Martin [00:00:00]: Hello. I'm your podcast host, Market Robson. Harborough Hustle proudly sponsors local charities. Check us out on marketharboroughbiznetwork.co.uk where you can find a transcript of today's podcast, all the links that I mentioned, posts you can share on social media to spread the word, and everything you need to know if you'd like to help our local charities find out more about our lovely sponsors. Today, I'm gonna be speaking to Jen from Fuzzy Flamingo. But just before we get into that, let's hear it from our lovely sponsor. Hey, it's 2024. Is your website really pulling its weight when it comes to helping you compete in today's market? Have a chat with me, Market, from Roman Britons to find out how you could use the latest technology and psychology to get ahead. Martin [00:00:53]: All in plain English. Don't delay. Welcome to this episode of Harborough Hustle, where I'm delighted to be chatting with Jen from Fuzzy Flamingo. Hi, Jen. Jen [00:01:07]: Hello. How are you? Martin [00:01:09]: I am not too bad at all. I have no small children with illnesses and things like that. How are you? Jen [00:01:19]: Unfortunately, I do have small children who have been very ill, but they're back at school so much better. Martin [00:01:26]: Fantastic. It's, it's always one of those things, isn't it? We talk about being a a small business and running our stuff, but at the end of the day, you know, you gotta put your family first and make sure that that's all sorted and run a business at the same time. Jen [00:01:39]: Absolutely. It's it's lovely to have the flexibility, but it it does come down to me to to be able to drop everything to be with them. So I'm very fortunate to have understanding understanding clients. Martin [00:01:50]: Fantastic. We like those. They're not all like that, but we're like the ones that are. If you're listening clients, take note. Alright. So first thing I'd just like to to ask for those people who've who've not met you before, just tell us a little bit, about yourself, what you do, and, what do you like doing besides work? Jen [00:02:10]: Of course. So I, am the owner of Fuzzy Flamingo, which is a book publishing company. I specialize in helping authors to self publish beautiful books with editing, design, and publishing services. And my aim with Fuzzy Flamingo is to make publishing more transparent, less intimidating, and more accessible. Outside of of work, there's loads of things I love to do. I love getting out in the fresh air. I've got a small dog, and he we love to walk him, love spending time with my family, and generally just having a good time. Martin [00:02:46]: Fantastic. Having a good time. What a brilliant hobby. Absolutely. So I know from having done, quite a number of these podcasts that the one burning question that that our listeners will have is, what's the dog's name? Jen [00:02:59]: Doug. He's, Doug the Shug. He's a Shih Tzu crossed with a pug. So he's basically a hairy pug, and he's very cute. Martin [00:03:06]: Sounds amazing. Yeah. Jen [00:03:08]: I if I angle my camera down, you should be able to see him asleep on his little bed. Martin [00:03:12]: Oh my goodness. Jen [00:03:14]: Yeah. He spends most of his day asleep. Martin [00:03:17]: So for anybody who's just, listening to the audio version of this podcast, then Doug the Shug was down on the floor there sleeping away quite happily. He is really enthralled by the podcast. He's just he's watching it so much. Yeah. Now, again, also for for people on on the audio, they won't be able to see what's behind you and indeed what you're wearing. The people who are watching this on on YouTube might just have a clue what your company is called. So, could you just describe some of the things that I can see on my camera now? Jen [00:03:52]: Yes. Of course. Basically, a flood of flamingos or a flamboyance of flamingos is the Greek noun is, which I absolutely love. Yeah. It's called a flamboyance. How perfect is that? Yeah. I have a giant flamingo behind me, which who was given to me by my Britons. When it arrived in a very funny shaped package. Jen [00:04:13]: My my husband looked at it and thought, what is that? But I love it, and I get gifted lots of lovely things. I have a ban placed on me by my husband for buying any more flamingo things myself, but it doesn't stop my authors and my family and friends buying things for me. So yes. And I'm also wearing a flamingo print dress, which is a popsy, which is another small business, which I adore. So I have several flamingo print dresses and jumpsuits and and what have you because I love it. Martin [00:04:43]: Fantastic. Shout out to Popsie. I mean, I happen to know also that, I think you have branded Doc Martens as well if I remember. Jen [00:04:50]: Yes. So I have pink fluffy Doc Martens, which usually cause a stare when I wear them. But I I love them. They are very warm, though. Martin [00:05:00]: Fantastic. Yeah. Well, we we could definitely say that, we don't miss you when you're you're in a room. Jen [00:05:07]: Absolutely. Pink hair as well. That is quite quite common for me to have pink hair. Martin [00:05:12]: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. I should have mentioned that. Well, okay. Anybody who's still on the audio podcast and hasn't immediately flipped over to YouTube, you you got an idea of what you're missing. So, yeah, let's get back to the book publishing. That's a really interesting thing because obviously years ago, I mean, that was almost a monopoly. Martin [00:05:33]: Certainly one could call it a cartel. There were a limited number of very major players in the business. Jen [00:05:39]: Yes. Martin [00:05:40]: So how did you get started in in doing it yourself? Jen [00:05:45]: I I started off in the publishing industry in 2010. It was, pretty much an accidental career because it wasn't the career that I'd intended for myself. So my my whole life, I wanted to join the police with the view of becoming a super duper detective solving crimes. All through my childhood, all through adolescence and university, that was my aim. And then I took a gap year after finishing university and before applying when I was diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis. I've got a couple of forms, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis, which is a bit of a mouthful. But when it came to apply, when I got back from my gap year, they they wouldn't let me get past the first screen. And I didn't have a plan b, so it suddenly had to rethink all of my options, all of my skills, my qualifications, and my, experience with the work I've done to that point. Jen [00:06:41]: And it was my mom who found a job in the paper for a publishing house where I'd be starting right at the bottom in the warehouse, picking and packing books and doing admin for the different departments, so the production department, the marketing department. And I worked my way up through the production side of things because I absolutely loved the the making of books. Just bringing someone's story to life just fills me with joy, and it turns out it was a it was a a great move, and I absolutely loved it. But the problem I had was that with my autoimmune conditions, I'm on immunosuppressants to treat it. And being in an open plan office with people whose germs don't affect them in the same way that they affect me, it meant I was off sick more than I'd want to be. And when I was the group production manager looking after the teams across all of the imprints, it it was a challenge because it was a cycle of stressing about getting ill if someone was ill in the office, being off sick, and then catching up and having the whole circle start again. So, when I had my first child in 2016, I recovered my health, and I got on top of managing it really well. And it became apparent that actually being at home away from the books was was going to serve me right. Jen [00:08:04]: So I started off with freelancing for publishers, And then, I had a few self publishing authors who came to me for my services, and I loved it so much that I decided to steer my business more in that direction. And, actually, I'm one of those businesses where the pandemic actually helped because lots of people started writing their books. The the publishers that I was freelancing for were taking freelancing back in in Hustle, or were going into administration because the publishing industry as a whole really struggled, whereas the self publishing industry is was thriving. So it that's how I ended up specializing in what I do, and and I haven't looked back. I I love it. Martin [00:08:48]: Wow. What an incredible story and amazing, you know, when, I guess, you were relatively young in life, to be diagnosed with with different autoimmune, Britons? Jen [00:08:59]: Yes. Yeah. I would I just turned 23, so at the very beginning of my career. Martin [00:09:05]: Right. But you've managed to turn, you know, in into a extremely successful, business warmer. And we are recording very close to international women's day. Jen [00:09:18]: Yes. Martin [00:09:19]: You know, obviously, people Market listening to this it's a little bit later now, but we're recording it very close to international women's day. And I happen to know that you are not only a woman, you see how incredibly, astute I am, but an award winning woman at that. I do. Tell us a little bit about some of the awards that you've won. Jen [00:09:39]: Yes. The most recent one I will be celebrating on International Women's Day at the House of Lords. It's the f entrepreneur, I also 100. So they've chosen 100 of the top UK female entrepreneurs, and we're going to be celebrating together, at the House of Lords, which seems it seems huge, and it's very exciting. And I've had a lot of press coverage, and and it's it's done a lot for my business getting that accolade. And it comes into the umbrella of Small Business Britons, w
