In today’s episode, we’re joined by Ruth Sturdy, founder of Colour Chronicles—a company dedicated to creating modern, guided memory journals for every age and stage, with a strong focus on inclusivity. Ruth’s vision is to celebrate and honour every family, regardless of their unique makeup.

Ruth shares how she identified a gap in the market for journals that didn’t assume traditional family structures, such as “mum and dad” or two sets of grandparents. By addressing this need, Colour Chronicles aims to avoid isolating families or leaving gaps in their memories.

We also dive into the journey of growing Colour Chronicles, from designing and printing journals with beautiful fabric covers to expanding the product range. Ruth discusses how the business has evolved from a kitchen-table operation to partnering with a fulfilment centre, and scaling from selling to friends in NCT groups to using a digital marketing agency.

Ruth highlights her experiences as part of the Santander mentoring program, which helped her build a team and bring in expertise for platforms like Shopify and Klaviyo. She also talks about the challenges and opportunities that came with transitioning from Squarespace to Shopify, adapting to shifts in the market—once dominated by Not On The High Street and Etsy —to now finding success on platforms like TikTok Shop, Amazon FBA..

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Colour Chronicles Website 

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This episode is sponsored by Therese Oertenblad & Small Business Collaborative

Therese Oertenblad (Ørtenblad), works with purpose-led, product-based business owners who want to grow their wholesale and create a powerful, consistent income stream for their business. Therese’s mission is to help you find joy, ease and confidence in selling so you can build a profitable business that works for your lifestyle.

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This episode is sponsored by Therese at Small Business Collaborative.

One of the biggest challenges that product-based business owners often face is pricing their products right! And that is even more important if you’re looking to start wholesaling your products. Right now, listeners can access a free product pricing masterclass. This masterclass will help you set the right prices to maximize profits and appeal to retail buyers. You can sign up for the free pricing masterclass using the link in the show notes. And if you want even more help, Therese's “Start to Wholesale” course is designed to help you confidently break into the wholesale market. From pricing to how to create your first wholesale catalogue, this course covers everything you need to know to get your products into retailers. Don’t miss this opportunity to take your business to the next level with expert guidance from Therese at Small Business Collaborative!

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