Should we create the whole brand and inventory first or start asap and build?

[stayinwonderland]

I'm an artist/graphic designer and the wife is the crafts person, together we want to create a beaded jewelry shop that's very slick with high end vibes. I have a background in web design, illustration for film etc. so we have great visions for how this will look. We have ideas for themed jewelry sets etc.

So, money is kinda tight right now as the whole reason we're doing this is because we were in the games industry and it collapsed. So we're trying to be smart about things and careful with money as well as time. That said, we want to get the party started to avoid getting lost in prep time, which can also fight against motivation.

We're wondering if we should just put a few items together and open up, go light on the branding at first, get some sales and ramp it up over time as sales trickle in, or should we hold off and build everything before we launch whereby on launch day, everything is ready to go and polished up but may take a while and also require more investment as we'd have to buy more stock to create all the product templates.

Any thoughts and advice appreciated.

 

[Mark T Jones]

In the circumstances I'd very much with the rolling start.

Get a feel for demand, markets, processes and grow from there

 

[Chris Ashdown]

You need to earn some money to be able to progress,

Building a brand takes both time and money.

To move into the high end market you need a very slick site, Fantastic images and story line plus lots of marketing money.

You will be competing with mega brands that spend countless millions on marketing. Getting a few celebrities to show your item would also help

 

[NickGrogan]

Who do you know?

Branding is all about getting the right people to wear your products at the right time. This either happens through massive spending, like the big brands, random luck—not very reliable—or knowing someone.

I did some work for a French fashion jewellery brand. They managed to get in with L'Oreal and Barbie, which opened pretty much every door for them; all the big department stores stocked them.

How? One of the founder's best friends from school was a supermodel, and she wore their stuff and introduced people. She was also in all their ad campaigns.

As money is tight, you can't buy your way in, so I'd think less about the brand at the moment and more about how and where you will make the first sales.

High-end flashy websites can wait unless, of course, you know someone.

 

[Ozzy]

money is kinda tight right now as the whole reason we're doing this is because we were in the games industry and it collapsed. So we're trying to be smart about things and careful with money as well as time.

I agree with what everyone else has said, just get started and get some money rolling in.

One thing I would add, which you can bring with you as a 'transferrable skill' from gaming, is the massive community element that gaming has. Use what you would have learned from the gaming industry about building fans and community and transfer that into building your business, telling the story, sharing the story, and having people join you on that journey and want to support you.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Whilst I agree with the 'start asap and get the money in' I wonder how long you think it takes to create branding? This can be done in minutes, days, months or years, so I don't see why you can't sort something out before you launch.

 

[fantheflames]

This is very much like the what came first... the chicken or the egg? You could do either, whichever works for you. I'd say get the basics done first and develop while you're in the market, that's what a majority of brands do anyway!

As a high-end jewellery brand, you'd want to develop your brand more than a corner shop. Explore the brand facets - physique, personality, culture, relationship, customer reflection, and self-image. There's so many aspects of branding that you can delve into.

And I think Ozzy mentioned something very important, your gaming experience could really differentiation your brand. Stay true to yourself!

Oh, and welcome to UKBF @stayinwonderland

 

[fisicx]

The jewellery and branding and even the website is far less important than your market research.

Do you know who you are targeting? Do you know how to promote the products to your targets? Have you identified differentiators to make them want to buy your products?

With the right influencer talking about your products you might not even need a website. A friend of mine sells hand made books. He does it via email. No website required. It’s the exclusivity that his customers like.

 

[stayinwonderland]

You need to earn some money to be able to progress,

Building a brand takes both time and money.

To move into the high end market you need a very slick site, Fantastic images and story line plus lots of marketing money.

You will be competing with mega brands that spend countless millions on marketing. Getting a few celebrities to show your item would also help

I don't reckon our competition is big brands right now. Our brand would be aimed a somewhat of a niche market. A little in the alternative, boho kind of community. Fantastic images is my speciality I've worked in film (Warner Bros.), television and games at AAA level. So I have a massive advantage there.

 

[stayinwonderland]

Who do you know?

Branding is all about getting the right people to wear your products at the right time. This either happens through massive spending, like the big brands, random luck—not very reliable—or knowing someone.

I did some work for a French fashion jewellery brand. They managed to get in with L'Oreal and Barbie, which opened pretty much every door for them; all the big department stores stocked them.

How? One of the founder's best friends from school was a supermodel, and she wore their stuff and introduced people. She was also in all their ad campaigns.

As money is tight, you can't buy your way in, so I'd think less about the brand at the moment and more about how and where you will make the first sales.

High-end flashy websites can wait unless, of course, you know someone.

Hmm, interesting. I reckon that's more mid-late game. At first we're creating fairly inexpensive beaded type products aimed at the bohemian style customer but wanting later on to add in more high-end materials.

Likely, unless we're making items that are worth about high 3/low 4 figures, the big celebs won't be too interested. I dunno, what do you think?

 

[stayinwonderland]

The jewellery and branding and even the website is far less important than your market research.

Do you know who you are targeting? Do you know how to promote the products to your targets? Have you identified differentiators to make them want to buy your products?

With the right influencer talking about your products you might not even need a website. A friend of mine sells hand made books. He does it via email. No website required. It’s the exclusivity that his customers like.

I'm fairly sure we know our target market, mainly the bohemian/alternative market. In terms of promotion and such, we're hoping (as I mention my credentials above) to go heavy on the imagery, maybe even some videography and use social media. Also thinking about online marketplaces like Etsy (although a little low on enthusiasm there as I have Etsy experience and it's not great) and maybe Amazon.
Welcome any further thoughts on this approach.

 

[NickGrogan]

Their stuff was around the €50 to €80 price point, by no means expensive. A few pricier bits of course, but the bread and butter was in that range.

What do you mean by "bohemian/alternative market" - google search gives all kinds of suggestions

 

[fisicx]

I'm fairly sure we know our target market, mainly the bohemian/alternative market. In terms of promotion and such, we're hoping (as I mention my credentials above) to go heavy on the imagery, maybe even some videography and use social media. Also thinking about online marketplaces like Etsy (although a little low on enthusiasm there as I have Etsy experience and it's not great) and maybe Amazon.
Welcome any further thoughts on this approach.

Are your target customers looking on Etsy and Amazon for products like yours?

Imagery is important but are your target clients using YouTube to find products like yours?

SM is flooded with marketing content. The chances of your targets seeing your adverts are very slim.

It’s possible they get their products in markets and stores.

I was in Oxford yesterday where there were loads of places selling all sorts of handmade jewellery. Maybe you would do well at fairs and shows.

 

[stayinwonderland]

This is very much like the what came first... the chicken or the egg? You could do either, whichever works for you. I'd say get the basics done first and develop while you're in the market, that's what a majority of brands do anyway!

As a high-end jewellery brand, you'd want to develop your brand more than a corner shop. Explore the brand facets - physique, personality, culture, relationship, customer reflection, and self-image. There's so many aspects of branding that you can delve into.

And I think Ozzy mentioned something very important, your gaming experience could really differentiation your brand. Stay true to yourself!

Oh, and welcome to UKBF @stayinwonderland

Thanks for the insights @fantheflames and the welcome. Appreciate it. Still learning about all that good stuff so will have a think. Cheers.

 

[stayinwonderland]

Are your target customers looking on Etsy and Amazon for products like yours?

Imagery is important but are your target clients using YouTube to find products like yours?

SM is flooded with marketing content. The chances of your targets seeing your adverts are very slim.

It’s possible they get their products in markets and stores.

I was in Oxford yesterday where there were loads of places selling all sorts of handmade jewellery. Maybe you would do well at fairs and shows.

We were just thinking about that actually. And it's the sort of product that would likely do well at a lot of small festival type places. It's a shame to have to head into the social media space with front-loaded pessimism though. There is stuff on Etsy but the thing is, I don't see large sales volumes and I don't know if that's a sign, or if it's just Etsy being crap.
How would folk find us on youtube? shorts?

 

[stayinwonderland]

Their stuff was around the €50 to €80 price point, by no means expensive. A few pricier bits of course, but the bread and butter was in that range.

What do you mean by "bohemian/alternative market" - google search gives all kinds of suggestions

I think if you search for boho jewelry. Like that but with a darker vibe. Black as core/neutral palette with coloured accents. Just not sure if that's too niche.

 

[NickGrogan]

I think if you search for boho jewelry. Like that but with a darker vibe. Black as core/neutral palette with coloured accents. Just not sure if that's too niche.

You need a much stronger, clearer answer to this question if you want to build any kind of brand.

You mentioned the games sector. The really successful ones have a very strong brand story and develop a cult following.

The games that are another shootem up don't last because they have no real brand.

 

[fisicx]

We were just thinking about that actually. And it's the sort of product that would likely do well at a lot of small festival type places. It's a shame to have to head into the social media space with front-loaded pessimism though. There is stuff on Etsy but the thing is, I don't see large sales volumes and I don't know if that's a sign, or if it's just Etsy being crap.

Use festivals to test the market. If there is demand you can then investigate online marketing.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Have you done a search on the numbers using "bohemian/alternative market" in Google and other outlets, I would be surprised if its a large number compared with say Jewellery

Somehow I doubt many understand what its describing as its such a old fashioned word, you obviously know what it means to you, but its the general public who buy

If you want to market the semi rich then you need to market to that, I would suggest the County monthly magazines which show black tie events, high class weddings and so forth, expensive but read by people who want to stand out and have money to spend

 

[Deleted member 361708]

I would recommend doing the following as a minimum as it will help you long term:

1. Create a customer profile - this will help you verbalise and visualise your idea customer. It will help with the product line up and keep you within a well defined scope
2. Figure out who you need to get from idea to product in customers hands. Understanding this will help you figure out the relationships that will be critical to your success
3. Be very clear on what your value proposition is. What is your USP and why would people pick you over anyone else? - Does this line up with your customer profile?
4. Think about the channels you will use to connect with your customer - physical or primarily digital or a mix at varying proportions. This will help with understanding the investment needed both financially and from a time perspective

These are components of a business model canvas, a tool we use in business architecture to help a business define its operation at a high level and help shape its business planning.

 

[Bp_uk]

Lead with your story, make it personable. Share this in Facebook groups / communities, be authentic - I see that being a good way to build some kind of momentum. You're not trying to be Carier, people want to invest in a piece which has a story behind it - especially at this level.