Unlocking Growth Through Wellness with St. Belford – Alex Stanford of Saint Belford
Alex Stanford
Australia
Sushant@treptalks.com
Full-time
Open to opportunities: Yes
Saint Belford
Physical Location - Country: Australia
Location - Countries Operating: Australia
1-10 (Small Business)
https://www.saintbelford.com.au/
Business Type: Product
Category: Creative and Media
Segments: B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
Structure: Private
Number of founders: 1
Business Socials
Inventory Management
Business Book
Productivity Tool or Tip
- Write your to-do list the night before
Innovative Product or Idea
Startup or Business
Best business advice
Tim Ferriss’s concept of fear-setting has really stuck with me. It’s all about defining the worst-case scenario of a goal you’re considering, and then coming up with ways to prevent or navigate it.
INTERVIEW VIDEO (Length – 50:34)
PODCAST AUDIO
Intro
Alex Stanford, the founder of St. Belford, a company specializing in lifestyle planners and journals designed to help individuals prioritize self-care, build healthier habits, and achieve personal growth. Alex shares her entrepreneurial journey, including her motivation behind starting the business in 2017 following personal burnout, and the unique features of St. Belford planners that differentiate them from others in the market. She discusses the design and manufacturing processes, the challenges faced during the initial launch, and the strategies used to market the product successfully. Alex also highlights the company’s expansion into the U.S. market and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy profit margin. The episode delves deeply into the struggles and triumphs of running a seasonal e-commerce business focused on wellness and productivity.
Journey to Wellness
Back in early 2017, I hit a breaking point. I was completely burnt out and stuck in a cycle that left me feeling exhausted and disconnected. I knew something had to change, so I made a conscious decision to slow down and take better care of myself.
The first step was meditation—a small but powerful shift. The second was searching for a wellness planner that could help me prioritize my wellbeing over constant productivity. I didn’t need more to-do lists—I needed something that would help me stay grounded, focused on self-care, and aligned with my intentions.
But all I found were planners that glorified hustle culture—the exact thing I was trying to step away from.
That’s when my husband Tom (now co-founder of Saint Belford) suggested we create the planner I couldn’t find. One that brings together self-care, habits, gratitude, and goals—all in one place. No more juggling multiple journals, sticky notes, or apps.
And that’s how Saint Belford was born.
Balance and Productivity
Let me be clear—I’m not anti-productivity. I believe productivity is important. But I also believe it can’t come at the expense of our wellbeing. When we focus solely on getting things done, we risk pushing ourselves past our limits and burning out. I know that pattern all too well.
That’s why our planner is designed to blend both worlds. Yes, it helps you stay organized and productive—but just as importantly, it helps you stay connected to your wellbeing.
One of my favorite features is the daily self-care prompt, placed above the to-do list. It’s a small but powerful nudge to check in with yourself before diving into tasks. What does your mind and body need today?
We’ve also included tools like a habit tracker to help keep your intentions—like drinking more water or getting outside—front and center. Whether you’re using our daily or weekly layout, the focus is the same: helping you stay on top of life without losing sight of yourself.
Optimistic Ventures
Coming from a digital marketing agency background, I saw burnout everywhere—not just in myself, but in the people around me. When Tom and I were in our mid-twenties, we noticed that this wasn’t just our experience. Friends, family—so many people were stuck in the same cycle of pushing too hard and burning out.
So when Tom came up with the idea for the planner, it wasn’t based on market research or business strategy—it was based on what we knew people needed, because we needed it too.
We didn’t have a mortgage or kids yet, and honestly, we were both feeling unfulfilled in our jobs. So we took the leap, driven by equal parts passion and naive optimism. We weren’t trying to build a business at first—we were just trying to create something that didn’t exist yet. Something that could help people like us live more intentionally.
Seamless Organization
Yes, there are plenty of planners out there—but what we’ve created is something unique. From the beginning, we set out to design an all-in-one planner that blends features you’d normally find scattered across multiple journals: goal setting, habit tracking, self-care, mindfulness, gratitude, and reflection—all in one beautifully designed space.
Before using our planner, many of our customers were juggling a stack of notebooks and apps. Now? They’ve simplified their routine with Curation—everything they need in one place, helping them stay grounded, focused, and intentional.
And even in a digital world, we’ve seen time and again how powerful pen and paper can be. Writing things down forces you to slow down—it’s a mindful practice in itself. Unlike the speed of typing or tapping on a screen, handwriting helps you connect more deeply with your thoughts and intentions. That’s something no app can replicate.
Since launching our first collection in 2017, we’ve grown every year—and in 2025, we’re proud to be releasing our ninth collection for 2026. The need for this kind of intentional planning is still strong, and we’re so grateful to be part of that journey for thousands of people.
Expanding Planner Collection
We started with just one dated planner—and now, we offer a full range of intentional planning tools. We currently have four dated planners and two undated options, with a third undated planner launching this year—bringing our total to seven thoughtfully designed planners.
Over time, we’ve also introduced accessories to complement our planners, along with our Mindfulness Journal, which continues to be a customer favorite.
While we’ve experimented with other products in the past, we always return to what our community knows and trusts us for: planners and journals that focus on self-care, habits, gratitude, and goals. That’s the heart of every product we create.
This year, we’re expanding the range with even more accessories—like pens and protective cases—to support your planning experience, while staying true to our mission of helping you live more intentionally.
Design Process Insights
Every year, our design process begins with you. Around February, we send out a community survey to gather honest feedback—what features you’re loving, what’s not quite working, and what you’d love to see next. The responses are always thoughtful and insightful, and they help shape the direction of our next collection.
Once we’ve reviewed all the feedback, I create a design brief based on common themes and suggestions. Of course, not every idea makes it through—some even contradict each other—so Tom and I spend time discussing what will genuinely enhance the planner. When we’re still unsure, we turn to Instagram polls to get quick input from our community.
From there, we collaborate with our designer—someone I’ve worked with since my agency days. She’s been with us from the very beginning, and truly understands how to bring our ideas to life in a way that feels true to Saint Belford.
Then comes the most tedious (but important) part: proofreading. Every date is manually checked—yes, even in 2025, there’s still no AI that can do it flawlessly! With multiple dated planner formats now, we set aside weeks just for this step.
Finally, once everything is approved, we send our files to print. We’ve worked with the same trusted printing partner in China since 2019 and have visited their factory twice. The relationship we’ve built with their team is incredibly important to us.
While production is underway, we shift gears to focus on our launch and marketing prep—getting ready to share our newest collection with you.
Navigating Startup Growth
Looking back, we were complete amateurs when we launched Saint Belford. We were so focused on creating the product and learning the ropes of manufacturing—something that was totally foreign to us—that we barely thought about how to actually launch it.
There was no playbook, no big strategy—just a lot of trial and error. Our first launch was more of a soft launch, really. It was mostly supported by our friends and family, who shared our posts and helped us get the word out. From there, we slowly started building awareness with a tiny marketing budget.
We ran Facebook ads, sent freebies to influencers (back when that was still a fresh idea), and used Facebook groups to recommend our planner whenever someone asked. I was part of several female-led business communities, and simply showing up in the comments made a difference.
At the time, I was also working at a digital marketing agency that specialized in SEO, so I used that skill set to make sure we ranked on Google. Even in our first year, we managed to show up on page one when people searched for “2018 diary”—and that’s how many of our very first customers found us.
That first year was messy, scrappy, and full of learning. But it was also the beginning of something we truly believed in—and we’ve been growing ever since.
Embracing Seasonal Downtime
Yes, we’re absolutely a seasonal business. While our products are available year-round, the majority of our revenue comes between August and January—what we call our peak season. That’s when we launch our new collection and when most people are planning for the year ahead.
We actually set our revenue goals based on this six-month window, not the full year. Some might see that as a limitation, but honestly, I’ve come to appreciate the rhythm. As parents with young kids, having some slower months in the calendar gives us the space to breathe, recharge, and get creative again.
Outside of our busy selling season, we shift gears—from marketing and fulfillment to design and planning. So while we’re not “off,” we are more focused behind the scenes, getting ready to bring the next collection to life.
Flexible Planning Options
Most people prefer dated planners—it just feels more exciting, like you’re gearing up for a fresh new year. Plus, let’s be honest, writing in all the dates yourself is a bit of a commitment!
That said, I totally see the value in undated planners too, which is why we continue to offer them. They’re perfect for anyone who doesn’t follow the typical January-to-December planning style or who has a more flexible or unpredictable schedule. Maybe you only need a planner for part of the year, or you’re starting fresh mid-year—an undated format gives you that freedom.
It’s also a great option for those who missed out on a dated version—they come with all the same features, just without the printed dates.
Exploring Planner Choices
We offer a few different planner options to suit different planning styles. Our Weekly Planner is our original format—it includes 52 weekly spreads and has 288 pages. It’s perfect if you like to see your whole week at a glance and plan more broadly.
Then there’s our Daily Planner, which we introduced just last year. It’s a day-to-a-page format and includes around 500 pages—yes, it’s chunky! But it also includes all the extra features our community loves: habit tracking, goal setting, gratitude, self-care, and more. Everything you’d usually track across multiple notebooks is built right in.
Despite its size, the Daily Planner has quickly become a customer favorite. It’s proof that when something supports your wellbeing and daily rhythm, the extra pages are totally worth it.
Evolving Customer Demographics
While our planners are for everyone, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of our customers—around 99%—are women. Our branding and design naturally appeal to a more feminine audience, with bold, bright colors and intentional self-care features. That said, we do have a few male customers—often partners of our female customers—who love them too.
One of the most surprising and rewarding things we’ve learned is how wide our age range really is. When we first started, we imagined our customer as someone like me in my mid-twenties. But over time, we’ve seen our community grow to include women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond—from students to busy professionals to mothers and retirees.
It’s been incredible to see how the planner resonates across different life stages. It’s a reminder that intentional living and prioritizing wellbeing isn’t bound by age—and we love creating tools that support that journey for every woman.
Masculine Wellness Appeal
I think there are other brands out there that lean more toward a masculine style, which naturally appeals more to men. It’s not that men don’t prioritize their wellbeing or aren’t interested in wellness—it’s just that the vibe and design of our planners tend to resonate more with women.
Direct-to-Consumer Focus
We’re exclusively a direct-to-consumer brand. We’ve tried wholesale a few times, but it just didn’t prove profitable or worth the effort. So we’ve decided to focus fully on connecting directly with you—our customers—because that’s where we can deliver the best experience and value.
Optimizing Marketing Strategies
When we first started, it was all trial and error—figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Now, with solid data behind us, we’ve focused our efforts on the channels that really move the needle for us: Meta ads, Google ads, SEO, and email marketing.
We’re still testing, but now it’s more about trying new ad ideas and product features rather than switching marketing channels. One big shift we’ve noticed is the power of user-generated content (UGC). Customers want to see real people using the product and hear authentic stories—not just polished ads.
So, every piece of UGC you see on our page is created by real customers who use our planners. We collaborate with them to share genuine experiences about how our planners fit into their lives and help them prioritize wellbeing. That authenticity means a lot to us—and to our community.
Launching with Optimism
Looking back, I’m almost grateful we didn’t know everything we know now. That naive optimism gave us the courage to launch something imperfect—and just go for it. If I were starting a new business today, I know I’d be tempted to overthink every step.
But one thing I’d definitely do differently? I’d focus on building a community first. When we launched, we had no real audience—just friends and family. If I could do it again, I’d start by growing a following on Instagram and use that momentum to build an email list—something you truly own. I’d create valuable content that people actually want, build trust, and prove I can offer something meaningful before ever launching a product.
That’s the foundation I’d build first: trust, value, and community.
US Market Breakthrough
In 2023, we took a big step and expanded into the U.S. by partnering with a 3PL in Southern California—and it’s been a total game changer. Before that, we were shipping everything from Australia, even to our growing U.S. and Canadian customer base. As you can imagine, long shipping times created a less-than-ideal experience. That challenge is exactly what pushed us to make the move and set up operations closer to our North American customers.
Expanding Across Borders
We’ve never seriously considered moving—especially now with two kids. We’ve really planted roots where we are, and it feels right for our family.
That said, while we’ve expanded into the U.S., Australia is still our biggest market. We’re still relatively new in the U.S.—we entered in 2023 with our 2024 collection, so we’ve now completed two seasons there, and this will be our third. It’s a much bigger market, but also far more competitive. We’re growing each year, but Australia remains our home base and strongest community.
Outsourcing for Efficiency
We do. Just as you said. Yeah. So it’s just Tom and I in house and we outsource the design to, yeah, we have, we actually have a couple of freelance designers and then anything else that sort of falls outside of our skillset gets outsourced, you know, accounting, um, that sort of, you know, all those sort of things.
And then, as you said, we’ve got two warehouses, one in. Southern California at the moment. We’re actually moving warehouses, um, at the moment, and then another warehouse in Melbourne.
Premium Planner Profitability
Absolutely, we’ve been able to maintain a very healthy profit margin, and that’s intentional. We’ve positioned our planners in the premium space. We’re not trying to be the cheapest option out there—our focus is on quality, design, and value. In the U.S., for example, our planners retail at $50. That premium positioning allows us to offer something truly special while also sustaining a strong and healthy business.
Customer Loyalty and Future Planning
Our returning customer rate sits at around 35 to 40%, which we’re really proud of. Of course, some people love experimenting with different planners—and that’s totally fair. But we often hear from customers who come back after a year away, saying they missed us and regretted switching. That kind of feedback is always so reassuring.
As for the future, we’re taking it year by year. Right now, we’re in the thick of parenting with young kids, so our business goals reflect the season of life we’re in. When I had my second child, we scaled back on product expansion. But now that my youngest is almost two, I have a bit more space to think about growth and new ideas. We don’t have a grand 10-year vision—just thoughtful, intentional goals that work for where we are right now.
Mistakes made, Lesson learned
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned—especially in our first year—was the importance of third-party quality inspections. We didn’t know they existed at the time, so we skipped that step. Looking back, it wasn’t really a “mistake” because we just didn’t have the knowledge, but it was definitely a turning point.
In those early years, we were so naive. We had no idea what could go wrong with planner production—scratches on covers, pages out of order, frayed ribbons, you name it. Now, we work with inspection teams who ensure everything meets our standards before shipping. We’ve also learned to set clear criteria with our suppliers and define acceptable defect rates. Because let’s be real—100% perfection in mass production just isn’t realistic.
If you’re a new product-based founder, that’s something I’d emphasize: learn what can go wrong, set clear expectations with your manufacturers, and have those important conversations upfront. It’ll save you so much stress in the long run.
Manufacturing Challenges Unveiled
We’ve definitely had our fair share of manufacturing challenges. In fact, it took us working with two different manufacturers before we found the right fit. Our very first printer was local, but they outsourced production to Taiwan. The upside was that they managed everything—freight, logistics, all the things we had no clue about in those early days. Yes, it cost more, but they carried a lot of the risk, which we needed at the time.
Unfortunately, the final product had a lot of defects. We didn’t know what quality criteria to provide back then, so it wasn’t surprising—but it was still a tough lesson.
In our second year, we tried going direct to a supplier in China via Alibaba. We got samples, set clear production criteria, and everything seemed good—until it wasn’t. That year’s production was incredibly disappointing. Pages were printed in the wrong order, quality was inconsistent, and it was honestly one of the hardest seasons we’ve faced. I genuinely thought it might be the end of the business.
We fought hard to get a refund through Alibaba’s dispute process, and eventually, we did—but it was a long, stressful experience.
These early missteps taught us so much about the importance of quality control, clear communication, and working with partners you truly trust. It’s been a journey, but one that’s made our current products and processes so much stronger.
Rapid Fire Segment
One book I’d recommend:
The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. I love its core philosophy—that small, consistent actions, done daily, can completely change the trajectory of your life. It’s not just about big, bold moves, but about what you do regularly that really matters.
An innovative product or idea I’m excited about:
There’s an Australian brand, Paire, that’s creating their own engineered fabrics. They’ve managed to combine sustainability with insane comfort, which I think is a brilliant intersection of innovation and purpose.
A productivity tip I swear by:
Write your to-do list the night before. It helps cut out decision fatigue and lets you start your day focused and intentional.
A business or startup that inspires me:
A good friend of mine is building an app called Your Little Hero. It creates personalized stories that help kids overcome everyday challenges—like being afraid of the dark or learning to share—by placing them as the hero of the story. Watching it grow from an idea to a real product has been so inspiring.
Best Business Advice
Tim Ferriss’s concept of fear-setting has really stuck with me. It’s all about defining the worst-case scenario of a goal you’re considering, and then coming up with ways to prevent or navigate it. We actually did this exercise before launching St. Belford. It’s such a powerful way to take fear out of your head and turn it into something manageable.
Episode Summary
Alex Stanford, the founder of St. Belford, a company that creates lifestyle planners and journals aimed at prioritizing self-care, building healthier habits, and achieving personal growth. Alex shares her entrepreneurial journey, which began in 2017 following a severe burnout, prompting her to create a wellness-focused planner that blends productivity with self-care. The discussion dives into the unique aspects of St. Belford’s planners, the challenges faced during the early years, and the importance of maintaining a balanced approach to productivity and wellbeing. Alex also touches on the company’s growth strategy, marketing tactics, and seasonal business model. She emphasizes the critical lessons learned in manufacturing and the importance of customer feedback in the design process.
Interview Transcript
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hey there, entrepreneurs. My name is Sushant and welcome to Treptalks This is a show where I interview successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, business executives, and thought leaders, and ask them questions about their business stories, and also dive deep into some of the strategies and tactics that they have used to start to grow their businesses.
And today I’m really excited to welcome Alex Stanford to the show. Alex is the founder of St. Belford. St. Belford specializes in creating lifestyle planners and journals designed to help individuals prioritize self care, build healthier habits, and achieve personal growth. And today I’m going to ask Alex a few questions about her entrepreneur journey.
Some of the, and that she has used to grow her business. Now, before we dive into this interview, if you enjoyed this content, please make sure to hit the like subscribe button and for more interviews like this, please, visits treptalks.Com And with that, Alex, welcome and thank you so much for joining me today, Treptalks Really, really appreciate your time.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Thank you for having me. I invited.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yes, very, very interesting, uh, business, you know, uh, in such a digital age, you would think that people would be using like all the digital stuff, apps and planners, but I guess there’s still a demand for the regular pen and paper, uh, planning and, and writing down. I, I guess there’s a market out there. So I’m very curious to know your story.
Uh, when did you start this business? What kind of motivated you and how do you get the idea, or how did you decide to start a planner business?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, absolutely. So our story goes back to 2017. Um, it was the beginning of 2017. I had experienced a pretty gnarly case of burnout, and I was just sick and tired of this relentless cycle that I had.
Gotten myself into. And so I knew, you know, something had to change. I had to make some changes to my lifestyle, to my habits. So I did a couple of things. The first thing I did, which is so cliche, but you know, pivotal part of the journey was I started meditating and the second thing I did was search for a wellness planner.
I wanted something that would help me. Slow down that would help me prioritize my wellbeing over productivity because the productivity side of things I didn’t have an issue with, but it was, you know, slowing down that I really struggled to do. So I wanted something that would keep me accountable to those intentions.
And what I found was mostly just generic to do lists, um, planners that. Celebrated that hustle mentality, which was what I was trying to move away from. So that was when my husband, who was also the co-founder of St. Belford Tom, he floated the idea of creating the planner that I desperately needed and one that we knew.
Many others also desperately needed something that. Self-care, habits, gratitude and goals, all in the one place without the need for multiple notebooks and journals and apps and sticky notes. And so that’s what led to the birth of St. Belford.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So that is so interesting. Uh uh. Now I’m curious to know what is the difference between a planner that is more driven towards productivity versus a planner that is more prioritizing your wellbeing?
What’s the big difference?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, so I just wanna make it clear, you know, I’m not anti productivity, of course, that you know, we need to focus on productivity, but we can’t view it in isolation. We need to also prioritize our wellbeing. Otherwise, we are just gonna find ourselves in that pattern of exceeding our limits and burning out.
So what our planner does is it does blend all components together, has the function for planning and obviously being as productive as possible, but. Of your wellbeing. So there are features in place to ensure that you are prioritizing your wellbeing, such as our daily self-care planner that is strategically positioned above your to-do list, to encourage you to think about what can you do for yourself today?
What does your mind and body need? It’s a little prompt to stop you from just going straight to the to-do list. You know, it’s a little. It’s a little nudge. Hey, you need to look after yourself. What can you do for yourself today? And there’s several other features such as our Habit tracker that is also, you know, intention, you know.
Whether it’s, um, making sure that you’re drinking your eight glasses of water, making sure those top those intentions stay top of mind on your weekly spread or your daily spread. We’ve got a few planner options now, so yeah, it’s making sure that those wellness intentions stay top of mind. Um, and it’s not just, you’re not just consumed by your daily to do list.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So it seems like it’s more about bringing balanced top, top of mind because I think when somebody is very driven or very geared towards achieving goals, uh, their day is completely taken away by, by that. So if, unless they’re being intentional about having some time dedicated towards wellness or thinking about it, you know, that area of the life is kind of ignored.
Um,
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: absolutely. Yes. So easy to neglect those areas if there aren’t any cues in place or prompts in place to pull you out of that go, go go mindset.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So it’s interesting. So you, you had this idea and you were trying to find a solution for yourself. Um, did you do any research? I mean, going from that idea.
Thinking that this could be actually a business. How did that transition occur? Like did you go out, do some research? Did you try to talk to some other people to see if they’re having similar issues? Are there specific kinds of people that that need this?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: So I come from an agency background. I used to work at a digital marketing agency so I could see it all around me.
So this, you know, when I came up with this idea, or actually when Tom came up with this idea, we were in our mid twenties, so we were very exposed to, you know, friends and family who were going through this pattern of burnout. And so my experience was not in isolation. It wasn’t just. Um, it was a common story.
It was a common theme that we could see in our friends and family. So to answer your question, no, we didn’t engage in as much research as, I guess some might. We were just so passionate about creating a product that we couldn’t see available yet, that we kind of just took the leap and, you know, there was a lot of naive optimism driving.
Um, this project we. We, we were in our mid twenties. We didn’t have a mortgage. We didn’t have kids yet. We didn’t really, and also we both hated our jobs at the time, so we didn’t really have anything telling us not to do it. There was just, we were just finally excited to do something that we felt passionate
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: about.
I mean, I mean, that brings me to my next question, like the market, because when I think about planner, like. I don’t think there’s any shortage of planners out there, right? Um, you go to Amazon, there’s like thousand varieties of planners, all colors, shapes, there’s like stickers in there, all sorts of things.
I can walk, I can go to like my local dollar store and there’s like planners there. So how, I mean, is there still a market and especially, you know, also that now. It’s not just the pen and paper that’s competing. Now you have the apps like, you know, all the electronic planner. So how do you, there a market out there for this and how do you kind of find the people that you want?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, I mean there, of course there are, you know, a number of planners out there. It’s a very, there, there are, yeah, several brands that people can choose from, but I guess what we’re offering is a blended product and there aren’t out there. We were very much first to market a, an all in one planner, something that combined elements that you would traditionally find in separate journals.
So we, we brought in an all-in-one offering, and that was one of the largest appeals to customers because they weren’t just buying a planner, they were also buying goal setting worksheets within the planner, habit tracking components within. Self-care, mindfulness components within the planner. Gratitude.
Reflection within the planner, when typically you would have to get a gratitude journal, a goal setting journal, a habit tracking journal. And so I think that is, that has been one of the biggest appeals. You know, one of the most common pieces of feedback we get from customers is I used to use multiple notebooks to track this and that and that, and now I just use curation.
I’ve got everything in one place and that allows me to do all the things that I wanna do. But in a more seamless manner. So yes, definitely a market out there. I mean, you know, we started in 2017. Now we’re in 2025, about to launch. We’re not about to. In August, we’ll be launching our ninth collection. Is that right?
20 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 4, 25, 26. Yeah. We’ll be releasing our 2026 collection, which is our ninth collection and. Every year we are growing. So there’s definitely, um, an audience out there that despite the, you know, the apps that are out there and the digital offerings, there is still a need to come back to that pen and paper because the benefits of putting pen to paper just can’t be replicated.
In the, of an app, like I think, you know, apps definitely serve a great purpose, but the mindfulness components that come from writing, I mean, think about it, right? Like think about how quickly you can type a text or type on a computer versus handwriting something, your brain is immediately forced to slow down.
If you’re constantly typing and texting, you’re forcing your brain to operate at. Speed that, you know, from an evolutionary point of view, we are not designed to operate at that speed, all that all the time. So it’s, yeah, it’s, you know, our customers love coming back to that, to being forced to sort sort of slow down and take a more mindful approach, their planning.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, I do agree. I think, you know, in a app kind of a situation, it’s easy to. I think it’s more of the in moment thing. So you get an idea and you know it’s, you, you can basically have that as a reminder, but if you are doing something more intentional, I think the format of writing down works very well.
Um, talking about your collection, what, what, what, what’s included in your collection? Like, what are the items that you release every year? I’m assuming that you kind of built your collection over time.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, so we started with one planner, now one dated planner. Now we have four dated planner options along with two undated planner options.
This year we’ll be launching another undated planner option, so that’s um, seven planner options in total, plus accessories to go with those planners. And we also have a mindfulness journal as well to compliment the offering. We’ve dabbled with a lot of other, you know, tested other products in the past, but our, we always just come back to the planners and the journals because that is what we are known for.
That’s what our customers trust us for. Um, what else? We are launching a few more offerings this year. We’re bringing out, again, more accessories such as a pen. Um, what else? Yeah, just a few more accessories, like cases for the planners. And again, you know, our planners are very focused on that. Self-care habits, gratitude and goals.
That is the core theme of our planner collection. That is sort of what drives and motivates each, um, product that we create.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Now, every year when you are relieving or you’re about to release your, uh, your collection, I’m assuming there’s like a process so you get ready for it. I mean, there’s some, I’m assuming there’s some design processes.
Do you work with designers? Design. Design. Can you talk a little about, a bit about that part and also about, uh, the printing and the materials. Um, do you get them printed like in a China kind of setting or like, uh, can you talk a little bit about the, the whole design and, uh, creation process?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, sure. So the design process always kicks off with an annual we.
When do we send it out? Around February, we’ll send out an annual survey and that will basically question customers on, you know, the features they’re loving, the features they’re not loving very much, what changes they would like to see. Um, it’s, it’s, you know, we’ve got some questions, but there’s also open-ended questions for customers to, to provide as much feedback as they like.
And that always gets a good response. People love contributing their ideas, which makes our job so much easier because then we actually have data to support our choices in the design. Right? So that is always such a helpful, um, a helpful tool, and that informs the brief that I create for our designers. Of course.
We’ll, we’ll, we won’t. You know, every single idea that we get from the cus from customers, they’ll often contradict each other. So we then have to sort of discuss and debate between Tom and I, you know, what ideas do we go ahead with. Um, we use Instagram polls as well if we’re still unsure about an idea to get, um, a more, to get a larger pool of customers contributing, you know, responding to certain ideas.
Um, and then once we have a brief, yeah. We work with our designer who we’ve worked with for, from the very beginning. She’s an old friend who we used to work together at this marketing agent, this marketing agency in Melbourne. And um, yeah, we just work really well together. You know, we understand. She understands the concepts that I wanna bring to life.
So it’s been really great to have someone from who’s sort of been with us for the entire journey. Um, and once the designs are complete, then it is our least favorite part is, um, the proofing stage. So proofing all the dates, making sure that they are correct because believe it or not, that’s something that still needs to be done manually.
Despite, uh, you know, all the AI platforms that exist, they still can’t catch all the errors that, you know, may pop up. So that’s something that we have to sort of. Set aside a few weeks for, given that we have, you know, four plan, four data planner options now, and then it’s sending our files to print. So we do print in China.
It’s at a factory that we’ve been with since 2019. We’ve visited the factory twice, so we have an incredible relationship with the team over there. Um. And then it’s just sitting and waiting. So there is, you know, there is a while we sit and wait, that’s when we sort of like can think about our launch and our, and what we are doing between, yes, it’s preparing for launch, really the marketing side of things.
Now,
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: when you launched initially. Um, I, I believe you mentioned that you kind of jumped into it because you were very excited about the idea and you didn’t really do a lot of market research. So, um, I’m curious, like when you launched your first version or the first year of the product, did you get immediate response or what, what was that like getting your first customers and really educating the market?
As I said, you know, it’s very kind of.
How do you, how did you go and share your value proposition in the market to get people to buy and was it like a big, you know, did immediate traction or like how.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: We, looking back, we were just such amateurs in this space. You know, we were so focused on the product, creating the product, and learning about the manufacturing side of things because obviously that was just such a foreign space for us that we kind of neglected the launch.
It was just, you know, we didn’t follow any playbooks or guides or anything, so our launch was. The most underwhelming launch of all time. Um, I guess, yeah, it was more of a soft launch than, than anything else. We, you know, it was our friends and families supporting us in the, in the very beginning and, you know, them sharing, resharing our posts to their friends and family to sort of expand our reach.
Um, of course we ran Facebook. That’s how we acquired our first initial customers. Um, I also remember we sent out a lot of freebies to influences, you know, sharing products and stories at that time was, was new and it was, um, something that allowed us to also again, expand our reach. Um, what else do we do?
Facebook groups. We would, you know, we, we were startups, so we had a very small budget to work with, and that’s why we were u we were sort of trying to leverage our networks and, and do as much cost effective marketing as we could. So we found Facebook groups were, were pretty good for that. I was part of a few.
Um, I still am. Female business related business groups and you know, whenever someone was asking for planner recommendations, which they often do towards the end of the year, then I would pitch our product in the comments and that would get a bit of traction. So, you know, it wasn’t huge traction, but at the time.
It was something, and it was, you know, year one was just a lot of testing, a lot of building awareness for the brand. Um, a lot of trial and error, you know, there was no real strategy behind it. We were just finding our feet and seeing what worked and what didn’t. So, yeah, I guess in acquiring any, our in, in acquiring our first customers that were outside of our circle, I would say Facebook ads, Google Ads, and SEO.
So I was initially working at a digital marketing agency that specialized in SEO, so I had that skillset up my sleeve. So it was about, you know, making sure that. We were, and we were, we were visible on page one. Even though we were brand, we were brand new to the industry, we were able to be PA on page one right there, smack bag.
And when you search for 2018 planner, or no, it was 2018 diary that we were ranking for. So that was how we acquired our first customers.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: That’s a pretty big achievement. Like if you can be on page one of Google, uh, that, that, I think that, that, that’s huge. Uh, so, so congratulations on that. Um, thank you. I’m, I’m assuming that this product or this category has a lot of seasonality.
Like do you see most of your sales come at the end of the year, beginning of year and then it kind of flattens? Or can you talk a little bit about your seasonality?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, absolutely. So we are 100% a seasonal business. So, sorry, excuse me. We, even though we have products that are for sale outside of our, what we call our peak season, we still consider ourselves a seasonal business because the bulk of our revenue comes between August when we launch up until January when we sell out.
So, you know, we’ve got what. August, September, October, November, December, Jan, a six month window. Um, you know, when we set our revenue goals, we’re not really considering the 12 month period. We are setting our revenue goal for six months. So that’s how much of a seasonal business we are. And yeah, it’s been, it’s been really interesting.
You know, some would see it as a negative. I kind of like that, like having a little bit of downtime, especially being, you know, we’re, we’re both parents. With young kids. Um, it is nice to have a little bit of downtime and to really like, focus that time and energy, um, during the selling season to sort of, you know, focus all our time and energy on that, on that period and then sort of slow things down come February and then, you know, start planning.
It’s not really that we are not doing anything in that time, it’s just that our time and resources is going from. Focusing on selling to Focusing on designing.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, that makes sense. So in January when you sell out, does it mean that you don’t have any planners to sell at all or you have like very limited inventory?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: So we have undated planners as well. Okay. They just don’t sell at the same frequency? Um, or at the, yeah, at the same level as our planners.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: So dated planners are more in demand than un.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Wow. What, what is the reason for that?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: People just don’t wanna have to write in their dates.
It’s, you know, it’s a bit of, it’s a bit more of a commitment. It’s more exciting to get a dated planner because it’s sort of, you’re gearing up for the next year. Um. Yeah, I mean there’s definitely benefits to the undated planners as well, which is why we have them as an offering, you know, for those who don’t, what, who, who don’t necessarily start setting their goals in January.
They don’t sort of lived between the calendar year. They like the flexibility that an undated planner offers. Um, perhaps they have a. They don’t have such a rigid schedule. You know, their schedules change all the time, so maybe they might not need the planner for the whole year. They only need it for a certain window of the year.
So that’s, yeah, that’s where the Undated planner option comes in really handy. But it also comes in handy as a secondary offering to those who’ve wanted a dated planner, but missed out because. It has all the same features as our data planner, except it doesn’t include the dates. You have to write in the dates yourself.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. So your data planner contains all 365 days, or, uh, do people have to like buy couple of
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: undated planners?
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: No. No. Does it, does it start from Jan, January 1st and goes until.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: That’s correct. Yes.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Okay, that makes sense. So, I mean, is it like pretty thick then?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: So we have a few different planner options. We have the weekly option, which is, um, you know, a weekly spread. So there’s 52 weekly spreads that our original option has 2 88 pages. Our daily option, which is a day to a page option, has 500 pages. Wow. Okay. ’cause it’s including not just your standard daily function, it’s also including other features that, you know how we discussed other features that you’ll typically find in other journals and other that you would have to sort of track in external notebooks.
It’s all in one. So yes, it is quite hefty. But that is what our customers, that was probably one of our. So the daily bit only added last year, and that has just been an absolute hit despite how heavy and how thick it’s, it has been received incredibly well.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah. Are your customers, um, what have you learned about your customers?
Is it, I mean, when I think about wellness is, are women more, uh, attend more to prioritize wellness? Like are more feel customers? Female than male, or is it pretty balanced?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Well, in terms of our customer base, 99% I would say are female for sure. Wow, okay. Yeah, yeah. Um, I think it’s more in terms of the style.
You know, our plan is they are, you know, bright, bold colors. We do have some more subtle colors as well. We obviously have a black option, but. The way that we market it is certainly geared towards women. We do have some male customers. They tend to be partners of female, of our female customers. Yeah, yeah.
Um, that, you know, the women who purchase our planners as well, they do fall into quite a large age bracket. That’s probably probably been one of the most interesting things that we’ve learned. You know, often you, you try to figure out, okay, who’s your target market? And it’s often like a very, it’s. You know, a smaller age bracket.
But what we’ve found is we’ve got women in their twenties, we’ve got women in their, you know, we’ve got moms in their thirties, forties, fifties. I think that was the most surprising, having such a la like considering the planner was made for me. You know, I’m 33 now, but you know, when we, when we first created it, we had, the customer we had in mind was a 25-year-old, but.
Now the plant, the, our customer base has evolved and we do have quite a large number of older customers. So, you know, we’ve always had to adapt our marketing accordingly because of that.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: That is so interesting. It’s like 99% of your. That makes me think like, do men like don’t like planning in general or they’re like, it’s just a style that is, uh, that is different for men.
Like men, uh, they want a different style or they don’t want color. It’s, it’s such an interesting, uh.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: It’s, it’s interesting, I think there are other brands out there that are again, you know, a bit more masculine and so I guess guys would tend to, to, that would appeal more to the male audience. So it’s not to say that males don’t prioritize their wellbeing or have any interest in wellness.
I think it is. It does come down to more.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: I know that you have a website. I think I also saw you have like different versions of your website. Like you have the Australian version, you have the US version. Yes. Um, are you selling primarily on your website? Do you also sell like to marketplaces and other, other places as well?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: We are exclusively direct to consumer.
We have definitely dabbled in the. Wholesale, but it just hasn’t proved profitable or worth our, we’ve given it a good crack and yeah, it just hasn’t really, um, generated the desired results. So we’ve really honed in on direct consumer.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Wow, very interesting. I mean, that, that has to say something about your marketing.
Like if, if you are completely reliant on direct to consumer, that that really says something about your marketing to be able to drive people to your website and, and have them buy it. Um, what is working best, um, in terms of your marketing now? I know you said that your SEO is great. Uh, is that still kind of your driver?
Are you still doing.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: We are still. So our, you know, when we started it was a lot of trial and error. We really were trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t. And now we have the data to sort of support those decisions and choices in terms of budget allocations. So, and where our focus lies now is meta ads, Google ads, SEO, and email marketing.
That is what works for us. Um, and when I say, you know, when we say, when I say. We used to engage in a lot of trial and error, and now we’re sort of honing in on these, on these core channels. That’s not to say that we’re not still testing, but the testing is more to do with the ad concepts. And product testing rather than the channels through which we’re selling, through, which we’re, we’re marketing.
Um, so, you know, we’ve seen a huge shift towards UGC content. You know, there’s a greater demand. Customers wanna see how other customers are using their pro, using this product that, that they want, they want proof that it actually does. What we say it does. And so, you know, that has changed the way in which we showcase our planners.
We can’t just lean on polished ads anymore, like we used to be able to. Um, we now need to sort of source. Uh, content from our customers to, to showcase how our planner is being utilized. And we are proud to say as well that, you know, every piece of UDC that you see on our page is authentically generated.
It’s generated by customers who actually use our planner and we work with them to create content that, you know, kind of. Highlights what we wanna showcase, but at the end of the day, they’re telling an authentic story about how the planner, how they use their planner, and how it has helped them.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Hmm. So let me ask you this question.
Um, so you’ve been selling your planners for 8, 8, 9 years. And of course you’ve learned about the market, the marketing, uh, your audience. If you were to start your business today from scratch, like, you know, but you have all the knowledge that you have now, what, how do you launch it? Like, what would you do today to really get the planner off the shelf?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: You know it before? I’m glad, I’m almost glad that we didn’t have all the knowledge that we have now because naive optimism was such a strength for launching, for launching something that wasn’t perfect. I feel like if I launch, if I was launching something, launching a brand new business today, I think I would be constantly second guessing, you know, with all this knowledge that I, it almost, um.
I think I would overthink more than anything. Okay. But if I wasn’t overthinking, I would definitely establish a following first. So, you know, when we first started, we, I think I started our Instagram account like two weeks before our launch date. You know, we, we launched to nobody, like we launched our friends and family, but essentially we launched to no to, we didn’t have a.
A base, a foundational, a foundation to launch to. So I would establish a following on Instagram, but, but utilize that to build an email list because ultimately that is something that you own. Um, so you know, whether that’s by creating some value, some valuable content that people will subscribe to you to get free.
So that’s what I would do. I would focus on building a community first, getting them to trust you, showing, proving that you can provide them with valuable content, um, something that, you know, aligns with whatever product that you’re launching. Um, and go from there.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. So I see on your website you have, so I’m in Canada, so I was just thinking if I were to buy this product, like how would I go about buying it?
And I think there is an option here. Uh, and it says ships from Southern California in one to two business days. Um, so I mean, it seems like you’ve set up processes or you are working with third party logistics, then they would ship it out.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: That’s correct. So in 2023 we expanded into the US by securing a three PL in Southern California.
And that has been a huge game changer for us because previously we were shipping, we still had an American, a growing American customer base and Canadian customer base as well. But we were shipping from Australia, which, you know, obviously there’s a lot of barriers in place there. Given the shipping time.
It just wasn’t such a great experience and that’s what led. That’s what encouraged us to sort of expand into the US
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: is us your biggest market now. I mean, I would assume, given that it’s, it’s such a bigger population compared to Canada and Australia, um, and do you ever think about kind of moving in US and really establishing the business here?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: No. That has never come up in conversation. I can’t see us ever moving. Not with two kids now. We’re pretty, we’ve. We’ve planted some roots here where we are, so I can’t see ourselves uprooting. Um, but to answer your question, our biggest market is still in Australia. We’re still sort of, you know, we’re babies in America.
Yes, it’s a larger market, but it also is met with more competition. Right. So we are still, you know what, it’s 2025 now. So yeah, this will be our, we still, when do we, so our. We entered the US in 2023 for our 2024 collection. And then, so we’ve done two seasons in the US now, and this will be our third season.
So yeah, still growing in the US every year, but our largest market is still in Australia.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Makes sense. Um, in terms of your team, um, is it just you, uh, I believe, I believe you said it’s you, your husband, you work with a designer, and then you have outsource your logistics and I guess manufacturing in China.
Is there anybody else that you work with?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: We do. Just as you said. Yeah. So it’s just Tom and I in house and we outsource the design to, yeah, we have, we actually have a couple of freelance designers and then anything else that sort of falls outside of our skillset gets outsourced, you know, accounting, um, that sort of, you know, all those sort of things.
And then, as you said, we’ve got two warehouses, one in. Southern California at the moment. We’re actually moving warehouses, um, at the moment, and then another warehouse in Melbourne.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay, awesome. Um, in terms of, um, the, um, business of this product, I’m assuming that, you know, because this is a paper product and you’re basically selling your design, um.
Does it make a good product to sell, like in terms of profit margins and things like this? Because, and the reason I’m asking this is because a lot of the times when you talk to product-based e-commerce businesses, um, there’s so much goes into just the product itself that sometimes the margins are not as great.
So do you find that your product has like a good sufficient, uh, margins?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Absolutely yes. Our, yes, um, very healthy profit margin. And that is because we have positioned ourselves in the more premium market. You know, we’re not trying to sell a cheap planner here. Our planners are positioned as a premium planner, you know, in the US it’s a $50 planner.
So it’s, we’re, yeah, we’re not trying to be the cheapest planner by any means, which means we, it allows us to achieve healthy, proper margins.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. Uh, in terms of your future outlook for your business, future, future vision, five, 10 years down the road, do you want to, of course you have a rhythm, so you, you have to release your annual planners and you’re continuing to build your product base.
Um, I mean, I’m also very curious to know, like, do you see a lot of repeat customer, so people who bought, like your previous year, they’ll come back and purchase again?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, so our returning customer rate sits around 35 to 40%. So, you know, of course there’s always gonna be a bit of turn because, well, everyone loves trying new planners, but we’ve also, we also get so many customers that come back the, you know, they may skip a year, but they come back the following year because they regretted their decision to move elsewhere.
So that’s always been nice and reassuring. Um, to answer your other question, in terms of vision for the future. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I don’t have a grand vision for the future at this stage. We are planning year to year and, you know, we’re parents with young kids. That’s our priority at this stage. Um, we, uh, yeah, we’ll set annual goals, but we don’t really think beyond that because.
We just, you know, we’re setting goals that align with whatever season of life we’re in. So, you know, for example, when I gave birth to my second, you know, I sort of paired it back in terms of product expansion, right? But now that my youngest is nearly two, I can, I sort of have a bit more time, energy, resources to, to focus on, um, product extensions.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Um, in every entrepreneur’s journey, there’s always, uh, failures, mistakes made, lessons learned. Uh, what, what is a big mistake that comes to your mind? Of course, you’ve been doing this for some time. Uh, what did you learn from your mistake? What can other entrepreneurs learn, uh, from your, uh, failures or mistakes?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: The biggest one that comes to mind is not getting third party inspections in our first year. So. For the product. Yes, yes, yes. There third party quality control inspection that. You can, um, that you can get to ensure that, you know, obviously you’re not on the ground to check the products yourself, right? So you can outsource that to a team that will come in and make sure that the product meets the criteria that you’ve established with your supplier.
But we didn’t know that in our first year. In our first couple of years actually. So, I mean, it’s hard to call it a mistake, right? Because we just didn’t have that knowledge, but it. Definitely a learning curve, um, that we needed to go through in order to understand what could go wrong without, with planner production.
I mean, when we started, we were just so naive. We didn’t know that anything could go wrong in producing planets so naive. So we had, we had to go through those first couple of years to learn, okay, you can get scratches on the covers. You can have pages. You can have pages in the incorrect order. Believe it or not, you know.
Um, ribbons that are afraid that aren’t cut properly. So with that knowledge, now we can establish, um, clear criteria for our suppliers and establish acceptable defect rates because of course, you know, striving for 100% perfect product is just not realistic. And I guess that would be my. That would be my biggest learn from year one, and that would be what I would tell, um, budding entrepreneurs, people who wanna manufacture products, you know, don’t think that you can produce a 100% perfect production because it’s just not, it’s just not possible in mass production.
So you’ve got to understand. What could go wrong with your product? And establish agreements with your suppliers to ensure that you’re both on the same page. That okay, if you know, say you agree on a 2% defect rate, if it exceeds the 2% defect rate, then what does the compensation look like? Is there going to be, are they gonna remake those products for you?
So it’s really about having those conversations instead of, um. Instead of Yeah. Subscribing to unrealistic expectations.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah. I mean, that’s, that’s so important, right? Like, uh, I can imagine in a product like this, I mean, there’s so many things that can go wrong. Like the ink can, you know, be not right or it’s not dark enough, like on the page, uh, the print, uh, I mean, so yeah, so many things can go wrong.
So. But it seems like your manufacturer is doing a good job, so you’re with them, right? For a long time.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yes, yes. Did you find,
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: did you find them through Alibaba or how did you find them? I
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: did, yes. So we went through two manufacturers before. We’ve landed on this, on our current factory, the first, so the, our very first printer, we actually went to a, um.
We used a local printer, but they outsourced our job to Taiwan. But they, the benefit of doing that was they managed, you know, all the freight and all that side of things that we were just completely clueless about. So, you know, there was enough for us to learn and we were happy to sort of take. Obviously you are paying a lot more when you’re, when you are going through a third party, but they sort of carried a lot of the risk for us.
So that was our first printer, unfortunately. Um, the goods that were delivered, you know, there wasn’t specific criteria that was, that was communicated across, uh, because we didn’t know what criteria to put in place. And so we did have a lot of defective products in our first year. In our second year, we went direct to China.
We found a supplier on Alibaba, got a sample and everything, everything checked out. Unfortunately, despite listing the criteria, despite having that criteria in place, um, we were still disappointed with the production. There was a lot, there were a lot of issues at play. Um, yeah, we had like pages in the incorrect order.
It was just an absolute nightmare. I probably thought that was it. I was like, oh, okay. Time to time to get a full time job again. But I mean,
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: that could be very disheartening, right?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: That was, yeah. It was really a, a lot of sleep was lost that, that season. But we made Did you,
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: did the, did the refund the money at all, or?
No,
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: we had to fight. We had to fight really hard. So the benefit of going through Alibaba is there is like a body in place to assist with these issues. Okay. But obviously due to the language barrier, it is very difficult. Um, ’cause the supplier that we were working with at the time, they did, they just were, they weren’t, um, accepting responsibility for the issues at play.
And so, yeah, it just made it really difficult to, to get a refund, but we eventually did. It’s, yeah, it was just a very stressful experience.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah, for sure. Um, now I’m going to move on to our rapid fire segment. In this segment, I’m going to ask you a few quick questions and you have to answer them maybe in a word or a sentence or so.
So the first one is one book recommendation for entrepreneurs and why.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. I just love the philosophy. Are you familiar with this one? No. No. So it is all about, he highlights the importance of the compound effect of our small, simple actions that we take often. You know, we, we put a lot of, um.
I’m trying to keep it short. Okay, so we, so yeah, highlighting the compound effect of our small, simple actions over time and how that can influence the trajectory of our lives. So to kind of not just look at the big audacious moves that you make, but to consider the things that you’re doing consistently on a daily basis.
So that’s, yeah.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yes. Um, an innovative product or idea in the current e-commerce retail or tech landscape that you feel excited about
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: an innovative product
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: or idea?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Mm.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Or it could be just a product or idea. It doesn’t,
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: yeah, there’s a brand that, yeah, there’s an Australian brand that comes to mind. There’s, they’ve sort of started engineering their own fabrics that, um, are just insanely comfortable but also sustainable. So that’s been something that’s been catching my attention.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Uh, do you know, do you remember the name or no?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yes, it’s called P-A-I-R-E-P.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Okay. A business or productivity tool or software that you would recommend?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: A productivity tip, write your to-do list the night before. It just reduces decision fatigue, allows you to start your day with a lot more focus and intention instead of trying to figure out, you know, where do I even begin.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Uh, another startup or business that you think is currently doing great things?
I know you mentioned that one, but, uh, any, any other business that comes to.
Any products that you use that you are like passionate about?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yeah, I’m kind of blanking. I’m looking around.
Yeah, I’m kind of blanking on that one. Sorry.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: No worries, no worries. Uh, let me go to the next one then.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Uh,
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: a peer entrepreneur or business person whom you look up to or someone who inspires you.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: I’ve got a friend who, a good friend, who is currently building an app called Your Little Hero, and it’s an app for parents and kids.
It is an app that creates customized stories that positions the child as the, as the hero of the story. And it’s all about, um, helping them conquer everyday challenges. So the stories.
Uh, to,
yeah, to sort of help that child overcome whatever challenge they’re experiencing, whether it’s, you know, them being afraid of the dark or, um, sharing their toys and yeah, it’s just really cool to, you know, often you only see the end product, right? You don’t really see the beginning of it or hear about the idea initially.
So it’s been really nice to sit by the sidelines and sort of watch this come to life.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Uh, final question, best business advice that you have ever received or you would give to other entrepreneurs?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yes. Um, Tim Ferris often talks about fear setting and which is basically, you know, defining the worst case scenario that could result from whatever goal that you’re pursuing.
And then problem solving your way through it and coming up with sort of contingency plans. So asking yourself, you know, what can you do to prevent the occurring? And then what can. So set of circumstances if they do eventuate. And I just feel like it’s such a powerful exercise because it helps you, it helps get you out of your head.
It helps you approach those fears from a logical, with a more logical mindset. And it. Transforms that fear into something that you can actually manage and overcome. So I just, yeah, I, I find that exercise really powerful and it’s something that we actually did, um, before we decided to go ahead with St.
Belford.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Awesome. Well, Alex, those were all the questions, uh, that I had. Thank you so much for sharing your story, for your successes, uh, lessons learned. Uh, if anybody wants to try out your products or buy your planners, what’s the best way to do that?
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Yep. So if you’re in the US at st belford com, everyone else head to st belford com au.
Sushant Misra of TrepTalks: Um, well, Alex, thank you so much again for joining me and, uh, sharing your story and, uh, wish you all the very best. Thank you so much.
Alex Stanford of Saint Belford: Thank you, Sushant
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