Textiles by Rachel
Founded by Rachel Snelling
Business summary Summary
‘Specialising in beautifully handmade printed paper goods and surface pattern design, Textiles by Rachel aims to produce UK Textile design brand sustainable, thoughtful, and uniquely Printed paper goods and surface pattern design designed prints, cards and illustrations.’ Sustainable ethos Feminine customer Two strand revenue system
Aims • Short term - Support the joy of making alongside part time work • Build and develop my portfolio • Invest more time into marketing • Long term – Earn enough to not have part time work • Expand product ranges • Regular and larger freelance projects • Products stocked in stores Financial aim - £9,900 net profit in first year of trade
‘Inspired by nature, travel, colour and pattern!’
Product and service summary and brand ethos Product summary Service summary • A5 and A4 wall prints • Freelance textile design service • Packs of greetings cards • Working with brands and clients to complete • Expanding to A3 prints and potential fabric design briefs products in the future
Brand ethos: • Sustainable and ecologically aware ethos. • Persuading consumer Packaging: Packaging is one of the main elements to the customer experience of shopping at Textiles by Rachel. • Branded • Visually appealing • UK produced supporting local economies • Recycled, compostable and sustainable
Customer profile • UK based for products • International for freelance design service • Looking for a unique product and design style • Interest in handmade products and craft • Awareness of shopping sustainably and locally • 18-40 female demographic for products
(Instagram, 2020).
Business strategy timeline Time scale
What I will do
First 12 months
• • • • • •
Create strong, professional branding Marketing Develop professional, branded packaging Build portfolio on website Approach brands for freelance design work Sell at (online) craft markets
12 months +
•
Stock my products in local independent shops
18 months +
•
Apply for business funding to expand product ranges as appropriate
2 years +
• • •
Have regular and larger freelance design projects Stock my products in more shops Potential to rent a studio/office space
Test trading – Historical data from 2020
A snapshot of my monthly sales figures on Etsy for the past year • Roughly 10% sales increase month-on-month, plus further uplift from direct marketing activities • large spike in the 2 months preceding Christmas • This method gives as accurate forecast as is possible
Marketing strategies Marketing strategy
Description
Social media
• • • • •
Craft markets
Free Wide reach Instagram as a visual tool Access to insights through business account Appeals to target demographic
• • • •
Word of mouth marketing Local community Relationship with customer Covid-19 impacts – switching to online markets
Direct marketing
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Approaching businesses directly (stockists and freelance clients)
Website
• •
Demonstrate strong branding Easy to provide clients with an online portfolio and contact
Etsy
•
Etsy search as a marketing tool
This shows the percentages of customers that found my shop through Etsy and through my own marketing (Etsy, 2020).
Competitor analysis Large, commercial companies such as Paperchase, John Lewis, Oliver Bonas etc. • Large, established companies • Wide customer base and mostly massproduced products. • Various pricing appealing to broad demographic
Independent high street shops • Smaller, independent stores • Emotional selling point Contribute to local economy • Often more expensive • Smaller product ranges
Multiple online Etsy stores • Individual sellers or small companies • wide audience online • Handmade appeal • saturated market
SWOT analysis Strengths and opportunities • Unique personal style • Large profit margin with low production costs • Sustainable and eco-friendly • Opportunity for a large increase in sales preceding the Christmas period
Weaknesses and threats Large market with multiple competitors New and similar Etsy shops Using my personal style to stand out Covid-19 will potentially impact craft markets • Online craft markets are increasingly popular • I may initially struggle to gain freelance design clients • I plan to invest more time and marketing into this section if needed. • • • •
Unique and emotional selling points The unique selling point of my business will be defined by my unique personal style. Original hand drawn designs in an illustrative style using multiple media, together with a highly An emotional selling point (ESP) identifies all sustainable business ethos. the emotional influences that encourage a consumer to shop. The customer is buying a ‘feeling’ from original, unique art and design, evoked by inspirations taken from our planet, with its long-term protection at the forefront of the business ethos.
Operations and logistics Production
Delivery
Payment
• Canon Pixma IP8750 • All products will be printed to order • The production for my Freelance design service will be the production of digital files
• Royal Mails 2nd class postage service • second class postage of up to 500g at £1.83 per letter • Postage charge of £2
• Monthly scheduled Etsy payments including VAT and fee deduction • Freelance design work will operate on 30-day net terms • (Bank automated credit system)
Costs and pricing of printed goods Key points: A5 Prints £12 Cost per unit: £3.81 Profit margin: £8.19 (68%) Mark-up: 215%
Pack of 4 cards £12 Cost per unit: £4.57 Profit margin: £7.43 (62%) Mark-up: 163%
A4 Prints £14.50 Cost per unit: £4.57 Profit margin: £9.93 (69%) Mark-up: 217%
Pack of 8 cards £17 Cost per unit: £5.75 Profit margin: £11.25 (66%) Mark-up: 196%
Costs and pricing Freelance design service Initial day rate substantially less than researched 2020 market rate of c.£350/day as a postgraduate. 51% profit margin I can increase my daily rate as I gain more experience
Sales and costs forecast table September 2021-2022 forecast Printed stationery products sales - £9,440.00 Printed stationery products costs (35% of sales due to 65% average profit margin) - £3,303.00 Freelance design service sales - £7,350.00 Freelance design service costs (49% of sales due to 51% profit margin) - £3,592.68 Overall sales: £16,790 Overall costs: £6,895.68 £9,894.32 in the first year of trade
Printed goods • organic 10% monthly growth • Additional 10% growth due to increased marketing • Larger increase in the two months prior to Christmas showing a seasonal curve Freelance design service • Sporadic • Only moderate growth expected in the first year
Personal survival budget These costs are estimated based on the average cost for each expenditure.
Total monthly personal costs: £1,424.00 Total monthly income: £2,124.53 £700.53
Cash flow forecast Total income: £33,690 Total outgoings: £25,407.68 £8,282.32
Montly balance net profi t Sept 21- Sept 22 £1,200.00
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Back up plan Short term back up plan
• Invest more time and effort into my social media marketing • run marketing campaigns such as small sale events
Long term back up plan
• research in order to find out why my products weren’t selling • the option of living at home instead of renting • changing my part-time working hours to suit • adapting my business by considering which part of the business may be underperforming • apply for business funding
Business closure
• new skills and made new contacts and industry links • strong understanding of how a business runs • more skills in finance
Thank you