- …started my business on a tight budget >
I started in the corner of our garage with two very old sewing machines. Because I had no money, I wrote down all my goals and time scales that I would hope to achieve them in. I wrote down all my different ideas about how this could be accomplished using as little money as possible.
My first step was to research my competition in the North East region and then try and find a niche market by understanding consumer behaviour and spending, trend, price and quality. Most important was researching how to reach the customer and get the name and brand into the market.
From my research I realised that people have very busy lifestyles and spend a lot of time on their computers to find products. I decided I must have a website, but at the time I couldn’t afford one and besides, I have very little knowledge in that area.
Luckily my sister found a free build your own website. I found it very hard and struggled, but my eldest son came along and saw me struggling and he started to help me with the construction of my website.
I call my son my IT manager and he helps me to manage and change all the new designs every season and also helped with the logo and flyer too.
My next step was printing business cards to hand out to clients. Whilst I found that hard as well due to the cost being too high for my budget, again I went online and sourced a free design and print company for my own business stationary and I’m very happy with them.
With all that in place, I saved my money to put into the North East’s largest, three day wedding show where I showcased my designs and found my first customer. I quickly realised I needed to establish myself and make the public aware of MaoCouture.
I decided to contact local businesses and jointly run a ladies night event including a fashion show. It was a really successful venture and great free promotion for my business.
Anh MaoMaoCouture
