The Flock guide to Starting Up
Ever wondered how to go about starting up your own business? If so, it’s probably best you Google it or seek professional advice rather than asking us, but if you were to ask us, here is what we’re learning around our kitchen table:
Lesson 1: Learn to eat an elephant*
Learn to eat an elephant. Back in Annie’s corporate days she was once given some very valuable advice about how to approach daunting projects. Consider how you would eat an elephant*. The Answer: bite by bite. Identify the individual steps that make up the big picture. As we ticked them off, we saw the broader Flock coming together.
*metaphorically speaking.
Lesson 2: Perseverance
We sent 100’s of emails before we found the right manufacturer and the right yarn etc. If we hadn’t already sent 999, we’d have given up on the 1000th but at that point it seemed a shame to quit and all we needed was 1 reply to kickstart everything.
Lesson 3: “Keep your Eyes on the Prize”
We don’t intend on using the reference flippantly but whatever it is that’s driving you, be it a better work/life balance or a cause for the greater good, hold it front of mind to keep you going whilst you write the 1000th email (See #2). A good soundtrack also helps.
Lesson 4: Slowly Does It.
Flock has been Slow Cooked. It took us 2 years before we had anything to sell but it was so important to us that the garments were just right.
Lesson 5: Trust your intuition (but listen to the experts)
At the beginning we knew we loved knitwear, we knew liked good design and we had an idea of the business we wanted to be but we definitely didn’t know HOW to make a single item. By listening to the experts we avoided a lot of mistakes and wastage. That said, if you know you have the next Big Idea and people aren’t listening, have faith. After all, no one thought home computers would catch on.