While many people might establish a business and work hard to make it a success, for Alison Chapman running a business is an opportunity for ongoing creativity and reinvention. Since 2000, when she opened her shop, The Wonder Stuff in Treorchy, Rhondda, Alison has energetically tried out new ideas, thrown herself into various community networks, won awards and embraced the roles of both mentor and mentee with energy and an open mind.

Alison, who named her shop after a band she adored as a teenager, tells us about its beginnings:

I thought ‘Right, I’m going to go for it'. I started off selling local crafts and random gifts. It was trial and error.

“I had been doing craft stalls but then I was offered the shop. I didn’t know anything about having a shop but once it was in my head I thought ‘Right, I’m going to go for it. I started off selling local crafts and random gifts. It was trial and error.”

Six years later, Alison’s mother joined the business and the pair opened a teashop in the backroom that has since become a bustling community meeting point:

“People come and have a chat. We sell tea, coffee and homemade cake. The customers say it’s like a home from home.”

Not one to complacently sit back and watch things tick over, Alison has implemented a series of initiatives over the years to maximise footfall and sales for The Wonder Stuff.

You can’t just open your doors and think people will buy. You’ve got to give them a reason to come in.

“You can’t just open your doors and think people will buy. You’ve got to give them a reason to come in. People could go anywhere to shop. We have a database of customers and every now and again we’ll invite them to an event. For example, a Yankee Candle evening where there’ll be free refreshments, people meet up and try out the products, then take home a free goody bag. We’ve won a few awards for retail initiatives, which is something I’m proud of.”

Now, 14 years after opening the shop, Alison is on the editorial team of a local events website, and has helped to organise community events including a ‘Rhondda’s Got Talent’ competition, a Christmas window competition, and a Christmas vintage craft fair. She’s also an e-mentor for Women Adding Value to the Economy (WAVE) Wales. In fact, the Christmas vintage fair Alison organised turned out to be proving ground for other microbusinesses:

“A few businesses have started because of the craft fair. I’m quite chuffed about that.”

So, does Alison think of herself as a mentor?

“I’d like to! If anyone asks me anything, I’m willing to tell them to ‘try this, do that.’ In fact, I have a meeting today with a girl who had a stall in my vintage fair and she wants to ask me a few questions about starting a new business. I’ve never really classed myself as a mentor but I suppose I am really!”

This sort of informal, casual attitude to mentoring can be very successful; as trust is built between mentor and mentee, the exchange of information happens easily as the friendship grows:

Learn as you go – that’s what I’ve done. You can’t think ‘oh you’re sorted now, you’re set up…’ There’s always something new.

“I can only teach her what I’ve learned, just everything that I’ve picked up going along. Learn as you go – that’s what I’ve done. You’ve got to work at it. You can’t think ‘oh you’re sorted now, you’re set up…’ There’s always something new.”

Asked whether she believes mentoring is a good idea for small businesses, Alison responds clearly:

“Yes, definitely. Whether it’s from the business side or it’s just about having someone to talk to, a mentor might have an idea or an expert subject and offer you valuable advice. It’s always good to talk to somebody and get a fresh pair of eyes.”

Alison also believes it’s never too late to benefit from being mentored. That’s why she attended a Meet A Mentor event in Swansea this year.

If you go somewhere where there are lots of people to meet, and learn one thing from one person, it helps you.
“If you go somewhere where there are lots of people to meet, and learn one thing from one person, it helps you. I like to get out there and listen to everybody. You can always pass on what you’ve learnt to somebody or use it yourself.”

In fact, for Alison there was one specific skill she wanted to learn when she attended the Meet A Mentor event as she was due to speak before an audience at Birmingham’s NEC.

“I thought ‘I really don’t like public speaking’ but maybe there’ll be someone there who can help me, who does public speaking – who can give me a few ideas. It wasn’t really about the business. It was more about me! If I had more confidence to speak in public I could do more and help more people.”

Perhaps that willingness to simultaneously learn and to share skills is what gives Alison the edge as a businesswoman. As she says herself, when it comes to running a successful, dynamic and exciting business there’s one key rule:

“Reinvent. Reinvent. Reinvent.”

Want to sign up for an upcoming Meet A Mentor event in Cardiff? Register your interest here.