Starting a product business with no experience, with Louie Watkins

What does it really take to start a product business when you have no experience in the industry and no idea where to begin? In this episode, I’m joined by Louie Watkins, founder of Clear for Men, a British skincare brand with a mission to encourage more conversations around male mental health. Louie didn’t have a background in skincare or business. In fact, before starting Clear for Men, he was working on the railway and thought that was where his career was heading. We talk about how Louie took his idea and turned it into a real product, from finding a UK manufacturer and developing his cleanser to getting his first customers and gradually building trust in the brand. Louie is also really open about how difficult those early stages were. His first year brought just 31 orders, and without a big advertising budget, he had to work out how to get people to discover and trust a completely new brand. We also talk about building a brand around a genuine purpose, why community comes before product for Louie, and what he’s learnt about focusing on what works for your business rather than getting distracted by what everyone else is doing. If you have a product idea but feel like you don't have the experience or knowledge to make it happen, I think you'll get a lot from Louie's story. Find Louie here: Website: https://clearformen.co.uk LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/louis-watkins-29637126a Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareclear_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weareclear_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareclear1 Chapters 00:00 Meet Louie Watkins and Clear for Men 00:28 Where the idea for Clear for Men came from 05:17 Developing a skincare product from scratch 07:59 Finding the right UK manufacturer 13:46 Creating packaging and the customer experience 16:27 Putting community and mission before product 18:44 Conversations around male mental health and self care 25:40 Finding the first customers 28:30 Building an audience through live streaming 32:48 The reality of growing a product business 37:04 Where to spend your time as a solo founder 41:10 Focusing on what actually works 45:37 Business, purpose and wellbeing 47:11 Louie’s number one piece of advice for product founders 49:36 Why you don’t need to do what everyone else is doing LET’S CONNECT Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership