Hey! It’s Doone, your hype girl in business. This one goes out to all you hard workers out there ✊ No, really - the gap between men and women in the workplace hit a record low this week as women are working harder than ever. As we enter our hard-working era, pls remember to prioritize self-care and get nice and familiar with this little word: no.

Today we’re covering 👇

• Snagging 110 retailers in just 6 months 👀

• Scheduling saves lives (& relationships)

• Finally building your meditation habit

• One two small but mighty GRANTS 💸

• Job ops at Maude and Midday Squares

• The wild story of Barbie’s creator (she was guilty of fraud!)

How to Wholesale: secure 110 retailers in your first 6 months 🛍️

This week, we reflected on our chat with Hannah and how she managed to secure 110 retailers within the first 6 months of launching Peppermint Grove. Let’s get straight into the ✨genius✨ 3-step process:

STEP 1: early feedback

I’d never heard of this before, and I love it. Hannah started off developing her brand WITH retail stores, not FOR them.

Take each bit of feedback with a grain of salt, but this insight is so useful. Retailers are the eyes and ears directly engaging with your end consumer, they know what the customer wants.

STEP 2: more, more more

With the initial concept approved it’s time to double down. Identify the “it”-store in each state and the rest will flock to you. Take the product, pound the pavement with this new store, and always leave them with a sample. You want these retailers to be your modern-day influencers.

STEP 3: it’s time to show off

Now you’ve well and truly established yourself amongst a number of stores, it’s time to show off your progress at a trade show. This is the opportunity to get yourself in front of all your dream retailers, network your tush off, and establish yourself as a serious player in the space. Hannah walked away from her first trade show with a whopping 70 new retailers signed, bringing her total up to 110. Not bad for 6 months on the job as a one-woman show.

Listen to Hannah on the podcast →

How Notion Changed My Business (slash life)

Hi! Josephine jumping in here (FSCs very own content girl) - popping in to spill all the tea on exactly how Notion has transformed our social media game over these past 6 months and how it can improve yours too.

📆 Scheduling saves lives: (& relationships). I've kissed goodbye to those late-night posting frenzies. Now, I plan our content calendar for the week ahead for a healthy overview and a checklist that keeps my dopamine levels riding high.

📈 We’re (finally) tracking numbers: who knew tracking performance is such a breeze? Notion's templates help me keep an eagle eye on our engagement stats, making it super simple to see what's working and what needs a tweak.

💗Total Customization: you know how we love a bit of FSC branding, right? Notion gets it too. I've personalized my workspace to match our brand's vibe. It's not just a tool; when you’re working with something all day long it’s an extension of your soul! That deserves to look cute.

I’m really not quite sure how we managed with the excel-docs-slash-notepads before but I can tell you this is totally levelling up our social media game.

→ Check what all the fuss is about

(Or steal our freebie template here.)

Advice on building a meditation habit 🧘‍♀️

If you’re anything like me, meditation has been high on your to-do list for years but it just. won’t. work. That’s why I jumped on the chance to find out a little bit more when meditation teacher (& Form Nutrition co-founder) Natalia Bojanic came on the show a couple of weeks back.

Her advice really resonated with me, I decided to give it a crack and I truly feel like I’m finally getting somewhere. So naturally, I was so excited to jump on here and share all. The sparkling secret (& key to my heart) with Natalia's method is that it’s absolutely key that you start small. Studies have shown that just 3 minutes a day for 21 days can start totally transforming your brain. And even the busiest amongst us can’t cop out of a 3-minute-a-day commitment.

The second golden nugget is to find and allocate your cozy corner, your little nook of introspection, your personal oasis. This will be your go-to spot for that 3-minute date with yourself, a moment to cultivate your mind and gain insights about what is really going on in your life. Because how we experience life is tied to how we train our minds and trust me, that's worth embracing.

So, here's your mission, if you choose to accept it: carve out 3 minutes in your day, for 21 days straight. Make it your solo meditation date. It's not about perfection; it's about progress & commitment to those 3-minutes. & drop into my inbox to let me know how you’re getting on, I’m dying to know!

Listen to Natalia on the podcast →

• This looks awfully familiar, Victoria’s Secret

• Look who’s back, back again

• SkinnyDipped’s star-studded $12M Series A

• Branded juice collabs are BIG business

• Want to become an owner of The Sill?

• Job hunters, welcome the September Surge 

• Eras Tour film might just snag $100M in first weekend

• Draper James was acquired by Consortium Brand Partners

• Skims x Madelaine Persch is going cotton

This week's grants...

Small but mighty: this week, apply for the $500 Giving Joy Mini-Grant wherever you are; & the $2,500 Fresh Start Grant for those of you based in the US - both before September 30th to be in with a chance 💫

This week's lineup...

This week's recommendations...

Ways I can help you this week…

Remote 🌴

• Durable travel container brand Cadence is hiring for a Strategic Finance Manager or Senior Manager! Read more here.

NYC 🗽

• Maude is hiring a Director of Marketing to help continue to build the future of intimacy. Something for you? 

LA 🌞

• Chamberlain Coffee is looking for a freelance Creative Director to support the development of marketing campaigns. Apply here.

Montreal 🍁

• The coolest choco-snack brand, Mid-Day Squares, is on the hunt for an Office Admin Assistant to join the team. Find out more here.

That’s all for today folks! For more light reading check out the wild story of Barbie’s creator, Ruth Handler 👀