Small Business Survival Tips

The past nine months in preparation for the launch in Belk department stores has in no way been a walk in the park. We've run into more obstacles than we can count.  When our line was picked up by Belk, we were immediately treated just like any other large vendor that we would be competing with in stores.  This required my husband and myself to wear multiple hats, many of which we are still learning our roles in. The number one thing that kept us pushing to achieve our goals was the passion we have for the brand and the business.  My advice to anyone interested in entrepreneurship is to make sure that whatever it is you are doing, be sure you have a love for it, so much that you'd do it for free if you had to. This is what keeps you from walking away when things get tough.

Going to New York to pick up our first order for a major department store was huge for us. The entire trip was extremely surreal. It was somewhat difficult to come to grips with the fact that after all these years this was finally happening.  Although we'd come very far there was still so much to be done before we could see our collection in Belk stores. We still needed to tag, sort, pack and ship to Belk Distribution Centers.  This is where a lot of the technical side of the business came into play. At this point we were pretty much at the mercy of two separate third party companies that would take care of setting up our electronic data interchange (EDI). EDI is a great tool that gives me the ability to keep track of each and every item that I send to Belk, even while my handbags are in stores. This system will allow me to log into their portal and see what styles are being sold and what stores they are being sold in on a daily basis.  As a designer this is extremely helpful in letting me know what styles are resonating with the consumer.  

As awesome as EDI is, the setup process is very tedious to say the least. 
Our shipping labels had to be sent off for scan ability testing, our barcodes needed to

 meet certain dimension requirements and all allocation codes needed to be correct

 before anything was shipped. Working with third party companies can be hard because you are basically putting all of your trust into the hands of a totally separate company to see to it that things are getting done as they should be. This is the point where we had to wait patiently to get the green light to ship our merchandise. For me this was extremely difficult because I like to have my hands in every aspect of the business, and take care of what ever needs to be done if need be. Unfortunately it was time for me to sit, wait, and pray that things would move along as quickly as possible.

 Here are some survival tips on being a small fish in a big pond.

-Don't be afraid to be a stalker haha, (But seriously)
Call who ever you need to call as many times a day as you need to call them to get to the bottom of any issue you have. When it's your business there is no one else that is going to figure these things out, no coworkers to turn to. If you have an issue don't assume things will work themselves out because they won't.

-When sending emails that involve different entities attach all parties involved so that there is never any room for miscommunication.

-Find out the work schedules of the individuals you are relying on.
Email them 15 minutes before they go into the office so that whatever it is you need is the first thing they take care of when they get to work.

-Always express yourself in an extremely pleasant manner
Having a poor demeanor will only hurt you in the long run. Your needs will not be a priority.

Having four companies all working to achieve the same goal definitely isn't easy. Do whatever is needed to get all parties on one accord.

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Pitching to a major retail store

When I got to Belk’s Headquarters I was beyond ready.  I'd spent the last month and a half preparing for this one
moment.  I designed a complete collection, traveled to my manufacturing company in New York and went straight into sample production.  Everything was riding on this one moment.  As I waited to receive my samples back from my production team I literally tossed and turned at night wondering if I'd chosen the right leathers, shades, and if my measurements were right on point. The sample process is very expensive so there was no room for error.  When I got them they were perfect and I was 100% ready to present them to Belk.

I was at fedex kinkos until 11:00 the night before to be sure that I had a complete line-sheet in color & spiral bound for each of the twelve senior executives. I wanted them to have something to walk away with that would remind them about my brand and myself.  I had my talking points, and I was ready to give it all I had.  Arlene Goldstein Belk’s VP of Trend Merchandising & Fashion Direction introduced me to the twelve senior executives. Among them were Belk’s corporate handbag buyer Pam McElroy and John Thomas the Executive VP of Private Brands.

As I described the brand and my spring collection they all appeared to be very pleased. Questions came from all around the room “What is your hardware made of?” “Are you carried in any other retail stores?” “Where are they produced?” I answered, they nodded their heads and John Thomas gave me a thumbs up at the end of my presentation. I walked away feeling great. I didn’t know it at that moment but this was just the beginning of a very exciting journey.

A few tips to use when pitching to a major retail store

1. Research their customer

I knew that the senior executives liking my designs was only half the battle. I researched who Belk sees as their customer so that I could be sure to mention different key points about the brand in my presentation that would tell them why their customer would buy my product. Example. "This is a great office companion, it's also large enough that it can be used for the mom seeking a baby bag, but looking for something more fashion forward."

2. Research their price points

 I physically went into different Belk stores and looked at the price points of their handbags.  Designers often sell different designs to different retailers at totally different prices so I would need my price points to fall in line with majority of the designer bags in their store.

3. Merchandise your product

I brought in my own fixtures to display my product so that they could see my vision. I only had ten minutes to get my point across so I had to do whatever I could to get them to understand my brand. 

4. Represent your brand

I wanted to make sure that the Belk executives could envision who my customer was. I chose to wear something that fell in line with the same aesthetic as my brand. Classic structured silhouettes with dramatic details. Example. A simple A line dress with a dramatic cap sleeve.

 

So in a nutshell, nothing I did to prepare for this presentation was done halfheartedly, I thought through each detail so that it would be extremely hard for them to tell me no.

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Choosing the right trade show for your brand.

In my store management days for The Abercrombie and Fitch brand, I was a manager by day and a handbag designer by night.  I would use as much of my paycheck as I could to fund my business.  I decided that I would take the leap of exhibiting at a trade show in Atlanta in hopes of getting my line carried in a few boutiques.  I don't think I slept for at least two days before the show in preparation. 


The morning of the show finally came and everything was going great, not one person passed my booth without stopping and complimenting my line.  Each boutique owner would ooh and aah about how great my handbags were.  I'd introduce the collection and give them a line sheet with all of my pricepoints.  They would take a quick glance and tell me they would be back.  This happened all day long.  This was my first show so I wasn't sure if this was normal practice or not. (wishful thinking)

A reporter at the show came by and interviewed me for a magazine editorial and said I had one of the best collections she'd seen at the show. I was very excited and honored to answer her questions about my brand but couldn't figure out why I still had no orders.  Day one came and went and although I'd received more than enough compliments I still had no purchase orders.  So now it's day two and I'm determined that I will not walk away empty handed.  As I'm speaking to some of the other exhibitors around me, we begin talking about our brands and then it hit me like a ton of bricks! I WAS AT THE WRONG TRADESHOW FOR MY BRAND!! Most of the other brands at the show were considered moderate while mine was designer.  My wholesale prices were much higher than a large majority of the other brands there.  I was crushed.  I'd invested a lot of time and money into this show.  Being that I was a one woman team and also working a full-time job, I had so much on my plate that I failed to do enough research.

I ended up leaving the show with one order from a high end shoe boutique in Florida that I couldn't even fulfill because of production minimums with  my manufacturing company.  As much as I wanted things to take off for my business in that moment, it just wasn't time for it to happen.

Tips for choosing the best trade shows for your brand.

-Go through the trade shows exhibitor list which in most cases would be listed online. This should allow you to get to different exhibitor websites. Compare their retail prices with yours and only attend shows where the majority rules in your favor. 

-Don't waste time or money on a trade show that has no proven success ie. first time shows. As a small business you cannot afford to take such a huge risk.

-Reach out to your competitors, yes competitors who've attended a show you're interested in. Don't be afraid to  ask questions and get their perspective of what the experience was like for them.

-Seek out a trade show auditor that can give you specific information on attendee numbers. Foot traffic will make or break a show for you and your business.

-Visit your prospective trade show as an attendee before becoming an exhibitor.  Take notes. What is the overall vibe of the show? Does it mesh well with your brand? Do you feel like you can succeed in this environment?

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Am I Dreaming?

Last year I entered a showcase Belk was having in search of designers from the south. 

I sort of entered it on a whim because it had been at least three years since I'd been completely focused on my handbag line. I created the vision and began building my brand while attending The Art Institute of Charlotte in 2005.

While establishing my line was always a dream of mine, the handbag business is very expensive and I still had to pay the bills.  In order to keep my creative juices flowing I
made sure to stay closely involved with fashion.  I took on a position as a Visual Merchandiser for Neiman Marcus, became a Store Manager for The Abercrombie & Fitch Brand and finally decided to manage my own online store Bellanca Boutique. This helped keep me motivated, in the back of my mind I knew that I would one day end up working on my brand Cristina Bijou bags again. I sent off six 8.5 x 11 images of my handbag designs along with all the other application requirements and put the showcase to the back of my mind to avoid becoming too anxious.

 When I got the news that I'd been chosen as a finalist in the showcase out of 300 plus applicants, I was speechless, but I was ready to jump right back into design mode and get the ball rolling. I knew that this was it,"It's game time." I had little over a month to produce a Spring collection for 2014 and prepare a ten minute presentation for twelve of Belk's senior executives. My level of excitement and nervousness went from five to thirty-five in a matter of minutes, all in the receipt of one single email from Belk Headquarters.

Here are some of the biggest misconceptions about having your own fashion brand.

1. If I work hard enough my brand will become successful.
You can work day in and day out on your brand but if you have a product that is not salable you will not succeed. Is this something that people want or need? Is it practical? Is it worth the money?

2. Once purchase orders start coming in I will become a millionaire.
Huge misconception, once you start getting purchase orders indeed you will feel great knowing that you have a product that is in demand. You now have a shot at becoming a successful brand. Now you must reinvest in your business. What are your plans for funding your next purchase order? How do you plan to continue to build your brand? There's always room to grow.

3.  As a designer and owner of my brand I'm free to design whatever I want.
This is only true to a certain degree.  If you plan to directly sell your product from your own website, store, or boutique then yes this is true. If you would like to take your brand to the next level into a large retailer you must collaborate with your merchandise team and collectively agree on which designs are sold, color stories, modifications, logo placement etc.  Buyers know what sells in their stores. It's very important that you take heed to their suggestions if you plan to be successful. You must also forecast the trends and pantone colors for the season during the design process to be sure that you are on target.

4. As long as I know how to sketch and have a great sense of style, I'm ready to start a fashion label.
Having a fashion label involves about 20% of the design process and 80% business management skill. There is so much that comes into play on the business side of things that it very quickly outweighs the design process. That's just the first step. Negotiating with manufacturers and suppliers, managing lead times, presentations with buyers, setting up and having an understanding of Electronic Data Interchange and GXS (business to business interchange) have a much larger part to do with the entire structure of the brand and these are just to name a few. Without tackling these aspects of the business you will never sell one item within a large retail store. Not one.

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