Launching a Business

I was instrumental in launching a product in to the UK market around 10 years ago. For 2 years we did everything we could think of to make it a success. In fact at month 18 we were seriously considering ‘pulling’ it. The simple reason was because it was way off our original projections. From month 25 it just ‘took off’ - there is no other way of describing something that then grew 89% in year 3, 87% in year 4, 76% in year 5, and became worth £130m at a retail level in the UK.

We ripped our hair out trying to figure what we had done differently, what was the magical ‘bullet’…..we eventually stumbled across the fact that it had nothing to do with us doing things differently - we had just created a ‘critical mass’ of people talking about the product. That word of mouth alone drove the sales for the next 4 years. It was the cumulative effect.

Managing Cash Flow

We did, however have to manage cash, the same challenge they talk about. Cash flow is the life blood of any business. My experience is that rewarding the behaviour you wish to promote is the most effective. I would suggest that a ‘discount’ is offered for payment in advance; with the garment becoming more expensive if payment is received on delivery.

Do not be afraid about not allowing goods to leave without cleared payment – even eBay promote this as best practice and many people enjoy great working relationships with customers in a virtual world there. The rules are no different for face-to-face sales.