Enterprise Nation

Janan Leo has a full time job. She also has a business that she runs from 5 to 9; a business that sells beatiful and comfy shoes online, and is fast becoming a big success. Janan tells her story and offers wily advise on business development and how to keep employer and customers happy.

When did you launch the site?

Although I created the concept in early 2007, it took me approximately one year from concept to launch. During this time, I worked on aspects such as design and product development, branding, marketing, fundraising and building the supply chain. CocoRose officially launched in May 2008 so we’re just over a year old.

Are you running the business full time, or building it at nights and weekends, after the day job?

What’s so fantastic about modern technology is the ability to have your online shop open 24/7. Although I have a day job, it doesn’t mean that my business has to stop working! My piece of advice to anyone holding down a full time job and running their own business is to outsource as much as possible. And of course, brush up on your time management and organisational skills!

It is challenging to be in full time employment whilst setting up or growing your business. For over two years now, I have sacrificed my evenings and weekends to develop and grow the business. My holidays from my employment are also largely spent at exhibitions throughout the year. Sometimes when I return to work, my colleagues ask whether I had a relaxing holiday and I can’t help but laugh and tell them that I’ve literally been on my feet for the last few days and that I’m even more knackered than before! Sometimes it’s so tempting to want to take the easy route out but the passion, belief and determination that I have for CocoRose always keeps me going. Plus I love shoes!

I’m really lucky to work for a very supportive company and entrepreneurship is very much welcomed, especially considering the company is owned by one of the world’s most loved entrepreneurs! My colleagues are great too; they’re always asking about CocoRose and the latest designs. Our New Product Development Director also just bought another pair last week as she absolutely loves them!

Do you run the business alone or in a partnership/with help from family?

CocoRose is my business but I’m always getting advice from my family. I come from a family of entrepreneurs so it’s fantastic to be able to bounce ideas around and compare notes. Business has always been discussed very openly and, (shock, horror!) especially at the dinner table! My boyfriend, sister and brother-in-law also help out at exhibitions which I am extremely thankful for because it’s always such a demanding time so it’s great to have them around me as a support network.

How do you source your shoes and bags?

When I was setting up CocoRose, one of my biggest challenges was finding a solid, reputable and reliable supplier who I could work with to produce my designs. Quality and attention to detail were extremely important to me, as was flexibility and the willingness to produce innovative and different products. It’s so easy for manufacturers to get stuck in a rut and continue to produce the same thing. I appreciate that new products cost money and time but I was willing to take the calculated risk and I just needed a good supplier to take that risk with me.

I remember the day which was to be the first day of production of my products. I was so badly let down and everything seemed to come crashing down around me! However, I picked myself up, determined to start my search again and a few months later, I found my current supplier who is amazing. We’ve had our hiccups and will probably continue to do so but we’ve developed a good relationship which is fundamental to growing the business.

I recently went to a trade show in China which was, as usual, incredibly mind blowing. It never ceases to amaze me how huge these places are. It’s also one of the best ways to source new products and of course, meet your suppliers. There’s nothing like meeting in person to help build the relationship.

How are you promoting yourself and the site?

I took the decision to outsource my PR so I work very closely with CocoRose’s PR agent to increase brand awareness. We work proactively on our campaigns to create fun, catchy and relevant content which coincides with our new ranges, trends and exhibitions. We collaborate with other businesses for joint promotion, the latest one being Living TV. We’ve also started our monthly newsletters which get sent to our entire customer database, informing them of new products and events and of course, our great competitions and prizes!

I also outsourced CocoRose’s website design and development so I work with the guys on our Google Adwords and Pay Per Click information.

As for myself, I try to network as much as I can through business events, friends, websites, social media sites, etc. I always carry some of our fab postcards with me. The other day, I walked past a lady changing into heels from her flip flops and I had to stop and introduce myself and give her a postcard. I later got an email from her and it turns out she is the marketing manager for a fantastic organisation and she asked if there was anything we could potentially work on together. Yes, sometimes it takes a bit of courage but the worst thing is not trying.

Are you sales 100% in the UK or do you also have overseas orders?

It’s really interesting to look at our website statistics as we can see what countries have logged on to our site. It really is a global retail outlet! Saying that, the majority of our website sales are from the UK but we have had orders from exotic places like South Africa, Hong Kong and Hawaii to name a few!

On the wholesale front, we supply to Japan and our products do very well in Tokyo’s boutiques. We’re also in the process of working with customers in Milan to supply them with our next collection.

What are your plans for 2009? 

I’m currently working on our S/S ’10 designs which I need to complete by the end of August. Our next trade show is Top Drawer Autumn in September so it will be hectic in the lead up to the show and also following it as we’ll have to get all the orders out to our stockists. Last year the lead up to Christmas was really busy and I’m looking forward to a great Christmas period again this year!
From a strategic point of view, my plans for the rest of 2009 are to concentrate on promoting the brand in order to increase sales and distribution. We’ve got some key customers that we’re in discussion with so I want to be able to ensure we can supply them and of course, do it really well. Customer service is one of my top priorities so I want to be able to continue focusing on providing a fantastic service.

• CocoRose