Meet Ali and Finn, co-founders of The Positive Planner

We are Ali and Finn, co-founders of The Positive Planner. We both have a passion for breaking down the stigma around mental health. Our business is all about encouraging people to make their mental health and wellbeing a priority every day. During a period where we were both unwell with our mental healths, we decided to develop a product that could support others in a similar situation as us.

What’s the most common problem your customers approach you with?

Not having enough time to look after themselves and being unwell mentally or at burn out point.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

Our inspiration came from not feeling like we had a place to go to openly talk about our mental health, so firstly we created this through our social media platforms. We also struggled to find a product that could help us during our own recoveries. Having both discovered the benefits of journaling when unwell we came up with the idea for The Positive Planner. We wanted a book that would help others feel supported and give a tangible tool to allow them to help themselves. It was important that our customers would feel proud to get our book out in a coffee shop, not embarrassed.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

We are open, honest and show the raw and human side to why we created our brand. We talk about our own experiences with the continual managing of our own mental health, the ups and downs and everything in between. Being vulnerable in this way has really allowed our community to connect with us, they trust our products and support our mission because they see we walk the walk.

Keeping an eye on the numbers in any business is important. How do you ensure that you’re always up to date?

It takes a lot of work, I (Finn) do our bookkeeping, and I am very in touch with the finances of the business. I check in regularly with what’s going on. We have a great business coach who is very number savvy and I have a great relationship with our accountants. Staying on top of numbers is about consistency and regularity. I don’t let things pile up when it comes to accounts. There are areas I am not so good at keeping on top of, but numbers are essential to understand the real position of the business.

How much business is concentrated among your top customers?

Being a product business we have thousands of customers. Of course, we have plenty of repeat customers, but really it is about reaching as many people as possible. Our products make perfect gifts, so often someone will receive one as a gift and then go on to buy for someone else and so on. We have a good split between business to customer and business to business with our wholesale accounts. We are also featured on multiple online market places, so for us, we have several revenue streams.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. There is always so much learning to be done, particularly as a fast-growing business. We have scaled up so many times now, just when you think all the procedures and manufacturing partnerships are enough you have to start looking for better solutions to support more growth.

With all the success stories around entrepreneurship and how innovative people have to be to take the leap. How do you think you’ve innovated your sector and why?

Our products allow people to help themselves, they give the power back to the user. So often when someone is unwell with a mental health condition those around them struggle to know what to do and what to say. Our books are a perfect gift to show support and compassion. We have also been, and continue to be our ideal customers, so we know that if we are creating products that will help us, they will also be helping our ideal customers.

What are your thoughts on failure?

We don’t fail, we learn and find ways to do better.

As a business owner, do you know when to walk away from a sale?

Yes, usually when things seem too good to be true they are, it can be easy to get carried away with the promise of huge success. For us, it has always been intrinsic to our brand to stay in charge of the direction. For this reason, we have turned down some very tempting propositions. It actually feels very liberating to walk away from something that would have meant compromising in some way.

Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?

We believe in listening to our bodies if that means sleeping later then so be it, if it means getting up a little earlier to journal then that is fantastic too. Coffee is very important to us both, it is a little ritual in the morning. There is so much pressure around a “perfect” morning routine, but we believe being in tune with our mental and physical health and really considering what will serve us in the mornings is the best morning routine. Every day does not have to look the same.

If you could be in a room with 4 entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?

Holly Tucker, the work she does to support independent businesses is phenomenal. 

Suzy Ashworth. I love the way she brings spirituality in to entrepreneurship. She also helps to give women confidence to talk about money and to make money without shame.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Just go for it, there will never be the perfect time, now is the time. Just take small steps every day. We started our business when we both had small children, we were both really unwell with our mental healths and we were working full time. We took baby steps, we did what we could and now our business is our full time occupation. Find someone who will be as excited about your ideas as you are and use them to bolster your confidence in those moments you get scared or start to question yourself.

What plans do you have for The Positive Planner over the next two years?

Growth and evolution. We have grown a really fantastic business that is predominately in the UK, but we have some great wholesale clients in the US and Europe. This interest gave us the confidence to find manufacturing partnerships in the US and Europe and we are now expanding in to these areas. This year we have launched a new range of stationary as well as a children’s mental health journal, all have been really well received so this success has shown us there is a demand from our customers for a versatile range of products.

How important is company culture and what is your top tip to get it right?

Company culture is a wonderful thing if the culture is supportive, dynamic and open minded. We like to lead with compassion and understanding, naturally being a business that is there to support peoples mental health we are very focused on the wellbeing of our team and are constantly trying to evolve the culture to best support them as we grow.

Any new product launches we should know about?

We have just launched some lovely new products including The Positive Desk Pad, The Positive Affirmation cards and also The Positive Free Writing Journal, all aimed at keeping your mood lifted and you mental healthy.

What’s the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?

We decided to join gifting platform Not on the highstreet and after an unexpected very busy Christmas our first year of business this really gave us the confidence and a huge learning curve in fulfilling your own products, employing others and extending the range.

How did you fund the launch of your business and what creative strategies did you use to execute a minimal cash flow?

We decided that Crowdfunding was the best way for us to shout about our business from the rooftops, use it as a brand awareness platform and also create an amazing supportive group of backers. We initially had 500 books printed and this funded the next batch of 1,000 and then we grew organically from there.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

Luckily we have each other, this really helps. We have found over the years that the easiest way to overcome these obstacles is to always have goals to be working towards. It really helps us keep focus and stay in our lane. These can translate in to mini-goals and weekly tasks, just taking one day at a time, decision by decision!

What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?

Defining what ‘success’ looks like for you, how will you know when you have reached your goals? What are your motivators? These answers aren’t always money and revenue, they can relate to what your personal values are. Ours has always been to work around our family and help others feel less lonely, we always come back to this.

How do you believe the evolution of tech will affect your industry over the next 10 years?

We hope that tech will evolve the E-commerce world and make it easier to access our products! There are things that are still tricky and our biggest learning curve has been growing our website, we hope that either we get better or it gets easier!

What would be your top marketing tip, to grow a business that is niche?

100% use Instagram and Social media to grow your community first, get people behind the ethos of your business. If you build a strong network of people that believe in you they will share and want to help you along the way!

How much time do you spend on things that don’t add customer value?

We spend a lot of time on our community, we want to challenge the stigma that surrounds Mental Health and this is just as important to us as sales, they go hand in hand. We spend a lot of time and energy getting good quality content out there, leading workshops to help others build confidence and always have education at the core of everything we do. We care about our customers and understand they are real people, so think of them more as an audience.

Is word of mouth working to your advantage?

Absolutely! It’s a hard thing to track of course, but people always want to help share something that is having a positive impact on their lives. We have lots of people telling us that they have been recommended it by a friend, which is so lovely.

What social media channel would you say has worked the best for your business and why?

It’s a weigh up, Instagram has allowed us to have a community, interact with others and also showcase our products bit like having a ‘shop window’. However we have really harnessed the use of Facebook ads and this is spreading the word about our products to people that are interested in wellness, so this has a huge impact on our sales as can target our desired demographic! We would say it was a bit of both probably!

What are your responsibilities as a business owner?

We have so many! We have a responsibility to make our products ethically, make them inclusive and ensure they have a positive effect on the mental health community! Knowledge is power so we question everything. We also have a responsibility to practice what we preach on our practice and make allowances for our own mental health for us and our employees. There is a lot to juggle in that respect.

Does your company help the community that you’re located in?

We try to help where we can. We have been known to donate books to schools and refuges and just recently ran a writing for wellbeing workshop for NHS staff at the local hospital to help key workers under pressure at the moment.

Any moments where you thought you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?

Pretty much every week, but we always use the same mantra when things get too much…. ‘This is what growth looks like’ - That seems to help a lot!

What do you think gives a brand longevity?

People will always need to look after their mental wellbeing, this is not a fad and not going anywhere, in fact the journey has just begun! We are committed to supporting people look after themselves and this is certainly becoming more popular. We are creative in our approach and always responding to our customers needs, we have created quite a few products in this way and prepared to keep on doing so!