Debbie Sleeman: Getting Polished! The Journey Of Polished London - Oral Care Brand Taking The World By Storm!

Debbie is a self-proclaimed beauty junkie with a passion for innovative oral care products with health as a priority. She discusses her journey and the pivots her path has taken along the way, from starting the brand in her living room to jet-setting across Australia to launch the oral care line in a new continent and receiving praise from Richard Branson!  Debbie shares some great advice about starting and running a business and honest feelings about the industry she is in including her feelings about dishonest beauty vendors! 

Transcript

Laura: 0:00

I am joined today by Debbie Sleeman, who is a really inspirational business owner, has had lots of different stories, I think your business journey has kind of evolved, I feel quite naturally. But it's kind of evolved into what you're doing, which I think is, Is a really good business. So talk to me about your first business

Debbie: 0:22

venture. So my first business venture, so beauty is something that I've always done. So I finished college, I went to Stanford College for three years, trained in beauty. Absolutely love beauty. It's my passion. 20 something years later after qualifying, I still absolutely love beauty. So I qualified as a beauty therapist, went to London, gained work experience as part of my course, and then I was offered a, a job. So I moved to London straight away when I was, I think, 17. And then from there I then worked on cruise ships, I then worked for health spas, travelled around the world, doing beauty, and I absolutely loved it. And then what happened was I ended up working for Virgin Atlantic as an in flight beauty therapist, which I loved. So I was travelling around the world in first class, giving people hand and arm massages. It's back in the clouds massage, which is like a Indian head massage. There were many treatments and then the recession here. So this is kind of going back quite around 14 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, the recession hit and they decided to basically wipe the treatment off. So there was no abuse therapist anymore. They offered us to take redundancy. Or you could carry on as cabin crew. And I thought, right, I absolutely love flying. I'm in my early thirties. You know, I love it. So I'm going to carry on as cabin crew. Part time. So I only did two flights a month. And I had all this time on my hands. So I was working part time because I had children. So two flights a month. And then I had all this time. And I'm always the kind of person that likes to keep busy. And I just thought, right, I'm going to carry on with my beauty. So I set up my own beauty studio from home to kind of fit it around my, you know, the children and stuff like that. So yeah, well actually I started off doing mobile treatments. So I started off thinking, right, I'm going to get back into beauty because I don't want to, you know, that's my love and passion. So he's traveling so I thought if I do set my beauty business and then kind of just go from there really so I started off mobile hated it well I didn't hate it it's just such hard work but you're starting at the bottom yeah you've got no clients you're starting off in the bottom and actually it went crazy I remember I was doing spray tanning and I got into eyelash extensions and I was knocking on people's houses at midnight when I first started this is going back probably Ava's 13 now she was a baby and 12 and a half years ago, and I'm not joking. I was fully booked. I mean, I think I was probably, there was only a couple of us doing it at the time. Now there's so many people doing beauty. I mean, in the area, there's just so much, but we were probably one of the first couple of girls to be doing it. And I was just so busy. I was literally knocking on people's doors at midnight and I said, all I've got. And I was that hardworking that I was mad enough to do it. I'm not

Laura: 2:47

joking. I'm

Debbie: 2:48

here for it. I'm taking the money. Yeah. So I was like, okay, the only thing I've got is like half 11, you know. Yeah, that's fine. So I said, okay, well, that's fine. I'm gonna, you know, go for it. So So I started doing that and I remember sometimes you'd be running late, you'd be stuck in traffic and it was really stressful. And I'm always kind of running late and I hate being late and I was just, it adds to your anxiety and stress being late. Yeah. And I remember one time I went to her house, knocked on the door and she didn't answer the door. She was basically a no show. And I just got home. I was like, I can't carry on like this to my partner. I literally cannot carry on doing mobile because it is just such hard work. I'm driving around everywhere and he was like, well, what's the other option? So we've got a log cabin done in our garden. And that was amazing. So it kind of started from there and then we moved house. a couple of years later, I sold the log cabin, which is amazing. And then we did the garage out. So that was a home salon. So that's kind of, so I've always done beauty and then I'm that kind of person I still am now where I'm always looking at new innovation, new ingredients to add to the brand that I have now. But at the time I was looking for new, new treatments to do. What's new out? What can I offer my clients? You know, I want to be the best at what I'm doing. And at the time, probably 10 years ago, teeth whitening was a new thing. So I thought I want to get into teeth whitening. Loads of salons were doing, were just starting to do it. And I was looking for a training provider, found one in Harley Street. Loved the treatment really really enjoyed it and then added teeth whitening to my treatment list So I was still flying around the world doing that had the two children But I was kind of stuck in the garage then yeah, and then trained in teeth whitening and then My plan was I was gonna train people in teeth whitening. Okay, that was my plan Yeah, so I was gonna basically I really enjoyed the treatment that I'm gonna get into training so I went to Peterborough College trains the teeth were trained to teeth were trained as a Teacher so trainer did the course on that Transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing, www. transcriptionoutsourcing. com And then I just thought, Oh God, what am I going to do now? Because I've obviously spent all this money on becoming a trainer. And I just thought, I'm not going to get into that. Yeah. And you can still do the treatment now. The law changed where it's a self administered treatment. So you can still have teeth whitening in salons. But as a client, you would have to do it yourself. So you wouldn't necessarily be doing it. So the whole treatment, how it was done and how it's performed changed. And I just thought, I don't want to get into that. It's very grey. I can't train people when it's grey and take people's money. Yeah. So I just kind of thought, right. That's quite the idea, forget about

Debbie Sleeman Podcast: 5:17

it.

Laura: 5:17

Which is hard when you've kind of pursued that so much and you've kind of had your heart set on this is what I'm going to do, this is the direction, you've obviously paid money to go down that route. Yes. But obviously you've then taken a moral standpoint of actually this is not

Debbie: 5:30

for me. Yeah, there's no way that I could get into that, I just, imagine, you know, someone paying you to train them and all of a sudden Yeah, you get letters. It's just I just want I didn't want to be part of it I just kind of thought well, that's not gonna happen.

Laura: 5:43

And you sometimes get like a gut

Debbie: 5:44

feeling Yeah, and it's just like the moral thing like the right thing to do Some people don't care about that kind of thing, but I generally do care about that kind of thing and it's my reputation at the end of the day, so Decided to step away from it, and then I decided what happened I then kind of had yeah, so we'd already done the brightness. It was gonna be polished London So that was our name of this new thing that I was gonna create I mean, I didn't have a business plan for it. I just thought I'm gonna get into teaching Kind of just I suppose go on the journey and see what happens. Yeah, and I guess you had the other

Laura: 6:12

things going on as well So it wasn't it could yeah, it could evolve naturally as

Debbie: 6:15

it yeah, that's it So it was like it was a thing it kind of sat there and then I had this so at the time Twitter was the social Media account. Yeah, so back in the day, it was Twitter before Instagram really I think we had Facebook but Twitter was the thing and so we were called Polish London. I remember Quite a few people were tweeting me saying, you know, I want to book in for my teeth whitening, to have my teeth done, whereabouts in London are you? And I was like, I'm not in London, and this happened quite a lot, and I remember saying to my partner, Um, when I was in New York on a flight, so I remember literally the conversation, I messaged him saying, so many people are asking me about having their teeth done in London, I'm going to have to find somewhere in London, maybe a couple of times a month, like a couple of days a month. And that very night, I'm all about kind of what you get out, you know, the universe and things like that. And it was really weird because it happened very quickly. I was coming home from a flight and there was a passenger who I was looking after. Got chatting to her kind of connected with her and she was a dental professor in Harley Street Okay, which is amazing and I've got talking to her She invited me to her clinic two days later just to kind of meet in to come and see her And she said to me you can have my clinic you can work alongside me. You can work here for free And I was like, that never happens, like, that's

Laura: 7:26

But that is the universe, like you put it out and it returned you. Yeah,

Debbie: 7:29

I couldn't believe it. I honestly could not believe it. Like, it worked really quickly, didn't it, from kind of saying that. So, yeah, and I just remember being on the train my first day and going to Harley Street. It was an amazing feeling because that's the dream, isn't it? If you're in anything to do with that industry, to be positioned at Harley Street was amazing. And such a great opportunity. Yeah. Um, and then from there.

Laura: 7:49

But an opportunity that you took as well. Definitely. Because it would be very easy to go, oh, that's a bit scary. Yeah. That's, you know. Yeah. I'm maybe, you know. This is too quick, it's kind of this opportunity to present yourself and it's sometimes easy to say no, or I think about it, but you kind of took the bull by the horns and were like, okay,

Debbie: 8:08

I'm coming, I'm coming, I'll take the stage. Yeah, and it gets me in trouble sometimes being that way. Um, so yeah, I fell in love with teeth whitening, so I was doing it more and more in London alongside her, learnt so much from her, which is amazing. And then something kind of happened from there, so it's like this natural progression as you said, so. My clients was kind of saying to me, you know, you've whited my teeth, I'm really happy with the results. What now? What can you recommend for me to prolong my results and to use at home? What do you recommend? And I was like Um, there wasn't really anything out there that was peroxide free, really good quality ingredients, looked great and could sit beautifully on the bathroom, you know, in your bathroom or on your dressing table. There was nothing. And my background's beauty and I just thought there was a gap here for beauty and oral care to kind of bridge the gap and fuse them both together. And what was out there, I didn't like anything, so I couldn't recommend anything. So I just thought, right, I'm going to create a product. And that's what I did. And then we've just grown the brand, obviously Polish London from there, really with nothing. Like we literally had nothing from, you know, for the very beginning, from the idea, you then start looking at manufacturers, suppliers and things like that. And the minimum order was like 5, 000 tooth whitening strips or 10, 000 teeth whitening strips. And I didn't have that kind of money at all. No, I didn't have anything like

Laura: 9:23

that. Setting up. Yeah. So what was the first kind of stage? So. You were doing the teeth whitening procedures, had clients. Yeah. You decided that you were going to build, start a brand of products that people could use at home. Yes. So what was, what was your first idea of something you were going to create? What was your first product?

Debbie: 9:42

So the first product was teeth whitening strips. Okay. So that's what I did. And the main kind of thing for us, it was the minimum order, I didn't have the funds to be able to support that. So I was thinking, how can we find a way? Because there's always a way, isn't there? Yeah. So the minimum order was ridiculous, couldn't afford that, didn't have the money. And what we could do was get the teeth whitening strips, where they were just plain silver, no branding on them. I had nothing else to go with it, it was just literally, I had a hundred teeth whitening strips, and that's how I started. I got in touch with the local printer and said, right, can we have our logo stickered? Like stickers, and then we stuck them on ourselves, and they made the boxes here in Peterborough as well for us. I had nothing. And then, yeah, I had no printer, couldn't afford that. We literally had nothing. I was thinking about it. It's amazing how we started from zero, literally nothing. In the lounge or whatever. In the lounge! And I remember writing the address down on A4 sheet of paper, cutting it out, putting it on the envelope, sellotape. Such a chore. I was like. Oh God,

Laura: 10:39

but that capacity of like, we've got to start this somewhere, like you had the drive to be like, yes, we can't afford this, but how is a different way? Yeah,

Debbie: 10:47

exactly. Definitely. And then we got a bit of money, you know, so I think we must have made a couple of hundred pounds over the course of months. I mean, that didn't even happen in the first, you know, week or anything. Then that went into a printer and that was life changing. And you know what? I think when you're there, you're so desperate to get to the end. I want to be successful and I want to make this brand success, but actually they're the best. Times. Mm-Hmm. When you look back and you think, I wish I documented more of that, because that was actually the best time. Yeah, because you're so focused on the end result. Yeah. And now kind of how many years now? We are five now. I just think now I've really embraced the journey. I love the journey. Yeah. And I'm excited. I really want to obviously get to the goals and we are, but the journey is the best part. Yeah. And I think you have to enjoy the journey because I hear so often that you get to the end goal and people aren't fulfilled. Yeah. They're kind of miserable. I don't know why but so it's just yeah, really enjoy enjoying the journey and the process of it Yeah,

Laura: 11:39

so when when you were in the lounge wherever sticking the labels on what was the vision for the business? Did you did you have a vision of what it was gonna look like?

Debbie: 11:48

I always wanted to have this massive brand and always wanted that we then kind of invested in PR for the UK. So it was all about brand awareness for me from the very beginning. So all of our money that we had went straight into PR. Um, and it still does now. You still kind of need that brand awareness really. But yeah, to be that number one oral care brand that's trusted, that's loved, that people love to use and experience. I want people to have an experience using the product and to get results. But also I think trusted is the biggest thing. But to be that number one brand, which I'm still working on, you'll get there.

Laura: 12:22

And so you're very involved in the process of what the products contain, the manufacturing and the development of that, which is really interesting actually because you haven't got a pharmaceutical background. So you kind of come from, I guess, quite customer, customer centric in terms of a good product for the customer that works. Yeah. So how did you navigate that, that stage of getting involved with what it contains? You know, because that to me seems like an absolute minefield.

Debbie: 12:53

Yeah. I actually find that quite easy. I don't know why. Maybe that's, yeah. I always have a feeling as well. I know if I really love it and I get excited by it, it's kind of your, your own feeling. You know, it buzzes me up and I'm like, that's the one. I just know, you know, I was talking to the lab yesterday, actually, and he was coming up with some ideas and concepts and it didn't light me up. And I just know, if I get lit up and I'm like, that's the one, you just kind of know. But for me, beauty is my, my kind of background, my love and passion, I absolutely love it. So I always look at the beauty industry for kind of, um, what's the word? Inspiration, yeah. I always look at the beauty industry, what's going on in the beauty industry that we can bring into oral care. Because I think oral care is so far behind. It doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be

Laura: 13:37

dull. And people want it to be sexy. Everyone loves it to be sexy.

Debbie: 13:41

Absolutely, and that's my goal, yes. Definitely. So, yeah, we work closely with the team of UK dentists, so I've come up with ideas. I'm really close to the guy who actually owns the UK lab, so, bit of a pain. He's on my WhatsApp. He probably shouldn't have given me his number. But, you know. Oh, it's Debbie

Laura: 13:57

again. She's got something else she wants to make. Yeah,

Debbie: 13:58

I'm like, please note in here, like, I've got this idea. What do you think to this? And, yeah, and I just love that because they're so innovative as well. Yeah. So we work really, really well, and our brand is all about, you know, we're, there's only one product that's not made in the UK made brand. We're trusted, which is the number one thing. We give experience, but we use really good quality premium ingredients. I will pack our products full with as much as I can to give results that's healthy. All about health driven, followed by whitening, because I think it's all about health as well. Um, so yeah, just trying different things out, working with a team of labs who can make it happen. I actually think anything's possible. Yeah. Like anything's possible. Yeah. That's my kind of

Laura: 14:35

attitude. I think as well, it's like you said about, you know, the lab and you're really involved with them. it's important to have that expertise at the forefront of it. Whereas I think some, especially people in, in the oral care space that you were at. Do they not all know what is 100 percent in their products? Are they that involved with the front end, the lab, how it's made? Or are they just trying to put a lovely sticker on it and a lovely box? That's the thing. Which I think is quite unique about your company, that you are really involved

Debbie: 15:04

in that front end. Definitely, and also lab visits, you know, we go to the lab, we know where our products are made, we've seen the labs, you know, we know all of that because If you're getting things made abroad and you haven't even made the effort to go out there, how do you know even if it's not a backstreet place? You don't know what goes on, but that's the thing. It's about being that trusted, you know, and yeah, good quality products. But yeah, you don't know what's in them if you're not, if you are going to get things abroad, you have to make the effort to go out there. Yeah,

Laura: 15:30

definitely. And it's, it's, I think it's very easy as well to get things made abroad and from a price point of view. So your products aren't expensive. They aren't, you know. unaffordable. Most people are able to afford them. Yeah. Which I think is great that you can manufacture them in the UK and be so hands on. Yeah. Sometimes companies, you know, they can't, they want to keep it at this price point. So they need to go abroad and where it's slightly cheaper. Yeah. So that, and I guess that's a juggle in itself, isn't it? To try and keep. It is. All

Debbie: 16:00

the price points. And be competitive as well against your competitors because you don't want to outprice yourself either. But then I've also realized that there was. Yeah, there's a lot. There's, we, I haven't seen, there probably is, but I haven't seen any brands that's UK made teeth whitening at the moment. They started off as, and then you obviously do your market research. They're all manufactured elsewhere now. So we are, we have really stuck to that. Yes, it's cheaper to get made abroad, but I wouldn't want to put my name to that. I just think I'm really happy. I've got a great team here. We are high quality, premium, but affordable because everybody should be able to afford to have a nice treat, you know, for their mouth and look after, look after the smile. Yeah.

Laura: 16:40

So talk me through the range of products that you've currently got now. Yeah.

Debbie: 16:44

So first of all, we started off actually as teeth whitening. So it was. It's a teeth whitening brand, but then as we progressed through time, we realized it's not just about teeth whitening, there's so much more to your oral care routine and your oral health. So we then kind of just delved into oral care products. So we've got, um, so we've got obviously the teeth whitening, which is a teeth whitening Um, teeth whitening strips, teeth whitening powder, which is a well to burst hyaluronic teeth whitening powder, which is amazing. And that's recently launched? Yes, it launched a couple of months ago. It was the most successful launch we've ever done. It was phenomenal. It really was. It

Laura: 17:15

was And it's got a beautiful pot, hasn't it? Yeah. I think the pot in itself is just gorgeous. Special.

Debbie: 17:21

And even then that's sustainable. So all of our, values and everything is, all of our choices now are conscious choices. We don't want to be using any plastic. I think we've got a couple of products that are plastic, but we're moving away from that. It takes time. Once you obviously sell out the product, we can then transfer over, but everything we're doing now is sustainable, which we have to be really. It's really important. Yeah.

Laura: 17:40

And, but again, that's a choice that you've made. Absolutely. Cause yeah, we care. And it's not easy as well to navigate that whole. sustainable packaging is, yeah, is a minefield to navigate in itself and finding the right things that align with your aesthetic. And

Debbie: 17:56

it's even more expensive, like the teeth whitening pot for example, we could have had that in plastic, exactly the same bit in plastic, and it was so much cheaper, it's like half the price of what, yeah, but again because of where we want to head to and our values we was just like, There's no option, we just have to, but it's bad how it is more expensive, sustainable packaging, when it's good for the environment, for the planet, for everybody. Yeah. They don't make it easy. No,

Laura: 18:20

but I guess it's one of those things, as more people move that way, it'll be better for everybody. It will be cheaper. Yeah. No, definitely. But it's just, it's interesting as well that you've moved so quickly, as still such a quite young business. Yeah. Where you're trying to still juggle everything. That you've chose to make these choices, but again, I guess that's part of your ethics and your values.

Debbie: 18:42

Yeah, and just sticking to that. Because it's very easy, you just have to know that, and just, yeah, stick to that. And it's very easy to get swayed, you might see other brands doing the same thing as you, and they're doing things cheaper and they might be making more money than you, but actually your time will come if you just stick to your values, this is who I am, this is my value, and this is what we believe in, and drive that forward. Good things come from that, and it might take a little bit longer, but you'll definitely get there, I think, just sticking to your values. Don't be fragmenting all over the place, because I think brand story is really important. It's coming up more and more now, you know, what's the brand story, what do you, you know, what's your vision, your mission, all of that stuff. So I think, yeah, driving your belief and doing the best you can, really. Yeah,

Laura: 19:21

and I think more and more customers are wanting to align themselves with the brand that they really believe in, rather than just picking a product off a shelf. It's a much deeper emotional decision now.

Debbie: 19:32

And what I love as well, so we, obviously we're stocked in some retailers in the UK. I was at John Bell and Croydon a couple of months ago, just before Christmas. And what I really loved seeing when I was there, because you kind of watch customers, they were reading ingredients. And they were seeing where the products are made and asking questions, which I love because I just love all that stuff. And it's like, that's good that people are doing that. They're not just picking something up. They're really interested in what they're using and the benefits and all the stuff like that. So becoming more savvy, which I really love.

Laura: 20:00

Have you noticed that change from when you first started to now? I think so.

Debbie: 20:04

Yeah. Because I think there's a lot, there's a lot of noise out there on social media. There's so much marketing promising this, but when you really dive down into. People are saying, you know, I don't know, they'll do their marketing thing, but when you really read the packaging that tells you sometimes a different story to what they're actually saying. And that frustrates me when I see that a lot in my industry, they're saying this amazing thing, you kind of get hold of the box and it's a completely different story and I find that quite frustrating. Yeah. Because, yeah,

Laura: 20:30

it just annoys me. Well, it's, you know, they're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. Yeah, that's it. Which then seems quite unethical.

Debbie: 20:35

Absolutely, it's very interesting.

Laura: 20:38

I guess, I think even in the five years you've been going, things have changed so much. I think it's been quite an interesting, I mean, at the Small Business Awards I've been running for eight years. Yeah. So, that's been, I think I've seen so much change, so that you have experienced the same, of how people are wanting to have an experience, how they're wanting to purchase things. It's so So much more emotional. Definitely. And they're so, you know, the choices that they're making quite consciously. Yeah. Um, in terms of like animal testing. Yeah. In terms of sustainability. People are much more aware of

Debbie: 21:14

it. Yeah. People want vegan friendly products. Yeah, there's definitely, and as well experience on your website. You know, if you've got an online website, what's the experience like? Because people only have a short attention span now. They don't want to be on a clunky website that, you know, goes on and on. They just want a quick buy, quick easy purchase. No problems and also delivery times. Yeah, because you've got Amazon now people expect it within a day Yeah, people just you have the expectations I think is always higher. You know, it's it's a lot harder definitely now And I think over it definitely kind of made things move along a lot quicker. Yeah, and the e commerce world definitely So it's just trying to keep up really

Laura: 21:52

Okay, so I'm gonna jump back to So you're running Polished, you've launched your first product, so Teeth and White Strips, that went really well. Where was the evolution from there? Because now you're, you've got a unit, you're selling in Australia. Yeah. So where did you go from, you started manufacturing some products, selling products. Yes. How did, where did that move into?

Debbie: 22:16

So our second product was a teeth whitening powder and I remember laying in bed. It's like two o'clock in the morning Nothing's changed five or six years later. I'm still doing the same thing And I was just looking for different ways to whiten your teeth and I found a teeth whitening powder I thought that sounds really interesting I remember my partner going will you just turn your phone off like it's only two o'clock in the morning And do you know what that teeth whitening powder that we launched was our second product and it went massive for us Yeah, not as big as the new hyaluronic, but that was many years ago I was like, you know second product but it was a yeah And I just always laugh at him saying, you know, you would If I would have turned my phone off when you said, I wouldn't have to come across this teeth whitening powder. And that was our second product. So we've just reformulated it. So again, that was kind of five years old. So it needed to happen. You have to, you know, keep on top of things, new ingredients come all the time. So how can we improve and be the best we can? Um, so that's kind of our second product, but what happened, we just kind of grew the brand I guess. Um, I remember in our house, it's floor to ceiling with boxes, like you couldn't move and it was just crazy. The garage was full. Even in our living room window, we have a sofa in front of the window and even around the window was women boxes everywhere, we had no where to put them. And do you know what? It was only when my dad was over, he was helping us with a big order and he said to me, he actually planted the seed because he didn't even think about it. He was like, I think you're going to have to get a unit Debbie because you can't carry on like this. And then I said, do you think I do?

Laura: 23:36

Sunday lunch is propped up by boxes underneath. It was honestly

Debbie: 23:39

crazy. You just couldn't move, honestly. Living and breathing, it was just intense. But I think I just got used to it. You have to go through that process, don't you? Which is a great headache. You've got all this stock and you're really busy. And then you then progress on to the unit. But I didn't even realise until my dad said But you need to start looking for somewhere. I went, oh my god, yeah, I do, don't I? Which was amazing. And then we got the unit, so it was in Covid. So we've only had the unit a couple of years. So we went from a home business to, you know, having our first unit. And again, that was an amazing feeling. Because we was a real business then. We wasn't like this home business. We had like the keys to a brand new little warehouse. And it had an office, and it was amazing. Such a proud moment. Do you think that

Laura: 24:18

really gave you the kind of step up to go, right, this is a serious business. We are selling products. This is who we are. Did that mentally give you a better space to grow the business?

Debbie: 24:30

Yeah. So if I kind of rewind a little bit, so I was flying, the house was like, blooming floor to ceiling in boxes. And it's before COVID. I remember I was doing six days a week. Most times, 12 hour days, doing eyelashes, tanning, semi permanent brows, like I was literally fully booked. And I think I was as far as what I could go to, unless I wanted a salon, which I never did. I didn't actually want a salon, I was kind of where I was. And I remember that I had to give Polish London some of my time. And, but I loved everything I was doing. I remember speaking to my clients and I said, you know, I've got this brand polished London, um, I need to give it more time. I haven't really got the time because I'm doing obviously beauty and then I'm flying. I've got two children. So I was like, I don't know where, what, where I'm going to go. But again, the universe decided a week later after having that conversation, it was icy. And I was in a rush, I'm always in a rush, doesn't change even now. I had some big boxes and I was putting them in my car to take them to the post office. And I fell over on my drive. Broke my shoulder, well my arm, my old shoulder in like two places. And it was absolute agony, I had to go to the hospital, I was out for six weeks. Couldn't fly, couldn't do beauty. So guess what happened? On the phone, on the laptop. I polished London, I know this sounds silly, but I gave it 100 percent of my time. Yeah. Not kind of fragmented because I was doing everything, I love doing everything, I was happy. I gave it 100 percent of my time and it was from that, in that six week period that everything started, you know, happening because it had 100 percent of my attention. Yeah. And I closed my business down, Bronze Boutique, I didn't go back. And I never would have thought that would have happened. Wow, yeah. Anyone ever said to me, Oh, you're gonna ever That was my baby. Like, that was my It was a mate. Like, I loved it. I loved all my clients. I was, you know, I worked really hard to build that business. And after that, I never went back. And I just made that decision. So that was the That was the tipping point. That was the tipping point. Yeah. Because I knew that owning the brand, the Roger Oyster, I wanted this to be, you know, the number one oral care brand that's still my number one mission. And I knew it had to Take my time. And then I've left Virgin as well. I've carried on at Virgin actually for a couple of years. And then COVID happened. I went back to do my training. Did all that and then I thought, No. I need to give Polished everything. So, I miss flying more than anything. Like, I loved the flying, the travel, the fun. Because it was so much fun. Um, and I kind of think, oh, maybe I could have juggled it all. But I do know, if you don't give something 100%. You know, you're not gonna get hundred

Laura: 27:01

percent results. This is my kind of thing and my stance on it, and it, and it is really hard. Like you said, when you do enjoy everything, can you enjoy the juggle? And I, I'm exactly the same. There's lots of different things that I really enjoy. Yeah. But I always have to remind myself that I only have a hundred percent, like I don't have more than a hundred. I have a hundred. Yes. So if I'm going to give that 30, that

Debbie: 27:21

60, or that, you're gonna get the results of 30 you. Yeah. That's.

Laura: 27:25

And it's, it is very hard when you're juggling that thing of that you do love everything. That's it. But you have to then make decisions for the best of that business or whatever is working. What do you really want? Yeah. But it's, it's a really hard decision to make and it's sometimes it isn't as clear as I hate my job. Yeah. And I want to leave my job. Sometimes it's. You just have to divide, and I do think it is one of those things, again, I'm a very big believer in the law of attraction in the universe. Sometimes you do have to put stuff out to the universe. Yeah, it's not just going to come on you. And unfortunately it did send you a broken shoulder. It did! But, that

Debbie: 28:01

was your It's crazy, isn't it? That was my kind of, it was meant to happen. Yeah. You know, because if that didn't happen, how long am I going to carry on doing what I was doing? Yeah. With the dream of being that, but not actually taking the action? So, and then Aaron, my partner, so he works with me full time now, so he, I mean, we've both sacrificed a lot, so he, his background is close protection work, you know, he's worked with some big names, loved his job, high up in his job. He does a bit here and there sometimes, but. I mean, he helps move all the distribution side of things because I couldn't do half the stuff that he does. So, you know, we've gone in it together and, you know, we're a team, yeah, all we do is talk about work. But, you know, without him, you know, I wouldn't be where I am, definitely without him. So we've kind of gone in it together. And again, he's sacrificed, we've both sacrificed jobs that we really loved for this brand that we absolutely, we love the brand, obviously, and we want to keep driving it forward. So you have to make sacrifices. You do.

Laura: 28:56

Yeah. And so in terms of working together, which I always think is a very interesting, interesting thing, I've done lots of different projects with my partner. Okay. We've not worked together full time. Yeah. But how How does that work day to day, you know, like in terms of boundaries and time together, time at work,

Debbie: 29:18

there probably isn't a boundary, we don't have a switch off really, we probably need to work on that because we live and breathe. So we are terrible. We'll go out for a meal and we'll end up talking about Polish London. It is quite bad really, but yeah, there isn't, and we probably should work on that because, you know, we should have our. Yeah, our weekends. I'm a bit of a nightmare. I kind of come to life at 10 o'clock at night. Yeah. So I do it every night. I'm like, oh, we need to do this tomorrow. It's because I just want to be really organised for the next day. Just make sure we can get everything done. Um, but yeah, it's difficult working with your partner. But he does a different role to what I

Laura: 29:53

do. And I think that's quite important as well. Yeah. That you've both got the things you can own. Yes. And be the

Debbie: 29:57

master of. Exactly. And you're not

Laura: 29:59

trying to manage each other. Yeah. All the time. Yeah. But then come together and work on certain projects. Yeah. No, definitely. So he's the kind of

Debbie: 30:06

distribution hat. Yeah, he'll help with all of that stuff, all of the, all of the kind of, all the stuff that I don't really like, to be honest. How do we get

Laura: 30:15

that there and make that kind of work? Exactly. Yeah. And then you're

Debbie: 30:18

like the creative in the middle. Yeah, I'm that person. And I suppose like the social media, all of that stuff, I suppose what you see. It's kind of, it's probably me. And then all the stuff that goes behind the scenes. How you get your order. Yeah, exactly. Love that.

Laura: 30:33

And then navigating kids in the middle, so you've got two children.

Debbie: 30:36

Yes. Yeah, so Brad is 19, so he's a bit older now, and Ava's 13. So, um, yeah. So are they very much

Laura: 30:43

part of the Polish family? Do they get involved?

Debbie: 30:45

Yeah, Bradley definitely does. He'll always help me. Ava, not so much. I have to, like, bribe her to help me. Okay. Yeah, she's like, no, I don't want to go there. But she does help sometimes if she knows that something's really important. But Bradley is really Hands on which is amazing. He's really helpful. Yeah, he's always asking me for work and always wants to earn extra cash. So that's good. I love that. I love that mindset

Laura: 31:04

as well, like earn some money. Do you think that they would join the polished family in the future? Do you think it's on their radar? I don't think so. I

Debbie: 31:12

don't think so. I think Bradley, so he's training to be a plumber. So he wants to own his own business. So he does have that entrepreneurial spirit about him. And he's kind of talking about property development. He's only 19. So anything can change. I love

Laura: 31:23

that though. I love those aspirations and those

Debbie: 31:25

thoughts. That's where he's kind of heading. And then Ava, she's not sure what she wants to do at the moment, but I can't see her. She, yeah, she's just like, I think because she's probably been brought up around Polish London so much that she's sick and tired of hearing the name. I don't want anything to do with it, but that might change. Yeah. Who knows? It'd be great if she does, but who knows? Yeah, I

Laura: 31:46

mean, exactly. She knows everything about it. Yeah, I know, yeah. That's so interesting. So, so you've moved into, you're in the unit, the business is growing. Did you ever hit a point where you were like stuck? Because I think a lot of businesses, they get like, it's like a stuck point where it's kind of, where is this going? What do we do? What's the right thing? Definitely. And I

Debbie: 32:08

think that's a continuous thing. I think you go through periods of that. And I think it's just, you go, you're kind of hitting yourself, you know, it's like, I'm stuck. What do we need to do? And it's just a case of changing things. What's not working? What can we just tweak? What can we change? Let's take this away. Because again, your cash flow is a big thing. So where are you putting your cash? Where are you putting your money? Can you move that from there and try this? And I think in business you're always trying new things. So yeah, I think being stuck comes quite regularly, really, where you're like, Okay, and everything's changing all the time. As you said, like, social media's changing, things like that. So, yeah, it's just thinking outside the box. What can we do different that we haven't done? Um, that's kind of, yeah, I would say. Yeah, you've got to see

Laura: 32:47

areas where you can grow and develop into. Or, like you said, Instagram is, you know, changing all the time. Social media platforms. Changing all the time.

Debbie: 32:56

Yeah.

Laura: 32:56

People want to purchase. So you're sold online and then you have got retailers as well that you work with. Is that always going to be part of your plan, how you sell? Because I know this is a big thing about how people, you know, especially with, um, retail goods, you know, are they all online

Debbie: 33:16

or in the shops? So yes, we are. So the UK is a market that we're definitely trying to kind of focus on this year. So some exciting conversations happening and we're launching into QVC, um, which is really exciting next week, which is amazing. And then we're launching to Debenhams beauty as well in February. So that was really exciting. And then, yeah, so the UK market is something. That I really want to pay like a massive attention to this year. That's kind of my goal really. Yeah. Um, so yeah, that's kind of, yeah, definitely trying to get into more retailers. So where

Laura: 33:49

are you, where are you located at the moment? Where are you stocked? So

Debbie: 33:51

we're stocked on Emirates Airline, which is amazing. We are stocked in John Velenkoyden. Harrods in the UK and then we're stocked in like over a thousand stores in Ireland and north southern Ireland and northern Ireland Wow, so, um, but yeah, and then obviously Australia that we launched in Yes, we'll come on to that in a second

Laura: 34:10

because that is like talk about flying across the world and So talk to me about Harrods. So this blows my mind. Yeah, because it seems like it's such a impenetrable monster of a

Debbie: 34:24

retailer How did

Laura: 34:27

you, did you decide that you were going to go into Harrods, or was it a

Debbie: 34:31

natural thing that happened? Harrods was always the dream. Okay. Like, it was always the number one. But it happened super quick. It did, actually. Yeah. I would say three years ago. Yeah. Yeah. It did happen really quickly. And I remember crying when it happened, like, because it was amazing. Like, this is not real. They have not said yes. Yeah. It was amazing. It was the dream. That was always the go to. So yeah, we're Stockton Harrods and you know, every year you get your, um, contract. So it's like we're going to stock you for another year. So even though you're in there, you have to stay in there. Which is interesting. Yeah. Keep driving the sales and work alongside them. They're such a lovely team and the products are selling really well. And yeah, it's amazing for us to be Stockton Harrods. That was always. The number one goal. Yeah. So I have other goals now, but yeah, but

Debbie Sleeman Podcast: 35:12

that's

Laura: 35:12

the thing, you set a goal, smash it and you move. Yeah. So how did that come about? How did, did you like just knock on someone's door and go,

Debbie: 35:18

am I? Well, LinkedIn is really amazing. So you've got an amazing, cause all the buyers are on LinkedIn. So it's just reaching out to them. Sometimes you'll get a response. Sometimes you won't, but you don't know if you don't try. And luckily I did get a response and we had some, you know, um, it was online. So meetings online. Went to see the buyers, presented the brand, and then think about it for a while, and then you don't hear anything for about a year, which is what happened. And then all of a sudden out of the blue I had an email saying they're going to stock us, which is amazing. Because it's, yeah, you kind of, they, they stock brands but at certain times. And sometimes you're on the radar and maybe there's not an opportunity right now. So it is a time thing, it doesn't always happen straight away. Um, so it is, yeah. So

Laura: 35:58

in terms of, I think this is really interesting, kind of the, sending messages and I know I've worked with so many different businesses that just won't do it. So how many messages do you think you've sent and not received replies to? Oh God,

Debbie: 36:11

always. Always. Happens all the time. Even now? Even now you're much bigger. Happens all the time. All the time, honestly. You have to be quite thick skinned. Yeah. I mean, I actually, interestingly, I can't say the retailer, but I had an email today from a retailer. I first reached out to him in 2021. Okay. Then I have another email. Then I might not get anything and then you kind of, you just, the thing is, there's no point sending the same email to the retailer. So what I've learned now, I actually heard it from a podcast is email them updates. So you know, we've just launched something and this is what's happening. Keep them in the loop. Don't expect a reply, but just keep them in the loop so that you are at the forefront of their mind. So that's what I've done, and I had a, I sent an email last night, 8 o'clock at night, because I come to life at night. And 9 o'clock this morning I had an email from the retailer, and haven't heard from him for about a year and a half. Um, so it takes a long time, and he wants samples. So, fingers crossed! Yeah! Which is amazing! I guess you're building

Laura: 37:01

Sometimes building a relationship with somebody that's not giving you anything back, but you're still

Debbie: 37:05

building that relationship. Without being annoying. Because it's like, there's a fine line between being really annoying, because their obviously buyers are really busy. And just, I suppose, just checking in every now and again with your news. You know, what's going on? And it's all, as you say, relationship building. Everything in business is relationship building, isn't it? It really is. Across the board, like, relationship building is the number one thing. Yeah. So yeah, it's um, yeah, even now we get, um, Ignored. But you just have to keep going. Because if you believe in what you're doing, you can see the opportunities. For us and also the retailer, I mean, there's so many retailers that aren't stocking oral care products and yet it's part of your routine that you're doing every day. You're doing your skincare, you're doing your hair care, makeup, you're brushing your teeth every day without, you know, most people are, but you know, you're brushing your teeth. So why not make it fun and exciting using really good quality products? You know, there is an opportunity, so I am trying to pave the way forward and banging on doors to get a stocks. Yeah. And some high street retailers. That's the

Laura: 38:04

goal. Yeah. I love that. And I guess the takeaway is just you have to keep, keep going and even when you don't get reply or you get knocked back and they say no, it's not the right time. Yeah. To just keep Yeah. Building. Those relationships keep going yeah and believe in your

Debbie: 38:19

brand absolutely because as well I think by there obviously so busy if you think how many brands are out there trying to get in the same retailer Their inbox must just be flooded. Yeah, so they might not even see your email as well So yeah, just that balance not being annoying But just just keep banging on the door and keep going for it. It will happen, especially if you believe in it It will definitely happen. It just takes time, but some things will take years and years and years

Laura: 38:42

Really well. Yeah, but good things come to those who persist and keep sending emails and messages. So relationship building, you've built a relationship in Australia, so how did that, was that somewhere on your radar that you wanted to go or did, was it more of like a, Oh, that's an interesting opportunity?

Debbie: 39:01

So yeah, Australia was always a dream. It wasn't kind of my number one goal for last year, really. It happened naturally. So what happened? This is a funny story. So Richard Branson, um, so I had an email, a message on LinkedIn from Richard Branson's, communication person. So somebody higher up, she sent me a message on LinkedIn saying, I've got somebody. from Verge Atlantic that wants to reach out to you and give you a personal note. And I said, okay, and I thought, God, is that Richard Branson? I thought, I don't get my hopes up, but who the hell? is going to send me a personal note from Virgin Atlantic. I kind of had checked her out. Oh, okay. So you knew she was legit. She was definitely, yeah, she'd been there for years. So I thought, I was thinking, I don't want to get my hopes up. But it sounds like it is. And in a way, I then had, yeah, had this letter that appeared at my house. So, Richard Branson sent me a personal handwritten note. From one entrepreneur to another. Thank you for all your time at Virgin Atlantic. Wishing you the very best. And I was just like, That is like I can't believe that! And that was a whole 360 then. That was kind of, you know, because as I say I love Virgin Atlantic, I love my time there. And it was a nice ending, I suppose. Yeah, well

Laura: 40:07

you You could say, no one else has got that letter. It was such a happy moment for you, so to get that kind of recognition from somebody that, you know, a brand that you work with and you were so closely attached to. incredible and obviously he's just an

Debbie: 40:20

absolute legend, isn't he? He really is. But what happened was, so how Australia kind of fell into place is because I shared the notes on LinkedIn. Shared it on there and said, wow, thank you so much. Tagged Richard Brunson and said, you know, it's amazing. Really appreciate your kind words. And Australia, there was a big distributor in Australia. They saw the LinkedIn post because it went viral on LinkedIn. Wow. Yeah. Contacted me about stocking us. Had a few meetings. It took probably about a year in the making of kind of talking and everything and the distributor flew over to our unit last year. So last March, we met her obviously after loads of conversations and then they got us into priceline. Which is the second biggest retailer in Australia, um, for beauty. So that kind of happened, but that was very fast, so we had the ordering and we had to get all hands on deck to then get, because that's the biggest order we've ever done. So, that takes its toll. So it's great to have the big order, but then you need You know the manpower to put it all together. Yeah to get it there in that time frame You also need the cash flow to be able to fulfill the order because it's the biggest order we've ever done Um, but we managed to get it all done and we managed to make it successful and we did a massive launch. I flew out there Yes It was like Just literally like

Laura: 41:32

Debbie takes Australia. It was amazing. It was so good like flying

Debbie: 41:38

out there I still couldn't believe I was there and It was incredible and just the welcoming we had was phenomenal. Everyone was so lovely, so welcoming, so excited to have us there, loved the brand. It was just, you couldn't have wished for any better. Um, and again, the partnership that we've got in Australia, they treat my brand like it's their brand. Yeah. It's a massive partnership. They flew over from Australia to come and meet us at the unit, all of that stuff. And rather than just handing the brand over to the distributor and then running with it, it's a solid partnership. And we're regularly, you know, we'll have regular meetings, you know, even though it's Australia, we are in contact constantly. Um, because their big goal is to drive the brand out there. Yeah. With my help as well. So, yeah, it's exciting. And

Laura: 42:22

how does it feel, obviously they're a dis distributor. They have, I guess, lots of different brands that they work with. Yeah. How does it feel for somebody to. Say to you we want to represent your brand. We believe in your brand How does that

Debbie: 42:35

feel? Feels amazing really, you know, and you have to put trust into them people Yeah, you don't just want your brand chucked on shelves and left and it's they're all about the money Like I'll just chuck the brand on the shelf We'll get into as many retailers as we can but we don't care about the brand presence or the brand and or anything else They actually are on the same page as me where it's all about You know what we look like on shelves and that the continuity of the brands throughout the world. Yeah, so yeah It's a big trust thing But I do trust them and they are such hard working and when Fiona our distributor She says she's got a meeting with a retailer. She's such a boss ass, babe. Yeah She's got a meeting with the retailer. I'm pretty confident that she's gonna walk out of there with a listing She's so good. Yeah, and that's what you want. You want trust. Yeah, and who you're working with and they are they're an amazing team I'm really lucky to have them

Laura: 43:22

I feel like you're a very like gut person. Aren't you? Yes, you're like a Feeling person. Yeah, it doesn't feel yeah, absolutely. Do you think that that kind of helps you navigate your whole business?

Debbie: 43:35

Yeah, even more so and I think in the past I've actually made mistakes where I haven't trusted my gut Yeah, and I've listened I've asked for advice the people around me They've given me their advice and I knew like I made some big mistakes and I knew I was Can I do that? Have I got, have I, am I experienced enough to do it? Like, you know, am I experienced enough to do it? Do I have the resources around me to do it? But I'm also an opportunist. If there's an opportunity there, I'd like to go for the opportunity, but you have to weigh it up. If you're not ready for that opportunity, maybe just push the pause button and revisit and in the, you know, the future, I guess. But yeah, I have gone against my gut in the past and it's always. So now, if it feels like, I shouldn't be doing this, or that sounds amazing, and it sounds a bit too good to be true, then it's too good to be true. Just follow your gut instinct, cause it usually doesn't lie, as much as you want it to be. I wanna do that, it's yeah, gut instinct is a tool, so definitely use it. Yeah,

Laura: 44:31

definitely, I really feel strongly about that. Are you

Debbie: 44:34

the same?

Laura: 44:34

Yeah, I think you just get a feeling and I think you can sit with it and you then will, your body will tell you what is going to happen. And again, put things out to the universe if you don't get that and something will happen. Yeah. So what is next for polished? Cause I feel like there's, you know, you've built such a great foundation that can go anywhere. And I feel like it could go anywhere. There could be just something left, like left field

Debbie: 45:01

coming out.

Laura: 45:01

Thank you. So what's. Yeah, what's in the pipeline that you can tell us about what's, what's

Debbie: 45:07

going on? So we are working on, so polish on is all about innovation. So we're working on some really beautiful products this year that's innovative, really health driven, really beautiful. So that's kind of one of the things we've got a few products coming that's unique, gorgeous and just trying to grow the UK market. That's kind of my number one goal for this year, trying to grow the UK market and you know, building on our community. So that's a big thing for us as well at the moment. So just trying to really. Get our customers involved with our journey. Yeah. Um, that's a big one for us as well, rather than just Yeah, basically community building, growing the brand this year in the UK and bringing out beautiful products that everyone can use, love and enjoy. Yeah. And they

Laura: 45:46

are all absolutely gorgeous. Thank you. So if people haven't heard of them or seen them, you need to go and have a look at them because, and although they are beautiful, they are still amazing as well. I mean, I use the, um, toothpaste as a regular and the strips, which are really nice. feeling as well. They're not, I think some teeth whitening strips can feel so yucky. Yeah. And really put you off using them as, on a regular basis. But they're so Yeah, just, yeah, not, they don't kind of give you that awful feeling in your mouth that's kind of

Debbie: 46:18

gooey and And also they're discreet as well, so when you're wearing them, no one sees you wearing them. Oh, I've worn them

Laura: 46:22

in the car before when I'm going somewhere. I've just stuck them on, got in the car, done the nursery run, and then like, taken them off before I get to a meeting, so And again, because they don't give you that horrible, like, gooey feeling.

Debbie: 46:32

You can just, yeah, because they're residue free, so you're not left with any gunk or anything on your teeth. Just peel them off and you're good to go. And they just fit into your routine, really, so, you know. Tea and coffee, red wine, certain coloured foods, they're all going to stain your teeth. We're not going to say, right, you know, whiten your teeth with us and don't have a coffee anymore because it's part of your lifestyle, choices, you enjoy it. So it's just a case of doing all of that still, but just using products that are just going to help keep your smile nice and happy, and keep it looking nice and bright, and as best as it can, really.

Laura: 47:01

And they can all be used as you would normally use, like the toothpaste, obviously, you just use as you would normally use, and the strips just as and when, like if you're going out, or, you know, want to have a nice bright smile. Yeah, but they just fit in so, so well. So in terms of your business journey, so, What's your biggest struggle when it comes to business and being in business? What's the thing you've found really hard or have had to overcome or struggle with?

Debbie: 47:30

Probably a big one is, um, I suppose leadership. Okay. So sometimes I can be a bit too nice and I've always struggled to be. Express that, you know, how, yeah, that's probably a struggle for me is lead team, team leading. And I suppose because I've never done it. Yeah. That's the thing. So if you've not trained in it, you've never done it, you're a complete beginner at it. So it's something that I need to work on really. Yeah. Um, when I have time. Yeah. Um, so I suppose that really, you know, just that. And I think

Laura: 47:57

that can be a really hard cause you are so customer focused and keeping people happy. Yes. Which is centered around the customers, which is a great asset. I think maybe sometimes then that can cross over into being too nice and trying to

Debbie: 48:11

appease everybody. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, that is a struggle of mine where, Oh, don't worry, you know, it's just that. It's, yeah, I need to work on that really. But, you know, who's perfect? You know, you have to always be working on, I think it's just knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Yeah. And, you know, as long as your strengths are bigger than your weaknesses, and then working on your weaknesses, you don't have to be perfect, do you? And just seeing how you can improve and strengthen your weaknesses. So that they're not over there, they're over here, I

Laura: 48:35

suppose. Yeah, and you evolve as

Debbie: 48:36

a person, don't you? Yeah, and you're always learning. Like, you're always learning. God. Yeah, you're always learning. There's so much. Yeah,

Laura: 48:44

definitely. And so, if somebody came to you and they go, I'm going to start a new business, what do you think is the biggest thing that you've, you know, and you would suggest it because you've learnt from it, the biggest bit of advice you'd give them? So first

Debbie: 48:59

of all, it starts with you. So, you know, It starts with you. What I mean by that is, I've kind of tried, I've put myself first for the last year. Before that I was living on McDonald's, I was grabbing food because I was working late, I wasn't nurturing my body, not drinking enough water, all of that stuff, takeaways on weekends, still do all that, but I think it starts with you, give yourself goodness, go to the gym and then you are ready to experience. Yeah. So, um, so, um, we've got a lot of great questions down there. So, if you can just just hit the little bell, and I will be answering them as soon as we So, don't be shy, okay? We're proud of you. We're so proud of you. We love you. We love you. We love you. And I'm going to let you go now. Walking anything, podcast, any of that stuff, just, it really starts with you. And then the foundations can grow from that. And I've only really learned that the last year when I've started going to the gym, eating healthier, and I've realized I'm such hap, so much more happier, more energized that it just started with me. And you're more confident. So when things come up, there's a business opportunity, or you're going to a meeting or an event, you're not like, what am I gonna wear for that? I feel really rubbish. You wanna turn up feeling good and confident as best as you can do. Um, another one is like if you have a. If you have a dream, then go for it, just go for it. There's never the right time. You don't need to know everything. You're always learning. So go for it and reach out to people because people are there to help. Like there's so many people now that I reach out to. I don't know everything. I'm not saying reach out every five minutes, you know, you have to figure things

Laura: 50:24

out yourself. Pull on each other's, um, other people's skills.

Debbie: 50:27

Yeah, network with people. So who you kind of, just network with people, you know, relationship building with brand owners or people in the same industry as you. People want to help each other. I think you know if you are unsure of anything just reach out reach out to me I mean, I might not know the answer But I'm more than happy to always help people and people help me all the time as well So just yeah go for it and some people might you know, some people you always hear I always heard don't do it and Don't go to people that you wouldn't take advice from if you wouldn't swap that your life with them, right, you know,

Laura: 50:58

yeah People that you aspire to and

Debbie: 51:00

people that you Yeah, they'll always say go for it.

Laura: 51:02

And it's also like finding your people, isn't it? People that you just really either admire or you gel with or you just feel

Debbie: 51:11

good around them. Yeah, you feel uplifted, you know, talk ideas, not people, I always say. Them conversations are so much better. You know, there's nothing better than sitting on a table where everyone's ambitious and talking about ideas and Helping each other because you might not it could be some small thing that you could give a lightbulb moment to somebody who's been Stuck like what you said earlier. Yeah, you can say have you tried this? No, I haven't but I'm gonna try that's a really good idea Yeah, cuz sometimes you can get so stuck in your business And you

Laura: 51:37

can be in a hamster wheel can't you? Yeah, working working working. Yeah,

Debbie: 51:41

you kind of just yeah, yeah that kind of Brain frog you just can't think so I think sometimes just getting out as well. Just talking to people Yeah, it's a big one. Amazing. But enjoy what you do as well. Have a little passion for what you do. Yeah. Don't just bring out a company. Yes. Because you think it's going to make loads of money. You have to have a bit of it.

Laura: 51:58

I think so. And I think when it gets hard, when you really have those days where you're digging deep. Yes. If you aren't really invested in it and you don't really love your business. You are gonna just give up because you don't really care that much.

Debbie: 52:11

Yeah, that is a hard one I don't think I could do anything if I didn't have a love and passion for it, but people do,

Laura: 52:16

don't they? No, I'm very much like it's an instant off switch if I'm not interested or engaged Yeah, even with something that somebody said, you should do this. It's gonna be a really great idea if I'm not into it It's not gonna happen. So I've definitely learned to trust my intuition. Yeah.

Debbie: 52:29

Yeah, you need to be flared up and excited. Don't you? Amazing well, so much for

Laura: 52:34

joining me. It's been so interesting to Unpick polished and learn more about you and your journey, and I know lots of people will Relate to it and see you know, whether they're a beautician or whether they're, flying around the world, but you know how things can evolve and you can start a business from a little tiny idea and drawing some inspiration from something. I think

Debbie: 52:58

as well kind of the power of just keep going. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. It's just the power of keep going. Amazing. Thank you for having me. so much.

Laura: 53:06

I hope everyone enjoyed. This episode with Debbie, we'll pop some information about polished and how you can connect with Debbie and see all the amazing things that she's up to and it's got going on. Lots of exciting things coming up for polish. So we'll pop that all in the description. Thank you so, so much.

Debbie: 53:21

Thank you.