Read part two of Katie’s interview: Running an online fashion retailer
Krystena Petrakas: So, tell us what Grannies Inc. is all about...
Katie Mowat: It’s all about designing your own knitwear. Customers can go onto our website and design their own beanie, scarf, snood, wrist-warmers and other winter accessories. We have 24 different colours to choose from, all in 100% Merino wool and you can add features to your product.
The design is then sent off and you can choose which granny you want to knit the product; we have a team of 12 grannies around the UK. So it’s all bespoke hand-made knitwear.
The design is sent off and you can choose which granny you want to knit the product; we have a team of 12 grannies around the UK
KP: What a lovely concept! So what is your relationship like with the grannies?
KM: I absolutely love working with the knitters, (there are two that aren’t grannies so I can’t put them all in a ‘Granny group’)! It’s really fantastic because it’s a hobby for them so it’s really nice to be able to phone them up and have orders for them. It’s great to have such a willing team of workers.
KP: Where did the idea originate?
KM: I’ve been a really keen skier since a young age and I learnt to knit when I did a University year abroad in California, so I used to knit my own beanies and such for my ski holidays. My friends started asking me to knit beanies for them and that’s where the whole ‘bespoke design-your-own beanie’ idea came from.
The whole granny aspect came about when I was looking for knitters to work for my business, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do all knitting by myself. When I put out an advert I found most of the people that showed an interest were in the older generation. This is how the idea came about and I thought it was quite a marketable idea – it’s worked very well so far.
KP: What inspired you to start a business?
KM: I always knew that I’d run my own business. I went into IT consultancy to save some money to launch my own business and used my spare time to think of some business ideas.
I got to the point where I hated my job and wanted to step out and have something of my own.
KP: What has most surprised you most about running your own business?
KM: The decision-making process. It didn’t realise how difficult it would be to make certain decisions about the business. Because I went from working and having decisions being made for me, it was hard to then make every decision myself.
It’s important to get it right, because these decisions may determine the success or the downfall of your business and it’s quite a surprisingly difficult task to do.
KP: So how did you finance the start up?
KM: I basically saved money from my previous job. The start up cost is fairly small because it’s bespoke, so you don’t pay for the knitwear to be knit until the orders come in. The business didn’t need a big budget to start with, I just spent money on stock and even that could be bought as and when we needed it.
This year we’ve put a lot more money into designing the new website, we outsourced the web design professionally. Most of our investment has happened this year rather than in the first year, which was more of a trail period.
KP: Do you have a structured plan for progressing the business?
KM: Yes. Each year I do a business plan for the year and then at the end of the year I review it and see how I did in comparison to the previous year’s end. It’s a good idea to review your plan and see if you did any better or worse and note down the reasons.
I’ve got an idea of where I want the business to be in five years, which gives me a longer goal to strive towards – it keeps me focused.
There’s a natural growth for the company to bring out more products, but I wouldn’t say there are any major changes. I just want to grow the business organically and bring out some funky products that people are going to relate to. And also expand my team of knitting grannies!
