This month, we wanted to do something a little bit different, with all the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 we thought now’s the time to shine a light on small businesses who need support more than ever at this time! This month, we’re featuring Lillie Hussain, Founder of Loving Life Lillie Yoga. Lillie is the crème de la crème of yoga instructors, specialising in Vinyasa and Yin Yoga. We were lucky enough to get visits twice a week from Lillie in our offices, unfortunately, with the Coronavirus putting any real-life classes on hold, we won’t be seeing Lillie in the office for a little while. Fear not! Lillie is offering online courses so we can all still get our yoga fix in the comfort of our own homes, head over to her website to find out more .
While you’re here, have a read of some of Lillie’s answers to our burning questions…
What are the 5 words that best describe you?
Creative, love, savvy, determined, vibrant
What magazine do you love reading and why?
I love to read Women's Health Magazine, it's such a positive mag with lots of advice on how to keep a healthy, happy mind and body, plus one day I will be on the cover, I can say that right? I'm channelling it!
What is your favourite book?
I am currently reading 10x Rule by Grant Cardone, I love any books that are going to positively impact who I am as a person and a business woman, if you're solo in your business like me, shout out to the Reaching Millions book by Sunny & Lizzie at SBPR!
Which song makes you dance?
Well last night I was dancing around my lounge to "Do a Dear" from the Sound of Music. Other than that, I love Nicki Minaj, Suberbass, I can rap & twerk all in one song.
What has been your best career moment?
Best career moment, hmmm, I will never forget my Tuesday class a couple of months ago when we couldn't fit another human in the room it was so busy & I had a little moment of "sh** maybe I'm actually quite good at what I do"!
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Don't even sweat it, eff the boy, don't doubt yourself, don't you dare say mean things to yourself, stop thinking what other people say to you matters, you do you & you go get ‘em tiger. You got this.
Where are you happiest?
In my beautiful flat with my wonderful partner. I used to think happiness was waiting somewhere abroad for me and it was something I had to look for, now I find happiness in the simplest of things.
Who would be your number one dinner guest and why?
Kim Kardashian, I'm going to be Kim's Yoga Instructor one day, you can't knock her drive & how well she promotes her businesses. Top secret, I've Instagrammed Kim K before, offering her a virtual class, I guess she just hasn't seen it yet, but she will.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
My superpower would be to replicate myself as many times as possible, the replicas can go and learn, help, and teach others all over the world all of their experiences, then return back to me and enable me to be my best version on this planet, my one lifespan would expand into hundreds.
If you had to ask us one question what would it be?
If you could offer a first-time entrepreneur only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Grace - “Never underestimate the power of PR! Your product or brand being recommended by a journalist and then seen by millions will put you one step ahead of your competitors.”
Josh – “Ensure your USPs are conveyed through your communication strategies.”
Lizzie – “Focus Groups! Whatever you/your friends/family think of your idea, test it out on your intended audience – preferably people you don’t know. Create a questionnaire, explain/demonstrate your product/service to 10-20 people and get their honest feedback. But be warned – you might hear things you didn’t want to, but it’s definitely worth it – it’s much better and easier to make changes early on to your offering, rather than further down the line.”
Laura – “Be brave and be different! Make sure you are offering something new and unique to what other competitor brands are doing in your chosen industry. You need to be filling a gap or creating a new space in the industry in order to be successful. Do your homework and make sure there are no other brands like yours out there.”
Annabel – “When you’re building your brand, business or service you need to have an acute knowledge of your ideal customer. Know what makes your potential customers tick, know where they shop, where they get their news, what kind of products they are already buying, who their favourite influencers are, what social media platforms they spend their time on. The more you know about the people your business is designed to serve, the better you can reach them! And it is never too early to start building your community on social media!”
Sunny – “Before you ask someone for something, think about how you can help them first!”