, and have had so many people comment on how gorgeous it looks.

A content creator in his own right, Jordan knows how to use imagery to elevate a brand, whether that’s working with models or products. We think he’s perfect for small brands not only because his work is tip top, but because he is incredibly particular about the brands he chooses to work with. He’s committed to living and shopping in a way that’s ethical and sustainable, and so on a personal level he’s really invested in helping small indie brands succeed. We’re really excited to work with Jordan on more of our events this year, to build up a whole bank of photography we can use for our website, social media and posters; something that we’ve seen first hand has been well worth the financial investment.

When Jordan wasn’t available to shoot one of our events, our lovely pal Liv Purvis recommended her friend Beatrice Granados. Beatrice is a content creator in her own right, and so we felt confident she’s a woman who knows exactly how to make something look good in a photo! She regularly shoots Liv and always manages to create beautiful imagery that has an almost romantic twist so we were really excited to see how she’d capture our events. Without hesitation we booked her to shoot the photography of our event with Liv Purvis at Beckenham Place Mansion. She spent a good few hours really immersing herself in the event, soaking up the vibe with her camera ready to snap those magic little moments that me and Liv never have time to capture; people looking in the mirror their face lighting up with how they look in their new vintage piece! Pups in cute jumpers. Friends oohing and aaahing over beautiful things at a stall and helping each other pick a new purchase.

We loved seeing our events through the eye (and lense!) of Beatrice, who has a way of making everything look really heartfelt and gorgeous. She also took honestly hundreds of images which gave us an amazing selection of pictures to choose from, and meant we have been able to use them for lots of different pieces of content across our newsletters, blog and Instagram, giving us amazing value for money. She was super friendly, easy to work with and really followed our brief, even checking in with us at multiple points in the day to make sure we were happy with the type of imagery she was getting which made us feel so respected. We’ll absolutely be booking her to shoot our future events. It’s actually Beatrice you can see in the main image of this blog, her camera in hand.

Finally, if it’s portraits you’re after, we had a really lovely experience working with Leia Morrison, who has also worked with a number of other small brands! We’re both really awkward in front of the camera, but her friendly and warm personality immediately put us at ease and we actually enjoyed the shoot a lot more than we thought we would! Her photography is really honest and heartfelt, and we’ve got no doubt she’d be able to help capture you as the face of your business!

4. Someone who can help you set up a newsletter

Ghenet Actually is a respected Content Creator in her own right, but she also works alongside a number of small businesses in a variety of ways to help them elevate their content and connect with their customers. She also happens to be one of our most loyal market customers, and we absolutely love her for it!

As we’ve mentioned before, when you’re a small business owner you have to wear so many different hats: Designer, Maker, Customer Service Adviser, Photographer, Project Manager. Adding Social Media Manager and Content Creator to that list can feel incredibly overwhelming! Especially if content and marketing isn’t something you like. It can be really difficult to even know where to start: Instagram, Tik Tok, blog content, newsletters!? And that’s exactly where Ghenet comes in.

As Ghenet references: “61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email”; it’s actually their preferred method of contact!! It’s been shown that a big percentage of consumers not only check their emails at least once a day, but also tend to look at their inbox before they even head to social media. So when you’re trying to build connections and make sales? Instagram isn’t the only place you need to be thinking about! Creating a newsletter is also a really important and worthwhile channel. If it’s something you’ve previously thought about, but have no experience with, it might be worth thinking about enlisting the help of a pro like Ghenet who can get things up and running for you.

Ghenet’s Nourish Your Newsletter might be just the nudge you need to get you started on your email newsletter journey. From £250, she’ll do everything you need to get going with your own newsletter, including: setting up your email list where people can subscribe to hear from you, creating a sequence of three emails for new subscribers to introduce them to your brand, creating templates you can then easily edit and use, providing a list of further content ideas for your newsletters, and she’ll event write copy for three further emails to send to your customers.

Ghenet herself is so friendly and so passionate about supporting small businesses, if this is an area you’re looking to develop but need help with she’s definitely the woman to talk to.

5. Beautiful locations for your photoshoots

There’s no doubt that incredible photography is one area that will instantly elevate your small business, but other than hiring a photographer (see above for our suggestion!) if you don’t have a background in this kind of area if can be difficult to even know where to start when it comes to organising a photoshoot. So we’ve got a few options to help!

First up is the gorgeous Aesthetic Studios London, which is run by our lovely friend Sharaye. Basically, it’s a beautifully designed studio that you can rent by the hour to take product and lifestyle shots for your business!

Sharaye literally overhauled the studio herself, decorating it from top to toe including panelling the walls, painting and installing new flooring, so the whole thing is really elevated. Within the space there are multiple different areas you can shoot in, it’s filled with natural light and lovely little corners which cute handmade props. If you’re struggling to find locations to create content, this is an amazing option, plus it’s centrally located in Hackney Wick. Just drop them a DM over on Instagram to book.

Then a second option: Styled Home Studios! They dropped us an email at the beginning of the year to let us know about their business, and we thought it was a really cool concept; you can discover and book uniquely styled homes for your next photoshoot. So essentially it’s like Air B&B but for beautiful shoot locations!

The main thing we love (apart from being able to peruse through soooo many divine houses on their website which I will admit I’ve spent quite a few hours doing already) about their offering? You can hire the spaces by the hour, making it easier and more affordable for you to elevate your shoots. And there are options all around London (including lots in South London!) and the UK.

Our absolute fave is of course Eastern Elegance, a place in Crystal Palace. The chic green kitchen, the super modernist tiles in the bathroom, the Poodle and Blonde wallpaper in the bathroom, the abundance of natural light, it’s absolutely stunning. And we’re so proud that the lovely Helen has given you, our amazing community, an extra 30 minutes shoot time on top of any booking at this spectacular home, Eastern Elegance. You just need to quote the code “SLMM30” in your enquiry. 

6. An IP advisor who can help with copycats

We’ve all seen the posts. Those horrible ones that really tug at your heartstrings, when a small business owner reveals that they’ve discovered someone else (in most cases a highstreet brand) has ripped off their work. It’s a sad fact of running a small business, and I suppose a sad fact of life really, that as soon as you find success with a print, product, or design, other people will start copying it.

We ourselves have had the same issues, with one other market actually stealing our poster design and simply cutting out our name and adding their own on the top. It’s such a horrible and invasive thing, and of course can also leave you feeling really worried about your small business. It also is likely to leave you with lots of questions, like: What can I do about this? How can I protect my designs?

Daisy is the founder of HOUSE : LAW, a boutique intellectual property consultancy practice specialising in helping creatives protect their brands and designs. She recently reached out to us to see if she was able to offer any help to small business owners who are facing these issues. It’s something that’s effected soo many people we know, so we jumped at the chance to hear her advice, and wanted to share it with you here. We hope you never experience copycats, but if you do, we hope you might find her advice helpful.

7. A South London-based make-up artist and hair stylist

As we mentioned earlier, organising a whole photoshoot can be really daunting when you’re a small business owner! Where do you start, and who do you need to hire for the day? If you’re using models, then one person you don’t want to forget is the hair and make-up artist! And what better than to have one talented person who can tick both boxes?

The wonderful Ellie Morris is just the woman you need! We actually went to university with Ellie so it feels lovely to be recommending her here, now we’re all working for ourselves! Over the past few years she has worked on a number of high profile fashion campaigns, look books, e-commerce shoots and music videos for the likes of Vogue, Warehouse, Beyond Retro, Champion, and Tinie Tempah to name just a handful, so you know she’s a trusted and respected MUA who can nail whatever look you’re after.

She’s based in South East London, and can offer anything up from half day rates meaning she can work on smaller projects if that’s what you’re after.

I’m biased of course, but on a personal note Ellie is an absolute babe, and on a professional note I’ve been blown away by how beeeeeautiful the looks are that she’s created, so I absolutely know her work would elevate your shoot and leave you with ultra professional images you’re super proud of.

You can get in touch with her over on her website, and see loads more examples of her work over on Instagram.

8. A hyper organised personal assistant to help you sort stuff out

Being a small business owner: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. When your to do list involves such a random array of things it’s no wonder you can spend a lot of your time feeling frazzled and overwhelmed. So many times we’ve been plunged into despair when we’ve been mean bosses to ourselves and have overworked ourselves, taking every single thing to fifth gear! We’ve often thought about trying to hire someone to help us, but even that in itself has felt like a huge and unmanageable task, so we’ve put it off.

Which is why we love the idea of being able to hire a visual assistant like Latticia! Latticia is the woman behind one of our favourite small business, Latticia Organics, plus she has a full time job as an administrative officer, and so she knows first hand what it takes to make an operation run smoothly.

We’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with Latticia a number of times over the past few years, and let us tell you she is one of the most incredible people we know. She’s organised, motivated, positive, and attacks everything with a level of “can do” that I’m honestly so jealous of. I might be making her sound like a crazy robot woman, but she’s also friendly, fun, and a joy to be around!? And not that this matters but she’s bloody gorgeous and never looks anything that really put together. I’m always in awe of her motivation and I find her really inspiring.

If there was one person in this world I would trust with my small business, it would be her, which is amazing because she’s just launched her new venture, POA By Latticia. Essentially to boil it down, she offers virtual admin services to help overwhelmed entrepreneurs free up their time to do more of what they love. From email and calendar management, to project management, event organisation, content creation and social media scheduling, Latticia is here to be your personal Duracell Battery pack; and basically just helping you to get shit done. Because it’s all virtual, it’s a cheaper and easier way of hiring help without having the stress and financial commitment of a full time employee or personal assistant which might be out of the question for most small businesses.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed in your small business I honestly can’t recommend speaking to Latticia enough! One of her services is the Plan Of Action, where she’ll offer you personalised tips on how to keep you and your business organised and that could be a fab place to start.

8. Sustainable packaging that’s affordable and personalisable

Last year Packhelp got in touch with us to work on a series of content about their sustainable packaging options! At first we were sceptical, because a lot of big businesses that tout themselves as sustainable are often nothing of the sort. We spent a long time researching the brand, and understanding their project offering, and were really pleasantly surprised by what we found. We agreed to work with them, and have really been so impressed with what they’re doing at every single stage. So although we’ve previously worked with them on a paid collaboration, we just want to make it clear that this inclusion here has not been paid for, and is just our genuine opinion having worked with them.

We hear from a lot of small business owners that they hate being taken away from the actual making, which is the thing they love the most! And that a lot of their time is eaten up on boring areas… like finding packaging solutions. And this is exactly where Packhelp comes in! Because we genuinely think they’ve got packaging solutions to suit not just every type of small business.

Unlike a lot of big corporate companies, they’ve spent time making sure they operate in a way that actually suits small businesses, which I think they’ve achieved in a number of ways: firstly because their order minimums are as low as 30 pieces across a lot of their range, which means you don’t have to have loads of cash upfront. Secondly, their online creator tool allows you to easily design your packaging yourself so it reflects your online brand, eliminating the need for costly graphic designers. And lastly, because their range includes like a million different options that are all suited to different product and business types, including everything from tote bags to magnet-fastened boxes and even the extra add-ons like packing tape and sustainable paper bubble wrap. You can order it all in once place, again saving you time and faff.

We used Packhelp to create some of our own personalised packaging last year, and really loved the results, not only in terms of how the boxes looked, and also how sustainable they were - they were plastic free, biodegradable and recyclable. And so from first hand experience, we feel confident recommending them to you, too.