Episode show notes
Gift giving seasons sneak up on us far more than we’d care to admit, which is exactly why Don’t Buy Her Flowers’ unique-yet-relatable premise has thrived throughout its 8 year run so far.
Founding the business after a barrage of bouquets for her first child, Steph Douglas and her brother, Head of Operations Chas Earley, join us on a lovely episode of It Runs In The Family.
We dive into the need for uplifting rapport among teams, what Steph & Chas have learned from their working relationship, and knowing the right time to seek a second opinion.
This episode covers:
- Creating perfect communication & rapport between family business members
- Committing to decisions quickly and learning from them
- Why it’s important to ‘make hay when the sun shines’, even through tough times
- Knowing when to seek mentorship and guidance
Episode highlights
“I drove off from Gloucestershire, having spent time with the family, and I just turned to Doug, my husband and was like, ‘Chas could do it’. I couldn’t work out how I was going to take the business to the next step from London.” – 7:10 – Steph Douglas
“Lots of people stay in the same job or are afraid to take a gamble. But dad obviously did that, and that has always stuck with me.” – 12:30 – Chas Earley
“We don’t work together every day. Steph is in London, I’m in Gloucestershire. So I think that probably helps our relationship too, because if we were working together and seeing each other every day, we’d probably be too much.” – 17:40 – Chas Earley
“I suppose the family tie means you can’t just go ‘You’re so annoying’ and walk away. There’s still that connection. So even when we’ve probably both felt that at different points, you’ve got to work it out, and you want to work it out because you love each other.” – 23:35 – Steph Douglas
“Ben Jones, one of the founders of Grays.com, lives up the road from the warehouse. I called in for something just as Covid was picking up and he said ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ because I didn’t know what to do.” – 29:30 – Steph Douglas
“Neither of us have a mentor as such, but I think it’s about knowing when you need another opinion, and then seeking that out. It’ll be different people at different stages of the business, but it’s always quite reassuring.” – 33:05 – Steph Douglas
“I’ve met so many people who say, ‘Oh, you haven’t taken investment? and it almost feels like they think they’re better because they’ve done that. Part of me goes, ‘Well you’re working with someone else’s money, so how is that better?’” – 52:10 – Steph Douglas