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Read our inspiring interview with Trina Scott-Priestley, Founder of Swish For It.
Tell Us A Little About Your Background First
I grew up in the lovely Cheshire countryside and spent many of my formative years racing about on ponies and was fairly naïve about the real world. After studying accountancy at University, a degree that I probably should never have embarked on with hindsight, I went travelling. This was was a real eye opener and something that I would encourage people to do, to see the world in such a carefree way definitely helped shape me differently for the better.
I then spent 15 years working as an accountant, which I never really enjoyed but was lucky to work with great people and have a lot flexibility at work. During this time I got married and had two children, who are my constants, and I feel incredibly lucky to have such a supportive family. After spending around 8 years thinking about Swishforit, I finally took the plunge to do it!
How Did Swish For It Come About?
Swishforit was borne out of my own frustrations at gifting times, especially one Christmas when my daughter received a pink plastic rocking horse – she had two identical ones already – and I remember thinking ‘there has to be a better way.
It’s not that we aren’t grateful for the lovely gifts we are given, it’s that people’s generosity is overshadowed by wondering what to do with something you already have or simply something that’s not your thing!
Gift giving shouldn’t be like that. Did you know that £5B is spent on unwanted gifts at Christmas in the UK alone? I don’t even want to think about what happens to all these things, but we know a lot head to landfill. And I want to change the way people gift and put the fun back, take the pressure out and make sure the environment doesn’t suffer in the process.
Over time Swishforit evolved from a gift list to an all-round shopping tool, packed full of excellent features, such as inspiration sections and a personal shopping directory. It allows people to save anything from anywhere, be it products, flowers, gifts, nights away, holidays, entertainment, treatments, days out. And it puts the shopper in full control of what they want, in one user-friendly place.
Swishforit allows people to shop savvy, to share gift ideas and ultimately purchase items that are wanted, needed and appreciated.
2019 Has Been A Great Year For You, What Has Been The Highlight?
Definitely launching the website and App. It was an uphill struggle at times and not having a tech background or any experience in the web space definitely made this much harder.
It can be hard when you get so involved in a big project that you feel so passionate about and have a big vision to scale it back and take it step by step. It’s so important to get something that is good enough out there and get people using it and some feedback.
Following the launch we had great feedback from shopper and industry experts who can see what our goal is. Now it’s onto the next chapter!
What Are Your Tips For Setting Up Your Own Business?
Plan ahead. I find this really hard and wish I had done more in the time I had pre-launch. Now we are live, we are living the business and there are so many areas that need attention. This is really difficult to do when you are a sole founder and the only person working in the business as is my case.
So finding a co-founder or someone else to be involved in the business in some way would also be something I think would be a tip for me if I was doing it again.
It’s a lonely place and if you can do it with someone else or find ways to collaborate and help each other, I think this is invaluable.
My other tip would be to take any opportunity to be introduced to have a conversation with someone. You never know where it is going to go or what might come of that conversation.
What Have Been The Challenges?
Making things simple and being the one who does everything and makes every decision every day. This can get exhausting and the pressure can feel a lot.
It is important to talk to others in the same situation, as while some will cope with this better than others, however you are feeling I can assure you that 95% of people starting a business have been through the exact same feeling and emotion.
Simple things look so simple and we all expect this simplicity, ease and speed in everything we do. Simple however is harder than complex. In Steve Jobs words ‘ Simple is harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.’
How Do You Build Your Own Confidence?
Confidence and feeling good enough is something that I do find very challenging. I have worked with a coach who has been amazing. This really helped with my mindset which I think it fundamental for confidence.
One thing that I had underestimated is that this is a constant challenge and something that needs to be worked on constantly and sometimes more regularly than others.
I think it is important to surround yourself with people who have the same energy that you want to have. Having a positive energy and being on an upwards spiral helps with confidence.
It can be hard to see all the things that you have achieved when all you can really see is the huge outstanding to do list in front of you. It’s good to take time out to think about and acknowledge what you have achieved and where you have come from.
How Do You Both Balance Work And Life?
This is tough. I find it hard not to think about Swishforit, in fact I often dream about it!
I do think this is vitally important and something I need to pay more attention to going forward. It’s important to acknowledge that there is always going to be things to do and work you could be doing, but it’s ok to stop and do other things.
I think I need to allocate specific evenings when I don’t work. And make sure that I don’t feel guilty about this. Any tips on this would be great!
What Does 2020 Hold For You?
This year is all about building traction with shoppers and retailers. We are finalising the tech platform now. And I hope that we will be able to launch our partner retailer button very soon.
This will be an exciting development and it will offer smaller and niche businesses a way to offer their customers a wish list service that may not always be so attractive if only a few things are wanted from that store.
Managing multiple wish lists is time consuming and people forget what they have saved where.
Swishforit puts everything in one place for the shoppers to manage. This makes it easier and more convenient for them and more effective for the retailers. Shoppers can as easily remember something from a huge brand as they can from a small specialised website. This helps them remember what they see and return to buy when ready. Or maybe even share as a gift list and someone else will treat you to something you really love this birthday!
Bio
Trina Scott-Priestley is the Founder of Swith For It.
