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Making Dreams Reality: Life as an Entrepreneur
Making Dreams Reality: Life as an Entrepreneur
 Opening a small business is the ultimate dream for many people. Doing something you love and being your own boss are major motivators. But getting there is no easy task, as entrepreneurs and sisters Kate Simpson and Beth Simpson-Saunders of Kemptville, Ontario discovered.
Kate and I have been inseparable since meeting in Grade 4, and she has dreamed of being a small business owner for pretty much the same length of time. Although her business ideas have ranged from a horse stable to a book store to a dog daycare, her goal of becoming an entrepreneur has remained steady.
On August 5, 2011, Kate's goal officially became reality when she and Beth opened the doors to Panache, a ladies accessory retail store in Kemptville. Kate's obsessive love of accessories and Beth's talent as a jeweler have combined to create the perfect match for the joined business venture.
"Panache is a retail storefront featuring accessories. We sell handmade jewelry from several different artists, along with fascinators and other assorted accessories. We also carry a wide variety of scarves, hats, bags, belts—all of those great and wonderful things," explains Kate. "In addition, our in-house clothing designer, Michelle Vanden Tillaart, has a wonderful array of shirts, sweaters, skirts, dresses, and more, all created within her on-site studio."
Panache was officially introduced to the community during a grand opening on August 12, 2011, which kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Kemptville Mayor David Gordon. To date, Panache has been going strong.
"The feedback we get from our clientele has been overwhelmingly positive. Only a month after opening our doors, we already had regulars and support from our community," says Kate.
However, the road to success was long, hard, and chock full of roadblocks. While entrepreneurship can be a dream come true, it's no easy task and often takes plenty of blood, sweat, and tears—as Kate and Beth experienced.
Entrepreneurs in Training
Long before the idea of Panache even existed in Kate's mind, she completed a
post-secondary education in small and medium enterprise management at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario. Upon graduating in 2005, Kate spent time gaining experience working for small businesses in a variety of fields, including retail, flooring, animal care, non-profit, and health care. She also racked up plenty of life experience, traveling the country from east to west, and spending three years living in Kelowna, British Columbia. After returning to her hometown in the spring of 2010, Kate turned her full concentration, education, and experience toward achieving her entrepreneurial goals.
Beth's post-secondary path included completing the Jewelry and Metals Technician program at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, followed by a post-grad program in goldsmithing. She has since become a talented and accomplished jeweler, even featuring sale pieces at Devine Fine Jewellery within the prestigious Chateau Laurier hotel in downtown Ottawa.
By combining Kate's business savvy with Beth's creative talent, the ideas and plans for Panache started to grow in the spring of 2010. Over the course of a year, they spent countless hours working on the initial steps for Panache, even devoting three full months to the creation of an extensive business plan.
Business Building Blocks
"First off, we did all of our research. That was the most important part because we didn't want to waste money and time on lawyers and accountants until we knew if we had something plausible," says Kate. "We decided it was necessary to do at least a three-year business plan. We determined what we were expecting in regards to growth over a three-year period and how we were going to manage to keep afloat—because those are the hardest years."
In order to give themselves the best possible chance of success, Kate and Beth have decided to take on the full extent of the workload themselves for at least the first two years. Although this means a minimum of free time (especially free weekends), some challenges in regards to childcare for Beth, and difficulties surrounding social and family time for both of them, they decided that these are some of the sacrifices it will take for their business to be successful.
"We knew to expect long hours. You have to take your family and social life into consideration and decide how much you are willing to give up in order to reach your goals," says Kate. "You have to know what you are getting into and what you are willing to sacrifice because your business is you, and you are your business."
The next steps included making decisions about ownership and operations. Kate and Beth decided on a 50/50 partnership but explained that it's very important to iron out the terms of an agreement and decide upon what is going to be expected from each party. Kate believes it is important to speak to a lawyer to help cement the terms and financial responsibilities. In the end, they came to an agreement to try to keep everything as equal as possible in terms of both financial investment and working hours. They also agreed that, while they split the sales and advertising-type duties equally, Kate is responsible for the administrative tasks while Beth handles the creative side of the business.
They also devoted countless hours to performing market research. They needed to know who their competitors were, what they sold, and how they compared to the ideas for Panache. In addition, they carefully researched their target demographics.
"In a small town like ours, you have to know the type of people that live there and what they are looking for," says Kate. "We sent out a survey to our key demographic area, along with our secondary and tertiary demographic, to find out their shopping habits in relation to what we were expecting to sell at Panache."
However, Kate and Beth feel that the most important part of their entrepreneurial puzzle was securing a loan and finding a retail space.
Learning the Hard Way
"During the early stages, I learned that liquid assets are very important. You need to have money to get money because the banks want you to be able to match the money you are asking for. I didn't realize that was the case, so going to the bank for a loan was a learning experience in itself," says Kate, who was initially turned down for a loan. However, after both sisters spent the majority of a year working and saving, their second trip to the bank was a successful one.
And the loan couldn't have come at a better time. During the same week they were approved for a loan, a commercial space in an ideal downtown location became available. After a few days of cleaning, painting, prepping, and ordering stock, the store became a reality even more quickly than Kate and Beth had hoped for.
Thanks to word of mouth and some strategic marketing through social media and print advertising, Kate reports that business has been steady since the grand opening in August. "The support given from our local papers has been fantastic. We have taken out a paid ad, but there have also been numerous well-written and flattering articles which have been well received," explains Kate. "Facebook has also been a wonderful tool. It has helped to quickly generate so much promotion for us. It also proves that not all advertising has to be expensive—I couldn't ask for a better free outlet."
Despite the early success and steady sales, Kate knows that careful financial planning is essential. "We made projections for the first three years. For the first year, we did a best case scenario, a worst case scenario, and a realistic scenario. It really helped to give us a reality check because, during the first year of business, you have to prepare for the worst. And, no matter what, you have to accept that you are going to be very poor in the early years. The business has to come first, and sometimes that means going without your salary." However, things are currently looking up for the store. Kate is projecting that Panache can add 20 percent to its monthly average sales by the end of its first year.
Going the Extra Mile
Kate and Beth have implemented a few different practices in order to help optimize success. One way is by carefully matching their store hours with the heaviest times of pedestrian traffic. Panache is located close to pubs and restaurants, making late evenings a busy time in their area. They realized that by closing in the early evening like a lot of other stores, they would miss the dinner crowds. Therefore, they have opted to have Panache stay open until 8pm on Thursday and Friday and 6pm on Saturday.
In addition, they recently hosted their first-ever special event. With the help of a professional party planner, Panache held a fashion show in late November to display their products in a fun and exciting way. They sold tickets for the event, with each ticket including a seat for the fashion show, a gift bag, and a free holiday-inspired martini or mocktail, to go along with catered appetizers and desserts. As the models walked the runway, Beth announced the details and prices for each available item, and customers were supplied with a card and encouraged to write down any products they were interested in purchasing. At the end of the fashion show, the store was kept open until 10pm, and customers were able to present their cards and receive assistance in finding and purchasing their desired items.
"The fashion show was incredible. I thought the atmosphere, the vibe, and the air was literally on fire," says Beth. "We've realized that, as a new business, we need to stay in the spotlight, and our goal was to offer a classy, extravagant show that would serve as great advertising for us. We are trying to keep the store fresh and new and remind people that we're here."
Kate and Beth are hoping to continue holding special events on a regular basis and are currently bouncing around ideas for a Valentine's Day event. However, they also realize that special events are just the icing on the cake when it comes to attracting and maintaining a loyal customer base.
"There will always be areas of the business that I will want to make more functional and more profitable. But, with the first few months under our belts, Beth and I are focused on expanding our products and promoting our artists," says Kate. "When it comes to sales and inventory, there is a learning curve involved. You need to pay attention to your customers in order to accurately anticipate what products will sell. We are always listening to feedback and focusing on sales trends within the store."
They do realize that slow days are always going to be inevitable though. "Even though the business is showing success, the slow days always plant seeds of doubt. But, I'm learning to leave them as they are and focus on the next day," says Kate.
Words of Wisdom
When asked if the reality of opening a business has matched what Kate imagined life as an entrepreneur to be, she stated that the two were pretty much on par. "I know that the reason many people become entrepreneurs is for the freedom. I've been pleasantly surprised about how true that is. The freedom you have when you can decide for yourself and have 'your baby' turn out exactly how you envisioned is amazing," says Kate. "But, I think that people tend to forget about all of the hard work. You have to throw yourself into it and pretty much be your business in order to be successful."
It's clear that Kate and Beth have reached their entrepreneurial goals. If you are inspired to take up the path to entrepreneurship, Kate offers some final advice:
"Don't go into business for yourself unless you have a genuine passion for the type of business you have in mind. It's not an easy road, but as far as I can tell—if you have the entrepreneurial spirit, there is nothing more fulfilling."
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