Rachel was ready to launch a fair-trade jewellery business when her sister suggested that she would need ethical,
environmentally friendly packaging – but this proved to be tricky. Rachel noticed a gap in the market and set about creating her own line of packaging.
Thus, in 2007, Tiny Box Company was born. By 2022, Rachel’s business was serving approximately 120,000 customers in 42 countries... and counting. Here at Dynamic, we have been so impressed with what Rachel has built that we awarded her the Dynamic Business Award for Businesswoman of the Year 2022.
My journey
As a child, I thought of the cost of everything in relation to sweets. ‘How many sweets could I buy with five pounds?’
I couldn’t ever find anything that measured up to the value of that sugary goodness and, to this day, still struggle.
I know what you’re thinking but no, I did not end up as the real-life Willy Wonka, as natural as that road of progression probably sounds. No, I went down the other obvious route – running a packaging company.
My childhood, being extremely destructive and unstable, had me bouncing between different schools for years. I came out the other side resilient, and eventually put myself through A-levels and university where I studied business.
After not being able to find beautiful, ethical packaging for a fairtrade-type jewellery business I had started, I created Tiny Box Company from my bedroom, hoping to fill a gap in the market for small businesses similar to mine who were looking for packaging solutions.
Fast forward, past Dragons’ Den, past immense growth, past every kind of challenge thrown at us, and we end up here – turning over around £10m.
My motivations
Behind the scenes, I’ve faced my own personal challenges; the classic imposter syndrome and lack of self-confidence that so many women in business face. It’s an issue not helped by the lack of female role models in entrepreneurship.
I’ve had three run-ins with cancer, the last ending in a double mastectomy just one month after deciding to take on a new venture called Know The Origin - talk about not being able to control the future.
Through all of these challenges, I’ve experienced the joy of watching three young people grow into confident, skilled managers, who have helped and supported me every step of the way. If all else had failed, my proudest moments have been watching them grow into the people they are.
I still have a lot to do, though. My biggest passion is supporting young people in business. Knowing that someone might hear my story and think ‘I can do that too,’ is enough motivation to get me out of bed in the morning.
www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk
