Next up in the interview series is Sarah Burgan. Sarah is a poster girl for strong, independent and hardworking women. At an incredibly young age, Sarah made the brave jump and launched her own clothing brand, Fulwood London! At Fulwood London "we collaborate with artists all over the country to bring sick artwork to small runs of streetwear, giving you all the bad-ass-ness of a tattoo without the cost or commitment." Not only does Sarah shine the light on herself and independent tattoo artists, she is also an awesome olympic weightlifting coach and athlete, competing in competitions all over Yorkshire!
"I own a clothing brand (Fulwood London) and in my spare time I’m an Olympic weightlifting coach."
How do you use technology in your day to day?
So I have a smart meter, even though the gas doesn’t work on it yet haha! I use a smart phone to communicate with my pals. I watch Netflix on my smart telly. I don’t really use social media for personal reasons because I have to do it as part of my job, so it’s a little boring for me.
How do you use technology to propel your business?
Social media, I use Instagram as a look-book type thing and Facebook for everything from sales to a customer service platform. I use Wordpress for my website with WooCommerce. I use Hootsuite to do my scheduling. I use Paypal and Stripe for my payment systems. I use Google analytics to track website traffic and customer data and I use Photoshop and Illustrator to edit photoshoots and create graphics or brand logos.
Would your role/business be possible without the use of technology/social media?
As an online brand, no. It would be much more difficult to get the brand awareness. If I wasn’t online, my business wouldn’t be feasible because of the costs incurred from commercial renting.
Self taught?
Yes. I’ve done a few online a few online courses and webinars and things but they weren’t that helpful. I’m mainly self-taught.
What have been your best learning resources?
Just experimenting and measuring the results through the analytics. I’ve read a lot of blog posts that have tips and tricks, but I’m not sure how useful they’ve been. I think for someone who is starting at ground zero they’re a good resource. But when most of the tips say “use hashtags” it’s not very beneficial for me.
Who has been your biggest support throughout your journey so far?
Financially, my dad. And in terms of pushing the brand forward my model and bestie Fia.
As a woman, do you think you have faced any challenges that a man would not face in your position?
I don’t know, I don’t feel in terms of my business it has impeded me so far. But in my old job (design and development assistant) I was seen as a “little girl” and I felt like my ideas weren’t taken seriously.
What HAS been your biggest challenge so far?
Getting the name out there and brand awareness. And putting my time and energy into the right things because there’s so many different things I can do, but working out which thing will be the most beneficial is difficult.
Do you think in the future you will have to rely on technology more or less?
To keep up with the way it’s going, probably more. There’s always something new that makes things quicker and easier.
What’s your favorite piece of advice to offer entrepreneurial women?
Just do it, stop getting in your own way. There’s always a solution to a problem and most of the time you're getting in the way of yourself!
Thank you so much Sarah for all that awesome information!
Follow the gorgeous and talented Sarah @fulwoodlondon (insta) /fulwoodlondon (facebook)