The Curvy Coach

I recently came across this story of a start-up entrepreneur by the name of Merrill Guerra, CEO and founder of RealKidz Inc.who launched her apparel store selling fall and winter plus sized clothing for women/girls in Michigan. She went through a few bumps as any new entrepreneur is bound to experience. Thanks to persistence and a loan that couldn’t have been more timely, she’s back in business but not without learning a few lessons. Reading about stories like this is always inspiring and gives you that spring of hope to know that if a fellow biz owner experiences difficult times and came out successful then you too can do the same. So, I want to challenge your thinking and consider this a case study of sorts; let us take a close look at what we can learn from her experience.

 Lesson #1 Persistence always pays off

 Merrill was determined to make her business a success. So many Americans are dealing with job loss and it’s no different in Michigan, in fact, it may be worse. However, she did not let that deter her. She has tried different techniques to make her business work. While all of them weren’t successful, she made a firm decision to stick to her guns and came out victorious in the end.

 Lesson #2 Have a strong business model.

 Everyone has probably attempted to complete a business plan and one of the things that you need to figure out is how are you going to make the money? This requires a little bit more thought and planning than just saying ‘oh I’ll sell a few products and make a profit’. There are a number of business models such as exchanging services/goods, affiliate, licensing, direct sales, subscription-based, advertising-based, etc. It’s important to know which one is appropriate for your business and if you can sustain yourself with the chosen model.

I wouldn’t be surprised if at first Merrill didn’t charge a licensing fee for her Sales Reps. which would’ve probably help to offset some of the costs and logistics of having them on staff. Again, as stated in the article, she simply didn’t have the knowledge to help her staff generate the sales. She has now enlisted a professional to help with direct sales and now you can become a RealKidsz Style Consultant! I think that she will do very well using online SEO strategies and implementing an online affiliate program combined with the direct sales model. Her unique offerings of winter/fall selections, being based in Michigan, and using direct sales allows her to stand out quite well.

 Lesson #3 Support your business and your staff.

Merrill was off to a great start by thinking of different ways to leverage her customer reach using the “Avon-like” also known as the direct sales business model. There’s nothing more exciting to have a team of people who believe in your vision and are willing to help you spread the word and increase sales. However, you have to give them the tools, training, and support they need in order for this to work. This is where documenting business processes and having a standard operational manual comes in quite handy (Trust me, I’ve designed quite a few of these). Whether you choose to implement this type of business model or not, it takes quite a bit of skills, time, and energy to develop these procedures in the beginning, but it’s worth every penny once the work is done.

Nonetheless, one of the joys and pains about being an entrepreneur is testing and experimenting proven models until you find what works for you. Of course, it doesn’t help to have an expert or business coach on hand to help avoid some of those pitfalls. I wish RealKidz, Inc nothing but the best and look forward to seeing how the business progresses.

P.S. What are some challenges did you have to overcome as a start-up? Please share in the comments section below!