Hi lovely,

You know that saying about needing a holiday to recover from your holiday?
Yeah. That.

I’ve just come back from a week in the New Forest with the kids - which was beautiful, muddy, loud, and full of ponies. But between keeping everyone fed, sun-creamed, and entertained, I’m pretty sure I clocked more steps than a Glastonbury security guard. 10/10 would recommend… but also 10/10 would now like to be horizontal for a week.

And because apparently I thrive in chaos, I also decided this was the perfect time to start my own Substack channel: She Means Business.
It’s where I’m going to share longer-form, unfiltered thoughts on values-led marketing, lead generation, growing a business that actually works for you (and not the other way around), plus the odd opinion piece when the marketing world inevitably does something ridiculous.

If you like these newsletters, you’ll love it over there - come and follow me so you don’t miss a thing.

👉 Subscribe to She Means Business here​

Shout out to my collectives

We’re also halfway through my 30 Days to Marketing Magic challenge, and I have to say… the women doing it are smashing it. They’re showing up boldly, saying the thing they’ve been too scared to say, and sticking to the plan... even when life gets messy.

We covered messaging in week 1, visibility in week 2, and today we're getting started on offers! There's some great discoveries being made, and I'm seeing people making bold steps forward.

It’s proof that sometimes you don’t need more time - you just need the right nudge (and maybe someone cheering you on in your ear every day).

Speaking of nudges… in The Wild Collective next Tuesday, I’m running a members-only masterclass on how to put together and actually market a Power Hour so it becomes a core, repeatable revenue stream.

This is perfect for anyone who's been thinking about using power hours to create simple, high-margin revenue, but isn't sure how to set up and sell them. I'll cover what to include, how to price it, how to pitch it, and how to make sure it’s not just a one-off hit but something that sells again and again.

If you’re a member - don’t miss it. If you’re not… maybe this is your sign to join us.

I might now be bankrupt...

Then, because my life is nothing if not varied, today was also the dreaded annual uniform shopping day. I’m home, having spent close to £600 on clothes my kids hate wearing, find uncomfortable, and that do nothing to reflect the reality of working life in the world today.

And here’s what I don’t get: if uniform is uncomfortable and irritating to the kids, and it bears no resemblance to what adults wear in to work in the real world anymore, the only remaining argument for forcing children into uniform is to “democratise” education and stop kids being bullied for not wearing the right labels.

So WHY ON EARTH is it more expensive to buy uniform than regular clothes? Who exactly is this system serving? Because it’s definitely not parents, and it’s definitely not the kids. Honestly, I can't be the only one who feels like the education system is broken on every single level.

End of an era

And then, as if I wasn’t already feeling nostalgic and mildly outraged, I saw some news that gave me a full millennial gasp: Claire’s is going into administration.

If you were born in the 80s or 90s, this might just be the end of an era.

Claire’s wasn’t just a shop - it was where you got your ears pierced with a really terrible gun that shatters your ear cartilage, by a 16 year old with no training, under harsh fluorescent lights that make you look ghastly.
It's where we tried on plastic tiaras and sequin hair bows “just for fun.”
Where we bought a million jelly bracelets in every colour and a million butterfly hair clips, and those little spikey, plastic studs that we thought we're "alternative:.
And yes - where more than a few of us accidentally-on-purpose shoplifted a lip gloss or two in our teens.

But nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills. Claire’s made two big mistakes:

1️⃣ They never evolved. Same products, same stores, same merchandising - while Gen Z moved to TikTok shop and looked more grown up at 13 than we did at 21.
2️⃣ They confused loyalty with habit. Millennials aged out, but Claire’s never figured out how to keep us or hook the next generation in the same way.

I think every business owner can learn a lesson from this. Even beloved brands die if they don’t adapt. We’ve seen it before with The Body Shop, Woolworths, Blockbuster, Kodak, Toys “R” Us… and we’ll see it again.

Our economy has shifted, and the speed of AI development has changed the marketplace irrevocably.

There are a lot of businesses right now that are going to be obsolete in the next two years, and those of us in Marketing, Copywriting, Design, Production - we should be thinking HARD about our business models and how we can use our skills in ways that will still be relevent a year from now, two years from now, five years from now.

Otherwise, we're gonna end up on the chopping floor with Claire's and Blockbuster.

So, here’s my question for you — and I’d love you to hit reply and tell me:
​Where in your business are you relying on loyalty instead of actively evolving?​
​

Because I promise you, your future self will thank you for spotting it now.

Rowena x

P.S. September 8th-12th. 1pm-2pm. Five days. A little strategy, a little kick up the bum. You in? Details (plus a little special offer) next week.