It’s OK to learn from good…..and bad businesses!
There is no shame in following successful businesses and learning from their achievements and failures. Their approach, their creativity and energy and how they execute can be a great stimulus to help plan and execute your strategy as well as provide a motivational beacon to demonstrate the results that can be achieved.
We asked 100 people to give us examples of SMEs they admired and what it was about them that they thought made them so successful.
First up www.spacemasks.com
![](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Spacemasks-image.png)
There is no shame in following successful businesses and learning from their achievements and failures. Their approach, their creativity and energy and how they execute can be a great stimulus to help plan and execute your strategy as well as provide a motivational beacon to demonstrate the results that can be achieved.
We asked 100 people to give us examples of SMEs they admired and what it was about them that they thought made them so successful.
First up www.spacemasks.com
Some businesses seem to get everything right. Harriet Inglis, the mastermind behind this flourishing alternative to flowers and chocs seems to have done just that. Doubtless, there were some challenges in building a brand and innovative product from scratch (such as almost running out of stock during the pandemic!) But the business is growing spectacularly, is frequently celebrated by the media, and has provided a platform for her next equally exciting product.
In a nutshell:
Harriet Inglis seems to have used her own experience of depression in her only 20s to drive her to find a way to help people relax and alleviate stress.
She stumbled upon the idea when a Japanese Student staying with her family gifted her a warming facemask, she developed the self-warming version and used the connection with ‘Space’ to project a place you could escape to help you recover from stress.
Although Spacemask was launched in 2017, it bloomed during the Pandemic as people fought to keep their panic under control as well as providing an ideal alternative to chocolates and flowers for those wishing to cheer up their friends, family, and peers with a pick me up gift.
Amongst many accolades, she was featured in the Sunday Times and kept her brand true to its cause by donating Spacemasks to key workers during the pandemic.
So why did it work?
- Huge market. EVERYONE is stressed out even more so through the pandemic.
- Huge problem. How do you keep your anxiety at bay and how can you help people you know are anxious feel better, if only for a couple of hours?
- Who doesn’t want ‘interstellar relaxation’?
- A unique selling point vs. other options. An alternative to chocolates and flowers, that solves a problem and shows you have thought about it carefully.
- The product works, a testament to the score of 4.7 on Trustpilot and reviews like this “as always superb and super quick service. A real migraine relief aide. Would highly recommend”.
- Affordability and simplicity. 5 Spacemasks for £16.50 plus postage makes it competitive vs. other gifting alternatives and the ease of ordering and lack of choice make gifting a very easy process.
- Worthy causes like donating to co-workers, fabulous storytelling through social media and featuring in a slew of broadsheets helped deliver credibility and amplify the message. Furthermore, she signs every comp slip! (that’s a job in itself).
I sent these to a few people during the pandemic and all were very grateful. I’d love to hear any other reasons, particularly from those who sent or received.
You can also read more about this story here.
Harriet has moved on to another great problem solver, the aptly named ‘The Death Book’. It’s not the latest thriller from Ruth Ware but a book to record all your wishes and memories for when you move on, take a look here.
![Death Book](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Death-Book.jpg)
![](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Spacemasks.png)
There is no shame in following successful businesses and learning from their achievements and failures. Their approach, their creativity and energy and how they execute can be a great stimulus to help plan and execute your strategy as well as provide a motivational beacon to demonstrate the results that can be achieved.
We asked 100 people to give us examples of SMEs they admired and what it was about them that they thought made them so successful.
First up www.spacemasks.com
Some businesses seem to get everything right. Harriet Inglis, the mastermind behind this flourishing alternative to flowers and chocs seems to have done just that. Doubtless, there were some challenges in building a brand and innovative product from scratch (such as almost running out of stock during the pandemic!) But the business is growing spectacularly, is frequently celebrated by the media, and has provided a platform for her next equally exciting product.
In a nutshell:
Harriet Inglis seems to have used her own experience of depression in her only 20s to drive her to find a way to help people relax and alleviate stress.
She stumbled upon the idea when a Japanese Student staying with her family gifted her a warming facemask, she developed the self-warming version and used the connection with ‘Space’ to project a place you could escape to help you recover from stress.
Although Spacemask was launched in 2017, it bloomed during the Pandemic as people fought to keep their panic under control as well as providing an ideal alternative to chocolates and flowers for those wishing to cheer up their friends, family, and peers with a pick me up gift.
Amongst many accolades, she was featured in the Sunday Times and kept her brand true to its cause by donating Spacemasks to key workers during the pandemic.
So why did it work?
- Huge market. EVERYONE is stressed out even more so through the pandemic.
- Huge problem. How do you keep your anxiety at bay and how can you help people you know are anxious feel better, if only for a couple of hours?
- Who doesn’t want ‘interstellar relaxation’?
- A unique selling point vs. other options. An alternative to chocolates and flowers, that solves a problem and shows you have thought about it carefully.
- The product works, a testament to the score of 4.7 on Trustpilot and reviews like this “as always superb and super quick service. A real migraine relief aide. Would highly recommend”.
- Affordability and simplicity. 5 Spacemasks for £16.50 plus postage makes it competitive vs. other gifting alternatives and the ease of ordering and lack of choice make gifting a very easy process.
- Worthy causes like donating to co-workers, fabulous storytelling through social media and featuring in a slew of broadsheets helped deliver credibility and amplify the message. Furthermore, she signs every comp slip! (that’s a job in itself).
I sent these to a few people during the pandemic and all were very grateful. I’d love to hear any other reasons, particularly from those who sent or received.
You can also read more about this story here.
Harriet has moved on to another great problem solver, the aptly named ‘The Death Book’. It’s not the latest thriller from Ruth Ware but a book to record all your wishes and memories for when you move on, take a look here.
![](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Spacemasks.png)
![](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Spacemasks.png)
![](https://mightyatoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Spacemasks.png)