“The first step to creating or sustaining a strong brand is to define its purpose – why do you exist?” This is something I just read and I think it makes sense. One of the difficult questions in starting a business (and I’d say, an online fashion retailer in particular as there are already plenty) is to figure out why we have a place in the market. What makes us special and what’s so different about our vision compared to the rest?
Everybody wants to change the world with their ideas. If not the world, then the local landscape at the very least. It’s easy to get carried away by wanting fame and/or fortune and forgetting why you started your business in the first place.
Me, I wanted a curated wardrobe with a small but highly relevant selection of affordable, suitable and ethical clothes. But that was just half of it. I always felt guilty about spending money on luxury items (that’s essentially what it is, isn’t it? Buying items your life doesn’t depend on?) when the world is crumbling and others are much less fortunate. Nobody likes feeling guilty and if you give something to people who need it, who cares about the reasons? The important thing is that you do it and that it helps.
So here’s my purpose: Creating an easy and relatively guilt free option of buying clothes for yourself or someone you care about and at the same time, helping others and knowing that the items you buy have been sourced and produced sustainably and ethically. I think that’s a pretty good start!