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Proposition - One sentence
explanation of what your business is
The London Studio is a design company with two specialisms:
1. We design, manufacture and license greeting cards and
giftware which are sold direct to retailers such as Harrods,
Selfridges, Fenwick, Tesco, WHS etc.
2. We provide graphic design & branding services to clients
ranging from multi-national companies to start-ups.
Why are you a smart
business?
Creating fantastic design work and great ideas is at the heart
of what we do - whether it's designing a logo for a client, or
whether it's creating a new range of giftware for retailers - it is
the ability to push the creative boundaries and come up with a
winning idea that makes our business special.
Winning a number of small business awards and design awards over
the last few years has also been great recognition in the quality
of our design work, creativity and the ability to think up great
ideas.
For example, one of the ideas I had was for a range of greeting
cards called The Wisdom of Kids, which is based on the funny things
kids say. High-end retailers like Selfridges and Harrods initially
bought the range and as it's popularity grew with consumers it's
become a top seller, selling now in over 500 shops. It has mass
appeal, so companies from Australia, Singapore, Canada and the USA
have come on board to distribute the range worldwide.
As it had proven success in cards, I expanded the range into
gifts so that retailers could cross sell. This has worked really
well so recently I begun licensing the range into other areas. We
are launching several products this month through licensing deals,
including a book, titled "The Wisdom of Kids" which is available in
Waterstones, WHS, Foyles, Amazon.co.uk and all good bookshops.
What's the smartest thing you've done
to help your business grow?
Expanding into licensing has really helped the business grow.
The London Studio has never received any outside funding, it is
growing organically, so licensing my designs to other companies has
been fantastic as it means I can expand into new markets, new
territories and produce new products without the associated
marketing, sales and manufacturing costs.
By utilising the greater distribution and manufacturing power of
the larger companies I license my designs to, I'm not only growing
my business through increased sales, but it will also build brand
awareness of key ranges such as The Wisdom of Kids.
What smart things do you do for your
customers?
I work with some retailers to build customer loyalty for them
and for my products in their stores. For example, I have won
several awards for design, innovation and small business, so
creating point-of-sale that highlight this (i.e. showing the
consumer why they should buy the product) help boost sales for my
retail customers. I also sometimes run competitions in their stores
or on their websites that involve their customers and build
loyalty.
What smart technologies do you use to
run your business?
Using social media for my business is very important. I use
Twitter to network and people can chat with me directly by tweeting
@theLondonStudio This is a great way of building connections and
has worked well for the graphic design side of my business, as well
as for the greeting card side of the business as it keeps me in
touch with retailers.
However, as the popularity of The Wisdom of Kids grows, I
realise that I should be reaching consumers as well, and not just
retailers. So I recently created a dedicated twitter account just
for that range: @wisdom_of_kids and have just launched it's own
facebook page as well - www.facebook.com/TheWisdomOfKids
The facebook page is focusing on posting fun things that make our
followers laugh and interact. We are already connecting with
thousands of people and it's their interaction with us that makes
it all worthwhile for me - they are messaging us, posting on our
page etc. It will help me see what they like from The Wisdom of
Kids and how they'd like to see it evolve.
What's your smartest tip for other
entrepreneurs?
Enter awards for small businesses. If you win or get shortlisted
it can help your business immensely. A great one is the Smarta100,
which we won last year - it has helped my business in several ways,
so I encourage people to enter. And don't forget the power of
social media - it is a free way promote your company, do market
research and connect with your target market. There are some
terrific awards on Twitter too run by organizations as well as
successful entrepreneurs and celebrities who support small
businesses. As I found when I won some Twitter awards run by
Jaqueline Gold and Theo Paphitis, they can help grow and promote
your business, so make the most of these amazing opportunities and
enter!
The Wisdom of Kids, designed by Soula Zavacopoulos, is one of
The London Studio's ranges being licensed onto other products
including a humorous new gift book
For more information about The London Design
Studio, click here.
Get more details on how to be this
week's #O2SmartaBiz here.
Follow @O2BusinessUK and @SmartaHQ on Twitter and
tweet us using the #O2Smartabiz hashtag
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