Is your merch just a cost, or could it be one of the smartest marketing tools in your business? In this episode of The Festoon 500 Interviews, Dani Wallace sits down with Lisa Dalgliesh, the Mother of Merch, to talk about how branded merchandise can build community, attract clients and become a real revenue stream for founder-led businesses.Lisa started out with a personalised gift business while on maternity leave. She soon noticed that every business event handed out the same cheap freebies (and those dreaded scratchy pens), and set out to make merchandise as sexy as your business. Since then she has created merch for The Big Festoon, including the iconic varsity jackets.Dani and Lisa get into why merch is the marketing underdog, what the music industry can teach small businesses about merch profit, how a done-for-you merch store lets you earn commission without storing stock or doing post office runs, and how merch can support social impact. Lisa also shares why she is bringing creativity back into business through her new creative coaching, why AI is great for processes but not for creativity, and why realistic goals beat trying to conquer the world in two hours a day.If you have ever left your branding or merchandise until the last minute, or wondered how to make your brand something people actually want to wear, this one is for you.Lisa Dalgliesh, Mother of Merch Website: https://www.the-mother.co.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mother_of_merch/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotherofMerchFree resources from Lisa Bringing Creativity Back Into Business guide: https://www.the-mother.co.uk/bringing-creativity-back Event guide: https://motherofmerch.co.uk/event-guideJoin the Festoon 500, The Big Festoon's cornerstone community of founders supporting founders: https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500CHAPTERS 0:00 Trailer 0:53 Welcome to The Festoon 500 Interviews 3:35 Meet Lisa Dalgliesh, The Mother of Merch 6:02 From Personalised Gifts to a Branded Merchandise Business 9:54 How to Use Branded Merch to Build Community and Attract Clients 13:27 Why Merchandise Is a Revenue Stream, Not Just a Cost 15:13 Done-For-You Merch Stores: Earn Commission Without the Admin 19:16 AI vs Creativity: Why Business Owners Need to Trust Themselves Again 20:53 Event Support: Why You Shouldn't Run Events Alone 24:17 Creative Coaching and Setting Realistic Business Goals 26:17 Where to Find Lisa Dalgliesh