26 February 2016
Spotlight on ... Kalory Photo and Video Studio
London based visual content marketing studio, Kalory, grew their business with the help of the Business & IP Centre’s Innovating for Growth programme. Now, on their fifth anniversary, we asked Director and Co-founder Franck Jehanne to reflect on his experience of starting and running a successful business.
Hi Franck - Kalory is turning five this year, congratulations! Thinking back to when you started, what prompted you to start a business?
I always wanted to have my own business and from my early teenage years I was drafting business plans. However, I started my career in the corporate world and eventually left my job as a luxury brand manager to pursue my own business. However, I wasn’t sure what my business would be at that point.
I started to explore different industries with my partner, Brijesh, who was working as a freelance photographer. We were initially thinking of starting a clothing company but I received a call from a client from my previous job who was looking for a photographer. And, just like that, our business started to come together. My partner and I worked together, combining my retail and luxury industry experience with Brijesh’s sense of aesthetics and technical photography skills.
You’ve worked with big brands like Montblanc and Habitat - how do you stand out in the market and get the attention of brands like these?
Some of our customers come by word of mouth and others from Google search. They look at our photography portfolios online. They like what they see and contact us. We also do a lot of work on our SEO.
A large part of our success with big brands is our attention to detail and our clients often mention our reliability as a key factor for working with us. We work as a team and almost 100% of our images go through several processes to ensure best quality: technical and creative lighting and photographic skills, retouching skills and editing and composition skills before and after the shoot, so that the final image meets the client’s brief and objective.
You were a participant our Innovating for Growth programme, what obstacles did it help you overcome?
The Innovating for Growth team helped us a lot by giving us the confidence to hire our first employee. The programme is also really good at forcing you to step back and analyse your business. You are often so busy that you neglect your strategy or marketing. By raising questions and discussing the business, we changed some crucial elements in our branding and commercial strategies. The group sessions were also extremely useful. We met entrepreneurs with similar issues but in other industries and that’s a great way to make you think outside the box.
What advice would you give to other small businesses on the importance of using visual content on their websites?
Great visuals are vital to creating your brand and they also help distinguish you from your competitors. Using stock photography can be convenient but, as they are not exclusive to your business, they can be damaging for SEO (Google doesn’t like content that’s not unique and targeted). Budgets are usually tight, but it’s crucial to spend whatever budget you have wisely.
If clients come to us with a budget for photography or video, we help them define their needs and what is possible in that financial frame. For example, there are many different ways to shoot and various levels of lighting and retouching, so we can always manage to deliver a project within a budget.
It is about the quality of images, not the quantity. Fewer images that are well planned and executed say a lot more about the product or the company than many images with no real meaning. They are also more versatile and can be cropped in different ways - a good image, in general, can be used in different formats: banners, square, portrait, landscape, etc. The best way to maximise your photographers’ time is to brief them before the shoot with as much information as possible about what you want your photos to ‘say’ about your business or product.
What do you feel have been your biggest achievements during the past five years?
We were finalists in the London FSB Business Awards 2013 in the "Best New Business" Category, which was great recognition for our business.
But our biggest achievement is the very loyal and recurrent client base we have grown. Some trust us with very large projects that we shoot every year. We have also expanded to take on clients outside the ‘luxury’ market including fellow SMEs. This has enabled us to create a broader client base and we now work with all sizes of business, from small start-ups to large global brands.
Our clients trust us and are happy with the results and I think that’s definitely the best reward you can have when you have your own business.
We are now taking applications for the next Innovating for Growth programme find out how you can apply today.
Innovating for Growth is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
05 November 2015
Question time with Oliver Bonas founder Oliver Tress
At the age of 25 Oliver Tress, inspired by his love of design and worldwide travels, opened his first Oliver Bonas store on Fulham Road selling beautiful homeware and jewellery.
Now with 45 stores in London, Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Tunbridge Wells & Scotland, (as well as an online store) the brand is bigger than ever. Oliver continues to work with his team and live by the company motto: work hard, play hard & be kind.
We asked him some questions ahead of his upcoming appearance at the British Library on the 18 November.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
The idea for my business came to me whilst at university. I was going on holidays to Hong Kong where my parents were living and I would bring presents back for friends - and so it grew from there.
What steps did you take to get started?
It was all very ad hoc. Initially I just brought more products with me, and sold them on to friends. Next I started selling at charity events and then opened the first shop in Fulham. I bought a second hand till for £60, painted the shop white and opened the door.
How do you decide what products and designs are sold by Oliver Bonas?
We are relaxed about the type of product we sell – whatever feels right at the time. We want to make sure we love the product. It must be special in some way that differentiates it from products available elsewhere. We passionately believe in the power of good design, so every product must really earn its shelf space.
What has been the greatest reward of owning your own business?
The sense of achieving something entirely on your own terms. I measure success in terms of freedom and opportunity. The more successful the business is, the greater the exciting the opportunities and the freedom to express yourself.
What advice would you give to designers trying to get their products sold by retail stores?
They must understand their market in terms of retailer and end user. Is the product exciting enough and good enough quality to move a customer to buy it and tell their friends about it? And they need to be commercial – is the price right, and can the retailer make enough margin to make it worth their while?
Oliver Tress will be at the British Library during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2015 to share his expert business knowledge with you. Joining Oliver on the event panel are Deborah Meaden (Dragons' Den), Emma Bridgewater (Emma Bridgewater Pottery) and Lord Karan Bilimoria (founder of Cobra Beer). Get your tickets here.
28 October 2015
Dare to dream: How to be a startup success
Last night Kanya King MBE, CEO and Founder of the MOBO Organisation, took the stage in the British Library before heading to another in a series of events leading up to one of the biggest British awards shows of the year – the MOBOs. The Business & IP Centre at the British Library and the MOBO Organisation joined forces to bring together a panel of leading lights in the creative industries, including June Sarpong MBE, Yinka Ilori and Levi Roots, who shared their groundbreaking stories of what can be achieved with the right attitude and determination.
The event was part of MOBO’s ‘Rise With Us’ Season, taking place this month, designed to recognise the achievements of diverse artists, designers and entrepreneurs and inspire the next generation of up and coming talent.
The panel shared their individual stories of starting up and gave some invaluable tips for people wanting to follow in their footsteps.
Kanya King MBE
Kanya started the MOBO Awards from her bedroom in 1996 to give a platform to emerging talent who would go on to achieve global success. Now MOBO, one of the most recognisable brands in British music, helps create more opportunities for exceptional talent across all of the creative industries; in her own words ‘Inspiring a generation who dare to dream’. Success wasn’t without its barriers for Kanya. While she had passion and determination she also had no contacts in the music industry, no money and most people told her it wasn’t possible. Finally she got her break when a meeting with an LWT Executive resulted in a broadcast slot with Carlton Television. With only six weeks to pull together the first MOBO Awards, and with many people still doubting that an audience would be interested in celebrating diverse talent, the odds were against her. However, that first show was a hit and, now in its twentieth year, the MOBO brand is bigger than ever.
Kanya gave some tips to the entrepreneurs in the audience including: be passionate about what you do and make sure to prioritise - focus, focus, focus. Her advice is that you don’t always have to get it right, you just have to get going and persistence is key – ‘never give up on your dreams’. She didn’t get where she is today because of talent but because she refused to give up. She emphasised that much more can be achieved when you have a team around you that is united in your belief.
Yinka Ilori
Yinka Ilori is a London-based designer specialising in up-cycling vintage furniture, inspired by the traditional Nigerian parables and African fabrics that surrounded him as a child. When he started off as a designer he felt that there weren’t a lot of black designers and there weren't many people for him to relate to. He wanted to give up many times but his family were consistent in their support for him and told him to keep going.
Since starting up, he has exhibited internationally in solo shows, runs regular workshops and is involved in many projects. One of his most recent projects is partnering with the British Library shop as part of the current West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song exhibition. Yinka came to the British Library when he was starting up to do research in order to find his unique selling point to build his brand. His main piece of advice for entrepreneurs? Remember to tell your story how you want to tell it.
June Sarpong MBE
June, one of the most recognisable faces of British television, is also the Co-founder of the WIE Network (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise). WIE is dedicated to women in leadership and it’s not surprising June is involved when she said that fight for empowerment and equality get her out of bed in the morning. She is driven to empower everyone in society to be the best we can be and believes it leads to a stronger economy, safer planet and overall a fairer and better world. Speaking at the event, her mandate was clear: we have to ensure women and those from diverse communities are empowered.
June's number one piece of advice was 'before you start to worry about what other people think about you, worry what YOU think about you!’ Like Kanya she also emphasised the need to learn to control your thinking, have a goal and focus on it.
Levi Roots
A MOBO nominated reggae artist, a pioneer in Caribbean food and culture, Dragons’ Den star and with a new ‘rastarant’ opening soon, Levi shared his story about starting his Reggae Reggae sauce in his small Brixton kitchen and giving back to the community by visiting hundreds of schools, universities and prisons each year as part of his School of Life tour. His journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur was shaped by his experiences. His advice for entrepreneurs is to work with someone who knows more than you – a mentor. But his biggest piece of advice? Be true to yourself.
As June said at the event, ‘It’s a very exciting time to be creative in Britain’ and we couldn’t agree more. If you are starting, running or growing a business and need some help, check out our week-long series of events coming up in November for Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Join the MOBO Season #RiseWithUs
26 October 2015
How to take your business from a start-up to growth stage
Growing a business isn’t easy. Moving into new markets, developing your brand, and protecting your intellectual property require determination, hard work and support. Which is where our Innovating for Growth programme comes in: a free three month small business support programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and run at the Business & IP Centre at the British Library, it provides expert advice and support for businesses looking to grow in areas including strategy and sustainability, branding, intellectual property, marketing and product development.
Pictured above: Victoria Eggs used the Business & IP Centre to grow her business
Recently Innovating for Growth businesses came together to celebrate their completion of the programme and the progress they had made on their business growth. The programme has, to date, assisted just under 240 businesses and helped them collectively to generate more than £14m in Gross Value Added for London. Innovating for Growth participants have also won an impressive roster of awards, from Overall Best Business in London to Great British Entrepreneur Award, and the project itself was a finalist in last year’s RegioStars Awards ‘Smart Growth – SME Innovation’, the only London project to be nominated by the Greater London Authority.
Pictured above: Rose Hill grew her business with the help of our Innovating for Growth programme
At the Innovating for Growth showcase event Amelia Rope of Amelia Rope Chocloate, Jo Ayoubi of Track Surveys and David Showell of Cycle Confident Ltd gave some advice for those looking to start and grow a successful business:
From Amelia:
- Test your market with any new concept before you put a lot of money into it
- Get out there, meet people, chat about your product
- Get out of bed with a mantra of Go. For. It.
- Mistakes happen, accept them and just work at avoiding the same mistake when it presents itself to you again
From Jo:
- Stay in touch and in front of your customers and contacts; send them short, regular emails (not sales emails). There are lots of competitors and it's easy for people to forget about you.
- Never burn your bridges: even if you're hurt or upset, don't fall out with people. You'll probably bump into them at some point in the future.
- Be curious about things that are happening outside your business, as you may find new ideas and ways of staying ahead of your competition that way.
From David:
- Take time to recruit (hard as it may be).
- Accelerate your selling when you are growing. You are doing something right so don’t slow down, even if operationally you may be stretching yourself.
- Accept growth is a relentless task at all times creating challenges and opportunities. Rise to the challenges and take the opportunities. That is what entrepreneurs do.
Experiences of growing a business
During the event some of the businesses told us about their experience of growing a business. A common theme among participants was the need for clear, constructive guidance and support, and the opportunity to network with other small businesses trying to develop and expand.
“Overall, we've had a really positive experience of the programme. We were delighted to have been chosen to take part and we've taken away some great ideas. We're feeling excited and inspired about the future - a bit like we've fallen in love with our company all over again. We've also met lots of like-minded business owners that we're going to stay in touch with, so that we can keep sharing our experiences and supporting each other.” Cristina Harvey, The First Word
“Innovating for Growth has given us a wealth of knowledge across key areas of business. We've been given the tools to help our business grow from market experts and were busy implementing what we've learned. I've also had my eyes opened to the incredible information resources that the library offers. It's an outstanding programme and resource and we feel lucky to be part of it."Dominic White, Ovio.
The Business & IP Centre was launched with the aim to support businesses, entrepreneurs and inventors grow their organisations by using our valuable resources and expertise and working with a network of trusted partners. Innovating for Growth has been delivered with thanks to the GLA, ERDF and our deliver partners: ABA, asb law, Gearing Up, Makersco and Red Ochre.
Innovating for Growth is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
21 August 2015
Spotlight on … The Decorators
The Decorators is an exciting young business made up of four friends who met at uni. They turned their passion for working with space into an experiential design business. Here founding partner Carolina Caicedo shares advice for starting and growing a successful company after completing the Business & IP Centre’s Innovating for Growth programme.
How did you come up with the concept or idea for your business?
The four partners met doing an MA in Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. The course was all about multidisciplinary teams working collaboratively on projects. An opportunity to do an interactive installation at the trade show 100% Design in London came up just at the end of our final year in 2010 and we decided to take it on together. The project was a success and showed us that we worked well together and that we could produce more interesting things by working together rather than individually.
You started your own business at a young age – what advice would you give to other young people hoping to do the same?
I would say look to learn about how to run a sustainable business as soon as you start. Train yourself in all the different hats you’ll have to put on. We set ourselves up as a collective to begin with, we were much more interested in the delivery of creative ideas, than in understanding what it takes to run a business. We learnt the hard way that simply focusing on producing a good service or offer is not enough to sustain a business. I would also recommend finding a business mentor, be it someone with his or her own business or a business coach. All four of us set up The Decorators straight after finishing our MA, with little time spent in industry at times we felt we were reinventing the wheel unnecessarily. Others have done this before you so learn from them.
How did you finance your business at the early stages?
We financed the early stages of the business by taking out a small start-up loan through the University of the Arts London. It helped us take on a studio.
What main obstacle have you had to overcome?
Our main obstacle has been mindset. We have had to shift our mind-set to see ourselves as business owners rather than just designers or creators. With that shift we have experienced a loss of resistance towards the less sexy and fun aspects of running a business.
What do you like the most about running your own business?
For me it is how empowering it feels to be running your own business. It is empowering to be shaping and creating the kind of work you want to do, who you do it with and the culture in which you do it. The self development required to take a business forward is also empowering. It sets you in good stead for whatever may come next.
Which entrepreneurs inspire you?
We are inspired by the recent surge in start-ups that are putting wellbeing and social values at the heart of their business. I have found the watching the rise of Headspace very interesting and it is particularly inspiring when you know how hard it is to get a business going. I am also much more interested in hearing the behind the scenes stories. I listen to the podcast Start-Up, which follows the journey of businesses that are starting up. We usually only get the final success story but it is much more valuable for me to hear about the journey and the struggle to get something to work.
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Self development is the most important thing in starting up your own business. Developing a can-do and positive mindset is what will get you through the inevitable hard times.
We are now taking applications for the next Innovating for Growth programme find out how you can apply today.
11 August 2015
6 Tips for Pitching to Investors
Listening to the “Dragons” on the BBC2 TV show Dragons’ Den is a good insight into the way your investors may be thinking when you present your ideas, plans and proposals to them. As all good scouts know, you must Be Prepared, i.e. be fully prepared for some intense questioning before investors will entrust you with their money. Here are our 6 tips for getting your pitch right.
1. Know every aspect of your finances – and your research data
Numbers must add up but, more than that, every figure that you use must be validated. You can’t simply base your first year growth rate on a competitor’s established business or make assumptions based on ‘gut-feel’. That is a certain way to get rejected at the very first stage.
How much money do you need and how will every penny of it be invested? What are your start-up/capital expenditure and initial running costs? Are these based on firm quotations from relevant suppliers? Know the best and worst case scenarios for your projected costs.
Who are your customers, what is the size of your potential market and how long is a typical purchase decision process? Why would your product be selected? What steps have you taken or are you planning to maximise the reach of your marketing and sales campaigns?
Importantly, when will investors begin to see a return and how much? What exit options have you considered? You will need to substantiate your claims with independent data.
2. Rehearse your pitch – and practice thinking on your feet
Enthusiasm and confidence are by-products of knowing that you are thoroughly prepared for any question – even if it’s one you hadn’t previously considered.
“He who hesitates is lost” has never been so true therefore you need to keep a clear head and be able to deliver a well-rehearsed pitch that briefly covers all important points. Practicing your delivery with a mentor or business associate, rather than in a mirror or with a close family member, may be helpful in a number of ways. Get them to ask questions, too. The tougher the questions the better prepared you will be.
3. Understand your investors and be open with them
Before you set the level of your pitch, find out about your investors, particularly what business areas they have interests in. If they offer advice, you need to listen because they are the ones with huge amounts of money and, presumably, some proven business acumen. As with all advice, you should take it on board, mull it over and act on it as appropriate.
Don’t try to hide pertinent facts and if you are not sure of the facts, don’t make them up!
4. Be honest with yourself about the value of your business
Excluding assets, the value of your business is calculated on its worth and profit potential to someone else and nothing to do with the amount of time and money you have invested getting to the current point. An entrepreneur will have devoted considerable resources to bring the venture to this point, and that is often considered as personal sweat equity. Investors appreciate this, but they will take it for granted and tend to focus instead on future cash-flow requirements rather than legacy costs.
5. Keep calm and be yourself.
It is easy to put yourself under pressure when big opportunities arise but keeping calm and not panicking will enable your mind to work clearly and your mouth to deliver a clear response!
Knowing that you are well prepared is a major calming factor but, if you are prone to nervousness, practice some calming techniques that will help you through the pitch – perhaps deep breathing or subtle rhythmic tapping of your thumb against your finger.
Let investors see the real you – the person who is driving the business. Believe in yourself and just be you. Investors are real business people, and they want to work with ambitious, driven and practical entrepreneurs.
6. Don’t forget to close!
When you’re finished presenting make sure that ask for the investment – that’s the real purpose of the meeting isn’t it? At this stage the investor may have some additional questions for you. Some may be business-related, others more personal in nature. They’re essentially trying to get a feel if they can work with you as a business partner. So don’t take this approach personally and answer their questions to the best of your ability. And then ask for the investment again.
The London Business Support Service is a valued Partner of the British Library in London. We conduct 1-2-1 confidential business clinics on the first Wednesday of every month at the Business & IP Centre at the British Library. Our business clinics are suitable for any type of business in any type of situation, and our experienced business advisors are here to provide you with cost effective business support services that result in tangible and measurable benefits to your business.
29 July 2015
Top tips on online accounting for small business
Books are migrating to e-readers, music is being streamed and accounting is now happening in the cloud. This is the quiet revolution that accountants whisper but dare not speak aloud. Accounting software is dead; it’s online and upwards to the clouds. Online accounting has arrived.
It may sound a touch over the top but it’s true. As a business, how you manage your books pretty much manages everything else. Your accounting is an important engine in your business. A well-oiled efficient system will reap rewards; a slow burner with too many miles will underperform and slow you down.
This is where online accounting in the cloud is so significant. Consigned to software history is the accounting package sold ‘out of a box’ installed onto your desktop, run on a local drive and perhaps backed up onto a different drive. It was fun while it lasted but now SMEs have multiple choices when it comes to doing their books.
And here lies the problem. Business owners are generally uncertain about how to choose an online accounting package that works for them. But help is at hand, outlined below are some helpful tips to help you decide on how to choose the best package.
Why choose online accounting?
It’s easy to say the future is online but what are the actual advantages?
- Firstly, you can access it anytime, anywhere and aren’t bound to the PC in your office and you don’t need to keep installing updates
- Being on the cloud means information can be easier to share as well
- It can save considerable time and keeps your records up to date
The question then is which online accounting package to choose? There are numerous packages you can subscribe to out there. Xero and Quickbooks are making inroads but there are lots of others too. There are well over thirty providers of online accounting, so choosing the right one for you can feel overwhelming. The best thing to do is to narrow your focus by asking yourself a few of the following questions:
- How long has the software been around? In other words, is it market tested?
- Is the software UK compatible? Can it deal with VAT? You will need a system that works effectively for VAT returns.
- Can it work with multi-currencies (if you need to trade overseas)?
- Can it integrate with other software easily (known as API) such as CRM or invoicing programmes?
- Will it securely connect into your bank account? This can be very helpful when it comes to bank reconciliation and looking at a live picture of the financial state of your business.
- What is the level of customer support? Are you able to call or use chat while online?
Having confidence in the provider you choose is important as they will be presenting all the data and running all the reports for you. Reports are your window into what’s happening with the numbers in your business, so it’s vital you can see what’s going on clearly. It’s best to see if your accounting software can run any of these types of reports clearly and effectively:
- Profit and Loss reports
- Balance Sheets (divided monthly)
- Company snapshots
- Debtors and Creditors
- Product and Inventory reports (if needed)
- Employee and payroll
Test, test, test
Most of the major online accounting platforms will give you a free trial. Riz Wasti from 2E Accountants and participant on the Innovating for Growth programme recommends you test the software first to see how it works for you. He suggests doing the following:
“Most online software offer 30 days trial period. That’s your opportunity to test the software before relying on it. Use your real transactions, bank payments & receipts, sales invoices, bills and expenses, etc. Softwares will also have a Demo Company setup with data already entered. That’s your opportunity to play with the software”.
Migration to your online platform
Once you’ve selected the best online accounting package for you, do allow for time and some cost to migrate across from an existing platform. As ever, the devil is in the detail (and the numbers). Riz advises that:
“Migrating data from an existing system can be complicated. It’s best to do it in stages, for example starting with sales invoices and bills in batches of months and reconcile bank statements for each month entered. The payment allocation process can be time consuming. Bank data can be uploaded in one go separately to sales and bills, but then bank payments need to match or be allocated.”
All the more reason to do all the research you can on finding the right online accounting package for you. The effort is sure to be well worthwhile in the medium to long term for your business.
If, like most business owners, you sometimes feel confused about your finances in the business, the Business & IP Centre has help available: from how-to guides on running your business, to workshops including “Get Cashflow Confident” with our ‘numbers coach’, Johnny Martin.
Jeremy O’Hare is a Relationship Manager for the British Library’s Innovating for Growth programme, which provides £10,000 of fully-funded and tailored advice for businesses looking to grow. Since joining the British Library in 2005 he has worked with countless businesses, facilitating advice and research as well as providing workshops and information advice for start-ups and established businesses.
28 July 2015
How to Get Press Coverage for Your Small Business
Jessica Huie MBE, an entrepreneur with 15 years media experience, founder of JH Public Relations and Color blind cards and partner to the Business & IP Centre, gives her advice on how start-ups and SMEs can generate PR for their business without spending a fortune.
However brilliant or progressive your product or service, if nobody knows about it then your business will struggle to make sales, and a business without sales is doomed to fail. This is where PR can have a massive impact. Not so much a luxury as imperative for any business owner who wants to make their idea get off the ground, PR helps businesses to connect with their target audience, to mould a brand, establish differentiation from competitors, attract buyers and investors and can position business owners as experts in their field. If you truly mean business with your start-up venture, then you need to think seriously about public relations.
PR, which is in part marketing through third-party endorsement, is an extremely successful way to generate business and it complements the other, more ‘obvious’ forms of marketing. Today’s consumer is savvy. They see through blatant (and expensive) advertising campaigns. PR subtly increases awareness of a company and its products and services by positioning them in the public’s consciousness, not by waving it in front of their faces.
Believe in your brand
In order for your start-up business to get valuable press coverage, you first need to make sure you are confident about your brand and its ethos. The public is never going to fully comprehend your business if you, yourself, are not clear as to what your business brand is, its values and what it has to give. Your brand needs to be a clear and definite concept. Therefore, when introducing your brand, whether in a press release or when pitching to a journalist, lead with any vital information and impressive assets, this positions your business instantly.
Be authentic
Once you are confident in your business values, it is crucial to communicate that personally – nothing is more powerful than authenticity in PR and if you are sincere and passionate about your brand, both the media and the public will be receptive to this. Humans are social creatures; they buy into people not products. Having a visible figurehead rather than relying on nameless branding helps customers to understand the ethos and culture behind your business. Ask yourself what the motivation behind your company was, and your business vision for the future. Give your customers an understanding of the entrepreneur behind the brand and make sure your personal and business principles align; audiences can see through branding messages that do not correspond to behaviour. PR, through mediums such as case studies, media coverage, advice columns and blogs, is your tool for demonstrating your commitment to your brand values.
Position yourself as a thought leader
So, how do you behave like a figurehead? A simple way is through positioning yourself as thought leader and by marketing your expertise. You, as an individual, can share your valuable perspective, insight and experience. This is not just advantageous in terms of commercial success, but also in terms of investment. By building a strong visible profile, you make you and your brand unique, differentiating your business from other commercially viable investment opportunities. Profit and turnover speak for themselves, but business commitment and vision do not. A business with a strong figurehead and management team who represent the fundamental business values are powerful assets and are most effectively communicated through a PR campaign.
Absorb the media
To secure media coverage, it is also of upmost importance that you immerse yourself in the media. This means both being aware of the media sectors your business fits into and staying on top of current affairs and their relevance to your business.Every story reported in the media represents a PR opportunity depending on your business. Staying abreast of current news means you can be reactive, relevant and forward thinking in your PR strategy, creating press releases that participate in debates or that offer opposing opinions or solutions to contemporary problems.
Plan your PR strategy
Yet, at the same time, PR should be a calculated strategy, taking into account any important dates that may impact customers’ activity. Create a 12-month plan including dates such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Halloween and think about how your brand and commercial activities can ‘latch on’ to these events, increasing your chances of securing media interest. The importance of forward planning cannot be overstated – be aware of media lead times so you don’t let a PR opportunity pass you by.
Look for possible partnerships
Collaborating with like-minded brands, which share your business values and target market, is another way reach a broader audience and create interesting PR angles. The first step in brand partnerships is to truly understand your customer. Spend some time researching your customer in depth: where do they live, how old are they, what are their hobbies, their occupations and incomes? Once you have a clear image, you can then seek out ideal partners for cross-promotion. Partnerships are crucial when it comes to business growth and, for small businesses, this involves collaborating with larger or more established brands for common benefit. The story of the Big Friendly Giant is a popular one and does not fail to attract media attention.
Perfect your press release
Yet indisputably the most successful tool at your disposal to get press coverage and media interest in your business is a well-written press release, one that grabs attention and leaves a lasting impression. Ensure it is professional, includes all the essential (but relevant) information and use the first paragraph to sum up your news angle and tell the journalist why it’s worth the page space. Statistics that support your angle, any awards or accolades your business has won, celebrity fans or endorsers should all be in those first few lines. Demonstrate your confidence in your brand and your story and substantiate the fact that you are great!
If you are committed to raising your personal or business profile, then you should commit to PR. However, it is an investment and in most cases there is no instant, tangible return on your investment. Persevere and view it as part of your strategic business journey. You have to foster this relationship as you would any other; getting your business in the media of your target audience is just the start. A customer’s buying journey begins with awareness, followed by familiarity, then to purchase consideration and finally loyalty. If you are consistent in your PR efforts, awareness of your start-up business will increase with each new media platform that endorses you. Your business will become visible, it will enter your customer’s mind and, most importantly, it will stay there.
Jessica Huie, MBE is the Founder of JH Public Relations and runs regular workshops in the British Library’s Business & IP Centre.
24 July 2015
Spotlight on … Packshot and Stills
Barrie Gordon is the founder of Packshot and Stills, a photographic company focusing on commercial product and fashion photography, he has grown his business with the help of the Business & IP Centre’s Innovating for Growth programme. We asked him to share his experiences for getting his business off the ground.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
I’ve been a photographer for more years than I care to remember, most of those as a freelance, working for various companies. At the time I started the business it just seemed like a natural progression for me to move from a “one man band” to a scalable enterprise.
The timing was also right in the sense that the industry had changed with the onset of digital media. Shooting digitally, especially for e-commerce, has opened up new opportunities whereby brands could hire a company to do their photography rather than one sole photographer. I realised it’s a huge market and I thought, given my experience, I could set up a successful business.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
I’ve always been a bit of entrepreneur - from selling penny sweets at school to starting my own photography retail website - to varying degrees of success. I always liked the idea of starting a business and successfully running it. Over the years I’ve learnt lots from the various companies I’ve worked with, even if it is just things I would do differently.
What planning did you do before starting up?
I’ve grown the business organically so there has been very little financial risk associated with the business itself. I was already making a decent income as a freelance photographer and was able to gradually make the transition from sole trader to running a team of photographers and retouchers.
However, there were a few important questions that needed answering before I considered starting the business.
Can I make enough money from this to sustain a profitable business?
I knew the industry very well and I’d been working in it for quite a few years. If they weren’t already online, all businesses were gradually making the move to online trading and therefore needed high quality, attractive images. I identified that the market was huge. Don’t get me wrong, I realised I was competing with well-established competitors but still felt we could establish a market share that was certainly big enough for us to survive, thrive and grow.
Will clients like my product enough to buy it?
Again, having the knowledge and experience of working for big clients on a freelance basis, I already felt that I could deliver a level of quality that was better than or equal to my competitors and at a price that would be appealing to potential clients.
How much can I charge for the images and how much will it cost us to produce it?
Quite a bit of market research went in to answering these questions. I obviously felt the need to be competitive whilst keeping the margins at a level that, in essence, would make it all worthwhile. In fact, over the last couple of years, we’ve continued to revise our pricing to increase sales and maximise income.
What competition was I up against?
It was vital for me to explore what my competitors where doing. Being aware of what you’re up against with regards to the competition and analysing what we could do differently (and better) was extremely important to starting my business and establishing our unique selling point
With these questions answered positively, I was happy that I had a fighting chance to get the business off the ground and to survive.
What challenges or obstacles have you had to overcome?
I‘ve been quite fortunate; because of the steady growth of the business the whole operation has been scaled in a very manageable way and we’ve been lucky enough that we haven’t really encountered any major obstacles. Over time, we continually assess and adapt our working practices to prevent any major problems arising.
However, that said, as with probably most start-up business, my company has been heavily reliant on me (the owner), and perhaps a little too reliant. It’s been tough at times, there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do. Subsequently, I’ve had to become an expert in various skills that initially I didn’t have an understanding of, from web design and marketing (offline and online) to IT and HR. I’m eager to learn new things, so apart from having to manage my time it really hasn’t been a major problem. I see it as part of setting up the business and I enjoy the challenges it brings. Also, when the time comes to bring in hired help, it’s such an advantage to have that understanding as you’ll be speaking to them like a true expert!
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
I’m under no illusion that I’m in a highly competitive marketplace, but the one key differentiator (apart from the quality obviously!) is our flexibility and speed at which we deal with clients requests. We are expanding, but no matter how big we become, our ethos will always be to treat every client with the attention and attentiveness they deserve and expect.
It’s very important for our growth that we are always fine-tuning our internal processes to achieve maximum efficiency from a client’s perspective, and to deliver a smooth project from their brief to completion.
How do you promote your business?
Initially when starting the business one of my main objectives was to let potential clients know we’re around and “open for business”. As a company that provides a service with no physical store, the best means to get in front of potential clients is via online marketing.
I’ve worked to very tight budgets so have personally been very hands-on with regards to optimising the business online. This has in turn brought in quite a lot of work that “kick-started” the business. In all honesty, it would have been a real struggle to get the exposure that I initially had without the internet. We continue to reach potential clients with our online strategy and try to be as active as time will allow on social media platforms.
When we first started up, we also went to trade fairs to offer our services which brought some success.
I am very aware that we need to start to do more offline activity, there’s definitely room for improvement on that side and that’s something I’ll be addressing within the next couple of months.
Which entrepreneurs inspire you?
I was lucky enough during my freelance days to work at ASOS. During that time it grew rapidly from a relatively small company to the company it is today. Having been part of that company at that time (no matter how small a part) was truly inspirational.
If you could have given yourself one piece of advice when you started what would that be?
I would give myself a reality check! If only things were as easy as I thought it would be. I’m not sure I could have done many things differently but at least I would’ve been prepared for what lay ahead!
We are now taking applications for the next Innovating for Growth programme find out how you can apply today.
01 July 2015
Book Review: ‘The Luxury Strategy’ and ‘Kapferer on Luxury’
Several of the businesses who visit the Business & IP Centre are starting and growing luxury brands, in particular those in the fashion industry, but also those in other industries, such as food and drink. These small businesses are presented with a similar issue – how to keep up with the demands of running a luxury business without risking the luxury brand position. Like any business owner, luxury business owners want their brands to expand but because luxury brands are high quality, rare and premium priced this can present many obstacles.
Despite the economic recession in recent years, the luxury goods market remains buoyant and continues to grow. The luxury brand industry does not just refer to products like watches and jewellery, handbags, drinks (think Champagne!), but services too, such as travel, concierge, restaurants and lifestyle management, to name a few.
The Luxury Strategy
As a result of working with businesses in this sector, the Business & IP Centre has recently acquired the book Kapferer on Luxury: How Luxury Brands Can Grow Yet Remain Rare (Kogan Page, 2015). Jean-Noël Kapferer is a thought leader on luxury brands strategy development and marketing and is also the co-author of an earlier book, The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands (Kogan Page, 2009).
In his earlier book Kapferer aims to do two things – firstly to define what a luxury brand is and secondly to provide a comprehensive guide to managing your luxury brand. Kapferer suggests that luxury brands are different in nature to other non-luxury brands and therefore require a more specialised strategy for management and marketing. So what is a luxury brand? Kapferer describes it as: “a different and global way of understanding a customer and of managing a business”.
He points out that “as it is with many concepts, so it is with luxury: everyone understands it, but nobody can agree on exactly what it means, or its contours, its frontiers or its members”.
Kapferer moves to outline how you can develop a strategy for growing luxury brands:
- Understand the luxury fundamentals: Kapferer says that “Luxury is a culture, which means you have to understand it to be able to practice it with flair and spontaneity”. He also outlines the difference between premium brands and luxury brands: knowing the difference is key to your strategy, “Premium is not luxury”.
- How to manage luxury brands: Consider market size, brand equity, brand stretching, pricing, distribution, communication and finances.
- Consider your strategic perspectives: Kapferer outlines different luxury business models, how to enter the luxury market and then leave it; how to learn from the luxury industry, and how to make your luxury strategy sustainable.
The book gives various examples in each section, such as an example of brand stretching for Mont Blanc, or the business model example of the Louis Vuitton brand.
Image by Kili under a Creative Commons license Image by GS417~commonswiki under a Creative Commons license
Kapferer on Luxury
The more recent book, Kapferer on Luxury, addresses the number one challenge of all major luxury brands today: how can these brands pursue their growth yet remain luxurious? How can you achieve growth and preserve rarity? This book consists of a collection of articles, published in various journals such as the European Business Review or Journal of Brand Strategy, specifically addressing the growth challenges for luxury, including:
- Sustaining the luxury dream: challenges and insights.
- Abundant rarity: the key to luxury growth.
- The artification of luxury: from artisans to artists.
- Specific issues and challenges: luxury after the crisis; the importance of non-delocalisation; internet and luxury, consumers’ psychology of luxury prices; sustainable luxury.
- The business side of luxury brands growth: the distinct business models of luxury brands.
Kapferer provides insight into luxury brands that exude exclusivity and prestige and examines economic trends as well as industry investors and great marketers. Not all businesses have reached the Mont Blanc or Louis Vuitton status and often need help to get there. Kapferer’s books are a must read for any luxury brand owner looking to overcome hurdles to achieve growth. His books are not only informative reads, but are also thought provoking, insightful and packed with real life examples. You don’t need to be a luxury brand owner to reap the benefits from Kapferer’s books, they give a unique view into an industry that seduces and fascinates us; a worthy read for any researcher or business owner.
Both books can now be found in the Business & IP Centre reading room.
Irini Efthimiadou on behalf of the Business & IP Centre
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