Happy birthday to us! This week we’ve been celebrating another year of doing what we love and reflecting on 12 amazing years of our little stationery corner of the internet. With that in mind, we sat down with Martha, our Founder and CEO, for a trip down memory lane. From starting to scaling, here are Martha’s 12 lessons from 12 years of Martha Brook. Take it away, Martha!

Good gracious me, how on earth is Martha Brook 12 years old?!  I simply can’t believe that it is 12 years since I quit my corporate job and sat in my bedroom with one printer and a head full of dreams. When I look back, I am constantly reminded of just how naive I was back then (I barely recognise that girl!), and how much I’ve learnt since!

So, I thought I’d try to capture it here. 12 years, 12 lessons, from a slightly wiser me. Ok, let’s do this…

12 lessons from 12 years of Martha Brook

1. First make it work, then make it better

Martha Brook is not a business that started perfectly. It started on a shoestring in the little bedroom my two-year-old now sleeps in at the back of our terraced house in West London. I didn’t have any investment; I didn’t have ‘proper’ equipment, just a bunch of ideas.

I used to feel embarrassed by my early designs, but what I’ve realised more and more is that to build a business, you have to constantly do imperfect stuff. Ship that first product, ship that first social post, ship that first blog. You only learn and get better by doing. If you want for things to be perfect, you’ll be forever waiting. That Reel that went viral? It wasn’t my first one. That product that sold 1000 in it’s first week? I’d made hundreds before it.

You have to just start and make yourself do things before you feel ready, and that’s where the magic happens.

2. If you don’t let go, you can’t grow

About six months into the business, I took on my first freelance helper! A lovely local artist called Catherine came to help me pack part-time. And then, six months after that, I took on my first employee to help me physically make things. And from there, the whole process of growing and scaling to where we are now has been every year, asking myself, what can I let go of?!

The less I am needed physically in the business, the faster it has grown. But ask anyone who’s a creative person, and they will tell you that the process of letting go is so hard! But here’s the thing: succeeding is finding and knowing your own unique value, and focusing your time on that. Most of us spend 20% doing the stuff we are best at and 80% doing other STUFF that is necessary but actually not the best use of time! Every year, what I need to do has changed, and every year I have to be super honest with myself about what it is time to let go of. But if you don’t let go, you can’t grow.

3. Failure isn’t the worst outcome, never trying is.

Year three of the business brought the next big change: moving into our own premises. By this point, we had boxes in every corner of our house! At one point, I remember opening the bathroom and my husband Chris had filled up the latest delivery in the bathtub, and I remember thinking, ‘errr Chris, I need to wash!’

Getting our first studio felt like such a huge moment at the time, but I reasoned with myself that I had to try. I’d hate to look back and think I’d never given my business a proper go. I’d rather it didn’t work and know that I wholeheartedly put my all into it. I’m very much a ‘give it my all’ person, and I’m a passionate believer that you have to dare to try.

4. If you try and do everything, you won’t be remembered for anything

In 2017, we decided to rebrand and relaunch the business. As I said earlier, I didn’t start perfectly. I did my own branding and we weren’t even called Martha Brook! (OG followers will remember!)

Our brand positioning also wasn’t super clear, and knowing your niche and what you want to be known for is so important. I was starting to build a distinctive brand identity on Instagram, and I wanted to consolidate that, plus become known as that delightfully individual stationery brand. The name Martha Brook came from my first name, combined with ‘Brook’ from Brook Green in West London, where the business originated. It deliberately sounds personal because at the time, there were only faceless stationery brands, and I wanted us to carve a new path, inspiring others to share their story by sharing ours.

So, we relaunched in November that year, when I was eight months pregnant! We had the most wonderful relaunch party in West London, filled with the Martha Brook team, small business friends and supporters. It was a huge amount of work, but such an important decision that laid the foundations for what we‘ve built since.

5. Be kinder to yourself

At the start of 2018, my daughter Hermione (so called because the name means ‘messenger’ and we run a stationery company!) arrived. We’d just rebranded and so many opportunities were coming our way, I felt I couldn’t stop. 10 days after she was born, I was speaking at an influencer brunch and I barely took any time off at all.

This, in hindsight, wasn’t the best decision. I’d had a hugely traumatic birth. I had to have an operation three weeks after the birth and again at three months to fix ongoing problems, and I tried to work through it. Six months later, my mental health was shot. I wish I could put my arms around that version of me and tell her to be kinder to herself. It took me a long time to put myself back together, both physically and emotionally. Be kind to yourself; if not, it catches up with you in the long run. Your output to the world is only as good as the fuel you give it behind the scenes.

6. You have to act like the brand (or person) you want to be, to become them

In 2019, we really set out to go for it from a PR perspective. Fresh with our new branding and some amazing products, such as our brand new stationery advent calendar. We booked our first press event and first pop-up. 

A lot of the time that year, standing in rooms with brands far bigger than ourselves, I felt like I was “pretending”. But I’ve realised you have to act like the business you want to be rather than the business you are now to actually move forward to that next step. 

I think this is true in life, too. No one feels confident until they act confident. No one feels like that person until they show up as them. 2019 was about stepping into the shoes of the brand we wanted to become, and it was scary but exciting.

7. The more you give, the more you get

This is my personal motto in life. I firmly believe that the more you put into things, the more you get out of them. And I think ‘reciprocacy’ is a big thing when building a business, too. The more you give to your customers and brand community, the more you get back in spades.

We’ve always invested loads in the Martha Brook community with virtual and real-life events, lovely letter exchanges, free downloads and more. It’s a hugely important part of who we are.

But, in 2020, it turned out to mean more than I could ever imagine. Mid-pandemic, we set out to raise our first round of investment, and I was totally blown away when we hit our target in about 24 hours, thanks to 500 of you investing in us! It meant a huge amount, and still does, that our customers have got us this far, and are with us on this journey!

8. Your business is only as good as the people who work in it

I was lucky enough to interview British food entrepreneur Charlie Bigham on stage at the British Library last year. One of the insights he shared is to always ‘employ brilliant people – even if you can’t afford them.’

I’ve been unbelievably lucky to have worked with and employed some incredible people, most of them women, over the last 12 years of Martha Brook. Yes, this business started just with me, but it became so much more thanks to my team. We’ve had such fun together, and I’m so proud that so many people who’ve worked for me have made friends for life.

I would say to any other business owner that a lot of building a business comes from finding amazing people and employing or working with them before you feel you might be ready. And huge thanks to team MB, you are the best!

9. People don’t connect with products, they connect with stories

One of the things about running a small brand is that feeling of constantly competing with bigger brands with bigger budgets. But one thing I have learnt is the power of showing up personally across social media and across all your marketing as a founder.

Storytelling and personal branding have made such a big difference to us. Showing how our products are made, why we’ve made them, how they can be used, just by creating videos with a phone. Yes, big brands have big budgets, but we have better stories.

10. Ask for help when you need it

In 2023, my second daughter was born. I’d like to say this was an easier ride, but she took six rounds of IVF and, sadly, four pregnancy losses, during which time I also lost my dad. But I learnt my lesson from the first time around and asked for help. And man, did I need it.

I actually took some time out after birth, and I had a post-birth doula for a few months who, honestly, held me together. And I started the process of rebuilding my confidence and resilience. I read a lot, I had lots of baby cuddles, and I wrote endlessly. 

11. If you don’t ask, you don’t get

If anyone ever tells you running a business will be easy, I firmly tell you now that’s a lie! In 2024, we had a new challenge, which we are still fighting to this day: the scammers who targeted our stationery advent calendar.

Frustrated by the sheer scale of this scam using our images and photos, and a truly awful counterfeit version of our product, plus the lack of help from platforms like Meta and Amazon, I took matters into my own hands.

I personally sleuthed and reached out to as many journalists as I could, eventually securing us features in The Sunday Times, on BBC Women’s Hour, ITV This Morning and more. Life lesson here: if you don’t ask you don’t get. Send that email, be bold, be cheeky! What’s the worst that could happen?!

12. What got you here won’t get you there

And that brings us to 2025! This has been a huge year so far. We made the decision to move our production down to one site in Dorset, and we’re working on the next phase of Martha Brook.

I’m constantly reminding myself that what got you here, won’t get you there. You have to evolve and try new things, and have a very clear vision of where you want to get to.  I’ve got a feeling our 13th year is going to be pretty special, and I can’t wait to share our plans with you. 

So, that’s it! 12 years, 12 lessons. Which has resonated with you? Come let me know below! And thank you again for being here. If you’ve read this, it means a lot! It’s been a crazy 12 years, we’ve weathered a fair few storms, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

P.S. Love insights like this? I have a newsletter for business owners that I started last year. You can sign up here.

P.P.S. Don’t miss our limited edition Winter Berry Refillable Notepad, created to mark our 12th birthday. With just a few left, you’ll want to make sure your hands on one before they’re all gone!