It's been a long but exciting 8 months...
Posted by Hannah Jones on
It’s been a long, but exciting 8 months…
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE (please skip this initial section if you are only interested in the pretty stuff!)
The past 8 months we have been purely recovering from our McArthur Glen Designer outlet ‘setback’ last summer (please read previous blog for allll the detail on that). Our pop-up shop at home has been running consistently every Tuesday and Saturday alongside our website. We have also had a chalet in Mumbles over the Christmas period which saw another busy and successful Christmas for MM!Focus turns on 2022. Jan and Feb have been drawing board months, putting together the ever-changing strategic plan of Minnie May’s future (literally changes every day HAHA!)
Strategic planning
I absolutely needed to pull myself away from the day-to-day detail and spend time on the long-term plan, because with growth becomes the potential to lose focus on our USP. There are a lot of other considerations which come with growth of a Company from a one-man band, but I won’t bore you with those.
All I know is, every move we make must be a sensible one or it becomes very costly for our small little business which has built itself so far on zero financial investment from myself or a third party (I am so proud!)
- TIME has been the biggest investment.
- Key DECISION MAKING has been the next biggest contributing factor to our success today. A bad decision can put you back months, a good one can catapult you forward overnight – it’s as simple as that. I will and I do bounce back from any ‘bad decisions’ but they just take longer to recover from and regain confidence. Once you’re on a run of success the momentum builds, as does the energy, and you find yourself steaming ahead at a quick pace.
So, whilst the past few months may have appeared quiet front of house, they have been the most important behind the scenes. And, just like that we are in March. This is where my plans tell me its show time, so here goes..
TEAM
Our current team of 3 is expanding. Myself, my Mum (Dana) and Faye have all been mucking in with various duties to get all the jobs done – buying, pricing, tagging, sewing, marketing, selling, packing, delivering, finance, the list is endless.
My plans tell me, it’s time to expand the team.
Growing MM Team
We are super excited to announce we are collaborating, details of which will follow this Monday 7th March. You will be seeing a lot of these girls on our MM socials and we are looking forward to seeing where this new working relationship takes us.
So as of Monday 7th March, our MM Team has grown to a Team of 5 – waaaaa!
The goal is to have experienced people in each category of the business to capitalise on their expertise. The first one we are ticking off is marketing. Well, we also have accountancy and finance ticked off because that is my area, so I guess that is two.
Faye
Faye is our young apprentice who must I say is now a Guru on our website and top salesperson at markets, while I am off chatting and on the coffee run, Faye is holding the fort. She is learning very quickly so her area of expertise will develop naturally, or she has an opportunity to decide as she grows with Minnie May.
Dana AKA MM Mum
My mum is just the glue. Is it just me or can Mum’s do it all? I mean one day she’s the business advisor, the next she’s the seamstress, then she’s the shop assistant, then she’s the cleaner. Whilst always being the punchbag and the main organiser. The list is endless. We don’t have a niche for Mum, a lot of her time is a gift (from heaven, literally!) Although we are very lucky, she has over 40 years of experience in the legal industry – so yep, the Day 1.
PRODUCTS
Our business has established 5 lines:
1) MM Rentals (RENT. RETURN. REPEAT)
2) MM Move (activewear)
3) MM Closet (exclusive buys including pre-loved)
4) MM Jewellery &
6) MM essentials (all the other bits which make the outfit).
RENT RETURN REPEAT is starting to pick back up, with our eased restrictions and events going ahead. We are preparing for a busy spring / summer period of outfit hire. It is promising to see more and more people buying into our goals and values of wearing it once with our rental service. More attitudes turning towards sustainable fashion.
In the shorter term, we have our first SS21 Collection 01 dropping very soon. Here our aim is to bring you exclusive pieces, carefully styled, to inspire your Spring wardrobe. Each product being a staple wardrobe item, with various opportunities for wear and re-styling, resulting in the need to buy less to keep up a stylish Spring wardrobe!
NEXT 6 MONTHS…
My main business focus in the next few months is ensuring our new and increased team runs smoothly and successfully whilst continuing to deliver the MM style.
Shop location
We may just have a new shop location in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled on that news which could be materialising early summer. However, I won’t make the same mistake as last time and overshare my excitement until doors are open and we can welcome you in.
Wholesale
We are entering the wholesale market. First starting with our MM Jewellery and MM Essentials line. If you are interested in stocking our products from these lines in your stores / boutiques / businesses, please get in touch. Details of full launch can be found in Wholesale section on our website once available.
Personal
If you have reached this part of my blog I am extremely flattered I have managed to keep you engaged for this length. I do have personal updates. Very exciting ones which are going to be upon us before I know it. As we grow and I move further away from the face of the business, this section is where you can follow my journey on a full career and personal level. On that note friends, I promise a personal update will be coming next time.
As always - THANK YOU – Hanx
For raw content, honesty and true feelings read our blogs. For all things fast, pretty and exciting follow our Instagram & TikTok. Balance is key, keep up with both and join the MM squad xox