Her Biz November 2021 Winner
Redefining your night in: owners of luxury gift box company Secret Host win £500 to launch after winning Her Biz business plan competition
Secret Host winners Chloe Thornley and Bethany Hayes aim to redefine girls night in and provide the ultimate self-care experience with plush gift boxes brimming with unique, personalised luxury items that target all five of their customers senses.
Chloe and Bethany won £500 towards their start up costs for Secret Host by taking part in the Her Biz programme for aspiring female entrepreneurs in East Sussex and Kent, and then submitting their winning business plan.
The Her Biz programme, delivered by Let’s Do Business Group and supported by NatWest Bank, aims to increase entrepreneurship and break down the barriers between women and business by supporting more people to follow their career aspirations. Ran virtually over Zoom by our two expert business coaches Lisa and Helena, the programme has been a long running success.
Staying in is the new ‘out’
“As a company, we curate luxury indulgent evenings in a box, delivered direct to our consumers’ doors. This is preceded by a personalised wax sealed invitation, inviting them to their evening of relaxation and self-care.”
The idea for Secret Host grew as Chloe and Bethany recognised the growing popularity of ‘self care’ products and marketing during the pandemic. Amidst lockdowns and isolations, people were focusing on mindfulness, looking after their bodies, and overall wellbeing, but there lacked a convenient and personalised gift option.
“There are some options for wellness subscription and gift boxes on the market, but very few that are unique like ours – personalised, luxury, independent brands, handmade products & vegan as well as eco-friendly.”
Two women, working with women, for women
Targeted towards women, the pair of entrepreneurs wanted to make their brand woman-focused from the ground up; planning on building a female team that would lift up women in the workplace, while being able to tap in to what their target market might want.
All of the suppliers for Secret Host boxes are from female run businesses too – and their selection of suppliers is based on resonating with their stories for starting their businesses and ethos behind their brands, solidifying Secret Host’s quest to be an all-over sustainable and community led company. Chloe and Bethany say this lends its way to creating longer term and stronger relationships, and by doing this creates a solid brand identity to the customers of Secret Host.
Making Secret Host not-so-secret
With their plans for a website in progress, they’re aiming to build their content library and search engine ranking with a range of blogs, newsletters and sign up and purchase promotions to jump start their word-of-mouth recommendations and get the ball rolling.
To spread the word and build their customer base, they plan to heavily focus on their online presence and capture the power of the self-care trend on social media and strategically market the brand around key gifting events, like Mothers Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas. An emphasis on creating a trustworthy and transparent brand that their new customers can have confidence in, by encouraging real reviews from real people on social media platforms and review sites like Trustpilot, as well as reaching out to influencers to get their name out there.
The pair regularly meet up to work on building their business
How Her Biz helped
“The ‘Her Biz’ workshops have provided us with the tools to allow us to put our creativity into practical, achievable steps to form a viable business with the potential for real success. The comprehensive slides have been a source of knowledge which we have frequently revisited when needing to further understand an element of our new business which had previously felt daunting. The 1:1 support and guidance from those running the sessions has been invaluable in allowing us to ask questions, gain ideas and fine tune our business. With their extensive knowledge, reassurance and well thought out sessions, the team at Her Biz have been invaluable in providing us the much-needed support with starting our business and we cannot thank them enough.”
