Live Q&A with Kate Hills
Ask your questions about making in the UK and growing a British brand
Who this session is for
This is a live, small-group Q&A for business owners who are serious about making in the UK and building a profitable British brand.
It’s your chance to ask me questions on anything you’re stuck on. Such as:
- Working with UK manufacturers
- Understanding production costs and pricing
- How to market and scale a UK-made brand
There will be plenty of opportunity to get your questions answered.
I’ll also be sharing the details of an update to the British Brand Accelerator and explaining how it works, who it’s for, and what support looks like if you decide you want to work with me.
How to attend
Complete a quick application for British Brand Accelerator (it takes 2 minutes).
We'll get back to you within 24 hours, and if I think you'd be a good fit, I’ll send you the Zoom link and you can submit your questions for the Q&A.
Submit Your Application
We'll get back to you within 24 hours, and if I think you'd be a good fit, I’ll send you the Zoom link and you can submit your questions for the Q&A.
Hello, I'm Kate Hills.
Founder of Make it British and mentor to small businesses that make in the UK
I’ve been passionate about UK manufacturing ever since I had my own recycled clothing company and micro-factory in the early '90s! After 20 years as a designer and buyer developing products all over the world, I launched Make it British to support creative business founders that want to make locally.
Over the last twelve years, I've helped 1,000s of businesses to work with UK manufacturers. Now it's your turn!
From Zero to six figures in under a year, starting with an order of just 50 pieces.
"The direct introductions were a complete game-changer. Manufacturers take me more seriously if I’ve come via you rather than just stabbing in the dark and guessing who to go to.
Also things like doing customer personas, and working on the costings and looking at the materials I’m going to need. It’s been completely invaluable. I’m not sure I’d have been able to put in an order if I hadn’t done all of that work behind the scenes first."
50% increase in turnover by focusing on the numbers and knowing which parts of her womenswear business are truly profitable
“You've really forced me to focus on my margins and make sure that I know what is profitable in my business, including the events and shows I'm doing. It's been absolutely wonderful working with you.”
From dream to reality - turning an initial idea into a viable business
“The amount of quality information you'll learn on the Accelerator is unmatched. I learnt so much, felt supported and was encouraged with Kate's help. Without her vast knowledge on the manufacturing and business industry, I would not have come this far with my business, she helped me to turn a dream into a reality.
If you also have dreams of launching a business, I highly recommend getting in touch with Kate to find out more and joining her programme, it is worth it if you truly believe in yourself, your idea and your business.”
Switching from working with an agency and Chinese production to working with me saved Clare £30,000
“I was in the position of bringing production back from China, having been working with an agency, and looking at re-sourcing everything from scratch. I was very wary about putting my trust and money in the hands of “experts” again… But joining Kate’s British Brand Accelerator program was honestly the best decision I ever made!!”
From overseas production with constant delivery issues...to local, flexible manufacturing partner with lead-times under a week.
"Without Kate I would not have found my amazing factory. I moved production of my dresses back to the UK four years ago and have never looked back.”
An innovative product idea but no industry experience. Now working with UK manufacturers and the business is thriving because it's made locally.
“It has totally changed the way we think about manufacturing and most importantly our customers are actually buying from us because it's British-made”
Making the products themselves and working with local individuals meant they were struggling to keep up with demand. Working with a factory has proved to be cheaper and quicker than they ever dreamed possible.
"Kate has opened up channels in an instant. The relationship I’ve struck up with the manufacturing company she introduced me to is incredible. She has made my business come alive."
Working with a production consultant who outsourced overseas, causing delays and quality issues. Now connected directly to UK manufacturers with much more control over the brand's quality and production.
"A big win for me was finding a manufacturer. The other big win was learning how pricing strategies work in the industry.
I was a bit lost with James Thursby. I had a good idea in the beginning, then got messed around by people and kind of got stuck. Kate had a very good way of going 'this is what your brand's about, this is the direction you should go in'. And then from there it's actually managed to develop in a direction where it wasn't before."
