Ep.66 How to Future-Proof Your Traditional Niche & Beat the Seasonal Slump
With Liz Felix
Episode Description:
In this episode, Liz Felix of Liz Felix Hats talks about her journey into millinery, the importance of a physical store for her business, and how she manages the highly seasonal nature of her industry. The discussion covers her professional background, her move to Caversham, and key business lessons she’s learned. Liz also explains how she markets her business. Her advice to other business owners is to “be brave,” take risks, and to not be afraid to outsource tasks like accounts if it offers better value than doing them yourself. Finally, Liz shares how a traditional industry has adapted to the modern world.
Liz Felix Hats Website: lizfelixhats.com/
Liz Felix Hats Social Channels:
Visit Liz at her beautiful shop in Caversham:
Liz Felix Hats
5 Church Road
Caversham
Berkshire
RG4 7AA
Listen to the episode
Episode Time Codes
00:00 Welcome to Liz Felix!
00:22 Liz’s background
02:49 Why Liz decided to open a physical store
06:08 Why Liz moved her store from Caversham from Henley
08:26 Liz’s revenue streams
11:30 Liz’s audiences
13:06 How Liz markets her business
15:23 How Liz manages the business side along with the creative side
17:09 Liz’s business lessons
18:25 Challenges Liz has faced and how she’s overcome them
20:40 Resources/training that Liz would benefit from
21:32 Liz’s business plans for the future
22:38 Liz’s final thoughts
23:45 An extra question! How you take something steeped in tradition and add a modern twist
Videos
Know Your Audiences
Diversify Your Revenue Streams
Business Lessons
Combining Tradition with a Modern Twist
Everyone Needs a Hat!
Key takeaways
Embrace a Portfolio Career to Counter Seasonality: In highly seasonal or event-dependent industries (like millinery), don’t rely on a single revenue stream. Developing a complementary second career, such as Liz’s role as a celebrant, provides essential income and financial stability during the off-peak season.
Strategic Outsourcing and Knowing Your Value: Successful entrepreneurs focus on high-value, enjoyable tasks (like hat-making) and strategically outsource the necessary, but disliked, ones (like accounts/admin). Calculate how much money you can make per hour on your core, creative product versus the cost of paying someone else to handle administration.
Modernise Tradition in Your Retail Strategy: Traditional industries add modern twists by developing new materials, techniques, and adapting products to modern social interactions.
