Sophie Geraerdts founded Posh Panda, a sustainable personal care brand in 2019 alongside her full-time career in tech. She feels passionate about helping people adopt healthier habits, and wanted to use her knowledge from launching the technology in an industry where she feels she can make a positive difference.  A month after setting up the company she received funding from Virgin Start Up, allowing her to place the order for her first collection. She is documenting her journey as an entrepreneur on her website so check it out to find out more and stay up to date!

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I am half Belgian, half British, and currently live in the UK after moving here when I was 18. I studied international business and work in tech, while I am getting my business to a place where I can work in it full time. I have three sisters, and my proudest moment was finishing the New York marathon in 2018.  

What inspired you to start your business? 

I was inspired by hearing and seeing so many success stories from other female entrepreneurs. In this day and age, it is easier than ever to start a business and I knew from a very young age this is something I wanted to do. It took me a few years to figure out where I could make my own niche, and in the end, I was able to find inspiration in my own journey into adopting healthier habits. 

Secondly, I love trying new things, and I am always looking for the next challenge, with 2020 right around the corner it seemed the perfect moment to start planning for the rest of my life. 

Where is your business based?

My business is currently run out of my home in Wimbledon, UK. What I love about my business however is that as an online company, I can connect with audiences and consumers from all across the world. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first steps for me were sampling and deciding on the products for launch, alongside figuring out the brand aesthetic. 

Product development is one of the areas I love most. Working out what products would be a good fit for the brand, as well as sampling the different options. I am currently sampling the products for the second collection and I am so excited about it already! 

Branding was also key, as this shapes the brand name, logo, packaging, and how you envisage the social media and website looking. Here I used the support from some of my friends, who I used to bounce options off. I wanted it to be recognizable and convey the values of the company, however, I was conscious of making sure it did not trigger any brand awareness with another company.  

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

I am part of a startup network in London, the Virgin StartUp funded club. Having received backing from an organization so recognizable was a huge boost for my confidence, and it was a great way to meet like-minded people. I would say building your network, and being able to leverage the insights from other founders is a great way to quickly boost your brand. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

One of my biggest challenges is overcoming the fear of being judged. It’s hard to hear criticism or negative feedback from people in your life however I have found the worst critic was myself. 

The first steps are the hardest, as a small business you are going to have to promote yourself and put yourself out there. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. Additionally, I was surprised by all the lovely feedback and kind words from sometimes the most unexpected places. 

How do you stay focused?

Staying focussed is really important to me as I am still working, and my business has to be managed in my spare time. A great way for me to stay on track is setting clear goals of what I want to achieve by week but also keeping track of what action I have taken so far. A lot of this is reflected in my blog where I cover topics like becoming a funded business, sourcing products, and much more. I have noticed I am more likely to not achieve the task I set out when I try to bite off more than I can chew in a set time period. It’s a marathon, not a sprint! 

A tangible resource I love and use daily is Google tasks, it’s great to create different lists to make sure I assign tasks to the right week and being able to add emails to to-do lists gives me the peace of mind I am not forgetting anything important. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

I believe Posh Panda stands out by focussing on a premium customer experience, from the brand aesthetic to the products themselves. Many sustainable brands position themselves with that front and center, whereas I love to think of my brand as premium, without compromising on our sustainable values. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

Social media has been huge for us, it was tough to get going as I didn’t know what resources were out there and then how to use them but it’s become a really fun part of the business to focus on as it’s very insights-driven and easy to measure success. The page (poshpanda_) is still really small but since we have started using promotions we have been able to reach super relevant audiences and get a great click-through to our website. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs? 

The best piece of advice I have been given is to just start. Don't wait until you believe everything is perfect, as you will inevitably make mistakes. I put off launching multiple times as I wanted to have a perfect launch, but trial and error helped me learn so much quicker. You never know what is coming, and being prepared for that will help you more in the long run than being unable to cope with the unexpected! 

Secondly, I would also advise to seek out other people in a similar position. Having another person to bounce ideas off or just use them as a sounding board to sift through your thoughts is the best way to figure out what your next move should be. 

I'd love to help and am more than happy to connect with other founders that have questions! 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app at the moment is Duolingo. I am making a conscious effort to focus on something new and completely different from what I do day today. I have chosen to learn Portuguese, as my parents spend a lot of time there, and I think it’s a beautiful country. 

My favorite blog is Leonie Hanne’s Ohh Couture. I have been following her for a long time on Instagram and I love her positive energy and colorful outfits. A lot of her content is dedicated to fashion, high fashion even and I love the creativeness and how it allows you to express yourself to others. 

And my favorite book is the same book it has been for the past 10 years, Harry Potter (the entire series). I read the books at least once a year and I love being able to escape into a complete fantasy world. I feel like it stimulates creativity and pushes you to think from a different perspective. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Of course, Shopify has been an absolute godsend for a small e-commerce business, however, if I had to choose a favorite I would say it's Hootsuite at the moment. 

I create all my social media content on Canva, but being able to schedule all my posts for the upcoming two weeks (more if you have a content calendar that goes that far out) is amazing! It really takes the day to day pressure off me and allows me to focus on promoting and creating the content in bulk.

Who is your business role model? Why? 

I have a very personal role model, as this person has inspired and supported me to follow through with launching Posh Panda. My role model is my head of marketing in my previous role, she has a great career and I believe part of that is due to her being able to make conscious choices on what she did and did not want to take on. She launched a business a number of years ago, and it has made her financially stable and not dependent on the income from her full-time role. She’s incredibly bright and hard-working, and a great role model and mentor to have.

How do you balance work and life? 

Balancing work and life is tough, especially as it’s a subjective decision you need to make. As I am still working full time, I see working on Posh Panda as an investment in having a better work-life balance in my future and building a more independent life for myself. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Having a bath and exercise classes are two of my favorite ways to decompress. If I want to wind down and relax, having a bath with essential oils always helps me put a busy day behind me and gets me in the right mindset for a great night's sleep. 

If I want to decompress during the day, and still be productive afterward I love doing a 30-minute workout. I am lucky to have a gym at my office and once I get home Nike Training Club app is my go-to. I love how easy it is to find a workout based on what you are in the mood for and it gives me that energy boost. 

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

The next six months will be focussed on building our social presence and establishing ourselves in our niche. Alongside this, we are working hard on setting up the backend and processes to be able to scale the business and automate processes which will make it easier for me to focus on what I love doing - product development! Lots of the work I am doing is still very manual, as I am trying and testing what marketing works for us as a brand. Once I have this figured out I am hoping to automate and scale internationally.  

There will be a second collection launching in the second half of the year that I am working on at the moment, so make sure to subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date!

How can our readers connect with you?

I would love to connect on social media, our Instagram page is @poshpanda_ and you can find updates on what we are doing as a business in our blog. For more behind the scenes info, you can subscribe to our mailing list and we send monthly business updates! I look forward to hearing some of your stories.