What do you do when a series of events puncture your balloon of confidence; a slow leak to start with and then a big bang when you business goes from being a great success to a near failure almost overnight.
That is what happened to Sjorcha Daynes from Bubba Moe Slings. Daynes sold baby clothes at market stalls and to comfort one her new born child, she made up a sling to hold him on her chest while she worked. Customers started asking about the sling and if they could buy one. Through word of mouth sales gradually increased until Daynes was approached by the first of many retailers in 2004 to buy the slings on a wholesale basis and sell them in their stories. Bubby Moe Slings was born.
A New Business Is Born
Daynes now found herself with a whole new business. She stopped selling baby clothes and focused on perfecting the baby sling with the help of medical professionals. Daynes built the first version of her website www.bubbamoe.com.au for customers and retailers to place orders. The next step was a warehouse and employees to make the slings and get the orders out.
Losing Confidence
Then in 2009 a string of events shattered her confidence and her business almost failed. Daynes was so busy on the nitty gritty of the business that she didn’t notice that competitors were entering the market and undercutting her on price. Then one night when she was working back late, she disturbed two men that had broken in to her warehouse. The experience shattered her confidence. She stopped marketing her business and getting out and talking to people; ‘the business became invisible’ Daynes said.
The phones stopped ringing and the orders on the website dropped away. Daynes didn’t know what to do or who to talk to. Her sister had taken her to business seminars where she “felt all Ra-Ra’ed walking out, rearing to go”, except by the time she got back to the business, “the Ra-Ra had gone”. She likened it to “being all dressed up and nowhere to go”.
Lack of Business Knowledge
Daynes realised that her business was going to fail due to her lack of business knowledge and “ignorance of the process of carrying the business to the next level”. She did some research on the web and found out about the Your Business Success Business Improvement Program and decided to buy it as way of improving her business knowledge. But to start with she didn’t do anything with the program. Then, late one night after 3 months of not sleeping, taking up smoking again and drinking coffee for the first time in 20 years, Daynes watched the first case study.
She was relieved to see that so many other businesses had struggled and then succeeded show she took on board many of the ideas started to make some changes.
As she worked through the program her confidence grew and she has a totally different business. These are just some of the ideas she has implemented.
Refresh the Brand
Daynes started by looking at the business from the customer’s point of view. She upgraded the signage, letterhead, office space and website.
‘So What’ Technique
One technique she learnt was to always ask ‘so what’ about every feature of her product, this forced who to think in terms of benefits for her customers. In particular she realised that the wording on her website was all wrong. She re wrote the copy in a way that wasn’t telling customers what to do but educating them on the benefits of her products. This technique also helped improve the copy of her brochures and sales script when talking to potential customers.
Time for a New Accountant
The more Daynes learnt the less she realised her accountant knew about growing a business. All he wanted to do was the BAS Statements and annual tax returns. Every idea she ran past him was dismissed. Daynes used her network to identify accountants who were focused on helping people grow their business and interviewed a number of them. When she found the accountant she wanted she moved her business and personal finances over.
Funding and Business Angels
Daynes had never heard of Business Angels and had never thought of approaching potential investors. When she ran the idea past her new accountant he did some research and introduced her to a couple that had just sold their business. They are now partners in Daynes business and have provided the capital to take her business to the next level. More importantly the new shareholders bring many years of business knowledge to the table and will be her mentors.
Diversify
One of the key lessons Daynes picked up was the importance of diversification. There was too much risk in having one product line so Daynes has started the process of expanding her range. The first new product is Mini Moe Dolly Slings for kids to carry around their dolls and toys.
Delegate Don’t Abdicate
Daynes learnt from one of the Case Studies she watched that she could improve how she went about employing and managing people. She had let people do their own thing and often been disappointed. What she now does is make sure each employee understands the direction the business and then delegate what she wants done rather than just abdicating responsibility. It is then up the each employee to their initiative to improve how things are done.
Networking is Vital
Everyone is looking for direction but when you are running your own business you can become insular. It is important to find other people to bounce ideas off and learn from.
A Bright New Future
Daynes says that with a new level of knowledge has helped her rebuild her confidence so “instead of closing the doors and shrinking away into obscurity, they are stepping higher”.
The Your Business Success Program has given her clarity and helped her understand that the business is the entity you need to work on – not just the product.