My First Business Partnership Part 1: Idea Conception
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 11:08AM I've been friend with Lois since I was 16. We both had part time jobs at the local JD Sports and began our friendship over KFC lunches and adding security tags to tracksuit bottoms. Over nearly ten years together we have been through breakups, weddings, photoshoots, videos, getting jobs, losing jobs and most recently, her having her first baby!
Lois & I in our early days of makeup, and me at the time 'modelling'!
Whilst we were at JD, I was off learning about music and Lois was studying at the London College of Fashion to become a make up artist. Fastforward a few years, and Lois is now the regional trainer for huge cosmetics company M.A.C. When Lois got pregnant and had her first child, she spoke to me about the idea of setting up her own business.
Of course my ears pricked up when I heard this. Lois is an AMAZING makeup artist, a perfectionist when it comes to getting stuff right and over all she is the most kind, generous and warm person I have ever met. Seriously. I knew customers would love her. She told me that she was thinking of learning how to do spray tans and maybe start doing them to earn some extra cash for when she had the baby. I thought this was a great idea. I told her that. I urged her to start her own business. But I didn't push it. I have met lots of people that I have urged into starting their own business and then been disappointed when they didn't do it. I am still a little controlling I think! However, after having her little one, Lois came to me again and said she was definitely doing the tanning course. She had also been doing a few random make up artists jobs (weddings and a couple of shows at fashion week) and I knew that my business sense coupled with her perfectionist ways and outstanding creativity we would be a dream partnership.
I knew I could help her to get more business, I knew I could sell her (Lois is the type of person that's so kind she doesn't even like to take money when people are offering), I knew I'd enjoy working with her, I knew I had a passion for the business idea and I BELIEVED it could work.
This is the checklist I recommend to go through when you have an idea for a business.
1. Are you passionate about the subject?
1 b. So passionate that you can see yourself working on it every day for years and years to come? Would you still enjoy this subject in 5 years? Don't get blinded by your enjoyment for the subject now.
2. If you are working with another person (business partner etc) are there any niggling doubts you have about their ability or commitment? Dig deep here, don't hide from your gut feeling, it will ALWAYS come out later and you will hate yourself for not listening to yourself at the start. Are you on the same page? Are they good with money? Can you trust them? How well do you know this person?
3. Can you see yourself selling the product or service without feeling like you're ripping people off? You need to believe your product or service is worth the money you are asking people to pay for it. Would you pay for it? Again, don't be blind sided by your enthusiasm for the project. If you're not sure, ask a few people that are within your TARGET MARKET. Don't ask your granny if she would pay £25 for a nightclub ticket. If it's not relevant you will get confused by the results.
4. How would you sell it to someone? If you can't wax lyrical about how great your product is off the cuff, it's probably not that good or you don't have any belief in it.
5. Does the business idea fit with my aims in life? If your whole aim in life is to work at little hours as possible whilst still making money, or you want to be able to work from anywhere in the world, or you want to work from home, does your business fit with this? It is no good thinking you can sort these things out later. If the business is a success it will be too late to change.
6. Do you believe? Deep down, really deep down, do you believe this business can work? What is your gut instinct. Filter out all of the noise and excitement of the idea. I try to sleep on the idea for at least 2 weeks before committing. I often get carried away in the moment of an idea only to relaise a few weeks down the line it was not going to work.
THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!
7. Sleep on it! Don't go off telling everyone about your idea until you are 100% sure. Promise yourself you will mull it over for at least 2 weeks. Don't over think it, just keep it in the back of your mind. You will be amazed at the questions and points your subconscious will raise. If you go shouting about your ideas to ayone and everyone whilst you are in the excited first days of your project it will a) make you look stupid and unreliable if you choose not to persue it due to various factors or b) stop you making a thought out decision. Your pride may stop you cutting off a project that's going nowehere and not going to make you any money because you've already told all your friends and family about it and don't want to look like a failure.
After me feeling that I had gone through all of the above points and was happy with the answers, and knew Lois was serious too, we met up and discussed how we could start a business together. My thoughts were this:
1. Brand Lois as a high end makeup artist in her own right, for weddings, video shoots etc
2. Start a 'Girls Night In' Tanning / Makeup / Beauty party company.
Now, neither of these things are re-inventing the wheel. But I knew that my business and marketing mind coupled with Lois's talent and personality was a winning combination. I knew that it was all down to how well we packaged the service.
So Lois booked on to her spray tan training and I got the cogs in my mind churning. After my experiences with my temporary wallpaper business I knew that the first thing to do was work out if this was a feasible idea that would make us money.
Look out for part 2 to see how we worked out our costings!
Reader Comments (1)
I love no. 1 to choose where you are capable or choose your passion and no.7. But most of all always be positive.