Q & A with Ben Jones, Founder of Talking Point Cards

What do you love most about the brand you’ve created?

When we started Talking Point Cards, the goal was to help people connect with their loved ones better. Over the last few years we have had the privilege of contributing to the lives of more than 1 million households, friends, couples, families, parents and groups of all types, which has been wonderful. 

My greatest thrill is still seeing the messages that come in every single day from customers sharing their story about how our little cards have transformed their relationship with their children, or their spouse, or their grandchild – real people and real relationships that have been helped by what we do. That is absolutely the reason our team and I continue to do this work every day.

Have you always wanted to work in this industry?

No, the brand was borne out of seeing the decline in interpersonal connection and the problems that often causes. It felt like a problem that was sweeping through an entire generation, and as a new father I didn’t want that to be the way my children engaged with the world. So I decided to try and create a tool that would help parents, and the brand has grown out of that initial goal into serving almost every relationship type.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how we have not compromised the integrity or accessibility of our products through the years. We have engaged and worked with 66 (and counting) experts from around the world – certified global professionals in counselling, therapy, psychology, family dynamics, relationships, communication – and more! 

We bring groups of relevant experts together to develop, review and approve each of our products, so that everything we offer is backed by the most cutting edge research and best-practice, so that it works. We are never just pulling prompts off blogs or off the internet – everything we do is purposeful and intentional, right down the wording of each question.

I am also proud of how we have made deliberate decisions to make our products as accessible as possible to everyone. Despite global trends, we have kept our prices steady and low compared to others in the market. We also offer free and fast tracked shipping, and are constantly looking for ways to make more affordable, effective products. It is our goal to ensure that everyone can access our products easily, no matter their location or financial position.

Finally, I am proud that over one million people have trusted us enough to bring our products into their homes and lives. That is a huge responsibility which we do not take lightly, and we will keep working to ensure that we can serve our customers the best we can.

What advice would you give to someone keen to start a business but unsure where to begin?

It is important to understand your customers, what they want and what matters to them. Then relentlessly focus on providing for those needs and delivering a great customer experience above any company profits.

Who is one of your biggest inspirations – either professionally or personally?

I have been inspired by Dieter Rams’ philosophy of “Less but Better“, both for our business focus and product development thinking. I have also found value in the stories of countless small business entrepreneurs who built their companies through incremental steps, often not seeing great success until years later. 

Personally, I am always inspired by my wife, whose commitment to what really matters reminds me again and again of how to prioritise personal and business matters.

If you could attribute your success to anyone who gave you your big break?

I don’t think any one person or thing gave our business a particular break. It was the culmination of years of work, small wins, clarity of vision and making the most out of fortunate events. 

We have certainly had some lucky breaks over the years, but our success in relation to those has come from our intentional choice to double down on and utilize those breaks as much as we can. Over time, that focus and clarity of purpose has grown into the business today.

What’s the hardest thing about your job?

Coordinating a growing team with diverse projects and objectives, ensuring that we share focus in a common vision and understand how each of us is working to achieve the overall goal.

Which part of your job do you most enjoy?

Thinking about ways in which new products can help customers. We have an approach that new products must add greater value to the customers in relation to the rest of our product line than they would by themselves, so mapping out how customers can get the most benefit is always exciting.

Do you find it easy to balance work and play?

Running a small business is relentless, and an online one even more so as you never really leave ‘the office’ for the day. I have had to make intentional decisions and learn how to establish boundaries between ‘work’ time and ‘family’ time. 

In our niche, this is not only ‘practicing what you preach’, but it is more and more essential to ensuring my own relationships remain healthy as well.