Case Study: Home Décor

Background

Cassie was inspired to start her Seattle based home accessories business in 2004 after she went shopping for a new bed linen and found herself staring at a wall of pastel colours. There were probably over a hundred options and not one matched her own personal style. She started to wonder whether other people felt similarly, and her online home décor brand was born. 

Cassie and I started working together in 2017 and continue to meet for monthly business coaching. Cassie originally contacted me because sales had taken a nose dive after she went through an extended period of ill health. Cassie was under financial pressure because she did not have the funds needed to pay for new inventory and grow her business. Our work together was initially focused on stabilising the financial position of the company, before we went on to work on her business growth strategy. 

A Strategic Approach

During our monthly coaching sessions, I followed a similar strategic planning process to the one I used as a Chief Executive. The aim was to answer the following four seemingly simple questions in order to come up with a strategic roadmap and action plan to turn Cassie’s business around:

1. Where are you now?

2. Where are you going?

3. Which recommendations will best support you in bridging the gap?

4. How will you measure progress towards that envisioned future?

Cassie’s Growth Strategy 

Cassie and I started our work together with a thorough review of the financial position of the company to understand what resources she needed to turn things around. 

• We put together a cash flow forecast which helped Cassie to plan and organise payments to best effect. Cassie updated it weekly, and we reviewed it at our monthly meetings. 

• We reviewed her brand strategy to bring it up to date. Cassie’s brand has always been about pushing the boundaries, but also evoking humour and cheekiness. In a #MeToo world, Cassie decided the brand needed to adopt an attitude of bold, fearless femininity. 

• Cassie commissioned a new online store as there were so many technical issues with her original one. When it comes to building an online store, I recommend the Shopify platform which is suitable for all stages of business growth and has brilliant analytics. For a small monthly fee, Cassie got a beautiful storefront, SSL certifications, high-speed web servers, cart abandonment recovery, and all the marketing and sales tools she could possibly need to grow and scale her business. 

• With her brand strategy updated and her website in development, we worked on a marketing plan which utilised the most appropriate channels – owned, earned and paid - to reach Cassie’s target market in the US. Over time, we’ve evolved Cassie’s marketing strategy to include influencer marketing and user generated content in her social media campaigns. 

• I encouraged Cassie to expand her product range beyond bed linens. Product development is an important growth strategy because it can both help you get a firmer hold of your current market and open your business to a new audience. It helps you to build brand credibility, as well as brand recognition and loyalty. This has a snowball effect, leading to repeat purchases across the entire product line. 

• In order to increase manufacturing capacity, Cassie is looking at different options including partnering with her Indian manufacturer to build a new factory. This is part of a restructuring of the company which would see vertical integration of almost all the design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution done internally.

The Results 

In 2020, Cassie’s sales doubled and she is on track for a record year in 2021. Her business is on a solid financial footing, and investment worthy. She releases three to four new collections each year which sell out quickly. This is due to the work we did in 2017 and 2018 to lay solid financial, brand and digital foundations.  

Our focus now is on building Cassie’s team, developing her business leadership skills and creating an in-house marketing team. This will free Cassie to focus on the creative direction of her business, designing new collections and bringing new products to market. All activities which will enable Cassie to grow and expand and reach her goal of $10 million turnover.

Work With Me

Have you enjoyed this case study? Has it helped you to see what is possible for your business? 

If you’d like my advice and guidance to help you on your business journey, here’s how you can book a call to discuss working together. I’d love to help you build a successful and profitable business just like Cassie.