Holly Tucker - Do What You Love, Love What You Do: The Empowering Secrets to Turn Your Passion into Profit

Holly is a fairy godmother to all small business owners inspiring and invaluable!

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CHRISSIE RUCKER, FOUNDER OF THE WHITE COMPANY

Running a small business can be daunting and isolating. While theres lots of advice out there about how to write a business plan or how to file your taxes, nobody talks about the emotional side of things. Thats where Holly is brilliant. Shes a wonderful mentor. Her support (and the honest sharing of her story) should nudge and guide you to great things!

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JOHNNIE BODEN, FOUNDER OF BODEN

If youve ever dreamed of having a career that works for you, this is the book you need! Holly shows that the only thing holding you back is yourself, and gives you the tools you need to break free and fly. Whether youre dealing with guilt, tackling a crisis or celebrating successes, Holly is with you every step of the way.

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KANYA KING, FOUNDER OF THE MOBO AWARDS

A mini business bible packed with motivation, whether you need some for your side-hustle or have your sights set on an empire. This will be your everything!

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MARCIA KILGORE, FOUNDER OF BEAUTY PIE

Holly has single-handedly changed and continues to change the small business landscape, and has shown us that you can be a very powerful, yet genuinely kind businesswoman all at the same time. She is helping us all think about building businesses which make the world a better place and I for one am so very grateful for that.

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FEARNE COTTON, FOUNDER OF HAPPY PLACE

Nobody shines a light on the small business community quite like Holly does, and here she celebrates its diversity and brilliance, showing how anybody can be part of it. No matter your background or experience, this book makes starting a business more accessible than ever.

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JAY BLADES, DESIGNER AND PRESENTER OF THE REPAIR SHOP

This book is dedicated to all who have bravely risen from the ashes and managed to fly high again.

Firstly, thank you to you, the reader, for buying this book and becoming part of this colourful and soul-nourishing community.

Thank you to my co-founders and sisters. Gabi for not only designing the cover (so talented!), but also for being that person who can visualise and extract whats in my head like no one else. To Carrie, my sister, for being my Margaret (Apprentice joke you can imagine who Alan is!) for the past fifteen years, building our business babies and pulling together this product collection like no-one else could. I owe you both everything. Thank you for pulling me from the ashes.

To Harriet, who has been by my side from the first meeting with the publishers, to helping me get this book written! Dearest RHW (right-hand woman). HR Penny, who is the human manifestation of a hug and is an expert with the written word.

Thank you Hols, Sarah, Jake, Dan and Giada for bringing your genius to the table. Not forgetting our backbone throughout this book, dear Lucy, our editor. Encouraging and empathetic through and through. And dearest Bev and team, the universe was kind when she sent you our way. Grateful every day.

To all the amazing founders who created the most brilliant products to help bring my words to life. You are all wind beneath my wings.

And last but not least, to my family. To dearest Frank, who read each chapter, cheered me on and made me more tea than you can even imagine. Harry for being the human I call my best friend. Mum, Dad, Spoons and Olive for always lending a helping hand throughout this journey. I love you all dearly.

With Frank and Harry on my wedding day, 2020

One of my earliest memories is of sitting at the bottom of the stairs in my home in Bergen Op Zoom, which is a town in South Holland.

I moved there when I was seven as my dad had an opportunity for adventure with his young family through his work. There I played with my two-year-old sister and set up my own little holiday company. These were the days where you could go into a travel agent and take as many brochures from the shelves as your arms could carry. I would combine the brochures showing pictures of exotic holiday destinations with the tickets you would get from the supermarkets when you recycled your glass bottles (so forward thinking of the Dutch!), add these to the stationery Dad would bring back from the office and there you have it, one full-blown independent travel agency. I also started my own cleaning business to generate pocket money, a beauty salon that would open when we were on holiday (nice manicure by an under-ten, anyone? Just try to relax!) and I even became the assistant to any ice cream caf on the beach that needed my help!

As I look back, I suppose I knew there was something compelling, mysterious and alluring about being your own boss. It never left me. I think back to getting my first job when I moved back to the UK at 13, cleaning a pub early on a Saturday morning while my dad would wait in the car outside. Or when Mum encouraged me to babysit from an early age, or get that job as a silver service waitress after school. I knew I liked to have control over my own destiny. And so it came as no surprise when, on the day of my A-level results, I had a pre-arranged interview with an advertising agency Id done work experience with for the previous three summers. I had applied to become the junior tea maker at the University of Life, so to speak! I got that job at 17, and there my journey really began a journey I now credit for the resilience I can muster when times are tough.

Above My family in Holland

Below Where it all began, at the Chiswick Christmas Fair in 2003

Up to this point my nickname had been Holly Hurricane, and this summed me up pretty well. Always in a hurry to get to that next stage. So it has not been a surprise for those who know me as they watched me find my own way and build an adventure like nothing anyone had seen before.

Sadly, at twenty-four, before most people even marry, I found myself divorced. In addition to this, I was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour which, though not life-threatening, had some very unpleasant side effects. My whole world was turned upside down life had floored me. My saviour was a wreath made out of vegetables, would you believe, which I created as my soul healed. But of course it did not take me long to look at this new creative pursuit not only as something to restore my mental health, but as a commercial opportunity. Could my new wreath business make gazillions?! Umm, no, Holly! So, after finding out that my local town did not have a Christmas fair, I decided it couldnt be that hard to set one up in order for my new business to get the best trestle table. Pretty hard, Holly, in retrospect!

In December 2003 I set up the first Chiswick Christmas Fair, held in the Town Hall, with 150 stalls, mulled wine, local independents, magazine advertising placed and two bunny mascots (the best fancy dress I could afford!) walking up and down the high street with leaflets in hand. I sold out of all my wreaths, but that wasnt the most amazing part. It turns out that that was the moment that led to my whole life changing. I saw the thrill, the energy, the retail frenzy I had created as I brought together two groups of people who really did want to know each other the creative, talented small business community and the discerning customer.