STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

RyanJ · Coach

Starting a small business

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

don't have any advice but i just wanted to say good luck and i'm proud of you, ryan!

RyanJ · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: esquiress
"don't have any advice but i just wanted to say good luck and i'm proud of you, ryan!"

ahhh, shucks

Thanks!

Drew · Gucci

Yeah, Good luck out there - YAY for the small business woman! I am really excited for you.

I would feel really preachy just giving general advice, especially to someone with formal education in business (I didn't have any), but if you have any specific concerns or questions I would be happy to address them.

So, what kind of business is this?

RyanJ · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: Drew
"Yeah, Good luck out there - YAY for the small business woman! I am really excited for you.
I would feel really preachy just giving general advice, especially to someone with formal education in business (I didn't have any), but if you have any specific concerns or questions I would be happy to address them.
So, what kind of business is this?"

Don't feel preachy at all. I open to anything.

I am making pet beds. I have sold some to a pet boutique in my area and there is one in California that is interested in buying the beds also. I am starting out just selling beds and then if that does well I would eventually like open to a boutique(s) of my own (waaaaay down the road). I would also like to make collars, toys and all the other unnecessary junk that I buy for my animals.

My boyfriend (a graphic designer and photographer) is building a website for me and designing all the logos, stationary and other things that I need. He is also taking all of the photos that will go on the website. I am really lucky that he does this because it is amazing how expensive all that can be.

Hermes

The first thing I would do is research my competition, then ask what it is that I am doing that differentiates myself in the marketplace. You will also need to determine what your core competency is, and develop a mission statement. Your core competency may seem obvious, but it usually isn't. For example, McDonald's core competency is not fast food, it's real estate. Fast food is sold by many, and it doesn't differentiate them in the fast food market place. The ability to determine where increased traffic will be in the future (thus taking advantage of currently inexpensive land which will increase in value) and placing a franchise location there has secured their success by leveraging placement near high traffic areas. Maybe your core competency is an understanding of pet ergonomics or maybe it's marketing in the pet segment. And what differentiates you in the marketplace is that you only use organic materials (I'm making this up as I go, but I hope it gives you an idea of where I'm going.) Take some time to figure out specifically what it is that diffentiates you from your competitors and what your core compentency is and focus on that in what you offer right now.

I think what you are doing with starting small and selling to indie stores and starting a website is good. Once you get bigger, you will need to determine who the best user is for creating your products. Once you grow, you may find that you are not the "best user" for sewing the beds, but you are the best user in your company for marketing your product. You may actually make more money by contracting out to a best user (a sewing co.) and focusing more of your efforts in-house on marketing.

That's where I would start is figuring out what is going to make you stand out against your competition - this will be most important in ensuring future success.

Regarding promotions, etc. There are many ways to go about this. Leveraging loyalty by showing your target market that you care about what they care about (pets) is very important for pet brands as people hold their pets in very high regard... I've done some work in increasing sales in pet categories and have found this to be the most effective approach.

Ok, I could write a novel here... PM me if you want more info. I would love to help a fellow Michigander business woman :)

oh - and for excellent advertising/promotional opportunities contact ads@stylethread.com when you're ready

Chic · Marc Jacobs

my major was small biz mgt. and Entrepreneurship...there are some great resources at your local college. Mine has a whole department that is for the outsiders, not the students. PM if you need more info! Good luck, so exciting! I have been too chicken to start mine.

Drew · Gucci

Duh! I totally forgot, but I remember now that you design dog beds.

One idea for you on gaining customer loyalty; do what the big boys do and offer a customer reward program. It doesn't have to be as high tech. as the swipe cards. You could do something smaller like the cards that get stamped so many times before you get a free service or discount.

In my business advertising is the key to success (not to mention the ability to sell, but that pretty much goes without saying). So I would reccommend finding out what kind of marketing your competitors do (I would follow ad campaigns for several months to a year to really figure out what they do); start out in a similar fashion (since you know what's working for them), then branch out to areas your competitors aren't advertising in (riskier, which is why I would wait for a little later instead of right away) to hopefully reach potential customers they aren't reaching. Also, be careful how much money you spend on marketing. Again, in my business I have seen guys fold simply because they couldn't pay their bills (too much advertising).

I agree with Detroit whole heartily in that you must differentiate yourself from your competition. Do you design beds that cannot be found on the market (something different than the ordinary pad) or have beds designed to coordinate with home decor's? Things like that I would imagine would be needed in the pet industry.

By the way, how smart of you to get into this business. Pet owners treat their pets like their kids (my SO refuses to even admit our dog is a dog; I swear he says he is human), so they will be willing to spend big moola on them. Kudos!