Charlotte Balbier has been a successful entrepreneur for nearly 20 years. After founding the bridal brand Charlotte Balbier Bridal in 2002, she spent the next 15 years growing the company into an “award-winning and leading UK designer bridal label,” boasting of a stockist list of more than 60 bridal boutiques across the country. Along the way, she has also dressed thousands of brides.
Under the leadership of Charlotte Balbier, the company became a massive success. In 2013, she has also been named British Designer of the Year at the British Wedding Awards. However, in early 2017, she decided to sell the bridal brand, and she left the company soon afterward.
Charlotte Balbier lives with a creative energy, and she believes that women should also follow their dreams. As an entrepreneur, she has moved on from her bridal brand to founding All The Pretty by Charlotte Balbier. In 2020, she moved on to found Charlotte Balbier LTD, which she also runs as Director.
As a business coach and mentor, Charlotte Balbier truly enjoys the tasks associated with mentorship. At All The Pretty, she worked as a business coach and brand consultant, where she took on the task of individually coaching fellow “creative thinkers” so that they could “unlock their potential.”
At Charlotte Balbier LTD, she fulfills the role of marketing expert and mindset coach to solopreneurs and SMEs. She aims to guide “creative high achievers who are ready to take their confidence and business to new levels.”
Check out more interviews with high-powered executives here.
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Charlotte Balbier: With me at the moment being a one man band i have to say it’s me! My USP is my extensive experience, knowledge and success. I also have a strong track history of results i help my clients get. Most of my work comes from my referrals so this gives me such confidence in knowing that my biggest USP is me. When i had my other brand is was its strong brand identity i created that made it stand out in an over saturated market. People knew instantly what was my work from every touch point i created.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Charlotte Balbier: Definitely practice self-care, know and listen to your body. I always used to think i could work non-stop and not get burn out. I could in my 20’s and 30’s but now in my 40’s and with a small child wow it’s a different story! Self-care is key to keeping a healthy mind and body. Make sure you take time for you. Walks, running, yoga, massages, reading a book, a cooking session… whatever is some time out. Good routines is key also, daily exercise, gratitude, setting boundaries, time blocking your day. All these make us so much more productive and avoid overwhelm and burn out. Know your limits too and know when to say no.
Jerome Knyszewski: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Charlotte Balbier: Yes my number one fan and mentor was my Grandpops, Alan Wyatt who was a very successful business man and visionary. He gave me so much support and guidance when i set up my bridal brand. Some wise words and beliefs he instilled in me were always making sure you run a profitable business, he said to me all the time ’turnover is vanity, profit is sanity’. He also told me to never grow too quickly, take your time and do it properly. Like me he was a bit of a perfectionist and also had very high standards. He also believed that the customer is king and i have always over delivered, i say ‘always go the extra mile as it’s never overcrowded’. The way he guided me was in such a gentle way as i never felt like he was telling me what to do but his influence and experience definitely helped me so much.
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Delegating effectively is a challenge for many leaders. Let’s put first things first. Can you help articulate to our readers a few reasons why delegating is such an important skill for a leader or a business owner to develop?
Charlotte Balbier: If you do not delegate you do not grow. If you don’t grow you just stay still, or worse go backwards. In business we need to always be evolving and growing and if we get bogged down with the day to day and the working in the business this means we have no time for working on the business. If something is not in your zone of genius delegate out to either a team member or a VA or expert in that field.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you help articulate a few of the reasons why delegating is such a challenge for so many people?
Charlotte Balbier: For small business owners they want to control every aspect and also they do not recognize the value in outsourcing and delegating. So many times people say they can’t afford to outsource and i get it when starting up we need to keep control on the outgoings. However ask yourself by outsourcing things does this then free you up to do the work needed to drive the business forward? Will you then make more money and improve profit? Also the fear of letting go comes into play, when you build something from scratch it’s your baby and it’s so hard to let anyone else in. I know have been there.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your opinion, what pivots need to be made, either in perspective or in work habits, to help alleviate some of the challenges you mentioned?
Charlotte Balbier: A mindset shift from the fear to the excitement factor. The realisation that done is better than perfect so just get on with things and where you need to delegate work out. You have to think bigger picture and not try to control everything… trust the process.
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Charlotte Balbier: To be more kind and honest in business. There is a huge online movement now of self-development and it’s not always done with integrity and kindness. Allot of false promises and scare selling. This is so damaging to those who could be vulnerable and especially in this strange time we are in now. My number one value in life and business is kindness and integrity.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Charlotte Balbier: I am always on my Instagram would love to connect with you all on that.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
