Success Interview with Annabel Kaye

Success Interview with Annabel Kaye

Welcome to success interviews where I chat with a fellow female business owner to find out more about why they started their business and how they measure success. You can either watch or read the interview below, today I’m joined by Annabel Kaye. 

Interview Transcript

I first met Annabel at a VA conference back in 2017 and I immediately knew that I needed her services. She was a shining light for me in the midst of GDPR and she continues to inspire me with how she simplifies everything legal and complicated.  

Annabel started her business in 1980 and has moved on from there to found KoffeeKlatch, as a brand and now as a company. She works with micropreneurs and small businesses and helps with contracts and GDPR support (along with the rest of the team). 

Why did you start your business? 

KoffeeKlatch isn’t the only business I’ve started. KoffeeKlatch is an offshoot of a business I’m still running. That’s about 43 years old, I don’t know if I deserve congratulations or commiserations on still doing it but KoffeeKlatch itself was founded because we saw that people needed help with contracts outside of the traditional HR space and outside of the traditional commercial law space, in particular, people who simply couldn’t afford to go to a lawyer and get a couple of £1000s worth of contracts written. Who were, trading naked with nothing to protect them or their clients.   

This was before GDPR started to make needing paperwork non-optional. At that point, you needed it for the benefit of you and your client. Not to have an argument or a misunderstanding or a failed delivery. KoffeeKlatch is now about 15 years old in its own right.  

We thought if we got lots of people together who have pretty similar issues and pretty similar problems, we could build training, build support, build a group so that people could afford it. That was why we did it.   

How do you measure success for yourself within your business and personally? 

I’ve been thinking a lot about that question in different ways at different times. When I started the business, it was 1980 and success for me then meant being able to set my own pay rates because I was always being underpaid, particularly compared to my male counterparts. I thought I’m going to stop asking people how much should we pay and I’m going to start being my own boss.  So, success for me at that point was control. 

I set my agenda. I set my rates and I feel strongly that it’s your business. You need to go find people who are prepared to pay you what you feel you are worth, and you need to deliver against that value. That was my first driver of success. Then in 1984, I had my first baby rather unexpectedly and at that point, success became I wanted to have meaningful work. I didn’t want to have part-time work but I also wanted to go to the school play and have the flexibility that comes with parenthood. I did make some money but to be honest, some years it barely covered the cost of childcare.  

So, at that point, success for me was flexibility and being able to pick my kids up from school. Then when the kids got older, it got more expensive. So, success for me meant holding my end up financially in the family. Then they left home and success for me is freedom. Being able to travel, do conferences, do lives from my camper van.   

I’m beginning to think now about legacy. KoffeeKlatch has an editorial board and a team. It’s not just me. How can that work continue when I’m on a beach? Could I make it self-sustaining?  So, it’s changed and it might change again.   

What one tip would you give your younger self? 

One is getting things done faster. I spent a lot of time thinking about things that, as an entrepreneur, I should have tested for a bit, evaluated and then improved. I got suckered in quite early on that you’ve got to have a master plan because if you didn’t know what you were planning for you didn’t know what was happening. I kicked that into touch. When life is an experiment, let’s carry on experimenting. I began to work out what I needed to do. I was very put off by the idea that you’ve got to make all the decisions before you act. I think people are crippled by that. Do a little thing and do it quickly, because that way if you’ve done it wrong, you can come back and do another little thing differently would be my advice to anyone running a small business.   

My other contradictory piece of advice is to take more time. I adored my children when they were young and I did take what I thought was lots of time with them but of course, now that’s all gone and I wish I’d had a bit more time. Now I’ve got a grandchild and I’m struggling to find time to spend with them exactly the way I struggled to find time with my children and I’m thinking I’ve got to fix this. 

So, take more time but also nip about speedily and do stuff. I’m not against thinking and planning, I’m just against procrastinating. 

Watch the Interview