#SmallbusinessUK has 78.1 million views on TikTok and it is women dominating this tag. Whether it is an all natural skin care company, jewelry , clothes, or art. These women are doing it all and their businesses are thriving.
Last December 43% of people said they were going to shop local because of the pandemic and that this trend is expected to increase throughout 2021. Young people are also more likely to set up their own small business, which may explain why TikTok is becoming the place to market your business.
I spoke to 22 year-old India, owner of scrunchie business The Brady Scrunch, to find out why TikTok is so beneficial for small business owners. At the time of writing this, India has 45,800 followers and 1.3 million likes.
Can you tell me a bit about your career before you started The Brady Scrunch?
I didn’t have much of a career prior to starting my own business as I had just graduated. Even though I immediately started working the day after I moved back home (my parents didn’t let me waste any time!) I ended up losing that job when the pandemic hit so I was really only working for about 6 months! I used to work in marketing for events so it was hit pretty hard when we went into lockdown. I learnt a lot from that job but was already pretty burnt out from commuting four hours each day so when I was made redundant I saw it as more of an opportunity to reset my life a bit!
What led you to start your own business?
Originally, it was just boredom. I started it in the period of lockdown where everyone was getting into new hobbies and skills, and when ‘staying-at-home’ was still a bit of a novelty! I re-taught myself how to sew just as a way to repurpose old clothes and fabric into scrunchies that I could send to my friends as gifts. Then I busted out my old graphics tablet and found ways to print my own designs. I thought it would be fun to make matching film themed scrunchies for my best friend and I because we’re both big film nerds, then I put about 5 or so online and it kind of snowballed from there! It wasn’t completely instant though, it took a good week or so to get my first sale and I was completely unprepared as I never intended to start a business so I had to learn as I went!
How has the pandemic impacted your career?
Lockdown was probably the best thing to ever happen for me. I still struggle with the loneliness and demotivation isolation has brought but before all this, I was pretty burnt out, had no sense of direction, and little to no confidence – I was a mess! The pandemic essentially forced me out of the corporate world for a bit and helped me kind of regain my sense of self by giving me the time to actually fall in love with my interests again and in turn, start my own business. I built up my confidence from the small successes I made along the way. I did start another job that I do from home from 9 to 5, but working remotely has given me the flexibility to do both! The pandemic made me reevaluate what I wanted to do with my life career wise and helped me get my sense of identity back.
Why did you decide to use TikTok to promote your products?
I got really into Tik Tok at the start of 2020 and had a few viral videos at the start of the year on my personal account – they were all really stupid; lots of lactose intolerance jokes. I think when ‘Small Business Tik Tok’ started to have its renaissance around mid-2020, I started to pay attention to it as an actual marketing tool rather than just Vine 2.0 (can you imagine making 6 second business Vines? that’d be chaotic). I always thought Instagram was the ‘go-to’ platform for businesses using social media but it’s now quite oversaturated, hard to grow on, and not quite as exciting as TikTok. I didn’t actually know what to post when I started, so my first couple of videos were just me doing similar things to stuff I’d already seen. However, I got bored of those videos quickly, so after that, I kind of gave up following what everyone else was doing and thought ‘okay, let’s just get real weird with it, what have I got to lose’. I always felt more attracted to really genuine people on social media so it felt like the right thing for me to just post whatever I wanted. I think people can really tell when you’re actually enjoying yourself or just posting something because you feel like you have to!
@thebradyscrunch this little one is off to Australia! ✨ #littlewomen #jomarch #megmarch #amymarch #bethmarch #gretagerwig #laurie #etsyuk #handmadegifts #smallbiz
♬ Little Women – Alexandre Desplat
Do you think TikTok has had a positive or negative experience on your business?
Massively positive! I wouldn’t have the success or following I have without it! I think people really like the ‘personability’ element of small business on TikTok as you can’t really manufacture too much when you’re a small business as most of the time, everything is literally run by one person and their phone. I think that sort of genuineness really attracts the younger demographic who probably feel a bit disillusioned by big corporate brands on social media. The algorithm is also really good at getting your content out to your target audience – I have no idea how that works but I’m thankful it does!
Has anything surprised you whilst using TikTok for The Brady Scrunch?
I think the one thing that always surprises me is that you never know what video is going to blow up and what isn’t – the algorithm works in mysterious ways. A lot of the time, the videos I put lots of effort into are not the ones that do well, it’s always the ones that I sporadically make at 2am and then forget about it that ends up having thousands of views and bringing in lots of new people.
Do you have a favourite type of content to post and make?
I love fashion and style videos so I love making those types of videos that match up outfits to one of the scrunchies or films. I do like making the behind-the-scenes videos too but I’m always worried about my workspace not looking aesthetically pleasing when I’m filming. I am not good at talking to the camera so I do enjoy any video where I don’t have to speak.
https://www.tiktok.com/@thebradyscrunch/video/6945552126668000518?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
How do you think your online brand has changed since you started on TikTok?
It’s definitely gotten slightly more chaotic but in a good way. I think I’ve realised people are more attracted to a brand where you can tell the owner is clearly excited and passionate about what they’re making, so I’ve kind of abandoned the idea of appearing ‘slick’ and ‘constructed’ on social media. I make designs, imagery, and videos that I genuinely enjoy making and am excited to show people and think that translates quite well!
How important do you think having a TIkTok is to businesses today?
I think for small businesses, it’s very important! It’s one of the only platforms where you don’t have to pay to have your content be potentially shown to thousands of people. I think the video element also makes content feel very genuine and gives people a chance to really see your business and the passion behind it. I think for big businesses, it’s important too as TikTok is slowly gravitating to becoming ‘the’ app that everyone is on – but I don’t think they’re ever going to be able to emulate the ‘personability’ feeling that small businesses bring on the app.
What advice would you give to business owners who are thinking of creating a TikTok account?
Be genuine, post what you want to post not what you feel like you should post, engage with people who engage with you, and I would always try and stay away from negative content (i.e complaining, guilt tripping, etc.) as I think it reflects quite badly! The best piece of advice I have for new small business owners is to take care of yourself, take care of your customers, and only make products you genuinely love – then everything else will fall into place!
Check out The Brady Scrunch’s Etsy and TikTok!
Orla McAndrew
Feature image courtesy of The Brady Scrunch. No changes were made to this image.
Orla McAndrew
Orla McAndrew is a co-founder of Empoword Journalism and also a features and Instagram editor. As a freelance writer she has written for Stylist Magazine, The Yorkshire Evening Post, The Indiependent, The Hysteria Collective and SmallScreen. Currently she is an intern at Screen Yorkshire, and in September she was be starting her English Literature degree at the University of York.