Meet Amelia Sordell, founder of KLOWT
Amelia founded her first business at just 21 years old. Within 12 months of launching, Amelia’s womenswear brand was stocked in 12 retailers and had large retailers like ASOS courting her to sell the clothes.
In year 2, Amelia lost everything. She was forced to close the doors on her business and that chapter in her life.
Returning to the workforce, Amelia begin a new career doing what she did best – sales. As a Tech Headhunter she quickly realised the quickest way to reach prospective clients was to market herself in the same way she marketed her business – using social media. This is where her journey in personal branding started.
It wasn’t long before people outside the organisation began noticing Amelia’s content on LinkedIn and began contacting for her help in building their personal brands online.
Now 32, Amelia has 2 children, a community online of over 100,000 people and has build a £1 million personal branding agency, Klowt all off the back of her personal brand.
From heavy early business failure, to now creating a whole new category of marketing, Amelia’s fast-growing agency, Klowt has already made a dent in the space operating on a 100% inbound model, working to build thought leadership and huge personal brands of leadership, founders and entrepreneurs globally.
There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?
The pandemic - The 3 months where we all had to sit at home, staring at the four walls of our homes thinking about whether or not this was the life we really wanted. A lot had lead up to that moment, but the real lightbulb for me was "people are asking me for help with their personal brands - I am giving that information away for free, why don't I turn this into a business and get paid for what I love to do?". The pandemic was awful for a lot of people, and should not be taken lightly but for me it changed my life.
How do you prepare for all the unknown obstacles when running your business?
You don't - I think coming to the realisation that you will ALWAYS have problems, whether you prepare for them or not helps you to be able to act with pace, decision and make good choices when they eventually arise.
Tell us about your experience prior to launching your business?
My first business failed when I was 21, and the shame I felt after that failure was huge. My entire identity was tied to that business and when it didn't work I felt like I didn't work. So with that I took a decade out of entrepreneurship - scarred by that failure and went back into the workforce where I did stints as a recruiter, b2b marketing manager, recruitment marketing manager and employee engagement manager. I hopped jobs a lot because nothing really kept my interest - I knew really that I was unemployable and eventually I would have to do my own thing again, I just wasn't sure what that was or when I would do it. I was also scared to try again - 10 years of healing, a pandemic and divorce helped me find that courage. I don't regret being out of the "game" for 10 years though - that time employed was invaluable to learning how to run a business, operations, structure - all the things I didn't know the first time around. Everyone should work for someone else before starting their own thing, the lessons are invaluable.
What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?
I literally just wanted to pay my bills doing something I love. Now we're a team of 7 full timers, 1 part timer and hiring 3 more FT staff right now. A lot can happen in 20 months! The goal is to build a group of companies that complement one another. Think IMG but for leadership and entrepreneurs - not celebrities and athletes.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?
That failure isn't the opposite of success, it's part of it. You've got to fall on your arse a few time before you can learn how to run. Also, know your damn numbers - I discovered recently that we haven't invoiced a few clients for months, totally £45,000 in unpaid fees. That's a LOT of money for any business, and if I'd been more on top of the numbers instead of relying on an outsourced finance function it wouldn't have happened.
Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?
I do. I wake up every day between 5.30-5.55am, mainly because I have 2 small kids and want to be able to get dressed, showered and caffinated in peace before they come taring into my room asking if it's "morning time" yet. After I wake up, I meditate in bed for 10 mins - I'm anti-woowoo stuff, but wow meditation has changed my life. I'm happier, more productive, less stressed. 10/10 - highly recommend. After that I get my kids to school, make my way into the office for 9am. If my kids are with their dad I will exercise before work at 7am (Big fan of Barry's Bootcamp), If it's my day with them, I will grab a class or workout with my trainer over lunch. Exercise is such an important part of high performance for me - If my mind and body aren't right, neither is my work. The rest of the day is taken up with new business meetings, team 1:1s, client visits and general business admin. I try and eat as well as I can during the week, no alcohol - weekends are a write-off. Pizza Fridays are a thing I thoroughly look forward to and feel 0 guilt about.
My routine doesn't matter though - it's about finding whats right for you, not what some founder online told you works for them.
How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?
I think being an entrepreneur is having extreme levels of confidence and extreme levels of self doubt - often in the same hour! But I think it all boils down to - what is the worst that could happen? My 1st business failed, not scared of that. My marriage didn't last, that's no longer a fear. We all spend so much time worrying about what could go wrong, that we forget what could go right - besides, I've never met a 90-year-old who said "gosh I wish I HADN'T done that scary thing" - don't die with regret.
What are your responsibilities as a business owner?
I jokingly call my team my kids - Which is a bit contradictory because I'm adamant they are NOT my family. Family is unconditional, a team is conditional to everyone pulling their weight and being a nice human being... BUT running a team is a lot like being a parent. You're there to nurture, coach, help make things better when things go wrong. Most of my responsibilities as a business owner are people responsibilities. I'm fortunate enough to have hired some excellent people and outsourced to some awesome companies too
What is your day-to-day role with the company?
Basically chief hype officer - shouting people out, helping people up. Smoozing clients and talking for fun. I had a weird transition period earlier in the year where I left delivery (actually producing content and account managing clients) and went into a pure leadership role. I stopped working IN the business and started working ON it - a change that needed to happen but it was a very weird transition as I was so used to being needed. I am still needed, but in other ways - and that growth has been really rewarding.
What are your thoughts on failure?
That it's inevitably and fundamentally essential to success. One of our core values at Klowt is Win or Learn: Failure IS an option at Klowt. We fail fast, we fail forwards - but we never fail at the same thing twice.
As a business owner, do you know when to walk away from a sale?
We measure every single client we bring into the business against our values during a 6 week 'test' of whether or not they are the right client for us. They pay us a fee for a 6 week contract where we execute a mini personal branding campaign and measure them against key vanity metrics like views, likes etc but also our values and what it takes to make a great Klowt client. If you're going to hire people against your values, you also have to onboard clients against them too. Besides, our values work as an excellent sieve against people we don't want to be around - don't work with dickheads, it's never worth it.
If you could be in a room with 4 entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?
Gary Vee - Obviously the guy invented Personal branding, but more interestingly he's scaled a $200 mil business off the back of it. Now THAT is smart.
Sarah Blakely - Founder of Spanx. That women invented shapewear and redesigned how women see themselves. She's also a self-made billionaire.
Ben Francis - Not because of what he's done business-wise, but what he's done leadership-wise. His team appear as though they would run to the ends of the earth for him, and I want to know the secret ingredients to that kind of culture.
Phil Knight - Nike's story isn't one that most people know and I'd love to pick his brains about the journey, how he got through the days when banks were kicking him out and he didn't have enough cash to make payroll... through to a billion dollar business that everyone knows and wears. If you haven't read Shoe Dog - I highly recommend.
Any moments where you thought you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?
Every moment I have bitten off more than I can chew. I've flirted with burn out for 20 months, but I'm smart enough to know when to push and when to pull back. I think people really don't like to hear the uncomfortable reality that to run a successful business you have to WORK HARD. Not "work smart for 4 hours a week", work hard. And that's not about hours input, it's about effort input. It's about how much you care, how above and beyond you're willing to go to make something work. The reality is a lot of people are triggered by that reality because it highlights their unwillingness to do it themselves.
What movie do you find inspiring?
I don't really watch films or TV simply because I don't have time. But when I do it's something tragic like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Below Deck, and I don't think I'd go as far to say any of that cast are particularly inspiring...
What keeps you motivated as an entrepreneur when you hit bumps in the road?
The end goal. Positioning myself and Klowt as synonymous with personal branding, as I said earlier - IMG but for entrepreneurs and founders. The day that happens will be the happiest and saddest day of my life, because when I hit that monumental milestone - what else am I aiming for?
How well versed were you in the planning and strategic growth of your business? Did this come easy to you?
Do you want an "entrepreneur-y" answer or an honest answer? Entrepreneury answer - I had a lot of help from a lot of people far smarter than I. The honest answer is I had a lot of help from people far smarter than I, but I also have just winged it for the past 20 months. Google gives you a good answer for almost anything, and to be honest sometimes you have to just learn the hard way.
However, I am such a different business leader to who I was when I started the business in 2020. I understand process, and structure, and planning, forecasting - the importance of KPI's, individual and company goals. The commercial impact of every single action. I'm a better leader, manager. A better person. I don't think any of that can be 'planned for' - it happens as the business grows and evolves and as you grow and evolve (usually through fuking up). I think as long as you're curious, open and willing to accept you don't have all the right answers - or even answers at all, then growth personally and business wise will come much easier.
