It’s Doone, your hype girl in business. This week, I am feeling so reflective. 2023 felt like such a weird year (and I feel like a lot of people have been feeling the same) but I am excited about 2024 and what is yet to come. I keep reminding myself that it’s about putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to take action everyday, even if it’s just the 1% - and I thought I would share that with you too ✨ 

Let’s jump straight into it, today we’re covering 👇

• Obsession is fuelling your entrepreneurial spirit

• How to prepare your small biz for the holidays

• Bootstrapped marketing ideas from yours truly

• $200,000 in non-dilutive capital up for grabs

• & an epic resource that can help you this week 💕

Why are you so obsessed with me?

If you read that in Regina George’s voice, you understood the assignment 💅

To answer the question… Because you gotta be all-in, head-over-heels obsessed with your product, your customers, and the puzzle you're solving.

Why? Because obsession fuels resilience. It keeps Suzie going when the going gets tough building Boob Armour. When you're madly in love with what you're building, it’s far easier for setbacks to turn into setups for comebacks.

Maybe being an entrepreneur is not just a gig, but rather a complete love affair with your vision. What do you reckon: are you totally obsessed with your idea?

Subscribe to the podcast to get Suzie’s ep when it drops → 

5 steps to prep your small biz for the holidays ✨

Thinking of some downtime for the holidays? I get it, sometimes feels like the business ship won't sail without you, right? But here's the deal: you can and should take a breather. Time to let go, unwind, & srsly recharge.

1/ Taking time off isn’t a taboo, it’s so key to give your customers a heads-up on your vacation plans. Trust me, they get it.

→ TO DO: Update your FAQs and schedule a banner on your homepage with all the deets so they can keep the orders rolling when you’re MIA - also link it up in your Insta bio for an easy vacation strategy.

2/ Automation is your bestie. Replace as many as your manual workflows as possible!

→ TO DO: Shopify Flow can be a great help here, & using a ManyChat free trial to drop a cute OOO message to anyone who drops into your DMs on Insta, so no one feels left behind or ignored.

3/ Schedule all of your posts for your holiday period to free up tonnes of brain-space and stay on the right side of the algorithm.

→ TO DO: you can use the free trial on a platform like Later or get set up in the Meta Business Suite.

4/ Check in on your B2B relationships.

→ TO DO: In this week leading up to the break, take a note of everyone you have communications with & drop them a message detailing how long you’ll be away, what they should action, how it’ll affect their work and interactions with you, & provide an emergency contact.

5/ Our fave; craft a cute OOO reply so everyone who pops into your email knows what the deal is!

→TO DO: mention when you’ll be back to answering emails - and then it’s time to R&R and ENJOY 🎊🥳🎉

Screenshot & share this list with someone who might find it useful ✨

Marketing ideas for founders on a zero-dollar budget 💸

Our co-hosted episode this week was a highly requested one, so I’m super excited to bring it out into the world. We had so much fun! We dive into 7 bootstrapped marketing ideas for founders on a zero dollar budget, one of which we’ll cover right here: the power of TikTok and short-form content.

My mind directly goes to TikTok when I’m thinking about unique marketing moments and things that a bootstrapped solo founder can do as something that is a heavy investment on time and energy but super low on budget (read: zero). Spend a lot of time creating those viral moments. Here are some of our faves:

1/ The Girls Get Off boogie: so fun. An attention-grabbing, thumb-stopping moment where the investment is pure sweat equity. That’s the magic!

2/ Now, let’s talk about Elle Brooke & her mystery shopping bag: it's quick, it's quirky, and it’s the LOL content that sticks. The perfect example of how scrappy, unpolished ideas can catapult your brand into the spotlight.

3/ TBH Skincare's Margot Robbie Moment: remember the Margot Robbie stunt by TBH Skincare? A genius move that cost nada but brought the spotlight. For us, it's about finding those celebrity moments that fit our narrative without breaking the bank, catching that content wave.

In a world of mega-budget marketing, we’re seeing more and more people thrive on creativity, wit, and the audacity to stand out. So, check out these videos, grab your camera, and let the world witness the magic of a bootstrapped founder.

Listen to more tea on the podcast →

• Alix teases starting her own brand (it was only a matter of time) 

• What the VCs are saying about the 2024 tech scene

• Shopify makes changes to its review process

• Zelda Ventures is eyeing up serial entrepreneurs

• 9,000 women sue Disney for pay disparity

• Mejuri is jumping on the lab-grown trend

• That video app generates $10B in consumer spending

• Pivot raises $21.6M just a few months after founding

• Say hello to the American Girl doll live-action movie

• Finsta’s no more with this IG update

• Ahhh, what’s Bumble cooking up?

• Beyonce is now worth HOW much?

This week's grant...

As previously won by our poddy guest Aasiyah Abdulsalam (founder of The Renatural) the 2024 Black New Venture Competition is back for winners to receive more than $200,000 in non-dilutive capital - apply by Jan 2nd!

This week's lineup...

This week's recommendations...

Ways I can help you this week…

REMOTE 🌴

• Oula, redesigning maternity care from the ground up, is looking for a VP of Marketing to lead their brand growth strategy. More here.

DENVER 🇺🇸

• Early-stage cancer detection start-up AOA Dx is on the look-out for a Senior Trial Specialist to join the team. Know someone?

UK 🇬🇧

• Daisy Harvey, the founder of fashion app Loom, is looking for a technical co-founder to help bring her vision to life. More here.

AMSTERDAM 🇳🇱

• An all-round internship with Stand Procedure’s agency across many leading brands in the fashion industry. All the deets right here.

That’s all for this week folks! If you’ve got any questions just hit reply to this email and drop directly into my inbox 💕