by Rachel Smith
14 October 2022
Diaries. I’m obsessed with them, and with finding the right one. I even once had a dream to create a diary company at one stage, but let’s be honest: I have far too much on my plate for another business. So the next best thing was hearing all about that dream coming to fruition for a small diary brand I love – Saint Belford.
We chat to owners Alex and Tom about how and why their diary business began, what it’s like being a married couple in business together – and some of their favourite memories since putting their Curation A5 diaries (and new A4 version) out into the world!
We create diaries and journals that focus on self-care, mindfulness, gratitude, habits and goals.
Three major reasons.
Firstly, in early 2017, I was burnt out. I was trying to generate a side income from a blog I had created in 2015 as well as manage marketing campaigns for my parent’s business outside of work hours, and after a nasty case of stress-induced gastritis (aka the wake up call I needed), I took some time off from work and used that time to reflect and consider the life I was living. As corny as it sounds, this was the beginning of my personal wellness journey.
Secondly, I couldn’t find my version of the perfect planner. I’ve always loved paper diaries, but I couldn’t find a diary planner that would help me stay grounded and organised. Everything was so focused on productivity and making every moment as productive as possible, but after burning out, I needed to flip the focus. We saw this as an opportunity to create the perfect planner for me (and Tom, my husband and co-founder actually proposed the idea to me).
Thirdly, neither of our jobs were fulfilling us, we were at the career crossroads, and with no mortgage or major commitments, we had nothing much to lose. If it didn’t pan out, it would still be an exciting adventure and we would learn a lot from the experience. That’s the mentality we went in with. A whole lot of naive optimism!
We were living in a tiny little apartment on Belford Street in St Kilda, VIC when we decided to run with this idea of reinventing the diary. We wanted something timeless but meaningful, and we thought that ticked both boxes!
We only just got married a month ago, but we’ve been together since 2013, so we’d been together for four years before deciding to become business partners.
We struggled to define our roles within the business initially. It probably took us a year to find our groove and settle into more defined roles.
As a couple, we share a lot of the same values which makes decision making so much easier.
We also don’t shy away from giving each other honest feedback. If we don’t like an idea or if we think we should approach things differently, we just tell the other person straight up. I feel as though I wouldn’t be as direct if I had a friend as a business partner because I would be worried about hurting their feelings.
It can be hard to draw the line between our business and personal lives.
We’ve had to set boundaries to ensure that we’re not always in work mode. It’s hard when you think of an idea at 8pm at night and all you want to do is discuss it with the other person.
Downtime is so important to us, so we’ve made a habit of asking the other person: “do you want to talk about work right now or do you want to talk about it tomorrow?”
Implementing that has been a game changer for us.
Yes, the diary idea came first. We didn’t set out to start a business and then think to ourselves—what can we create? It was more like, we couldn’t shake this idea, so we had to start a business to follow this idea through.
Thank you! We decided to create ‘a wellness-focused diary’ in February 2017, we put it into print in August 2017 and we launched it in October 2017, so it was a very short timeline!
I had a lot of ideas to begin with, so it was just a matter of shortlisting those ideas and piecing it all together with a designer (a friend of ours). I also sent a diary survey out to my network: friends, family, colleagues to help with some initial decision-making!
The first edition was far from perfect, but we needed to start somewhere, and I’m glad we embraced the ‘done is better than perfect’ mentality in our first year of business because it allowed us to gain feedback from real customers.
Well, let’s just say I cringe when I look back on the 2018 edition! It has gone through many (necessary) iterations. We also have three diary options now.
We really pride ourselves on listening to our customers and taking their feedback on board. We send out an annual survey and that feedback informs the design for the following year.
We’ve introduced new features over the years, like a weekly Gratitude Reflection which was a highly requested feature.
This year, we replaced the blank Drawing Board on the Pre-Week Planner with a more functional dot grid and replaced the weekly meal planner with a blank table that can be used to plan or track meals, mood, exercise, study etc. Again, this was inspired by the feedback we received. A lot of our customers were already replacing the headings of the meal planner with their own headings, so we thought why not give customers more freedom to customise by simply removing the headings.
My favourite feature is the Daily Self-Care Planner. It’s so seamlessly integrated into the weekly spread, but it makes a mighty difference to how you plan and prioritise. The Daily Self-Care Planner is strategically positioned on top of your to-do list to remind you to check in with yourself and to schedule something nourishing, rejuvenating or energising every single day. It’s your daily reminder to prioritise your wellbeing.
I also love the Pre-Week Planner. This is the double-page spread that appears before every weekly spread. I love being able to brainstorm, figure out my top priorities and mentally prepare for the week ahead.
So many come to mind!
They say the third time’s a charm. It was definitely the case for us because the first two manufacturers didn’t quite work out. We had a pretty large percentage of defective diaries in the first two years. I’m talking missing pages, dates in the wrong order and scratches on the front cover. Nightmare is an understatement.
The challenges we experienced were almost impossible to predict because we were entering an industry we knew nothing about.
We’ve been with our third factory since 2019 and what a world of difference it’s been working with a factory that is always striving to improve and take your feedback on board.
If I was starting over today, I would start growing a community first before launching a product. We didn’t start an Instagram account or a blog or grow our email list beforehand, so we literally launched to a customer base of zero.
Having these tools seamlessly integrated into your planner means you don’t need multiple notebooks and journals to track your goals, habits and self-care. It keeps everything in the one location and therefore keeps these things top of mind.
You’re more likely to engage in self-care, stick to your habits and follow through with your goals when you’re constantly prompted.
There was one customer who said the Habit Curator/Habit Tracker helped her quit smoking. I’ll never forget that.
There have been thousands of beautiful comments, reviews and messages from customers telling us how they’re finally prioritising their wellbeing and sticking to their habits. It’s the best feeling knowing that our products are making a genuine difference.
This one goes on the negative feedback list but it’s funny. Someone once said we should take our logo off our diaries because it was like an ugly Billabong logo.
We stand out because we listen to our customers and take their feedback on board. We are also pretty proud of the complementary resources we create for our customers in the form of blog posts, e-books, guides and podcast content.
I don’t really feel like we’re in a crowded market. Yes, there are a ton of traditional diaries and planners, but we have a pretty unique offering.
Don’t wait too long to start. Your first product is never going to be perfect. The only way to improve is to literally start, get the ball rolling, and then get feedback from real customers. Our 2019 edition was 10x better than our 2018 edition, but only because we had real customer feedback to work with and implement.
Alex: When I’m not running Saint Belford, you’ll find me at a yoga or pilates class, cooking, baking, painting, shopping for homewares or running after my toddler.
Tom: When I’m not running Saint Belford, you’ll find me at the gym, dabbling in some form of martial arts, watching the UFC (guilty pleasure), deep in a Joe Rogan podcast or playing outside with my toddler. I also do a bit of freelance marketing for another e-commerce brand.
Do you use hard copy diaries? Swoon over online stationery stores, and get excited about buying a new diary and starting a fresh new year? We’d love to hear what you love about paper diaries in the comments. Also, look out for our favourite diaries of 2023 blog post update, coming soon!
