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Lucy Werner’s Desert Island 5

We asked Mailchimp partner Lucy Werner, founder of PR, brand strategy, and graphic design consultancy The Wern, what she can’t live without.

Lucy Werner is the founder of The Wern, a PR, brand strategy, and graphic design consultancy based in London. This talented Mailchimp partner specializes in creating affordable DIY packages for small business owners. Lucy’s no run-of-the-mill PR pro. She’s such an expert in her field, she wrote the book on it—literally. Published in January 2020, Hype Yourself is packed to bursting with no-nonsense insider tips and strategies aimed at empowering small businesses.

An avowed champion of startups and entrepreneurs, Lucy loves that Mailchimp also celebrates the underdog.

“Even though Mailchimp is a big company, they still care about the little people,” she says. “Mailchimp executives still come to the shop floor. Case in point: When the first lockdown happened, I got to speak with Ben Chestnut [Mailchimp’s CEO] about my current business struggles. It felt so good to be heard.”

Here are 5 things Lucy can’t live without.

1. DJ Gilla SoundCloud Playlist

I really love working with music on, and DJ Gilla is one of my favorites. His music allows me to tune everything out and focus. Because of the pandemic, life has been so up and down recently—you need something upbeat to help you stay positive. DJ Gilla’s music is that for me. Plus, it makes me shoulder dance.

2. Posca Paint Markers

These thick paint pens are a great creative outlet for me. I bought them for work, originally, but they’ve become the key part of our Sunday “crafternoon” sessions with my 2 boys. We used the markers to create a rainbow in our office window for National Health Service workers. Then, on Halloween, we used them to decorate pumpkins. For Christmas, we upcycled my son’s toy dinosaurs by coloring them with Posca pens and covering them with glitter for our tree!

3. Smol Laundry Capsules

Smol is a great sustainable, eco-friendly company that makes household sprays and laundry and dishwashing tablets. Their subscription service means my favorite laundry tablets magically come through the door, just when I’m down to the last tablet. It’s like they’re psychic! Plus, they keep my clothes clean, which is very important when you’re in Zoom meetings all day long.

4. Courier Magazine Subscription

I love this bimonthly magazine because most business publications are quite highbrow and dull, but Courier is not. It’s full of great features about cool young companies and interesting products. Courier recently published an amazing guide called How to Start a Business. I keep recommending it to everyone. Since July 2020, over 71,000 people started a new business here in the UK. That’s 500% higher than 2019. This trend was spurred by the pandemic, but I think we’re going to keep seeing more small business growth. Courier is such a great resource for fledgling businesses—and established brands, too.

5. Jean Jullien’s Dodgy Dogs Game

Fun is one of our brand values, and during the lockdown we really had to start mixing things up because otherwise life’s just work and children. We’ve been playing more games, including Dodgy Dogs. Hadrien, the “co-founder” of my children and my business partner, is French, which is why I was drawn to this gorgeously illustrated deck—the artist, Jean Jullien, is French as well.

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