The biggest hurdle in starting-up a company has been this sense of stagnancy and seemingly eternal backwardness. It’s something that I surmise even the greatest companies in history faced at their inception. In order to go forward, you have to keep going backward. The ideation phase of the design thinking process is never really over; you always have to go back and revamp.
Consider this- I received a sample of my premium fabric and custom-fit sweaters (truly of high caliber quality), but it was packed in measly and depressing conditions. The bent carton box a miserably ugly and generic brown color, the shipping and customs information recklessly tagged and emphasized, the sweater itself wrinkled, and the smell somehow reeking of an arduous and aggressive logistics process (don’t know how else to describe that smell!). Goes to show you just how important design is. This is the first impression the customer has of our product. Maybe even if it fits perfectly, the horrid packaging conditions would cause a bias in customers and they’d reach the hasty and unsubstantiated conclusion that it does not fit!
After months of sourcing suppliers, performing due diligence, working on the website, choosing a logo, and ensuring product quality, I now find myself back to the nucleus of the branding stage. It honestly kind of sucks, but I wouldn’t say I’m back to step one. I’m much more likely to make the argument that this is a more advanced stage that enables flexibility in going back and then quickly pushing yourself back forward. By going back, I’m picking up nitrous boost that’ll really push me forward at a pace previously unprecedented.
While there does come a stage in the growth process where it becomes more difficult (if not wholly nonsensical) to go back to certain aspects of the beginning stages, you should not be afraid to constantly reaffirm proper alignment between the multi-facets of the businesses operations and the potentially changing objectives, goals, and mission.
That brings us to another good point. I’ve had a hard time putting into words exactly what I’m looking for (especially when communicating with graphic designers). My goals have been changing. It’s all centered on mass customization, but I’ve abandoned certain product ideas (like white-label cosmetics) and have also adopted product ideas that I had not initially planned for. It may seem as though the business is directionless, but it’s not. Instead of only one unchanging direction, I’m trying to branch into a lot of different opportunities in mass customization. I understand how important adaptability is to any business, and hope to continuously change.
When attempting to describe branding goals with the graphic designer, I stated the following:
“We don’t want to change our branding as we change with the constantly evolving business environment. We want our branding to be timeless.”
I’m truly excited to see where all of this is going to go. I have confidence and self-awareness in my skills, and am trying my best to take full advantage of them. Similarly, I’m self-aware when it comes to my weaknesses and have summoned the help and mentorship of friends, family, and corporations. Right now, my focus is on custom-fit sweaters. I very much want to perfect that before extending my offerings.