Mike & Alison Battle, Founders of LaplandUK, on honouring the magic of childhood

Conversations of Inspiration

Holly Tucker MBE

Education, Society & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Business, Personal Journals

5.0 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2023

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Mike and Alison Battle couldn’t find a magical Christmas experience for their own children, they decided to create one themselves. Their journey from primary school teacher and hedge fund manager to Mr and Mrs Lapland is nothing short of remarkable, and what’s at the heart of it? Sheer creativity.

WHY YOU WILL ENJOY THIS EPISODE

You’ll hear how Mike and Alison’s life mission is to preserve the wonder of childhood and the magic of storytelling
Discover how they took the business from administration to the unforgettable Elven world it is today
Remember the true spirit of Christmas and that if you dream it, you can do it

As a side note for anyone listening with little believers around, we do talk about Father Christmas (they know him quite well, of course) — and Mike and Alison might even share a few secrets of the Elven world — so some things might not be suitable for little ears.

If you enjoyed this episode, we think you’ll love Holly’s Conversation of Inspiration with Charlotte Wood, founder of Polar Post.

Plus for more unfiltered insight, subscribe to Holly’s weekly newsletters on our website, where she shares small business finds and inspiration, nuggets of wisdom from her and her guests, plus exclusive offers, creative ideas and topical, 'ungoogleable' business advice.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh my goodness, I have just been transported into a completely other world full of magic and emotion.
0:07.2	I feel so Christmasy. My guests today were Mr and Mrs. Lapland, otherwise known as Mike and Allison Battle, and they're the founders of the
0:17.8	otherworldly Lapland UK. And they founded this business just basically on belief. I don't, I mean
0:26.9	literal belief, a childhood belief, a magical belief and a passion to honor childhood.
0:35.0	I mean, have you ever heard anything like it?
0:38.0	Because Mike and Allison have built something that is just much more than a business or a brand. They've basically built dreams and I loved delving into how you create a business, a dream that makes dreams.
0:57.7	And it works, and it's long term, and it gives back, and it gets better and better every year and I think they've been
1:06.4	at it for 16 years and as a married couple that's that's an achievement in itself but that zest they have together, the love that they feel is just
1:16.7	apparent not only for themselves, but for helping all children really feel what it's like to be a child and for us as
1:25.8	parents and grandparents to have the gift of witnessing it. Oh my goodness I'm I'm
1:31.9	off to go and eat so many mince pies. It's silly. Enjoy.
1:36.0	Bow your head and let your eyelids close on down where we're going. You won't need to bring your frown.
1:45.0	Hi, I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to my podcast Conversations of Inspiration.
1:51.0	I founded my first business not on the high street at 28 with a newborn
1:56.2	strap to my chest nearly 20 years on he's all grown up and I'm running my
2:01.7	second business Holly Inco. I've learned so much about
2:06.2	taking risks, running a business and some extraordinary life lessons along the way
2:11.4	and I know others have too.
2:14.0	Yet despite the wealth of experience we have between us,
2:17.0	lessons like this are often left unheard
2:20.0	and it can feel like we're traveling our paths alone.
2:24.0	So I've reached out to founders and those who simply inspire me
	...

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