I was recently in Ghana for a beloved brother’s
wedding and I must say it was good to be home. Second to my excitement about my
brother getting married was the way in which Ghana had changed economically for
the better but more on that later.
I got back to be welcomed by the ever tempting red SALE
signs everywhere (and I definitely over indulged myself because I can tell my
bank account is feeling the pinch); it got me thinking how many of these
businesses are actually in the right financial and strategic position to have a
SALE. Are they doing it because every store is doing it and they all seem to be
making money? OR are they doing it because it is an integral part of their
business model to have a seasonal sale during the year? I mean I look at
Paserelle and I know my business cannot handle any form of sale and it need not
because of what I am offering.
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| For a successful business, you have to be faithful to your core strategy. It is never advisable to keep your strategy open to change as if you were in an Open Relationship. |
This idea brings me to my topic of the day, which has to do
with your business strategy. When I started Paserelle, I had one vision in
mind; to produce and market African inspired clothing that the fashionable 20
something woman can wear no matter what continent they found themselves on. It
was a clear vision, I knew WHAT I was producing – (African Inspired Clothing)
WHO I was producing for – (young and fashionable 20 something women) and WHY
they will value what I was offering – (it was unique, it allowed them to
celebrate the rich African continent and it made a statement). This was the
premise on which I started my business and I am glad to say it is still the
same as I write this article.
It hasn’t been easy staying true to the strategy I have
described above but it has been instrumental in me continuing to stay in
business and feel relevant. There is a lot of temptation when you begin a start
up which tries to get you to deviate from your core strategy. It happens in the
same way the SALE sign tempts you away from saving for that dream car you want
or the deposit for the new house or whatever important and necessary expense
that you are planning for; it tempts you rather to buy those shoes, or bag or
outfit that you had no intention of purchasing but you only did so because it
said 50 percent off.
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| When i think about my strategy, i see this. It touches on every aspect of my business model and it holds it together. When it fails, i fail. |
As start-ups, the temptation is not to spend but rather to
deviate from what made us special in the first place. I recently had such a
temptation; where a client wanted to send their own fabric to me so that I
could replicate one of my designs for them. To a start-up this is still a sale and
it represents much needed revenue and many will jump at the opportunity and
indeed I almost jumped. But I thought to myself, what is wrong with this
picture? It went against everything my brand had come to stand for
‘Contemporary Fashion seeded in Africa’. First
of all the fabric was not sourced from anywhere in Africa
and secondly it was not influenced by me. This is only one client, but soon
there will be another and then another and eventually, my business will lose
its identity. You will keep on switching from one presumably good strategy to
the next the same way some people chase boyfriends or girlfriends without ever
finding the right one because the perfect one was three or four boy/girlfriends
ago.
Having a clear business strategy is not an option you tick
on a successful business check list. Any one who wants to succeed in business
has to have one. And once you know what your strategy is, do not separate from
it or worse still, DIVORCE it unless it is a decisive decision to do so.
The author Margaret Heffernan perhaps puts it in the best way I can think of; a business without a
defined strategy is one that is like a company among the ‘walking dead’.
Halloween is not for another few months, do not turn your business into a
Zombie.
As for me, my new collection is almost done so I am in a
frenzy making sure that what I am presenting does not deviate from my core
strategy. Wish me luck!!
This is my Truth!!
