Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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MASTER CLASS retail case study Case study: Brolly Sheets 10 Clues It's Time You Started Your Own Business 1 5 4 3 2 10 9 8 7 6 You have a great idea for a product or a service that you know fulfils a need & others will want to buy After I made my first Brolly Sheet for my daughter I was inundated with requests from friends and family. My next step involved selling them at a local market so that I could gather more feedback. It's also important to be able to differentiate your offer from your competition. Brolly Sheets was a first in stylish waterproof bed linen with its cotton topped sleeping surface and tuck-in wings that meant you didn't need to change the entire bedding at 2.00 a.m. – making lives easier for parents and caregivers. You have a plan for how people are going to find you Once you can describe your target market you can start making plans as to how they will find you. Initially I sold Brolly Sheets at local markets before developing an online business. We relied heavily on customers telling their friends and family about Brolly Sheets until we increased our sales to the point where we could invest more in print advertising. You are passionate about your business idea You love talking and thinking about your business idea. Five years on and I still get a kick out of receiving emails and phone calls from customers telling me how much they love Brolly Sheets and how they have made their lives easier. You love leading the charge A successful business owner needs to be self-motivated, inspired and adept at overcoming challenges. You are the type of person who makes things happen and you believe in your ability to carry out the business activity even though some of it may be unknown. You might not know the answer, but you will find someone who does. You have the support to make it happen Often it can take over two years before a business breaks even so you need to have enough savings or financial support to keep you going in the interim. My husband, Glenn continued his corporate career until it was feasible that he could join the business. If you're a mum you will need a helpful partner or a support network to share the load. You enjoy learning new things In the early days I took evening courses in basic accounting and how to do business with China. When you're running a business be prepared to make mistakes as that's how we learn. For example, a promotional activity that works well in one market doesn't necessarily work in another. Today I am still learning new things such as people management and a new CRM/Accounting system. You are willing to make sacrifices to make it happen Running a business can be all consuming. In the early days I had a 3 and 5-year-old and worked evenings when the kids were asleep and on weekends. These days with both kids at school and a staff of five I still work a couple of hours a night and sometimes over the weekend. Because it's my passion I'm happy to do it and it's better than watching TV! You've got some money sense You need to know how much money you have and where you are going to spend it. Get a simple accounting system and use it from day one. My advice is to focus your initial spend on attracting customers rather than a flash laptop. It's also important to ask your customers how they heard about you so that you can evaluate the effectiveness of each advertising channel. You are happy to get out there and spread the word (or get better at it) Meet as many new people as you can and shout loud and proud. Talk to other businesses and join relevant networks so that you can bounce off ideas. If the thought of networking fills you with dread take a course, read a book and just get out there! You're organised and you plan for success Even if you start out with notes on a piece of paper – write down who your customers are, how they will find you and how many you need to sell (or serve) in order to become profitable. Do research on how your pricing sits with your competition and how much you can realistically sell your product or service for. Diane Hurford, www.BrollySheets.com Creator of Brolly Sheets, 24th fastest growing company in New Zealand (Deloitte Fast50 2011 index) 54 | www.hermagazine.co.nz Just Do It