Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Vet Chat. Today we are delighted to be joined by Molly Fyanda. Molly always knew she would work in the veterinary industry, but perhaps didn't know her career would take such twists and turns.
In 2017, she qualified as RVN. The following year, she became a locum and started a consultancy business for diversifying professionals. In 2019, she got her certificate in emergency and critical care and in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, built an online medical marketplace.
Her journey has seen some amazing highs, but also some painful lows, and now she is on a mission to help the. And industry thrive to be best of its ability and sharing her journey as she goes. So welcome, Molly, thanks so much for joining me today.
No worries. Hi. Hello.
Did you want to start just by telling our listeners a little bit about, Mollymed supplies, please? Yeah, no worries. So, Mollymed is basically an online medical marketplace, so very similar to sort of Amazon or Etsy, but it's designed for the Veterinary and healthcare professionals.
So very similar to Etsy and when you can create a shop, you can create a shop on Molumed and you can sell directly to your target market. So no longer is it, you know, having to fight over advertising and things like that. It's basically all professionals can come to Molymed to sell or to buy from other veterinary professionals.
And what we're doing is just building a community, supporting the diversifying professionals within the veterinary industry. And yeah, just basically trying to create a bit more of a positive impact in, in that area. OK, amazing, sounds brill.
So, where did the idea come from? So, I've been, like you said, I've been locum since like 2018, and I started a locumlocum consultancy business, where I sort of basically help other professionals become locums. And I created these sort of guides that sort of write down everything, because there was never anything to actually say how to become a locum.
Everyone thinks it's quite simple. But then it's a bit of a minefield and everyone gets confused. So I created these guides.
And then when I went to put them out there, I was like, well, I'll either go to create my own website and, you know, try and get some traction on that. Or I put it on, you know, these other marketplaces, and then they charged me an absolute fortune. And I put them on Etsy and they just got swamped, and it was like, It for for a vet nurse who, you know, we, we don't get the highest salaries in the world, it was, it was just a bit disheartening to go through all this effort and then not be able to actually, you know, give it to someone who, you know, needs it.
So I then found through locuming as a night. N. There was loads of different people who'd also created other products, such as like scrub hats and pocket organisers, scissors, all of these different things.
And they had the exact same issue. They were like, Well, we put them on here and we barely get any money for it, or we're not hitting the right people. So that's where it just sparked the idea.
And come when just before the pandemic hit, I was due to actually buy a house. So I had a bit of a deposit for the house. Because I like worked my little butt off.
So when COVID hit, the house fell through, a load of other things basically just went in the wrong direction, and I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna go and build a business. I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna make it. And that's literally how Molly Med was born.
I was just like, I'm just gonna create this platform and see if anyone else is interested. And it turns out there's, I think there's 63 now, 63 vendors now on Moreed, so I think wow, I think people are interested. Yeah, that's fantastic.
So this was, this was last year, yeah, was it last year in the middle of the 2020. Yeah, so we launched it. Yeah, was it?
So we started it, in 2020, but we didn't launch it until June 2021. So last June. So we're coming up to being a year old.
But yeah, it took a while to get it off the, off the main, you know, basically to launch, because I'm not tech savvy. So it, it's quite funny, actually. I tell people that I'm not actually a tech savvy person.
They're like, you built a tech company, and I'm like, Yeah, I know that, but I'm actually not that tech savvy. So how did you, in that sort of time period where you were getting it, you know, getting the project off the ground, what sort of steps did you have to take? I took lots of steps, I'll tell you that right now.
Lots of little steps. I try to take a ginormous step, as in, like, I want to build this marketplace, so I'm going to do it in a day. And then I obviously soon realised that that's a pile of crap.
So, so I, I basically then, I'm, I really like to do lists. I like, you know, I love a list. So I wrote down everything that I would need and what I thought I would need.
And then I just went and I found so many people on LinkedIn or Fiver, or this, that and the other, that just sort of matched to what I wanted to create. So, so literally, sometimes I just typed into Google e-commerce and saw, like, happened to see what came up. And I just tried to learn what I'd actually need.
And then I found people who, you know, helped me on that step. And it was always a case of, I'd write a list, and on that list would be like more of an idea rather than a to do list. And then I would Sort of expand on that idea and then that would idea would create to do this and then I would expand for that to do this and carry on like that.
So. It was just loads and loads of little steps. But the main ones was what I mainly sort of focused on was sort of building the community, creating a positive impact, and building something that wasn't gonna be clunky.
Like, I hate it, like, when you're trying to buy something online and it takes about 5 hours to get to the checkout. So that was my main thing when it came to the marketplace. Like, I wanted it to be sort of customer friendly and not that clunky.
We've still got our issues, like I said, I'm not that tech savvy. But. We are definitely getting there.
So the, the steps I took was loads and loads of little steps, and I think that's why it took so long, because I used to try and jump loads of steps, and then that would actually push me back. So, yeah. Does that make sense?
Yeah, no, absolutely. So there was a few kind of smaller areas that you sort of focused on, and then they just kind of naturally grew to the platform launching. Yes, yeah, that's it.
Brilliant. Yeah, no, I can, I mean, we're, we're obviously a tech business, and I completely agree, it is a minefield. It's definitely not as simple as you would think to launch again.
There's so many steps that you have to go through. Yeah, and when you think you're done, something else pops up and you're like, can you just work? Like, We've recently, we've recently added in, a vacation extension.
Basically means that the shops can now really simply select that they're on vacation. So it'll just pop up to say that they're not taking any orders, where before they literally had to disable every single product. So again, quite clunky.
But just uploading that, pushing it to live, yeah, it's all happening. It then sends like 5 other things wrong, because, like, tech is just like, oh, no, no, you can't just have that no, here, have 10 bugs to go with it. And you're like, you just.
Yeah, so it is, it's just an endless, an endless cycle. I do love it. I'm saying like I don't love it, but I do love it.
But it definitely has its challenges. Yes, definitely, yeah. So what does the actual team look like?
Is it just you or do you have like a group of people now that work as part of the team? So it started off just me, and then I had a really good friend that I've known since school who helped me on the sort of customer journey side. She's worked quite a lot in hospitality and things, and during COVID, she sort of lost her job, so sort of it just.
Worked out. And then I also had a, friend who's gone into a bit of marketing, so she's a veterinary nurse. I, I actually used to live with her, and then she's now gone into a bit of marketing.
So, them two both helped me on the journey, as a team. But then come the beginning of, what, 2022. So, the beginning of this year, actually.
Yeah, beginning of this year, it sort of dropped down to me because the world's gone back to normal, and I always knew that those two still had a life, basically. So it wasn't, it wasn't there, you know, it, it was something that they were helping me with because they were like, so supportive. But they still had their journeys to go on themselves, and it wasn't the Momed journey.
So it is now just me. I do have, a small marketing team, like an external marketing team, but yeah, it's just me and my, me and my vendors at the moment. Oh, amazing.
Have you, have you ever had or explored the idea of getting a mentor? Yeah, so I have, I have, I haven't, I haven't got a business coach or anything like that. I haven't really had anyone to brainstorm the ideas with, which I have always really wanted.
It's just finding the right person. And I think, like I said, I am someone who wants everything done yesterday, who can be a really difficult person to work with. But my, my boyfriend actually has taught me so much because, he's just taught me to slow down.
Like, nothing, the sense of urgency when you're creating a small business, you just feel like you have to get it out there, otherwise someone's gonna get it out there before you, or, you know, you're gonna miss the wave and all of this, and it's just a constant stress. So he's really helped me to actually just sort of slow down and, you know, really. Really think before I, before I do anything, and that's where I think I'm now actually getting to the point where I could be working with somebody else.
I could be like dealing with a mentor or a business coach, because I think at the point where I thought I could. I wasn't ready myself, like, personally, I wasn't that way inclined. But I think now I've really developed myself that I could be working, you know, with another, sort of partner on Wally Med, really.
And that I am actually looking at that. I'm looking for someone. So if you know anyone in the tech slash veterinary industry, do send them my way.
Sounds good. . So if you could go back to the start, obviously it sounds like you've achieved so much over the last sort of couple of years.
If you could go back to kind of the beginning, is there anything that you would do differently? Oh, I do loads differently. But at the same time, I feel like the mistakes, you learn from them.
So, you know, I made so many. I, I lost like 80 just making the, like, the wrong mistakes. I spent on different extensions or I gave it to people that then just created more problems for me.
Do you know what I mean? But without doing that, I wouldn't have realised what sort of, you know, the, the, the different personalities, the different, you know, extensions and the different bugs, and this, that and the other. I wouldn't have actually learned that because everything would have just been smooth sailing, that I'd probably just be sitting here in the exact same position, but not have the knowledge.
So. I think the only thing I probably would have done is probably listen to my other half a bit more and slow down, because, yeah, I, I think I just did a lot of things too quickly rather than actually. You know, working it out and, you know, doing the sort of financial forecasts and, you know, the to do lists and actually, is this a to do list or is this just a, you know, get it out of my brain kind of list.
So I think, yeah, I think I'd slow down. I think I would really pay attention to who I was talking to. Because I think also I lost a lot of opportunities because I was just here, there and everywhere.
I'd be talking to someone and I think I'd be talking more than them. So I wouldn't be listening, I'd be talking. So I think really slowing down and listening, would, would have really been, something that I would have done differently.
Yeah, OK. Brilliant. And on that, would you say that, you've got any sort of tips for our listeners around getting, you know, achieving that work-life balance between your professional and obviously your personal life?
Because I obviously, you know, you've been in clinic, but then also you've been doing this. So have you got any, any sort of tips or any experiences that, that might be useful to share? Yeah, I'm gonna say I'm still learning it.
I'm, I'm gonna be honest, I'm still learning to act. Actually separate my personal and my business. I still get that, you know, when, when you meet new people and they go, Oh, so what do you do?
And it's always to do with my business. I never explain that I really like the gym, and I really like going on hike. Like, I like, I love hiking.
I love my dogs. I love spending time with my family. That never comes out.
It's always to do with my business. And it's not a bad thing, but, you know, I, I actually am still a night nurse, so I still like them as a night nurse. I run Mollymed during the day.
I still have my locum consultancy business, and I still have to, have to find time to actually see my boyfriend and my family. So I would say I'm probably not the best person to give a tip. But, but I'm learning.
That's, that's the whole thing is that I'm very aware of everything that I'm doing, where beforehand, I wasn't. I was just, go, go, go, go, go. So, yeah, I'm, I'm starting to, you know, I love a diary.
I love to book things in. I'm not, I used to be a bit more spontaneous, and I've now sort of opened my weekends back up for that spontaneous. I loved, like, the odd random trip to the beach or, you know, this, that and the other.
So I've, I've sort of tried to create my weekends a bit better, that that's sort of something that we can do. I've really brought exercise back into my Routine. I really didn't do that when I was sort of launching Mollymed, and that was really detrimental to my mental health.
Like, the gym is very important to me, just personally. It's just somewhere that it, it's more of a therapy, to be honest. But yeah, just, just realising what you actually enjoy.
I mean, I enjoy my business, but it is stressful. And things that aren't stressful and I enjoy, I put to the back, because I didn't see them as important. So I think it's just realising that the personal things, the things that you feel that, you know, I, I guess you feel bad doing them because you don't feel like you're putting as much effort into your business.
Do you know what I mean? It's like, you know, when you just wanna stay in bed and watch a film and you're like, I shouldn't be doing this. I should be doing some sort of work.
And, you know, just shutting that, that sort of voice off and saying, oh, actually this is just as important, is probably my tip. If I could give one, yeah, no, that sounds wonderful, . Obviously at the moment we're kind of in the middle of this sort of great resignation, aren't we, and everybody's, you know, quitting their jobs, so not everybody, but you know, a lot of people are at the point where they're reevaluating life and you know what they should do.
Would you, obviously as you know, a female entrepre. Have you got any advice for other women who are maybe in that kind of situation right now? They kind of have a really great idea or a new business that they're considering potentially setting up, but they're not sure if now's the right time, for example.
Would, would you have any tips for them, any advice? Yeah, I would say, I would say if it's, if it's, I always get loads of ideas, like I feel like everyone has loads of ideas in their heads, like every day, we always think of something that would be really cool. And I always find that if it stays with you, if it doesn't leave, like, I, you know, loads of things go in and out of my head, but Mollymed, like, came into my head and didn't leave.
And I feel like because it didn't leave was the reason that I created it. So, if it's something that you just can't stop thinking about, it's a good idea. And I feel that the belief in yourself is sort of something that's very, very, very important.
But also take, like I said, taking a step back, there's so many resources that you can use. So if you just Google, like, templates of financial forecasts or, business plans, like you can go onto the government website and they offer you free business plans and It, it sounds silly, but writing it down and seeing it on paper really helps you understand where it could go, because sometimes great ideas aren't always great businesses. So giving you that sort of reassurance that it can be a business as well, will give you also that sort of self belief that yeah, you can do it.
But my main thing is just if it's not leaving you, if you keep thinking about it, then just go for it, because, yeah, just do it. Do it. Why not?
Exactly. So sticking with Marley Med, how do you think it's different from other companies, you know, what are you most proud about of it? I'm most proud about it because, so in my office, I have a post-it note on my wall, and every time I walk in, it just says, create a positive impact.
And that's the only, that's what I focused on when I, when I started Moneymed. And the reason it's different is because I feel like I focused on that, and I focused within the industry that I know. I didn't try and expand into other things, and I didn't try to be someone that I wasn't.
I've always been sort of authentic with it. I've done it because I am also my customer, like, I did it because that's what I wanted as well. Like, I want somewhere to put my guides.
And it just so happens that there are other people within this community that also felt that. So the reason it's so different is because you can put, you can put your product on there knowing that you're also surrounded by like, like, like-minded people, you're surrounded by vet professionals. And people who come on to Mollymed to buy know that they're buying from someone within the industry.
So it's not gonna be rubbish products. Or, and we even have stuff that's like yoga and crafts. It's like, not all, like, equipment for the industry.
We have in and out, in scrubs and out scrubs is what we like to call it. But, You know, it, it means that no matter what you purchase, you're purchasing, you're even purchasing it from someone in the industry or you're purchasing something that's gonna help you in the industry. And that's what we're all here to do.
We're all here to improve our industry, to create a community and to, you know, support one another. So that's, that's what my main difference is for Mollymed and everything else that's kind of like it. Oh, brilliant.
And does, does Marley Med have big plans for this year? Yes, it does, which is also stressful. So next month we are launching a service section, so we're currently just products, but we are now launching a service section such as, you know, like marketing.
So nurses have gone into marketing, we've got coaching. We've also got a lovely veterinary nurse that does hypnotherapy, anything to do with your pets. We've also got K laser, so if you wanted to diversify into Klaser, you know, we've got that sort of service section which allows you to either buy a webinar from them or just to actually talk to them, book an appointment and, you know, find out a little bit more about their service, and then go that way.
We're also hoping to move into bulk buy, so to actually focus more into practises, so you know, them able to support their teams, in a much sort of simpler way. And then hopefully, I don't think it'll be this year, probably next year. But, we then want to go global with it.
So it's, you know what, this was my other thing on my to do list. I was like, yeah, let's go global, because it's really easy. We just basically, you know, put our advertising out to everywhere else.
That's not the case. Because, you know, you have to change the currencies, you have to have it all in a different language. So it's much bigger than what we thought.
But you can laugh, I can laugh at myself, so it's all right. . But yeah, so that, that will hopefully open happen next year, and then we will most likely be back at the BBNA and the London Bet show this year as well.
Oh amazing. Oh, well, Molly, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing your very inspiring story, and thank you also for kindly offering all of our listeners a discount. So there will be more information on that on our social media and on our blog, so do keep an eye out for that.
And just thanks again, Molly and best of luck for the future. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's been lovely to talk to you.
Oh my pleasure. Take care. Bye bye.
