We are a small brand, dreaming big. So firstly, let me tell you everything as me, the person writing this blog, and also the person juggling all the million things that go into keeping a brand afloat. It has been one hell of a year, let me tell you that. We had our first ever physical pop-up store at an event and it was suchch an overwhelming response. I have all the juicy details on this one here at this blog. We launched a new collection at the event and y'all loved it! (it will also be available on our online store soon, promise!) We made some headway into how to play the social media game and had our first giveaway contest too (your responses and entries made us sooo happy, truly!)
But let’s now come to what we learnt along the way…
One thing for sure is that I alone cannot handle all the multiple to-dos if I want to be in this journey long-term. And when long-long-term is the goal, when my aim is to build a world-class headwear brand that stands tall for decades to come, I will have to let go of my reigns a little, trust other people, get guidance from industry experts, and not be shy to ask for help when needed. This was my biggest learning, and to be honest, I’m still learning how to do this well. As without mastering this, I will only be inconsistently good at 1 of the many things that need to be done to build this brand.
Which leads me to my second learning this year. To be consistent in my planning and execution of social media posts, of newsletters and blogs. This is such a Catch-22 situation, considering my aversion to social media in the first place. It is a constant back and forth with “should I bombard my social media fam with constant, unnecessary content just to gain more followers?” and “maybe it is the most necessary thing for the brand to reach more people”. Being a brand in this age of Digital Marketing, there is no true escape from consistent online presence, I have realised. And maybe we will be able to find a compromise? This coming year, I plan to post more authentically, creating only that content which will really be worth your time. And maybe do it more consistently than before.
In terms of product development, as always we have been taking feedback from our customers, making the product as comfortable as possible, with the usage of best quality raw materials that we can source. We continue to learn more ways of sourcing the best materials at good prices, while being fair to our vendors and partners and ensuring a happy workforce. This will continue to be a long-term learning process, but what matters will be how quickly we can give back to community and ensure a long-standing relationship of mutual win-wins.
I hope this list of learnings has inspired you to ask some important questions to yourself. But hey, don’t ponder too long, there’s a new year just around the corner, a new day on the horizon and a new beginning in sight!
Here’s wishing you a fantastic 2023! Love and light :)
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