Amanda Baker - Noughty Moments Episode 6

Amanda Baker joins us for episode 6 of our show Noughty Moments! discussing the out-of-the-box decisions that went against the grain for success.

Each week, a remarkable guest enjoys a glass or two of our provocative Alcohol Free Sparkling Organic Vegan Wine, Noughty. Our aim is to show how much fun you can have without Alcohol.

Join the conversation, be Noughty!

Amanda Baker is the Co-Founder of Make Us Care - a strategic creative partner for brands finding their feet in this ever-changing world. Her job is to help companies move closer to the people they exist for so they communicate consciously with emotion and care. She believes in leading with empathy and has been helping companies find, tell and bring their stories to life for 8 years. She found a love for branding and storytelling when she launched her first business, Fashionably Skint, in 2012. After raising investment she faced some tough decisions and decided to wind up the company in 2015. (A story to be told when Noughty is involved.) Since then she's put her arse where her heart wants to be and has helped over 100 companies communicate what they truly stand for in the world. She runs branding workshops all over the UK's startup and scaleup scene with Huckletree, Level 39, LABS, Centre for Fashion Enterprise and more.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GO INTO YOUR LINE OF BUSINESS?

Honestly, I just love making and creating things from scratch. I've always been creative and I always knew I'd run my own company one day. After my 4-year rollercoaster ride with Fashionably Skint, I evaluated what I enjoyed about building a business and what I was good at - and I ended up at brand strategy. So I found a job that would help me develop those skills. I also knew I wanted to stay working with startup and scaleup brands because they need the most help when it comes to brand strategy, identity and positioning. It's so hard to get your head around branding as a founder and all the big agencies talk so much crap and make branding feel so hard and complicated. AND they charge through the roof for brand strategy projects. It's not fair and it's not right! The reason why so many startups fail is because they don't know who their customer is, or they don't know how to communicate to them on a real, human "I hear you" level - OR BOTH. I feel like there are so many AMAZING companies out there doing incredible things to help people and the planet, and no one knows they exist. I'm on a mission to find them and help them get the attention they deserve.

WHAT NOUGHTY MOMENT SHAPED YOU AS A PERSON?

I think I am where I am today because I put my arse where my heart wants to be. I'm pretty good at listening to my inner self and what I care about. At the beginning of lockdown, I walked away from a company I co-built for two years because two of my co-founders cared about different things to me and carrying on just didn't feel right or fair. THAT was hard and incredibly emotional. Over the years I've taught myself to trust my gut and my heart. My head is a HEAD FUCK...

WHAT ARE THE THREE LESSONS YOU'VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY?

That I don't need validation or recognition from social media to know that I am great at what I do
If I want to lead others, I need to lead myself first (BIG LEARNING RIGHT HERE)
Always, ALWAYS share how you feel - if something doesn't feel right or sit well with you, take a moment to ask yourself why and listen hard to that answer

WHAT NOUGHTY MOMENT OF A WELL KNOWN BUSINESS STANDS OUT THE MOST FOR YOU?

The heartfelt letter Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb wrote and shared at the beginning of lockdown about making 1,900 teammates redundant. I've never read a more courageous letter from a leader. This letter was FULL of empathy, compassion and care. It's the way, I believe, businesses should be led today and beyond. Leaders that don't behave like this (IMHO) don't deserve to be a leader.

Contact Amanda:

@amandahustled / @makeus.care (Insta)

@makeuscare (Twitter)

Join us every Thursday at 5:45pm on @NoughtyAF Instagram Live - https://www.instagram.com/noughtyaf/