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Start-Up Venture Update WK13

Start-Up Venture Update – Week 13

Everything is working as planned. Actually, things are working a bit better than I planned because I did some all-nighters to give me the time and space to work on the Final Report and Final Presentation. I just finished the last 4 t-shirts ready to be picked up later during the week. 50 MWA t-shirt’s goal met!!!

One more thing I have learnt about running a business this week is the irony of the Entrepreneur having the flexibility of time and working whenever he/she wants. When it comes to crunch time, you have zero choice but to work and meet deadlines. One could argue that if it is your business, you can always change those deadlines, but I feel that would be just unprofessional. Being an entrepreneur does give you the flexibility to work within your own time but not at crunch time. Running a home, a business, and having to finish the t-shirts within the given time was very difficult. I have learnt not to give myself such short deadlines in the future.

What I have discovered about myself is that I am very passionate about this project. No matter how tired I get working on it, I still get some satisfaction from overworking, and I must make a conscious effort to take a break. I have found my passion. :)

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It's been an "eye-opening" experience :)

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Start-Up Venture Progress Update - WK12

Week 12 Start-Up Venture progress update

Using my WhatsApp space as a channel for marketing my products.

The MWA t-shirt is a niche product and requires a different approach in marketing it. Big advertising on numerous platforms and social media to boost sales just does not work for my product now. My brand is about creating environmentally friendly product from textile waste, and Slow Fashion (outfits that are made durable that will last the customer a long time as an attempt to reduce what goes into the landfill). This is the reason why I have decided to focus on the City of Guelph to grow my business and expand in the future. What I am doing regarding marketing my t-shirts; that seem to be working so well is advertising and selling them through my WhatsApp space. I have a customer list on WhatsApp. I share all my new designs with my customers, and they are encouraged to share with their friends. Customers text or call me regarding the designs they are interested in and buy them if they are still available. They pay me by electronic transfer and pick up the t-shirts when they are ready. A few people wanted to see the t-shirts in person, so they did and paid in cash. I have sold all 50 T-shirts with this marketing plan, and I have a growing list of new orders for next year since I still have some orders to fill.

The journey has been an eye opening and fun one. It took my product from something that I created and hoped the customer would like, to a product that the customer’s feedback helped make better to suit the customer’s needs. I have a better product now and I am very proud of it. If I had to change any thing about this learning experience, I would set my t-shirt sales goal at 25 instead of 50 because it has been a real struggle to meet the goal.

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Start-Up Venture Update

Start-Up Venture Update

Work is moving along well as the previous weeks. This week I have discovered a way to make things move along much faster than previously thus somehow solving my time management problem. Instead of working on 5 t-shirts at a time from start to finish (creating design and mounting it on t-shirt), I only worked on the creating the designs. I gave the customers the opportunity to choose their own color and size of t-shirt from the collection of t-shirts I have available. Once a customer picks a design it is sold and no longer available, so they had to pay for whatever they wanted. This strategy has worked wonderfully well. I am happy to say I have been able to sell all 50 t-shirts (31 already picked up and 19to be finished and picked up by the 15th of December).  I also have customers who are interested in more t-shirts, which I will start working on after the course. This experience has taught me that despite the many challenges that come with starting a business, it can also be a fun adventure full of new discoveries.

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Week 10 Start-Up Venture Update

Week 10 Start-Up venture Update

The past week has been busy with creating more MWA t-shirts to suit customer needs, filling orders, and selling.

What is working?

Advertising through word of mouth seem to be working well for me because the first 5 t-shirts sold led to subsequent sales. So far, I have sold 17 t-shirts and working on 5 currently.

What is not working?

Time management seems to be a challenge because I seem to be taking more time creating the designs than I anticipated. This makes me wonder if I can keep up with orders when demand for the t-shirts start growing. I might have to consider getting help if demand get higher than I can handle. Since my designs are one-off designs, I sometime run into a problem of a customer really liking a design but not the color of t-shirt nor the size of t-shirt. I have had to relocate designs for 2 customers.

How is the business coming along?

The business is coming along well, and I am happy that something that was just an idea of mine has evolved into a product that people are excited about and purchasing. My target is to create and sell 50 MWA t-shirts by the ends of the course and I am almost at the halfway mark.

What are you learning about running a business?

Running a business is difficult, time consuming, and unpredictable. No matter how much planning you do things can change completely. All you must do is show up and put in your best everyday. My goal is to ultimately create a product that will best suit the customer and so far, I have been incorporating all the feedback into the designs I am working on. For example, I used to choose the color and size of the t-shirt for the designs I create but some customers prefer to be able to choose their colors and sizes. Consequently, I don’t permanently attach the designs anymore but rather attach them with temporary stitches so I can easily replace them accordingly if needed.

What are you learning about yourself?

Initially I was not confident talking about my business idea because I didn’t really know what I was doing but now I have a degree of confidence because of the tools I have acquired from this course. I keep discovering new ideas of how to handle my business and I am very excited about this project.

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KHLOTZALO-MWA Video

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Love Green

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Progress Report

Progress report - MWA

It has been a busy two weeks of making orders, waiting for delivery, designing, sewing, and introducing products to prospective buyers and shops that I would like to carry my product.

What is working and what is not working:

I am so glad that I chose to make samples and introduce them to people in person. I am getting a lot of feedback that is helping me to create what exactly people want. Initially, I though a t-shirt was just a t-shirt and works for everyone. Now I know people have preferences regarding the cut, fit, and style. For example, tightfitting t-shirt is on trend currently, so I must invest in that style to keep up. I have also realized that the designs probably don’t show as well in pictures as they do in person because I have only gotten good feedback from people who saw pictures; but people who have seen the product in person are ready to buy. This tells me that eventually I must invest in a store where people can have access to the product.

How the project is coming along:

The project is going well so far. All the necessary materials I ordered got delivered in good time for me to start working on the t-shirts. So far, I have made and sold 5 t-shirts for 35 dollars each, and I am currently working on another collection of 5 t-shirts that I already have buyers for. The designs that are entirely machine stitched are faster to create than the ones that have both machine and hand stitches. The handstitched designs take twice the time to make and cost 15 dollars more. As a result, I will just keep to the machine stiches for this project. My goal is to make at least 5 t-shirts a week.

What I am learning about running a business:

Running a business is not easy as it seems. I have learned so much through doing my budget. In the past, when it came to pricing, I only added variable cost without factoring in fixed cost. I didn’t pay myself for the hours I put in consequently the amount that I considered as profit was way higher than the actual profit, now I know better. I have learnt that it can be extremely expensive to get a store to carry your product. To sell my product in one of the stores that I approached for business, I need to pay a 50-dollar annual membership, 10-dollar monthly rent, and give them 35% of each sale I make. For example, to get the 35 dollars I want for my t-shirt, they will have to sell it for 54 dollars plus 15% tax = 62 dollars. Even though I might consider doing it for a short term (3 months), I find their price too expensive for a t-shirt and will reconsider creating a website for my products. Obviously, it is better to sell directly to customers to keep prices reasonable and sales high.

What I am learning about myself:

I have realized I had no clue about running a business. I know every business owner’s goal is to make a profit fast, but I am learning that that is not my goal right now but rather to get the product right before profits. I am ready to learn all that I must, to create a niche eco-friendly product with a good reputation.

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Financing

Financing

I have considered all the financing options available for a start up business and I have concluded that Personal Investment is the only option for my business for now.

Having a niche product (MWA product) that is new to the market space, I realize I need more time than the course would allow to introduce it to the market to generate sales, therefore applying for any kind of loan that accrues interests is not a good idea. With time I would be able to build a good personal profile and gain better financial strength that would qualify me for a small loan in the future.

In addition to the seed money (50) I am taking a 550 dollars loan from my savings account as working capital. With the 600 dollars I will be able to buy all the products needed, design and make the product, pay rent for the workshop, and pay myself.

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Business Operation Plan

Business Operation Plan

Mindful Wearable Art uses textile waste from clothing manufacturing as raw material to create useful products, that makes it a textile diversion/ waste management business. MWA focuses on reducing green house gas emissions, and Art by producing eco-friendly products from fabric waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. To achieve this aim certain equipment and materials are required to take the raw material through all the creative and production processes to the final product stage, and ready for sale.

Equipment and Materials

Equipment required are sewing machine, workspace with a large table, a pressing iron and board; sewing accessories such as tape measure, set of rulers, set of sewing scissors, thimble, and hand sewing needles. The materials needed are textile waste (raw material), lightest weight fusible interfacing, machine sewing threads, hand embroidery threads, labels, tags, and plain sustainable t-shirt.

Sourcing

Fortunately, I am a dressmaker with a functional workshop, so I do not have to worry about investing money into equipment. All the textile waste will be sourced from my workshop; sustainable t-shirt from Wordans.ca (wholesale t-shirts); Labels and tags from Cotton Trends; all sewing materials (threads, fusible interfacing) from Len’s Mill Store, Guelph.

Procedure

I am a sole proprietor and work alone so every procedure will be executed by me alone in my workshop.

Textile waste is sorted, washed and ironed. Pieces are machine stitched together to create the desired artwork. More stiches can be added by had embroidery if desired. Fusible interfacing is ironed on the back to make it steady, and then mounted on the t-shirt by using decorative machine stitches. Once the product is finished, it is labelled, tagged and packaged.

Plans

Initially, I wanted to have an online t-shirt shop but as the course unfolds, I have realized that I need to do more work on my product before it is online ready. With the 50 dollar and the time available, it is best to create t-shirts within the budget and sell them to my already existing customers who have shown interest, for cash only. I have plans to join the Guelph creative Arts Association, where I can launch my business, and try and get my products to be carried in certain gift shops, and platforms like Etsy.

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Buyer Persona

BUYER PERSONA

Demographic Information

Name: Dottie

Age: 59

Location: Guelph

Occupation: University Professor

Marital status: Married with no kids.

Income: 200.000+

Key Identifiers

Lives and breathes community. Hates packaging and patronizes farmers markets. Environmentally conscious and loves gardening. Loves Art and supports local businesses.

Goals

Lower green house emissions through making better choices for the environment. Support local businesses (Fashion).

Challenges

Not easy to find easy to find clothes that are unique and fit, locally. Difficult to find unique handmade eco-friendly gifts to buy for friend and family. T-shirts available are not durable and fabric used is not eco-friendly.

How we can help

Create custom clothing to suit her figure.

Make eco-friendly products that she can gift to her family and friends (MWA)

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Competitors

 Competitors

Unfortunately, I have no direct competitors in the market space. Even though the product (t-shirt) seems the same, the competitors’ product serves different purposes and caters to an entirely different clientele from what my product does (textile diversion to eco-friendly product).

Instant Imprints company and T-shirt Time company are 2 of the well-known t-shirt companies in the Guelph market space. The main purpose of their product is customization and branding, which they create by screen printing and machine embroidery). Majority of their business comes from big clienteles such as hospitals, schools, government organizations etc. They also cater to individuals and offer other services in addition to printing t-shirts (Car wraps, sports memorabilia etc.). Both companies have very well laid out and user-friendly websites that gives the customer a great experience.

The only T-shirt company I find closest to a direct competitor is Tees.ca located in Vancouver (out of my market space). They do artist collaboration and profit sharing; thus, they print real and original art on their t-shirts. They do wholesale, custom t-shirt printing fundraising, gift cards and encourage people to become ambassadors. They have good customer service and good reviews. They post blogs frequently and have a huge following on all the major social media platforms, and all the above information is well laid out on their website to give the customer a great shopping experience.

All 3 competitors have a price range from 25 to 50 dollars for their customize t-shirts. None of them focuses on eco-friendly or sustainable processes.

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Business Message Map

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Mindful Wearable Art   MWA

I am Patricia Adablah, a Ghanaian immigrant. Currently, I am a stay-at-home mother of 2 lovely teenagers. I see myself as an artist who expresses her unique ideas through fabrics that are sustainably sourced. I take on small sewing projects occasionally. The last one I worked on in July 2023 was a collection of 6 waistcoats, designed and sewn in Kente (a traditional African fabric) for groomsmen for a wedding in Guelph. I also made the mother of the groom’s dress.

Strengths

In preparation for fashion school, I did a 3-month apprenticeship working under a local designer who specializes in traditional African wear. I studied fashion design for 3 years and worked as a teacher in the same college for 3 years, after graduation. I later went to England to pursue a post graduate certificate course designed for fashion teachers. I also worked in fashion retail for a year in the USA before coming to Canada in 2004. All the above disciplines gave me the tools that I needed to run a workshop efficiently, thus managing people, training people, producing good quality clothes, and meeting deadlines.

Weaknesses

 I studied Fashion Design at a time when digital software was not available, neither were computers accessible. Consequently, I have no confidence using computers to design, and I find conducting business on social media a very daunting task.

I am very excited about taking this course because it has everything I need, to enable me to show my unique designs to the world.