This months Challenge  

This month has been both memorable and unpredictable, as putting forward your creation to the world can be a challenging step to take for any entrepreneur. Especially when you have been putting in months of research as well as making constant iterations to the product, there is a considerable level of emotional investment made during this process. Thus, this had been a barrier that I had created for myself during the launch of my product. The nature of the product meant that I had a real opportunity to gain a first-mover advantage. I had to find ways to overcome this fear of rejection of my idea, and one way I did that was through acting on advice suggested by my mentors, Vincenzo and William, who had encouraged and guided me through the process of selling these face masks. Sometimes fear subsides when you get started on what you have been procrastinating over for a while. Thus, with the emotional and practical support I received, I overcame my fear and started selling. 

Routes to Market  

Down below is a picture of these seed infused face masks currently being sold on Etsy. We are trying to sell on more platforms like Facebook, Amazon and eBay, but these platforms have restrictions imposed on the credibility and effectiveness of these face masks. As these masks are made for casual use to help people protect themselves from pollution and seasonal flu cases, we now have to wait for feedback from customers to confirm the success of this attempt.  

Understanding my target audience

This stage of execution requires understanding of my target market. I have come to realise that constant research has to be done to identify potential buyers. I have dedicated some of my time to discovering influencers and using my local council to help spread the word about my product. As expected, many do not reply, but even in the odds, I have been able to attain interest from individuals who had gone on to purchase the face masks. This has been the part I most struggle with because I spent a lot of my time focusing on developing the product. I had focused very little on how I was going to attain my target market, it made it slightly difficult to focus on how to tailor my social media posts. Therefore, I had to make effort to understand interested buyers, through attending networking and public events that were aimed at environmentally conscious individuals.   

My goal this month

Currently, I have been in contact with many suppliers, and it has been a daring task to partner with a companies with the same ethical morals as ours. We are looking to get these masks manufactured in bulk by a UK based company because I wouldn’t be able to meet demand as each one is handmade. This would free up some time for me to focus on expanding the range and providing other products such as seed infused pencils, notepads and journals. I will try and compete on the basis of the design and the smell of these products. Therefore, continuing my research for suppliers who align with the company’s morals is challenging but, once achieved, can help accelerate the business to reach new heights!