Victoria Bodey is the lady behind Equiboodle, a gorgeous tack shop in Cirencester that I’m lucky enough to work with. In addition to seeing Victoria grow and build her own amazing and continually expanding collection, I’ve also hosted a Small & Supercharged LIVE Podcast in her shop, and we held a great event last November called Equiboodle & Friends that saw a number of businesses in the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group have a ‘stand’ in her shop at a special event. Here, we get to find out lots more about Victoria… I know you’ll love her as much as I do…
In 10 words, tell us what your business does/sells/makes: Large friendly equestrian store with own brand and big brands!
Tell us why you started your business: Started my company as I love all things equestrian and sales. I’m happiest on the ground around beautiful horsey items!
What’s your favourite event or show? My favourite event is badminton, it’s the perfect mix of ultimate equestrian heaven and seeing loads of my friends in the industry. I love catching up with everyone there. I go with dear friends and it’s an event we all look forward to!
Tell us about your four legged team members: I sold my horse last year as I’m too busy in the shop and with my family, I will continue to ride when I can this year, so for now my four legged friends are my dogs and cats
What’s your greatest achievement/pinch me moment in your business so far? I have many great achievements, moving into my brand new incredible shop, being nominated for retailer of the year a few times, meeting and becoming friends with famous riders who shop with Equiboodle, designing my own equestrian range. I’m very lucky! But ‘luck’ was generated by sheer hard work and determination!
Best bit of business advice you’ve been given: Best bit of business advice I’ve been given is by my husband and my family who constantly encourage and support me, it is summed up by this quote: “Success has a price tag on it, and the tag reads courage, determination, discipline, risk taking, perseverance, and consistency – doing the right things for the right reasons and not just when we feel like it.” James M. Meston
Favourite equestrian brands: My favourite equestrian brand is. Of course. My own beloved Equiboodle. A unique well respected, popular, trusted, fun, fashionable brand! And still turning into bigger and better brand all the time. However…..my business model in work is that if I or the team don’t use and love a product, we don’t sell it. Therefore every brand we sell in store comes with the assurance that a customer can freely discuss with us, with any of us giving them our honest opinion based on our usage
One thing we might not know about you? One thing you may not know about me is that: I’ve got my power boat license and that there’s always a small part of me that would like to be on a boat somewhere (normally Cornwall) with sea salt hair and a hint of a tan!
If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why? I’d want everyone to have fun and it be the most talked about dinner party for at least a week so I’d love to invite Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Noel Fielding. As they are eclectically funny which I love
What is your superpower? My super power is….being able to read people…..I’ve always been able to understand body language and expressions/gestures more than I realise most people do. Whether this is instinctual or a skill developed through years of sales I’m now not sure, but I quietly take it all in when I meet people and react accordingly.
What’s your pet hate? My pet hate is dishonesty. I can deal with anything as long as the person is being honest. Maybe it’s part of my ‘super power’.
Find Victoria on Facebook, Instagram, her website, or go and see the shop in Cirencester, you won’t be sorry!
