Fear, uncertainty, procrastination battles, excitement, determination, inspiration and perspiration
You betcha. I am writing my first book. Now I have sold my business (Peppersmith) and have stepped down as MD of the company, I have a bit more time on my hands. So what to do? This was easy, I now have some airspace for a project which has been occupying my mind for the past three to four years. It’s time to write that book.
I have never held any long term ambitions to be on the New York Times No.1 bestseller or desperately want to share with the world all those funny little thoughts that go round my head each day. The reason I feel compelled to write a book is that it is the book I have wanted to buy for the last five years, but nobody has bothered to write it.
The book will tell the story of how some of the best DTC (Direct to Consumer) companies out there stand out from the crowd and what they do to thrive.
At Peppersmith, we built a good eCommerce platform. It was and still is an integral part of the overall business. The challenge was that we had to figure it out step by step, pretty much, all by ourselves. Best practice, how-to advice and tips and tricks were tough to come by. Everyone we asked, who was also trying to do something similar, also said the same thing.
My mission is to write the book which will help anyone asking themselves the same questions about what you need to do to create a great DTC channel of your brand. My objective is you can reach for the book and learn from the best and then use those stories for inspiration and knowledge to then do it for yourself.
It will be a journalistic effort. I see my job as seeking out and sharing the stories from those companies who know their onions and have the track record to prove it.
Excitingly I have already secured interviews with brands including Graze, Hiut Denim, Tails.com, Cubitts, Allplants with many more to come. Watch this space for how those interviews went and how the book is shaping up.
One last thing, wish me luck. I feel I am going to need it.