Earlier in the year I felt so disorganised and messy because I couldn't fit enough of my to-do lists in my planner and that's when I discovered Hello Day, and now I could not imagine getting through my working day without it. I use, both an online and a traditional paper planner so I thought that it would be okay to buy such a big planner and just keep it by my desk, well no, I bring it to pretty much every meeting and it looks just as good as when I first bought it. I have the original daily planner in the Flock design and it's so pretty and I just love looking at it.
Hello Day planners are not just your regular planners, they are all about mindset, health, and accomplishment, for example, there are encouraging quotes, space for your top 3 To Do's, and pages for reflection and goal planning.
Kirsten M Wilson, the woman behind Hello day, started researching back in 2015 and launched her first product on the last day of August 2016. The business has now grown and I first meet Kirsten at Top Drawer in January 2019 where she also won the stationery category. With a background in interior design everything Kirsten comes up with is beautiful, thoughtful, and has purpose.
I’ve always been obsessed with planning since I was a young girl. Every year I would shop for my school planner and my mom would roll her eyes at the effort I put in to finding just the right one. My whole life would go into those planners and this continued through school, college and into my working life.
How long have you been wholesaling? and how did you get your first stockist?
I have been wholesaling since 2016 when I started. In my first year, I approached a few shops in my husband's hometown in the Northwest. I literally just walked in and showed them my products, and they bought some.
What do you find the most challenging with wholesale?
The most challenging is finding new stockists. Because my products are on the higher end of the spectrum for stationery and they are dated, I think stockists seem to hesitate in buying them, worried they might not sell them in time.
Do you do any active prospecting? if so, how do you go about it?
Yes, I exhibit at some trade shows and I also search for new stockists and email them.
How do you handle rejection? (any tips)
I just move on, try not to think about it too much really. Not every shop in the UK sells the same products. If so, that would be boring. So I just appreciate the ones who do want to stock my products and move away from those who don't.
What advice would you give someone who's thinking about starting to wholesale?
I would say, have tough skin. You will be rejected. But move forward and focus on those that do want to stock your products. And the little shops that stock your products might be your best customers because they might continuously come back to you. And rather than focus on the big shops, think about all the small shops you are in, when added up they will help you more than you imagined.
Any other wise words?
YES! Be careful with your pricing!!! Make sure it is right before sending out a price list to everyone ...personal experience haha!
Final words
Thank you so much Kirsten, I think you were very brave to walk into those first shops back in 2016 and I would look forward to seeing your planners in even more shops in the future. If you're on the hunt for that perfect planner, I would highly recommend Hello Day, they are on the higher end but if you break it down to a daily spend it will cost you just under 13p a day, not very expensive for something that you use every single day and can't live without!
Follow Hello Day over on Instagram, @hellodayplanner, Kirsten has a beautiful feed, or head over to the shop for some stationery therapy.
If you're thinking of exhibiting at your first show and need some help, get in touch, I'd love to have a chat.
