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Dear Entrepreneur,

Cuski began back in ’99 as a part-time venture by two working mums with the seed of an idea gleamed from their babies adopting items from around them and using them for comfort to sleep. Realising there was a gap in the market for a bespoke baby comforter, Cuski – which means ‘To Sleep’ in Welsh – was born.

The Cuski brand is now recognised and trusted all over the world, comforting 1000s of babies it has even been awarded the only NHS protocol ever given for a baby comforter in Europe.

There are now more Cuski products added to the range and the passion goes on.

Our personal strapline as we developed the Cuski brand was ‘These Are The Good Times’, which we still believe in and this keeps us motivated as it did during the harder times. Working in full-time jobs and struggling to keep Cuski afloat wasn’t always easy. But we believed in our product and were prepared to make a lot of sacrifices, so in 2006 we gave up our jobs, sold our properties, moved into rented accommodation and got family and friends on board for child caring duties to enable us to raise enough cash. Cuski wasn’t going to sell itself and we needed major awareness, editorials, trade shows, giveaways, awards under our belt, and most importantly more ORDERS.

Put your mind to it, it is achievable

Always remember, if you have a product you believe in then don’t think national think international as we did – after all, babies are international and all have the same needs.

We successfully broke into the international market and our exports have steadily grown and grown and now make up the biggest part of our turnover, which it will for you too – I promise. Lots of new UK entrepreneurs we meet are daunted when they receive enquiries about their products from other countries, but we say you have got the enquiry, your product has raised interest so the rest is easy, just go for it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so sell your product in as many countries as you possibly can. We found breaking into foreign markets to be one of the most rewarding and satisfying milestones of our journey.

I will give you one inspiring example of determination: many moons, and a couple of blue moons, ago we used to sell 24 Cuskis every six weeks to a distributor in a country far away. We would send them by surface mail which took six weeks to get there. This country has now grown to be our biggest consumer and these days they receive their orders by container loads direct from our factory.

Try and take five to recharge your batteries. Tiredness can lead to stress and your business won’t move forward when you’re out of sorts.

Think out of the box

Who wants to follow sheep? Be different and you will claim awareness. Make your work environment happy and inviting as you will be spending a lot of time there! Build relationships with your suppliers and your customers; they are equally important!

Be hot on social media. It’s the most radical free advertising available so use it! A good percentage of our mail order business comes from Facebook. Give your customers an incentive to revisit, and make opening your package an uplifting experience. We use scented tissue paper, Cuski balloons, and include candy in each order.

Remember, referrals and recommendations are the finest accolade you will ever receive, so always use and work on these!

Don’t give up when things go wrong as they invariably will do along the way. We have found these can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. Keep motivated and work your way through any obstacles that arise and, as we do, keep saying, “Those were and still are the good times”!

On a lighter note, you will always be an entertaining dinner guest!!

Key words: Determination, Gratitude, Dedication, Passion, Faith, Compassion, Gracious, Positivity, and last but not least, always Profitability.

Suzy & Judy

Founders, Cuski Baby Ltd

www.cuski.com