Baby Castings & Baby Keepsakes Home Business in Norfolk
Your time to Shine…
This month we focus on our highly talented and well respected Guild Member, Frances Mortin, who owns 3D Castings Norfolk and My Tiny Prints.
Frances used to work for a large Company, travelling the UK, auditing Physiotherapy Practices, which involved her having to stay away from home for 3 days a week, but when Frances Mother was diagnosed with Cancer, she decided to start her own Pottery Painting Business, in her home town, to enable her to be near her Mum.
At that time, Pottery Painting was Frances passion and she now has over 25 years experience in Ceramics, having been involved in making her own slip cast moulds and selling into Craft Shops.
Sadly, Frances Mum passed away and she decided to sell her Pottery Business, to allow her to do something more flexible that she could run from home.
Frances decided to buy into a Baby Casting Franchise, which she said was a huge mistake. Not only did it limit her geographically, but also prevented her from expressing her own unique creative flair and style to create products and concepts that she knew her customers would love.
So, Frances decided to terminate her franchise agreement and set up her own independent Business, offering an extended range of Keepsakes, but she found that running an independent Business can be isolating.
Because of this Frances became inspired to join www.thekeepsakeguild.co.uk, enabling her to network and share help, advice and ideas with The Keepsake Guild’s community of 100 strong Guild Members.
Frances says: “It was important for me to differentiate my brand and gain the recognition of being part of a Professional Community.” Frances continues, “I found that being mobile, it is difficult to converse with others, so being part of www.thekeepsakeguild.co.uk is great, not only for the marketing and business support, but also because it allows you to talk and share advice with other Guild Members through the private forum." Frances continues, "Everyone is really friendly and supportive.”
We asked Frances what she considered to be the main benefits of being a member of www.thekeepsakeguild.co.uk. Frances replied, “Having access to professional help and advice when you need it, being able to talk through your concerns and errors with others. Also, having access to The Keepsake Guild’s Royalty Free Images, as it is difficult to create and post your own images constantly.”
Frances adds: “Having a listing on The Keepsake Guild Directory is invaluable, as it is ranks top on Google searches for relevant keywords, so this provides a great source of new leads and customers.” In fact, says Frances, “My first customer, upon joining The Keepsake Guild, came to me via www.thekeepsakeguild.co.uk after finding my details on the Guild Members Directory.”
Frances also says that being able to use The Keepsake Guild’s Logo and Seal of Approval on her marketing materials, is also extremely advantageous, as it adds prestige to her Business and heightens customer perception, which Frances says is important.
Frances continues, “I love creating and being creative and I adore children, so for me, this is the perfect Business.” However Frances adds, “The downside is when I am so busy with orders and having to work late at night, sometimes 7 days a week, especially near Christmas.” But Frances, quickly balances this, by telling us that running her own Business provides her with flexibility, which means that she can spend more time with her family and animals, choosing when she wants to work.
Sometimes when she is so busy, Frances confesses that it can be difficult to find the time to market her business, but she says this is something that all Guild Members struggle with. The Keepsake Guild recognise this and are introducing new products and services to specifically help Guild Members become more effective at marketing.
Frances continues: “I have worked for myself since 2011 and would never work for someone else now. I love being my own boss, being out and about and meeting new people.” Frances says that she now has the best of both worlds: “If you love your job and love what you do, what else could you want?”
Frances says that she is very fortunate, as she is very well known and established in her area now, drawing customers in from a 45 mile radius. She says that she gets a lot of repeat business and referrals from word of mouth marketing.
At www.thekeepsakeguild.co.uk, we are confident that this can only be testament to the quality of Frances product and services and we are extremely proud to have her as one of our trusted and highly respected Guild Members.
To find out more about Frances and 3D Casting Norfolk, please visit Frances Guld Profile Page:
To find out more about becoming a member of www.thekeepakeguild.co.uk please download our Information Pack.