Wow, what a whirlwind few weeks! Now that I’ve finally caught my breath I can write a bit about how I got to the point where I finally launched my little business.
I’ve, perhaps unwisely, taken on a lot lately: not only the launch of a new business while I’m holding down a day job doing PR and events, but also a night school course in fashion design. But I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by hugely supportive people (you know who you are!) which makes it all a little less daunting.
It’s still early days for Jarvis and Janis so there’s still a lot to do but I’ve chosen to view it as a work in progress, rather than something that has to be perfect from the outset (if only to stay sane!)
Two of the biggest pieces of work included the buying up and cleaning up of good vintage stock and organising a photo shoot. But even before that came choosing the boutique name and getting a logo designed. Two other big pieces of work included getting the boutique online and establishing some sort of brand personality.
Enter ASOS.com
Having gained some experience in shooting street style photography (an absolute must for ASOS Marketplace) I felt pretty confident my application for a Marketplace boutique would be accepted. That was until I read that relatively few applications get accepted, after which point I was
Tremble Central! I had a plan b but it was nowhere near as fun as ASOS. When I got the go-ahead I was over the moon and bubbles were consumed, it has to be said! I just love the up-for-it attitude and down to earth tone of voice, from their website and customer service right through to the back end workings of Marketplace. I absolutely love dealing with ASOS and feel very proud to call it our home.
Once my link came through, I couldn’t tear myself away from uploading the products and I definitely burned the midnight oil. But seeing all my lovely garments on the site was an amazing feeling and still makes me tingle!
And look! Within days, some of my pics were selected for the very prestigious People’s Runway…
So, howdy!
Developing the brand personality is the most in-progress area. Coming from a retail background, customer service is really important to me, as well as customer experience. I don’t want to simply ship out products like a conveyor belt or have a faceless business. I want to make the process as enjoyable for myself as it is for the customer. I’ve been putting little handwritten cards in the package, specially stamped with a bright pink bespoke stamp I’ve had made, which I love! (I’m having to resist the temptation to stamp everything in sight.)
And today I received my first feedback!
ASOS Marketplace also provides a blog facility so I’ve been posting on there to give the brand a voice and a bit of depth. (And I thought managing one blog was going to be a challenge!)
Other ways I’ve been beginning to build the brand are through social networking. I’ve set up a new Facebook page and changed the name of my Twitter account to @jarvisandjanis. Take a look!
So that’s how I spent the last part of October! I have a whole new set of goals for the rest of 2011 (can you believe another whole year has gone by!) which I’ll blog about soon. In the meantime check out Jarvis and Janis for yourselves…
