Samantha Johnson
Managing Director
Samantha is Veeqo's monthly columnist, and a three time Managing Director and ex Head of Ecommerce. She comes from a family of retailers and now runs two UK-based consumer brands, Avalon Home, and Pintail Candles.
8 Articles
Column
How We Traded An Economic Down Turn
TLDR: photography. My tiny Lake District candle company did more in web sales in July than we did in November. Despite school holidays, cost of living and the seasonal unfriendliness. ...
Column
2 min read
Column
Three Things I Wish I’d Known About Scaling To Seven Figures
I’ve now been Managing Director of Pintail Candles for a year (at time of writing), and it feels like an opportune time to reflect on all the things I thought...
Column
4 min read
Column
What I'm Changing In My Business For Q4 Success
It’s been a funny Q2 in my product businesses. My homeware business with its seasonally appropriate hand drawn patterns and emphasis on long, lingering al fresco lunches has struggled in...
Column
3 min readColumn
Three Strategies for Diversifying Revenue Streams
In 2023 I bought a business that relied on one customer for 80% of its turnover. It’s now more like 40% of turnover. Whilst this is still too high...
Column
3 min read
Column
Never Split The Difference: Building a Successful Product Business
The one piece of advice I’ve held close to my heart since becoming a CEO is this: don’t share things you don’t want an opinion on. As a product...
Column
2 min read
Column
The Harsh Truths of Being an Entrepreneur
Seriously. Work for someone else. It’s easier. I’m going to tell you all the reasons why being self employed is really, really difficult. The cold, hard truths. And, if the...
Column
3 min read
Column
Why Our Communities Need Business to Drive Our National Sustainability Agenda
Sustainability in 2024 - do better, business I don’t think there’s a topic I can be more outspoken about, than sustainability in it’s truest form. Firstly, you’re probably using the...
Column
3 min read
Column
Why Global Unrest Drives Local Supply Chain
If you’ve become someone who is very cautious about the news you engage with, I don’t blame you. Our Production Director, my husband, is ex Commander Royal Navy and recently...
Column
3 min read
