BEYOUROWN Meet Kate Freeman, Growth Strategist & Sustainability Expert

Kate Freeman helps product business owners, and their teams, unlock hidden and valuable growth opportunities. Her approach is a distinctive fusion of strategic acumen, streamlined systems, and unwavering support. She empowers clients and propels them towards profitable and confident business expansion. 

Kate has a solid understanding of the commercial bottom line, enabling her to effectively weigh-up profitability, sustainability, and customer impact to help deliver strategies for sales and growth, whilst specialising in helping companies cost commercial certainty in their deals. 

Prior to embarking on her consultancy journey, Kate spent 10 years working with one of the UK’s leading female entrepreneurs as part of her esteemed senior leadership team. A firm believer in lifelong learning, she recently completed the University of Cambridge Sustainability Management (Short Course) which has further expanded her sustainability knowledge. 

Kate is currently working with several challenger brands, where she has established robust business foundations to fuel their growth trajectories. Alongside securing and preparing the brands for high street and 3rd party retail channel launches.

Interview Questions:

Can you share a brief overview of your career journey and the key milestones that have led you to your current leadership role?

Fresh out of university, I worked with some of the biggest names in the spa and beauty industry. I quickly honed my skills in sourcing the best, optimising purchasing and enhancing procedures for profitability. 

Before moving on to spend the next ten years, as an integral part of a renowned UK female entrepreneur’s senior leadership team. From co-creating two brands sold into high street retail to setting up a family office investing in scale-up businesses, my journey has been marked by driving transformative projects for a number of beauty, travel, fitness, and health & wellbeing brands.

In 2023 I decided it was time to spread my wings and share all I have learnt with more growth-focused product businesses and set up my consultancy doing just that! My old boss is now a client of mine, and I love meeting, helping and growing challenger brands that are here to disrupt the market. 

What do you believe are the most important qualities or attributes that a successful business leader should possess, and how do you embody them in your leadership style?

I think all great leaders need to possess the ability to listen, but also to be heard. Effective communication skills are key to success in today’s business environment. You need to be able to clearly articulate your vision, goals and expectations to your team, but in return, you need to be able to listen to them, and also your customers. 

Businesses need to be able to adapt and think quickly in today’s current market. Speed and micro-pivots are key to success. You need to enable and empower your team to deal with uncertainty, to have the confidence to challenge the norm and make decisions under pressure, weighing up risks and opportunities. 

I strive to embody these qualities not only with my team but also with clients, providing them with the support and guidance they need. Leading by example, demonstrating resilience adaptability and willingness to learn and grow. Fostering a culture of mutual respect, trust, and collaboration.   

Can you describe a significant challenge or setback you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it to achieve your goals?

I am not sure I would describe it as a setback as such, but becoming a Mum certainly presents challenges to your career. It was one of the deciding factors for starting my own business. To enable me to control when, where and how I work. 

I think whatever challenge you are presented with you need to gather facts but mostly importantly listen to your gut and trust your intuition. Decision-making when dealing with your career and life direction needs to come from a place of heart and mind – they must align. You will know when you are on the right path, it will feel easy, it will spark joy and you will feel in a state of flow.  

In a rapidly changing business landscape, how do you stay informed about industry trends and adapt your strategies to remain competitive?

I’m a firm believer in lifelong learning; we all should be constantly striving to learn more. That was one of the reasons I completed the University of Cambridge Sustainability Management program, it helps me stay on top of industry advancements and trends. 

To stay ahead you need to consume information, speak to people, be open-minded and ready to make micro-pivots. However, one of the key strategies to remain competitive is to not necessarily be swayed by trends, after all, they are just trends – some short-term and fleeting. Don’t change your whole business strategy for a trend that isn’t relevant to your market, core customer or brand values. This is where having a solid understanding of your purpose, and who you serve/help is key. You then know which trends to adapt to and which to ignore.  

What is your approach to building and leading high-performing teams, and how do you motivate your team members to achieve their best potential?

The key to leading any team is building trust. No one wants to be micro-managed so you need to empower your team with the knowledge and skills to make decisions, to feel in control of their own work and deliver on agreed business targets and KPIs. 

Company away-days are a great way to build team morale and to get everyone on board with a shared vision and goal. 

How do you balance short-term financial goals with long-term strategic planning for the growth and sustainability of your business?

Balancing short-term financial goals with long-term strategic planning is essential for the growth and sustainability of any business. Here’s how I approach this balancing act with my clients:

1. Setting Clear Objectives: We start by defining clear short-term financial goals and long-term strategic objectives for the business. Short-term goals may include achieving revenue targets, increasing profitability, or reducing costs, while long-term objectives may focus on market expansion, product innovation, or sustainability initiatives.
2. Aligning Short-Term Actions with Long-Term Goals: We then ensure that short-term financial decisions and actions are aligned with the long-term strategic vision. While short-term financial goals are important for immediate success, they should not come at the expense of long-term sustainability and growth. We constantly evaluate short-term opportunities and challenges in the context of their long-term impact on the business.
3. Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment: I then help businesses to put in systems and process to ensure they regularly monitor and evaluate their financial performance against both short-term goals and long-term objectives. The key is about remaining flexible and adaptive, adjusting strategies and tactics as needed to stay on track towards the long-term vision while addressing short-term challenges and opportunities.

With both clients and client’s teams I always advocate open communication and transparency within the organisation to ensure that all stakeholders understand the rationale behind short-term financial decisions and their alignment with long-term strategic goals. This helps to build trust and alignment across the business and encourages a shared commitment to the long-term success of the business.

Final nugget of gold is remembering – Revenue is vanity, cash is sanity and profit is king (or queen!)

Can you share an example of a major decision you had to make that had a significant impact on your organisation? What was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience? 

Over my many years working with a leading female entrepreneur, I have had to make many major decisions, but the most significant was turning down a huge retail deal for one of the brands we created. Madness I can hear you say, why on earth would you turn that deal down, everyone is desperate to get into retail! And yes they are, but the costs of this deal just meant it would never stack up financially. Furthermore, I wasn’t convinced our core customers would look for and shop for us in that store. I am so glad I stuck to my guns, despite some kick-back. We went on to win a much better brand-aligned retail partnership, we would never have got if we settled for the first deal. It cemented for me that knowing the numbers in your business and truly understanding your core customers are integral to business success. 

What role does innovation play in your business strategy, and how do you foster a culture of innovation within your organisation?

Fostering a culture of innovation I think is simple – it’s about allowing people space, empowering them to take time for innovation. I haven’t worked in an office for 14 years now. The thought of going into an office every day makes me feel anxious – why you might ask? And no, it’s not because I am introverted (far from it!) it’s because I know how much it can crush creativity. Not everyone can be creative stuck indoors, looking at the same 4 walls. My best thinking happens when I am out in nature, so allowing others to explore and work in places that inspire them. 

Does innovation play a part in my business strategy of course, it should every business but innovating for the sake of innovation is a trap I have to stop clients from going down regularly. Particularly with product-based businesses, it gets costly. As an entrepreneur you can easily fall into shiny object syndrome – where you get distracted by new ideas constantly (I certainly do it, don’t ask me about my side hustle ideas!). But new is not always better. It can often take you off track and away from your core purpose. So, before any innovation happens, I always ask clients to consider their purpose, their core customer and the market they intend to sell the innovation in to.  

How do you handle ethical dilemmas and make difficult decisions when they arise in your role as a business leader?

With any ethical dilemmas and decision making the key is to act with integrity and empathy. There are always two sides to a story. Gathering as much information as possible to inform your own decision-making process is really important. 

I was once taught that when a dilemma presents itself treat it like catching a ball. Don’t just catch it and immediately deal with it, sometimes the best course of action is to sit with it, hold it and then after 24 hours deal with it. Often your perspective changes, and new ideas and thoughts present themselves. 

Looking to the future, what are your top priorities and goals for your business, and what strategies do you plan to implement to achieve them?

Looking ahead, my top priority and ultimate goal for my business is to empower even more founders and CEOs to successfully scale and grow their product businesses. I’m deeply passionate about fostering a culture of innovation and disruption, where businesses can challenge the status quo, seize market share from industry giants, and reshape the way consumers shop.

Central to this vision is ensuring that businesses can achieve their growth objectives while staying true to their values, ethos, and boundaries. I firmly believe that sustainable growth is not just about increasing revenue or market share, but also about making a positive impact on society and the environment.

I would absolutely love to host a retreat focused solely on helping product businesses scale and grow. Most business retreats cater for predominately service-based businesses, and scaling a product-based business is very different! By creating a dedicated space for product entrepreneurs to collaborate, learn, and network, I aim to foster a supportive community and facilitate meaningful growth and innovation.

www.katefreeman.co.uk

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