How to make a million with an idea and an old sewing machine!
Throughout the day at meet the manufacturer there were also seminars going on alongside the event, offering tips and advice from their own experience of manufacturing in Britain and looking to inspire others to get involved and Make It British! Kate and Graham Holbrook from Turtle Doves gave some great insight and I thought it would be good to share their story with you.
A little bit about them
Founded in 2009 Kate had to leave work due to an injury and that is when the company Turtle Doves started. It started with an idea of fingerless gloves and in their first year they made a turn over of £10,000, whilst this year they are expecting a turn over of 1.5-2 million. Sustainability and recycling were key factors of their business, reusing old cashmere jumpers they would buy from charity shops to create their products. In 2015 they won the green apple award for sustainability, which M&S had won the previous year. Since that, they have pushed even further on their sustainability and now even re-cycle their own waste.
Why now and why make it in the UK?
The UK has been a manufacturing nation for years and today is the 9th biggest manufacturer in the world. Design, innovation and individuality are big factors in British manufacturing and there is a brilliant heritage to call on. With the internet now making it easier to find what we need and make connections, it is easier to find local businesses to work with. Also with easy access to information through the internet, we can research around a product online finding out vital information and easily doing market research etc. Informing ourselves will only push us to make better decisions! Don’t forget that you also need people and like Kate and Graham, through the internet they found investors that helped grow their business in the early stages. It is also important to share your story and keep it transparent so that people can connect with you and see all aspects of the business. Taking videos and posting them online will keep people interested and help them understand different stages of the business.
The downsides to overseas manufacturing
One of the downsides to manufacturing outside the UK, you would have to invest and buy a lot more products than you would if it were nearby. Maybe even having to buy more than you might be able to sell. Whereas local small production runs, might look like they cost more at the outset than an overseas run, but actually by the time you have tested your products from overseas and checked the quality is all up to standard, maybe resulting in some items being sent back, local production runs would end up costing less. Also the economist environment with the pound and currency situation it means the export opportunities are really good and also selling business to business in the UK. People are now less likely to be buying from overseas.
How to make money online
Something that helped them when selling online, is what some people call the golden equation. You take the traffic, you x that by the conversion rate and x that by your average order value and that will tell you how much you are going to make.
Selling wholesale
When deciding to sell wholesale you have to match your wholesaler price, your retailer will have an RRP price and you would have to up your price to match theirs as they wouldn’t want to sell your products if you were undercutting them and selling it for cheaper, on your website for example. Retailers don’t like to see competition. A tip would be, if you are starting your own business and not sure where you are going to be selling your products yet, have a wholesale margin in the price from the start as even selling online costs a lot of money.
A few last tips
Connections can dramatically change your business, get out their and get out of your comfort zone it is all about meeting people. If you surround yourself with the creative community, you can connect with people more. Be organised always take peoples name and write things down, you never know who might be able to help you one day!
