If you have been following the recent blogs, you will know that we have a few exciting changes happening here at Ridiculously Rich, but one I have referred to a few times, is that I have had some realisations regarding my role, and how I want this business to grow.
As a reader, this may seem a smaller change, some of you may not have even been aware how we were doing this previously, but I am sure that some of you, especially those also running a business, will resonate with this. As I have mentioned, when your business grows as rapidly as Ridiculously Rich has and you have a team surrounding you taking care of things, you may feel a little lost and a little disconnected from your business and your brand. For a long time this worried me, I had no idea if this was a normal feeling. A little while ago, someone I am very inspired by, Ella Woodward, creator of Deliciously Ella, posted about she too had felt this in her business journey and it was such a relief to find out that it isn’t just me! After really focusing on myself as part of my business, a few things dawned on me and a few realisations made me see exactly how I can fall in love with this business all over again.
Some of you may have noticed if you follow me on social media, that I am posting more often and it’s more related to my business. Some of you more eager-eyed may have also noticed Ridiculously Rich Instagram has gone a tad quiet. As in, completely silent!
Social media has been a massive head ache and confusion for me up until very recently. It is a brilliant tool for business, and somewhere most people turn to these days. I received a whole host of different advise; always post at this time of day, post plenty of cake photo’s, have someone else manage your social media, pay lots of money to boost your posts! At a time where I was so unsure what was right to do, this advice was overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, this advice was great advise, and I did in fact pass my social media on to be managed externally, as many businesses do. The beauty in this initially is that it freed me up in the initial growth stage. We found a wonderful team who really understood me and where I wanted this to go and how I wanted to engage with our followers. But a few months on, after feeling less and less involved, I just don’t think it was the right advice for us, and for me. Despite it being easier having the social media managed, over time it started to get more Ridiculously Rich and less By Alana, and this is one of the things that started making me feel disconnected to my business.
I made the decision just over a month ago that something wasn’t right. I was spending all my time doing the behind the scenes work and not concentrating on the brand; on By Alana. I was so blindsided by different issues that would arise and saw the brand as a secondary importance. As the team grew and these issues were dealt with, I found myself not having a role within my own business. I will be honest with you, I felt pretty low. I had no idea what my purpose was within the business and felt as if it could have run as it was without me. I lost some of my excitement and didn’t know what to do day to day. However, I believe everything happens for a reason, and feeling this way lead me to the realisation I had just before Christmas. This business is called ‘Ridiculously Rich by Alana’, I am the brand. As someone who is more un-assuming and less self assured that is a hard thing to say out loud, but it is true. Without my story and my passion the business wouldn’t be what it is now; it wouldn’t have 50 amazing Ambassadors or trays and trays of delicious cakes being churned out daily. I am proud of what we as a small team have created and I want to shout about it on a daily basis, after all, this business is my life!
This change started when we decided to begin creating the YouTube videos ourselves. Climb Online who created our videos from last year are an amazing team and it was great to have that help initially. But planning, filming and editing these new videos ourselves has taught us even more and I feel like everyone can finally get to know the real me, we have received so much positive feedback from this. However, this final change has been hit with the same response from everyone I have mentioned it to, the more polite tell me that if I really think it is right, to go for it, but most telling me simply “don’t do it”. But I have to stick with my heart, and I know I just have to try it. From now on I will be managing our social media myself, coming up with all the content and talking to all my customers myself. I want to feel connected again to all my Ambassadors, my customers and my followers. I want everyone to realise that I am still very much a part of this business and I care about it so much. People always tell me how much they love to see the behind the scenes; my recipe development, the ambassador training, when I visit our wholesale customers and also my amazing ambassadors, new product concepts and interacting with you all!
This change is, to me, the most exciting thing for the future of Ridiculously Rich. I follow a lot of brands that are face lead, Lucy Buckingham, the face of Lucy Bee is another that I admire. To me, if there is someone behind a brand, pushing it forward and helping it grow, then it is a no-brainer that they be the face of the business, and I personally love seeing a person I can connect the business too. What others like Lucy Bee do so beautifully, is give people an insight into their life alongside the business. You can see how passionate Lucy is about the brand and its values, and that makes you buy into it even further. I completely resonate with her excitement for growing her brand.
So, as of 8pm this evening, If you want to follow our exciting journey, here are all the links you will need!!
Facebook - @ridicrichbyalana
Instagram - @ridicrichbyalana
Twitter - @alana_spencer_
I can't wait to share everything with you personally from now, feel free to like, leave comments and suggestions of what kind of things would interest you about Ridiculously Rich and I will do my best to show you all!
Finally, thank you to those that have stuck with me over the past year and followed us. I have learned so much and am so grateful for everyone's support. Thank you to everyone that has left such lovely feedback on these recent blogs and been so understanding and excited with us!
Taking a step back and evaluating where you are is something I think is so important to do for everyone, and I am so glad I did, because now Ridiculously Rich and I have so much to look forward to!
