This week we speak to Simon Brown, founder of fashion and lifestyle brand, Joe Browns. Simons tells us where the inspiration for the brand came from, shares with us the business ups and the personal downs of Covid, being told that he was unemployable, the three ‘i’s the brand lives by and a great checklist for starting your own business. Rasputin and Ivan the Terrible get name checks too. INTRODUCING SIMON BROWN Born in Leeds and raised in Bramhope. Simon Brown founded Joe Browns in 1998, inspired by a group of friends enjoying a beer in a beach bar called The Ty Coch Inn in Morfa Nefyn, North Wales 25+years later, he’s the proud founder of Joe Browns, the Leeds based fashion and homeware brand centred around creating remarkable product. The brand is on a mission to make people feel great while injecting as much individuality and colour into as many wardrobes and homes as possible. Simon lives by the motto ‘Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride’ words you’ll see in lights in our White Rose Shopping Centre store, which opened on 2nd December 2023. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Introducing Simon Brown and the route to Joe Browns [00:08:00] The source and essence of Joe Browns [00:11:20] The early days of the Joe Browns business [00:16:00] Raising investment and a change in strategy [00:20:00] Getting into third party catalogues and working with third parties [00:27:00] Why expand into ‘bricks & mortar’ stores [00:31:30] A trip to Russia… [00:34:00] How was Covid for Joe Browns and Simon Brown [00:39:00] Forward plan for Joe Browns [00:42:00] How does it feel bringing in staff ‘above’ the founder? [00:45:00] How to set up a business and what to consider [00:50:00] The importance of being remarkable KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • The power of silence; first one to speak loses the deal • Why borrow if you don’t have to borrow? • The easy solution isn’t always the right solution • Curiosity and creativity go hand-in-hand • Never ever give up • You have to understand the numbers BEST MOMENTS “When you stop enjoying something you have to move on “We’re not putting you on the books, you’re unemployable” “If we’d gone with that deal, we’d have been bankrupted “I want my stores to be interesting, intriguing, inspiring” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/ Shout out: https://www.theheroesjourney.com/ Negotiate to Close - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Negotiate-Close-Make-Successful-Deals/dp/0002176289 Success is a choice - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Success-Choice-Make-Choices-Successful/dp/078523859X/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE As mentioned by Simon; https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/christine-yorath/ a href="https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jamie-peacock/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...