Q+A with Fancy Dresser

shoutman

The next candidate to be thrown down the well is Fancy Dresser of http://www.thecostumeshop.ie/ fame.

As with all other Q+A sessions, Fancy Dresser is in control with regards to what questions are answered.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Fancy Dresser for accepting the invitation to do a well session.

Now down to business, keep it civil and get the questions firing.

shoutman

Very quiet around here today,

I'll start things off.

1: Could you give us a brief history of yourself, how you got into your present business.

2: Is the costume shop the only business you are involved in? Do you have any ambitions to spread your wings elsewhere?

3: What is your biggest selling item on the costume shop?

4: What was the last thing you wore to a fancy dress party?

5: Do you have a favourite quote that can be applied to business?

Thanks

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

OK, here we go:

shoutman wrote: »

Very quiet around here today,

I'll start things off.

1: Could you give us a brief history of yourself, how you got into your present business.

Names Ronan O'Brien. Serial Entrepreneur, degree in Commerce from UCD, also spent a year teaching Applied Business Competencies in UCD Quinn School of Business which i really enjoyed. Generally always had a passion for business and the start up process.

I'm guessing your talking about The Costume Shop as it was the business you mentioned. That one was actually a bet. A Friend and I were looking for costumes and couldn't find anywhere to get the ones we wanted in Ireland. At the time i was running a small telecom business in the UK and Ireland and i was getting a tad bored. To cut a long story short, that was in September - we had the business plan written that night and the business launched three weeks later - three weeks before Halloween.


2: Is the costume shop the only business you are involved in? Do you have any ambitions to spread your wings elsewhere?

I have several business' of which TheCostumeShop.ie would be the biggest. I also own TheBikiniShop.ie which as the name suggests is a swimwear company and am involved in the entertainment business.

Currently i'm in the process of acquiring a business in the pet products market. Also going to be involved in the running ChristmasFM this December a non stop Christmas music station for charity. A lot of the leg work happens in the next few months - getting donations and sponsors, this year were hoping to raise over 100,000 for our chose charity partner The Simon Community which aims to eradicate homelessness. Those two projects along with a busy Halloween should keep me going for the next 5 months. Hoping to Launch 2 businesses in 2010 also.

3: What is your biggest selling item on the costume shop?

Honestly i wouldn't know off hand, i'd have to ask the general manager. My work is to do with strategy and growth, the day to day aspects of the business are looked after by other people.

4: What was the last thing you wore to a fancy dress party?

JigSaw puppet Costume


You gotta love the Saw horror films.


5: Do you have a favourite quote that can be applied to business?

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The entrepreneur is not really interested in doing the work; he is interested in creating the way the company operates. In that regard, the entrepreneur is an inventor. He or she loves to invent, but does not love to manufacture or sell or distribute what he or she invents.
Michael Gerber [/FONT]


Thanks

Joseph

1. What age we're you when you started your first business, official / unofficial?

2. What age did you realise this was something you'd like to do / get into

3. Are any particular people inspirational to youu?

4. What has been your biggest challenge to date?

5. Has there been any problems/challenges that you've had to bring in someone elses advice on?

6. If you could go back to when you we're 17/18, just finished your leaving cert - is there anything you'd do differently and why?

7. Are you planning to move into other areas in the current climate?

8. Do you often come up with brilliant ideas for businesses only to find out that they are already been exploited?

9. Do you invest money in other peoples businesses?

10. What car do you drive?

11. When did you make your first million (personal wealth) // when do you estimate you'll make your first million

12. Have you taken any uncalculated or big risks?

13. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

14. How have you combated the reccession within your businesses?

15. Have you used the reccession for any business opportunities?

Thanks

shoutman

Thanks for the reply Ronan,

Did you do a masters after your Commerce degree?

Did you get a "normal job" after you finished your education or did you leave college with a business plan to get up and running asap?

Excellent candidate !

Hey ro,

How many businesses do you have ? How many are "e-commerce" such as TheCostumeShop and TheBikiniShop?

How soon after launching the costume shop did you get other people in to run it for you ? How long were you the "one man band" for ?

Do you ever find it hard to pull yourself away from the businesses you start and get other people in to manage for you ?

On a daily basis, what does your day involve i.e. time you get up at, what you generally do etc etc ?

How many holidays do you take a year ? How much time off do you like to have ? Do you have as much time off as you like ?

Did you (or do you still) use Enterprise Ireland for support in any of your businesses i.e. mentors, finance (website grants etc) ? If you did, how did you find them overall ?

Does business run in your family or were you the first to become an "Entrepreneur" or "Business Owner" (Michael Gerber will be happy I made the distinction )

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@ Deaddude

Deaddude wrote: »

1. What age we're you when you started your first business, official / unofficial?

I'd say about 9, myself and a friend used to wash cars around our estates. Being 9 we weren't able to reach the roofs, so we charged extra if we wanted that. The goal was to get enough money to build a tree house, one item at a time.

2. What age did you realise this was something you'd like to do / get into

I've always hated being told what to do and love to question authority, in senior infants i went on strike cause the work was too hard, no one could tell me why i needed to do it and anyway my dad got paid when he went to work. The teacher bless her cotten socks, from then on gave me 2pence every semester and i worked my tiny ass off.

3. Are any particular people inspirational to you?

Tim Ferris, total legend, got me interested in being life hacker and remote working. He's a massive influence.


4. What has been your biggest challenge to date?

Work life balance, I "work" six and a half days a week. 12 - 16 hours a day. I moved down the country to be able to grow the business faster so see the folks and friends a lot less than i'd like to. I say "work" in inverted comma's because i love what i do and if i do take time off - chances are as soon as my mind free's itself up i'll come up with a new idea and new thing i'm exploring the possibilities. When you job is thinking it's hard to switch off your brain.


5. Has there been any problems/challenges that you've had to bring in someone elses advice on?

Yup, I have various people i turn to in specialized fields when i'm stuck. If i can't find the right person i find Twitter great for getting referrals.

I promised i'd add value on this trend so here's a big that helps me - you don't need a degree to take advantage of education. If your really challanged on a particular topic you can be sure hundreds of other business have had this same problem and some have succeeded. You don't need to have gone to harvard to have the best business education in the world - you can buy the answers in the form of case studies for one challange at a time. And for only $9.99.

6. If you could go back to when you we're 17/18, just finished your leaving cert - is there anything you'd do differently and why?

Not a thing, my life back then was epic. I loved being immature.


7. Are you planning to move into other areas in the current climate?

Definately i really believe that there has never been a better time to start up a business, oppertunity is ripe and people are way more willing to give the new guy a try. As mentioned in the process of aquiring a pet products business at the moment. Have a three month deadline on getting that up and running.

8. Do you often come up with brilliant ideas for businesses only to find out that they are already been exploited?

Not really, i get idea's often, explore some and they don't work out. It's all part of the process. I just see it as one step closer to my next sucess.

9. Do you invest money in other peoples businesses?

I used to more so than i do now, i have a few small investments, but really i believe that money isn't the best thing i have to offer a business. So from that perspective i'm more inclined to partner with someone to bring value than to simply invest and walk away.

10. What car do you drive?

Lexus

11. When did you make your first million (personal wealth) // when do you estimate you'll make your first million

Not particularily interested in personal weath at the moment. If i have money it goes into the businesses, oppertunity is too good to take it out. Anyway i don't have enough time to spend it.

12. Have you taken any uncalculated or big risks?

Yeah pleanty, ran a telecom business which was great on paper but i mis-calculated the suppliers power and it didn't work out. Some would say it was a failure but i learned so much which i applied to the next business.

13. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Doing the same thing, with bigger numbers and more staff. Hopefully.

14. How have you combated the reccession within your businesses?

The recession has changed the basics of how business is done. With any shift in the rules of the game comes oppertunity.

15. Have you used the reccession for any business opportunities?

Absolutely, Since it started we've added two warehouses to the business at favourable rents, been fortunate to have been able to hire some amazing staff that we would never have been able to get during the tiger. Suppliers are more keen to collaborate to grow our business as they grow when we do. Slowly ego's are disappearing from people in high positions - which is great.

Thanks

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Shoutman

shoutman wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Ronan,

Did you do a masters after your Commerce degree?

Nope, i'm not the academic type, couldn't wait to get out of college. I'm dyslexic and find studying really hard. Wouldn't have had the patience for a Masters. Although i find education important, it focuses on theory. Theory means very little in the real business world - it's all about micro testing and constant improvement.

Did you get a "normal job" after you finished your education or did you leave college with a business plan to get up and running asap?

I did an 2 month internship once in a global financial institution. I wrote a formula in excel that used to do half my job for me during my lunch hour, when the girl came back from her maternity leave i was excited to show her my invention - and devestated when she went back to doing the job manually.

Other than that i've always worked for myself / paid on preformance.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@TheEntrepreneur

Deleted User wrote: »

Excellent candidate !

Hey Ronan (i hate "ro"),

How many businesses do you have ? How many are "e-commerce" such as TheCostumeShop and TheBikiniShop?


4 businesses, 2 in E-Commerce. That will increase to 5 / 3 by next month.

Also recently set up an e-commerce business in exchange for consulting time from an expert in the marketing field. The business is an audio program for Stress Relief and Guided Relaxation. Barter is a great tool in a down turn and i'm always open to barter opportunities.

Actually just had a though, i'm going to use what i learned from that project to release an album on itunes this Christmas for the Charity i mentioned earlier.


How soon after launching the costume shop did you get other people in to run it for you ? How long were you the "one man band" for ?

Took about a year.

Do you ever find it hard to pull yourself away from the businesses you start and get other people in to manage for you ?

Well i usually do it slowly and hang on to the bits i love about the business. I do all the marketing for all the business and oversee the purchasing decisions. I find it easy to let go of the boring bits, if someone can do the job better than me then it makes sense to let them at it, repetitive stuff gets a process built around it and handed off. I love building the processes and seeing them work.

On a daily basis, what does your day involve i.e. time you get up at, what you generally do etc etc ?

Get up, erm depends when i went to bed. Check emails, read my google reader, have a shower, skip breakfast, get to the office. Plan out my day tasks and go from there. No two days are ever the same. This Monday TheBikiniShop.ie is on Ireland AM TV3 (7.45 - check it ou if you can), although im not presenting i'll be there to make sure the bikini models are happy and everything runs smoothly - Tough job but someones got to do it .

How many holidays do you take a year ? How much time off do you like to have ? Do you have as much time off as you like ?

Holidays - depends I don't have set holidays like an employed person. I love to travel, but again i travel a lot with work so holidays would be once a year. Still this year i've been to India with work and am going to the USA next month to meet our suppliers.

Basically i have total control of my time i can work remotely from anywhere in the world, so it's never a "holiday" as you would imagine from an employed perspective.

Did you (or do you still) use Enterprise Ireland for support in any of your businesses i.e. mentors, finance (website grants etc) ? If you did, how did you find them overall ?

Never had mentors, would love to have one though.

I got a micro trade grant once for a north south boarder collabortation, it was a big risk and we needed backing on it. It went really well and the hunch turned out to be right. The grant process itself was ok, however it took 5/6 months for them to release the money so by the time we got the funds the project had already been through the sink or swim phase, luckily for us it was a success.

Earlier this year we got approved for a website grant for the enterprise board. Unfortunately the enterprise boards were creating a new "overseeing pannel" of beaurocracy and the terms of the agreement was that we wouldn't incur any expenses untill the funds were given final approval. This was Janurary when things are quiet so i had staff doing very little and after 2 months of sitting on our asses we retracted our application and got on with building the business. The oppertunity cost was emmense and i don't think i'll be applying for grants again anytime soon.

Does business run in your family or were you the first to become an "Entrepreneur" or "Business Owner" (Michael Gerber will be happy I made the distinction )

Yes, my dad runs his own business so there is a history there. I'm involved in running his business a little too.

Mickk

Hi Ronan, (my first question is already answered, I thought you might be the model in the robin hood outfit on your main page...)

How old are you?

What do you dread doing and what do you love (in your business)?

What was the hardest business decision you ever had to make and looking back did you make the right decision?

What motivates you?

What do you love doing outside of your business?

Thanks,

Mick

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Mickk

Mickk wrote: »

Hi Ronan, (my first question is already answered, I thought you might be the model in the robin hood outfit on your main page...My legs arent that good!)

How old are you?

Twenty Six

What do you dread doing and what do you love (in your business)?

Accounts are no fun, but its massively important to know every number. Love marketing, strategy, new business launches and the creative stuff.

What was the hardest business decision you ever had to make and looking back did you make the right decision?

Firing people totally sucks, especially when they are good people and have kids etc. Its the worst part of the job but something that shouldn't be delegated.

What motivates you?

Winning and being ahead of the game. I love being on the cutting edge and the excitement of the first few sales in a new start up.

What do you love doing outside of your business?

Travel, i love travel. Especially Africa and the 3rd world.

Really into music and DJing, then the question comes up is DJing work or pleasure. :rolleyes:

Thanks,

Mick

Axwell

Hi Ronan,

1. What are your 3 best and 3 worst traits in a business sense?

2. 3 bits of advice you would give someone starting out completely from scratch knowing wht you do now?

3. How do you come up with ideas, do you research things online or do they just come to you or is there some secret method your hiding from everyone??

4. What costume are you going to wear this year for halloween?

5. Do those models of Ireland Am work for you and can i have their numbers??

Cheers!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@axwell

Axwell wrote: »

Hi Ronan,

1. What are your 3 best and 3 worst traits in a business sense?

3 Worst -

• I'm really impatient
• I hate repeating myself - I have a rule with my staff that i don't repeat myself - unless its vitally important (so pay attention the first time - i find this rule helpful and saves massive time)
• I can sometimes come across as cocky to someone that doesn't know me and i don't take any blagging / fluff.

3 Best -

• Very decisive,
• Good at making processes (Eliminate, delegate, automate)
• I Use Pareto's 80/20 principle (a lot).

2. 3 bits of advice you would give someone starting out completely from scratch knowing wht you do now?

• Test everything on a small scale before going big
• Never trust suppliers invoicing and currency conversions
• If someone tells you something can't be done, ask someone else

3. How do you come up with ideas, do you research things online or do they just come to you or is there some secret method your hiding from everyone??

Not really, i have lots of idea's and i've got better at identifying which ones have the most potential without putting massive efforts into them. Google has an amazing amount of information for market segments.

Businesses aren't necessarily about having a unique idea, i'm not the first to think of selling costumes online. But in Ireland, i'm the first to do it well. All that matters is that you are adding value and making a contribution to your customers that they value.

4. What costume are you going to wear this year for halloween?

I'm not telling you incase you show up at the same club dressed as me and try to make out with my girlfriend.

5. Do those models of Ireland Am work for you and can i have their numbers??

Yep, i have them parading around my office on the hour every hour for inspiration. Lol i wish. Naomi is my part of the team, the rest are the cream of Ireland's Modeling talent.

With regard to the number I asked, they said how about i give them yours and they might call you.

Cheers!

Axwell

Thanks for that Ronan, ill await their calls ..the rest of ye back off i got their first

flash harry

Hi Ronan

1) What strategies do you recommend for increasing your online presence?
2) Did you outsource your initial website and if so how much did it cost?
3) (may have been asked) When did costumeshop start?
4) How many people do you employ (in all businesses)?

Thanks

FH

Axwell

Some more questions for you Ronan..

Q1..your 3 biggest achievements to date in business and your 3 biggest mistakes..

Q2..What do you see as being the next big thing or area to get Ireland back in good times..property and building was the big thing..so what next?

Q3..3 things that you think make a good entrepreneur..

Q4..Do you feel education is important..for example do you think it works out better if you do say a marketing degree or if you just go at it from day one once you leave school into the big bad world?

Q5..If i gave you say 50k..what type of industry would you invest it in right now?

Q6..Why havent any of the models called yet..you sure you passed on my number?? :P

Sonnenblumen

Hi Ronan

What do you consider are the basics of doing business?

Can you elaborate on how you believe the recession has changed the basics of how business is done.

Tks
SB

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@flash harry

flash harry wrote: »

Hi Ronan

1) What strategies do you recommend for increasing your online presence?

Apart from having your site well optimized and general marketing (Google ads etc), its important to give customers a good experience and a service worth talking about.

2) Did you outsource your initial website and if so how much did it cost?

The initial test on our first E-commerce project was a website developed ourselves, later we turned to people with more skills in different area's. Websites are always work in progress, we constantly working on growing the site and adding new features. Every 6-12 months the site usually get a total overhaul to keep up to date with the latest security and add new features, this is mostly in the code and we try our best to keep the front end looking and feeling the same.

3) (may have been asked) When did costumeshop start?
2007

4) How many people do you employ (in all businesses)?
11

Thanks

FH

Rex Manning

Just the 2 questions for you Ronan,

You said you have quite a few ideas for potential businesses - how do you decide which ones are viable and which ones to ditch?

Do you have any criteria for assessing them and did you ever pass up an idea and regret it?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Axwell

Axwell wrote: »

Some more questions for you Ronan..

Q1..your 3 biggest achievements to date in business and your 3 biggest mistakes..

Achievements - Not really sure how to answer this, tough question.

1. Getting a part time job teaching in UCD Commerce faculty while doing my finals - Primarily because i remember so distinctly a 6th year teacher telling me not to aim so high and that i wasn't capable of getting into a college like UCD so not to bother and drop down to ordinary level Science ie. decrease his work load.
2. When i went to hire my second staff member i couldn't decide between two candidates so i took a risk and hired them both, even though i wasn't sure we needed them both. Turned out to be a fantastic decision and helped our accelerated growth.
3. Generally getting to where i am now, i pretty chuffed that i'm here.

Biggest Mistakes:

I'm one of those people that thinks mistakes are a necessary part of learning curves. I try to make as many as possible and do them in a controlled test environment.


Q2..What do you see as being the next big thing or area to get Ireland back in good times..property and building was the big thing..so what next?

I think things are going to be going online a lot more. Googles announcement of Chrome OS is in my opinion a clear step not to compete with Mircosoft but to compete with the amount of time people spend off line vs online. When your online Google can monetarise your presence.

One company is going to make a killing in the courier business and destroy An Post who are too lethargic to ever be turned around now.

Leisure group activities are going to grow, things that are socialble, fitness outside of gyms etc.

Property will be unfashionable and unexciting for 15 - 20 years, things go in waves. The accommodation that was built in the last few years is too small (tiny rooms) to remain attractive in an environment of declining population and too many people will be burned in this down turn (property will continue to decrease for 6 - 12 months).

Our population will continue to age - globally nursing home facilities will be required on a predictable scale that no-one seems to be addressing. Related services will increase in their demand. It really upsets me that now so many people will be destitute in their old age with inadequate pensions and a reliance on their kids - if they are lucky enough to have any.

Q3..3 things that you think make a good entrepreneur..

I just do it, no excuses i just get on with it and that in my opinion is the only difference - I'm not smarter and don't possess any secrets.

Q4..Do you feel education is important..for example do you think it works out better if you do say a marketing degree or if you just go at it from day one once you leave school into the big bad world?

Education is good, but i think the education system in Ireland is a bit of a mess. It needs a complete make over, its using the same formula that is designed to make blue collar workers. In what i do if i don't know the answer to a question i ask someone else - in school collaboration and partnerships is cheating.

However leaving school is a bad idea but then again so is being a sales person that hasn't read a single book on how to sell. Education is a life long process. The rules change, often, and everyone needs to be adaptable.

You don't need a degree you just need to be interested enough to find out the information contained in one.

Q5..If i gave you say 50k..what type of industry would you invest it in right now?

That question is too open ended. Business isn't only about money.

You need to decide on your objectives for the money. Whats going to be your risk tolerance - does it matter if you loose it all or is this your pension fund? Whats the investment term?

Q6..Why havent any of the models called yet..you sure you passed on my number?? :P

They didn't i'm shocked:eek:

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Sonnenblumen

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Hi Ronan

What do you consider are the basics of doing business?

Can you elaborate on how you believe the recession has changed the basics of how business is done.

Ok i'm expecting lots of people don't see money and business the way i do, but i'll give you my opinion on it all.

Money is a reflection of an individuals contribution to society, multiplied by leverage. To explain, a child minder does one of the most important jobs in the world - raising a kid, but only does it for one kid; High contribution low leverage. A footballer entertains for 90 minutes, on its own not a huge contribution to a persons life; but the stadium, the TV coverage, the fact other people can share the experience is all leverage that means they receive a lot of money as their contribution is leveraged to millions of people.

Therefore the only way to succeed is to add value to peoples lives that they are willing to pay for. If overall people have less money then their priorities change and with it the landscape for business.

Where people were happy to pay for conveniences in the past now are willing to shop around or try the competitors, so if you weren't adding enough value (be it your fault or not) you need to move on. So many times i walk into businesses and see them doing a million things so badly but the customers put up with it and noone stops to ask how good can it get and how do we improve.

The recession means that small more flexible companies can take on the big companies on a more equal footing.

Regardless of the recession, the landscape has changed, there are too many people fighting for customers attention, increasingly every where you go people are bombarded with advertising and we are becoming experts at filtering it all out (fast forward live TV to get rid of the ads anyone??). So now business have to do different things to get attention - provide exceptional customer service, do something worth talking about, risk reversals, ask for referrals, be of benefit to your customers.

Take TV for example, are the networks really required anymore? Could a successful show (like family guy) get canceled and still grow their audience to the point of breaking critical mass? Do they even need networks, what about if people could log onto their site, watch the episodes for free and they earned the revenue from relevant (age, profile and geo) targeted ads that can't be filtered out.

Hope that answers your question, sorry i went on so long.

Tks
SB

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Rex Mannign

Rex Manning wrote: »

Just the 2 questions for you Ronan,

You said you have quite a few ideas for potential businesses - how do you decide which ones are viable and which ones to ditch?

For online businesses you can check how many search queries Google receives for any key term. This is the equivalent offline on standing outside a potential location for a cafe and counting the number of people that walk by (footfall) in a full day. Then i'd check out the competitor in a similar location to work out a % of how many of those would use the facility.

It's fairly easy online to find out on forums if people are happy with the current providers or if they are searching to find something which isn't being catered for.

You can use Adwords to test marketing and click through, guage interest estimate the viability.

Then contact suppliers and operators outside of your target location / market to work out profitability ratios etc.

Do you have any criteria for assessing them and did you ever pass up an idea and regret it?

Yeah, first question is will it be fun. No point in doing something that i don't like and can't get passionate about. Is it worth the hassle is another one - sounds flippant but i won't be going into selling diet pills or something that causes massive hassle to a vendor.

I've passed up on loads of idea's, plenty that i know I could have made successful but i rarely have regrets because the opportunity cost of not doing them got me to where i am.

Mickk

How are your staff distributed? As in do you have three packing orders, two working on the website ect. I am guessing you run all the websites form the same location.

Have you ever thought of opening a retail location?

Whats your take on the type of people online verses the gen population and do you ever think that internet purchasing will take over from high street?

Thanks

Mick

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@mickk

Mickk wrote: »

How are your staff distributed? As in do you have three packing orders, two working on the website ect. I am guessing you run all the websites form the same location.

We have three warehouses (each including offices) but all based in Portlaoise. I'm not going to go into detail on how we physically structure the business, i'm sure many of our competitors may be reading this and every year on average 6 home based e-commerce costume companies start up (and 6 other ones fail) in Ireland. All i will say is we have a very lean, scalable and efficient model.

Sorry i wont be more specific, we have enough copy cat businesses as it it - one that launched recently even calls itself The Costume - Shop and tries to pass itself off as us.


Have you ever thought of opening a retail location?

Thought about it, but frankly in my opinion a permanant costume shop isn't a viable business, ie. investigated it and it does meet certain criteria.


Whats your take on the type of people online verses the gen population and do you ever think that internet purchasing will take over from high street?

I think that there will always be high street shops but people are coming more astute to the benefits of shopping online. Its obvious that an online company will have lower overheads and therefore can have tighter margins. Online just suits certain products better, for example come december those ladies lucky enough to go on a winter holiday won't find nice Bikini's in many shops, however they will find a huge range of bikinis online.

People also are becoming more aware of the value of their time. Going into town to get an item of clothing people now factor in the value of an hour or two of their time, petrol and parking (or bus and taxi) and measure that up against shipping costs and the discounts they can get online for the same thing. Then again, almost noone is going to buy their wedding dress online - that product is only suited to a bricks and mortar business.

Thanks

Mick

Imposter

Fancy Dresser wrote:

So many times i walk into businesses and see them doing a million things so badly but the customers put up with it and noone stops to ask how good can it get and how do we improve.

The recession means that small more flexible companies can take on the big companies on a more equal footing.

Can you expand a bit on that - Do you not think that the bigger companies will just copy what the smaller guys are doing well? Ok it may take some time but surely it will eventually happen?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Imposter

Imposter wrote: »

Can you expand a bit on that - Do you not think that the bigger companies will just copy what the smaller guys are doing well? Ok it may take some time but surely it will eventually happen?

Sure. Take Broadband companies, they all compete and bench mark against against each other. The differential is almost nothing therefore they become a commodity based solely around price. But did they ever consider being customer focused? For example in my experience it takes all in all 6 weeks to get a line installed, be it Eircom, digiweb etc. They tell you seven days but in the last four installations i've had it was at least six weeks (sometimes after six weeks they realized they didn't cover the area).

Now for me Broadband is important and i would have paid a premium for a faster installation (ie. next day) but noone provided this in my area, but to do so would have been easy and i'm sure they would find staff to work overtime for double pay - thats really all it required. However they decided it was a service that wasn't required rather than pricing it accordingly and letting the customer decide.

Big companies by their very nature are beurocratic and like to play it safe. Making a decision takes time and someone putting their neck on the line. World TPS Ireland was set up by a guy in bank of Ireland Merchant services that couldn't get the big company he worked at to expand into the credit card processing area, bet they regret that now.

Small businesses need to be strategic and flexible about how they take on the big boys. For example you can create a leaner way to do business through ellimination, delegation and automation, which results in a price advantage or better service that a big player can't match as they are still paying for their systems and staff that are no longer required in your new way of doing things. While they are busy copying you, you'll be innovating so that you'll stilll be a step ahead when they catch up.

The fact is many big companies have been caught with their pants down by the recession. Why were banks always in such grand buildings and did they really need to throw expensive overnight 5 star hotel christmas parties for their staff to impress them? Did the staff even want that? Did they even ask them what they wanted? I don't know any start ups that would be so wasteful. Does anyone really choose their phone network based on the logo on a football shirt or would they prefer cheaper better quality service. What i'm getting at is somewhere along the line Ego gets into the picture and decisions are made without the entrepreneurial mindset.

Sonnenblumen

FD

I think some aspect of your views on Big Companies has some vaildity, much of it I think is over-simplistic. Take a very large Retailer eg a German Discounter, if they suddenly decide to offer Costumes as a regular stock item, I think your competitive advantage of being small would be severely tested and perhaps long term viability would be in grave danger?

Big Companies might appear bureaucratic, but they are also supporting in many cases sophisticated internal procedures and complex business models.

Large corporates by scale alone are not niche sellers/marketers, but probably major brand owners and/or OEM suppliers which are competitive and volume based.

You cannot compare the business model of a 'Momma Pop Corner Shop operation' with that of a Multiple (National/International)?

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@Imposter

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

FD

I think some aspect of your views on Big Companies has some vaildity, much of it I think is over-simplistic. Take a very large Retailer eg a German Discounter, if they suddenly decide to offer Costumes as a regular stock item, I think your competitive advantage of being small would be severely tested and perhaps long term viability would be in grave danger?

Big Companies might appear bureaucratic, but they are also supporting in many cases sophisticated internal procedures and complex business models.

Large corporates by scale alone are not niche sellers/marketers, but probably major brand owners and/or OEM suppliers which are competitive and volume based.

You cannot compare the business model of a 'Momma Pop Corner Shop operation' with that of a Multiple (National/International)?

Possibly. We wont have to wait long to test the theory, Heatons (arguably comparable to the large German discounter, who i too expect to have a small selection this year) and one of the DIY stores this year will compete on the same turf selling costumes and then we can test if the theory holds up.

I understand the complex business models they use, however where possible i opt to replace the complex with a simpler process. I suppose what i believe is that Large corporates by scale alone cannot cater for the niche buyers/markets. Some products are suited to the mass multiples and some to the "Momma Pop Corner Shop" as you call them, i'd class my business interests in neither of those categories. To go back to a previous example a wedding dress will never be a product suitable to a mass market.

flash harry

"For online businesses you can check how many search queries Google receives for any key term."

How do you do this Fancy D????

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@flash harry

flash harry wrote: »

"For online businesses you can check how many search queries Google receives for any key term."

How do you do this Fancy D????

Use this Tool from Google

Mickk

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@mickk

I understand about not going into how you run things. What is the other business you have mentioned? (you said you are involved in three)

(Apart from the obvious perks) What made you start a bikini shop? I mean it's not usually what a youngish lad has expert knowledge of or knows a lot about.

Have you ever tried to trademark your costume shop name? It's such a descriptive term I would say it would be hard.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Mickk

Mickk wrote: »

I understand about not going into how you run things. What is the other business you have mentioned? (you said you are involved in three)

There's one offline business which i'm involved with (so offline it doesn't even have a website), but there are other involved one of which i don't really want it to be associated with the other businesses because its worlds apart. So i'm going to keep that quiet if thats ok so as not to upset the other people involved.

(Apart from the obvious perks) What made you start a bikini shop? I mean it's not usually what a youngish lad has expert knowledge of or knows a lot about.

Not about those perks at all to be honest, i have a girlfriend so i'm not interested in the models in that sense. TheBikiniShop just came out of oppertune timing, we have a fashion designer on our staff and it took advantage of expertise built up from TheCostumeShop. My sister was buying her bikini's in from the USA and complaining about being surpised by having to pay the Vat and Duty on the package. I had met a brand that wanted to sell into Ireland and there was no websites serving that niche well (in my opinion - yes there are many that sell bikinis, lets skip that debate) and we have the skills and infastructure to make it happen. I ran the numbers, they made sense and it seemed like a fun thing to do.


Have you ever tried to trademark your costume shop name? It's such a descriptive term I would say it would be hard.

I thought about it and looked into it briefly, from what i gather its too much of a generic term to trade mark. Even still when someone pretends to be a business their not and makes flase claims to imply they are you, you have rights under common law. The problem is that it would cost more in time and legal fees to close him down than he grosses in a year. Stastically he's not likely to last more than a year, as its a part time business. If it continues being a problem we'll go there, but frankly at the moment i'm not in the mood to spend boring days in courts and i don't have anyone working for me who would be comfortable doing so. Yet.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

contentking

Thanks for doing this Ronan.

1. What is your all time favourite business book (apart from the 4 hour work week)?
2. I have a business idea, that I think will require a good bit of advertising and money to get going (about €3k+) not a great deal of money but my current circumstances can't afford this right now. Did you require alot of capital to get your first business up and running and where did you look for help?
3. Do you do mentoring?

Thanks

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Scien

Scien wrote: »

Great thread Ronan, thanks for doing it.
Although you've made me quite depressed that you've 11 people working for you at 26!

Ah age becomes fairly irrelevant after 21 in my opinion. 'Kernal Sanders' who set up KFC was 65 and retired when he started up.

Continued Success.

@contentking

contentking wrote: »

Thanks for doing this Ronan.

1. What is your all time favourite business book (apart from the 4 hour work week)?

I have loads of favourites and its a great question to ask any business person.

If i had to chose a number 2 (you already have the no.1) its Dale Carnegies How to win friends and influence people. Summed up here for those interested. Written in 1936 and still relevant today.

Jay Abraham is another great author I'd highly recommend, i find he's ego a little trying, but he really does have the fundamentals to back it up. Seth Godin - Purple Cow, great book and i find it fascinating that the book is more relevant now than when it was published. Genious and he's a cool guy too.


2. I have a business idea, that I think will require a good bit of advertising and money to get going (about €3k+) not a great deal of money but my current circumstances can't afford this right now. Did you require alot of capital to get your first business up and running and where did you look for help?

Yes and no, i financed most of the start up on credit card debt. I don't recommend doing that but i watch the numbers very closely and never paid any interest. At your kind of price range that might be a way to go, but you really have to really understand the numbers.

Unfortunately many start ups waste money on advertising without knowing their ROI in advance. Advertising should not be throwing money at a wall and hoping it sticks.


3. Do you do mentoring?

I might do some day, but at the moment its not something I have much time for. If you fancy putting down some info on your startup without giving away the goose with the golden egg - i'll see if i can give you some advice.

Thanks

heathersonline

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@Scien

Yes and no, i financed most of the start up on credit card debt. I don't recommend doing that but i watch the numbers very closely and never paid any interest. At your kind of price range that might be a way to go, but you really have to really understand the numbers.

@contentking

Do you think using credit cards for a bigger startup is feasible? ie 10-12k? Assuming a close eye is kept rates etc also. I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. Fair play to you, great thread

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@heathersonline

heathersonline wrote: »

Do you think using credit cards for a bigger startup is feasible? ie 10-12k? Assuming a close eye is kept on them also...

It's possible, but it's a really bad idea. James Cann (dragons Den judge) started his first business venture on 20/30k of credit card debt. But lets be crstal clear on this, anyone that pays credit card interest isn't in control of their finances, the interest is just way too high. Paying interest on credit cards is a mugs game and if you are doing it now you should be straight down to your bank to get a loan out to cover the debt and pay if off at a reasonable rate and time frame.

The question is if the deal totally falls through could you cope, on 3k its possible to dig yourself out with a bit of hard work. When the numbers get bigger that gets more difficult.

The real question is why would you need to finance a 10-12k investment on very short term debt. If the banks refuse you maybe the have reason, have you tried using OPM (other peoples money), OPR (other peoples resources) or vendor finance? Noones admitting it, but many entrepreneurs at the moment are using the "car loan" rates at the banks.

Can you find a way of starting up and being more lean. Offer customers discounts to pay in advance by explaining your situation - in this economy people are more understanding and very keen to cut their costs in any way.

Are you paying for your advertising upfront or paying more for it but basing that payment on results?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

heathersonline

Also today i found that banks are lending at 3.3% interest through a European Development Fund. This is the best rate i've ever seen for commercial lending and would suggest its worth calling down to your bank over.

shoutman

This is a great therad,

Another question from me,

What is your idea of Heaven/Nirvana/Utopia?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

shoutman wrote: »

This is a great therad,

Another question from me,

What is your idea of Heaven/Nirvana/Utopia?

Yikes, I don't really have one. A cold beer by the pool somewhere sunny.

I think focusing on something so far off for me is difficult, don't know why. I'm more interested in something challenging but achievable in the short term. (Goes to the fridge and gets a cold beer).

Hey man,

Another few questions for you.

1) What's your top 5 favorite web sites ?

2) Did you teach yourself SEO/Internet Marketing ?

3) Do you have any Virtual Assistants ?

EDIT: 4) What's the most invaluable piece of software you live by ?

5) Recommend any stock inventory software ?

6) Have you found it hard to acquire exclusivity agreements with your suppliers ?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@TheEntrepreneur

Deleted User wrote: »

Hey man,

Another few questions for you.

1) What's your top 5 favorite web sites ?

It changes weekly but this week:

Mashable.com
Twitter.com
Zappos.com - Best e-commerce site in the world in my opinion.
Google Reader
Lifehacker.com

2) Did you teach yourself SEO/Internet Marketing ?

Marketing online and offline operate under the same principles. I read a lot - actually thats technically not true, im dyslexic so i use Audible.co.uk, librivox.org (free public domain audio books) and blue tooth interface my laptop to my car and listen to all the business books as Audio books while driving.

We hired in consultants for the SEO to make sure we were doing everything correctly. But generally i do the SEO and SEM myself.

3) Do you have any Virtual Assistants ?

Yes and no, i don't use them full time like some but i do outsource projects, research and some errands to VA's occasionally. But now that i have a EA (executive assistant) i find it more productive to delegate that way. Some of the VA firms are charing $8-$19 an hour and with the job market as it is we've been fortunate with being able to recruit great staff here in Ireland. The VA train was useful when you couldnt hire someone for love nor money, now i prefer to create jobs locally.

Job bank at FAS is an amazing service. I've got over 100 emails this morning (its 10.15am) for an opening we have and the CVs are all very impressive. I love the recession.

EDIT: 4) What's the most invaluable piece of software you live by ?

Google reader

5) Recommend any stock inventory software ?

Erm i'm not really the one to ask on this, hop on twitter and you'll get a better response from people who know more than me.

6) Have you found it hard to acquire exclusivity agreements with your suppliers ?

Yes and no. Generally we don't have exclusivity agreements, i don't feel the need to be anti competitive. Obviously if i hire a designer to make a bikini i don't want it being ripped off, but were no Brown Thomas who need to be the only ones selling to keep the prices that make their model sustainable.

If we want to be exlusive about something we make it ourselves in factories in China / USA that we work with under our own brand. Otherwise we buy from big reputable brands and compete on the basis of offering a better service.

Axwell

Hey Ronan..few more for you.

1: 3 things you cant do without for work purposes (blackberry etc..)?

2: Your biggest amibitions to achieve before you hit 30?

3: Your favourite tune to stick on when you Dj?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Axwell

Axwell wrote: »

Hey Ronan..few more for you.

1: 3 things you cant do without for work purposes (blackberry etc..)?

Broadband, Laptop and a cup of tea with honey in it.

2: Your biggest amibitions to achieve before you hit 30?

I'd love a funky sports car - Aston Martin, Lamborghini or Tesla

3: Your favourite tune to stick on when you Dj?

R.I.O - Shine on (Spencer and Hill mix)

Axwell

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@Axwell

Lambo FTW..not a bad track that..i was hoping you would say something by Axwell (not me the dj)..but alas no

Cheers for all the answers!

Nice answers Ronan.

What software do you use for your accounting if any ?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@TheEntrepreneur

Deleted User wrote: »

Nice answers Ronan.

What software do you use for your accounting if any ?

Excel

Sonnenblumen

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@TheEntrepreneur

How do you manage to do cheque/bank etc reconciliations with an Excel spreadsheet? Must be very time consuming and cumbersome?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Sonnenblumen

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

How do you manage to do cheque/bank etc reconciliations with an Excel spreadsheet? Must be very time consuming and cumbersome?

Not at all, with Marcos, formula, Vlookup and data filters it can be very effective. More so than some accountancy packages i've used. I find excel works well for e commerce businesses that can export data easily. Really the accounts people do all the number crunching stuff though. But in brief I use Estatements for the rec and have a saved Macro enabled work book (office 07) that automates much of the work. Takes a little time to set up the first time round but is a great when its done - lets face it though, accounting was never meant to be fun.

In one of the businesses we use Big Red book as an account package, its not too bad.

Tony Almeida

Hi Ronan

Fantastic read. I have a few questions...

1. I am intending on starting a line of t-shirts with a specific twist on a current design. So say for example im taking the tellytubbies image and turning it into tubbie tits, and distorting the image. That isnt the exact idea but its similar. What are the issues with copyright violations in this instance?

2. Can you recommend any books / websites for people starting in the manufacturing business

3. Can you recommend any suppliers in the far east to manufacture the t-shirts, and what is the story with shipping costs.. etc etc

I actually have a million questions, but if you can offer some place i can go for information for that idea ill leave you alone

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Tony Almeida

Tony Almeida wrote: »

Hi Ronan

Fantastic read. I have a few questions...

1. I am intending on starting a line of t-shirts with a specific twist on a current design. So say for example im taking the tellytubbies image and turning it into tubbie tits, and distorting the image. That isnt the exact idea but its similar. What are the issues with copyright violations in this instance?

I'm not qualified to give advice on this, but if it looks too close to the copyright design that's illegal or if it uses any of their trademarks. Read their filled trademarks to find out whats excluded. Certainly don't start with their image, you'd need to have something completely original. In general is it worth the hassle? Do that many people want a telli tubbi (changed spelling to avoid google alerts) with tits on it.

One thing i will say is that the T-shirt business fascinates me, i love cool and goofy t-shirts and there is a massive gap in European the market there. If i were you i'd forget about sourcing for a while and focus on the business model, make sure its scalable. You can get raw product in a variety of places. Hint: The next generation of T-shirt businesses ask the customers to vote on the designs and opt to buy them at a discount before they go into production. If the design is a winner you go into production, if the idea doesn't reach critical mass you move on, customer isn't charged and gets an email to say other people didnt think the t-shirt was cool enough to go into production. To make it scalable you don't need to design your own tshirts, let your community do that.

I'd start researching community building t-shirt manufacturers - my Favourite would be Threadless

"Meat is Murder, Tasty, Tasty Murder!"


2. Can you recommend any books / websites for people starting in the manufacturing business

Erm, i think you need to be very clear what business your going into. The T-shirt business is not a manufacturing business, thats what outscourced business in Asia are for. T-shirt business could be community, fashion, distribution, design - but not manufacturing.

Thats the biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make. Always remember that Mc Donalds is not in the hamburger business, that's just its product; Mc Donals is in the real estate business.


3. Can you recommend any suppliers in the far east to manufacture the t-shirts, and what is the story with shipping costs.. etc etc

That question could take all day, depends on loads of factors - size, quantity, quality, air frieght vs sea freight, import duty etc. Some entire businesses answer these questions and sove these problems for you.

I actually have a million questions, but if you can offer some place i can go for information for that idea ill leave you alone

Thats the point of the thread, I'd suggest back to the drawing board on the business model. Hope thats not too harsh. First person to ask for specific advice though, fair play to you.

If you dont like my advice then alibaba.com would be your best method to manufacturing in china, careful though there are scammers on it. Deal only with gold suppliers, they pay 5k Euro to be on it which is a huge investment for them and indicates their serious about business.