Success Resources

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is well and doing great!!

So I have had a very busy month! It has been extremely positive and I am soooooo excited!

To start off I am a few weeks away from my first ever Photo Shoot!!! I can not believe that I am finally going to see what my clothing looks like on models!! I have some really great models picked and they are going to make my clothing look fabulous!

I have been running around ordering all my props for the day as the Photo Shoot is themed and the kids are going to have lots of fun with all the props and bubbles. I have also managed to secure my banner with my logo on it!

I can not wait for you all to see my finished product on my website, marketing materials and Look Books!

To continue with my great news, this weekend just gone, I accidentally received tickets to a great conference  with NAC London organised by the wonderful people at Success Resources. I was offered a great deal (A huge thank you to Mastanee from Success Resources!) and given some complimentary tickets and decided to attend the conference with my good friends and fellow business owners Cheryl Knock (Off-The-Rail & Arty Kids Club), Venus Thompson (Venus Chrome) We were also joined by my new friend Agnes from Future Keys.co.uk

I can honestly say attending this 3 day conference has really changed my life and made me realise that truly, ANYTHING is POSSIBLE!!!!

Our first day was spent with the amazing Tony Robbins who had us on our feet from 9am until 3 pm, shouting, screaming, clapping and smiling! I felt like I was at a really energetic and positive church sermon! That is how powerful it was! Tony taught us how to change our psychology, changing our state of mind. Always checking what state we are in before we handle any huge task making sure we are at a peak state of 10 at all times! To make sure we have strategy whenever we decide we want to do something and to change our story and stop using the popular excuse of, 'Ive tried everything!' when you know full well you have only tried 3 things!!

We all had such a great time with Tony and so much so that myself and Venus (Venus Chrome) will be attending his 3 and half day empowerment conference and we will be walking over hot coals!!! Facing our biggest fears just like Oprah Winfrey did with him earlier this year! I am soooo excited!!!

As well as Tony Robbins, there were wonderful people like Lord Sebastian Coe who talked about staying true to your vision, preparing for judgement, preparing to go the extra mile and being able to deliver!

Adam Ginsberg, the first Ebay Millionaire, making 20 million dollars to date talked about being coachable, researching before you sell and how important branding is.

Doug Nelson really touched me as his story about recovering from being burnt alive was soo courageous! He spoke so powerfully and Venus and I signed up straight away for the Millionaire Mind conference in November immediately!! Totally looking forward to changing our money blueprint!!

There were also great speakers such as Dr Rohan, Andy Harrington, Marcus De Maria and Andrew Reynolds who made 50 million pounds from starting a business in his spare room and does not deal with customers, stock or process any orders! The man is a genius!!! He was also giving away signed copies of his book, 'Cash on Demand' which I have been reading this week and it is amazing to see what people can\ achieve when they believe in themselves. I have true admiration for this man!!

The last but certainly not the least was Donald Trump!! I was so excited to see him! He is the true epitome of success! He works hard and still manages to find time to raise his family! Donald (as he and I are now close friends! lol) spoke about never quitting, no matter what people say to you!! To always go with your gut and to believe in yourself! You must think like a warrior and be confident. To have confidence in yourself and your product!

These are the kind of messages I want to teach young boys through my clothing line! Life is too short to sit there wondering What If! Go out there and get whatever it is that you want. If you fail, so what! Try again and again and again until you succeed! That's what we teach a baby when he or she is trying to learn to walk and falls down. Keep trying. You will get it eventually and it will feel amazing when you do!

I have really had the best weekend ever and have learnt so much!! Even my little man got to see Donald and I hope some of what he said rubbed off on him as he managed to sit quietly and listen to him.

The fact that I was not really supposed to be at the conference and ended up going and having a life changing experience has taught me that everything happens for a reason and you have to take an opportunity when it comes your way! Grab it with both hands!!

I have started writing my list of the things I want to achieve within the next 2 years and then also 5 years and I am so excited about my future!

Life truly will be so amazing from every day from now on because I believe in myself and I completely believe in my product.

I want all the mums with sons out there to believe in my product also and help me to make a huge change to the way boys clothing is perceived.

More positivity, less negativity!!

Sealed Sample

Good news everyone!

I finally got my samples of my designs and I have to say they look really great! Granted there are a few little tweaks I need to make to them but I have to say, the quality of the fabric and my designs are really fantastic!

I had a very positive response to my clothing line at my focus group which was on Saturday the 15th of September. I hired a beautiful hall, laid out some delicious food and invited some lovely mums to come and take a look at my garments. It was a very relaxed environment and everyone got on really well!

I would like to thank all the lovely mums who came to take part in the group and also the mums that showed interest but were unable to attend due to illness and family life! I appreciate you even acknowledging Mini Men UK!

I enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions on my clothing which was really shocking to me as initially I had been terrified that nobody would like my designs! How wrong was I?! 

All the mums were complimentary of my designs, fabric and colours that were used. I had some wonderful feedback about how I could improve my garments and even add some new items!

The focus group really took me out of comfort zone as I am not the type of person who likes a lot of attention and cringe at the thought of having to speak to the public and this focus group made me take on the challenge head on! It was a really great day and I am so happy that everything worked out in the end.

I have learnt from doing this that I need to start believing in myself more and trusting that what I am doing is the right thing and will work out in my favour. I am constantly doubting myself, wondering if I have what it takes to be an Entrepreneur or Mumpreneur as I like to call it! Now I have realised that if I really want something, I have to believe that I deserve to have it, in order to REALLY have it!

Life is too short to be fearful of failure and to regret and wish you had......... The fact is opportunities come  few and far between and you need to grab them every time they come your way!

This is something I really want to teach young children of this generation and I am always trying to think of ways to incorporate these things into my business.

In the future, I would really love to work with charities such as Barnados, Starlight Children's Foundation and Save The Children. I am not exactly sure how I will assist these charities and bring awareness but I am definitely working on some sort of competition project for the future!

I will try and bring as much happiness to young children as I possibly can through Mini Men UK and become the Philanthropist I would love to be!

So, I am extremely close to my goal of launching at Christmas and starting my positivity revolution! I am about to make my mark on this world and I hope you will follow me on my journey to becoming a winner!

Mini Men UK now has its official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/minimenukltd 

Please do take a look at the page and 'Like' it!

You can also follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/minimenukltd

Fashion Market

Hello Everyone, I hope you are all well.

Let me start off by apologising for there being such large time span between my last blog and now! I have been extremely busy trying to move on to the next part of my business plan.

I have finally been able to have my samples manufactured and I am currently awaiting for the finished product to be sent to me which I am extremely excited about! I can not wait for you guys to see my garments. And now that I have my samples on the way, I have now organised my focus group which will be attended by 15 women. Mums and boutique owners! 

I really am looking forward to getting their feedback on my collection and for me to learn what my customer really wants! This is one of the many keys to success.

Another aspect I have been working on is my marketing strategy for the clothing line. I had no idea about marketing so when I came across a marketing package by Chris Cardell of Cardell Media for a great affordable price, I had to grab the opportunity with both hands!

When watching the 6 hours worth of footage, my eyes were really opened to how important marketing is to a business. I mean, yes you need to have an impeccable product or service but without the right marketing strategy, you might as well be making the products for your friends and family cos they will be the only people who will know about!

Chris talks about knowing your target market and knowing where they are, the places they go to and when they go. Also to understand that the old ways of marketing such as direct marketing is still very effective and not to be disregarded. 

New Marketing strategies such as Google Pay Per Click and Email Marketing were talked about in detail. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about Pay Per Click but after watching the Cardell DVD, he has managed to persuade me to at least try it. Start small and monitor my progress and how it effects my business!

There are so many different Marketing avenues ( PR, Joint Ventures, Email, Direct Mail, Referrals, SEO, Advertising) that can be taken and you just have to try the ones that you feel you can afford to lose if they do not work out. And as soon as you realise that any of them are not working, you need to stop doing them immediately!

Another section of the seminar I enjoyed was the Joint Venture presentation. They can really increase your promotion for your product as well as building a rapport with some really great people! I hope to have such great relationships with different boutique owners.

I believe in investing in myself in order to change my mindset and further equip myself for what is about to be bestowed upon me! Reading and learning as much as I possibly can about Sales, Marketing and my product are the steps I intend to take within the next few weeks to be able to then move onto finishing my business plan.

I mean let's face it, Christmas is nearly upon us so I really do not have much time! 

Every Penny Counts!

So, I want to start off by apologising for not posting in my blog for over a month! It has been extremely busy and I needed to focus on not just my business but also my family! But I'm back and hungrier than ever for success!

I have been working on my sales forecast and cashflow. Now, anyone who knows me, will tell you that maths is not my strong point! Don't get me wrong, I can count but I definitely do not enjoy doing it! However , in the words of Dr Dre, 'You can do it, Just put your back into it'! And that is exactly what I did! You can do anything you put your mind to. You just have to believe that you can!

First of all, I had to work out how much it would cost to make one garment. To do this, I had to add up my manufacturing costs, design costs, custom taxes, shipping costs, packaging costs and divided it by how many garments I would be buying. Once I had my cost per item, I could then decide how much I would sell my garments (retail price) and also my wholesale prices to sell to boutiques and stores.

After doing all of this, I was then able to predict how many sales I would have to make each month, both retail and wholesale.

I have to say this part was the most difficult as predictions are just like putting your finger in the air and seeing which way the wind blows???!!! It is anybody's guess how well your business will do! But after 3 attempts, I finally managed it and I can say, it was difficult but now I know I can do it! Finally, I have my sales forecast!

I am now focussed on getting my samples made. I have decided on how many pieces I want to make into samples and what styles. As I am starting small, I have only 10 designs and they are all in the style of Long Sleeve tops, Hoodies and Sweat Shirts as my collection will be launched in the Autumn/Winter season.

There are a couple events I am putting together:

Mini Men UK Ltd is on the look out for mums with sons between the age of 2-12 years old to attend a focus group which will be held in Epsom, Surrey. We will be show casing the new collection and getting feedback from our target audience. Finding out what they like and dislike about the clothing and gift boxes. Also how much they would pay for the items.

Also, we are scouting for models for our first photo shoot! We need models from all nationalities and backgrounds aged between 2-12 years old, to model the different garments in order to create our leaflet, posters, look books and website.

So if anyone is interested or knows someone who would be interested in any of these events, please do get in contact with me at kmantas@hotmail.co.uk

On a final note, I have finally created my Mini Men UK Facebook page! Yay!!!

Please like my page! Go to www.facebook.com/minimenukltd

Thank you!

I'm forever blowing bubbles @Bubble London

Bubble London is an amazing kids trade show that allows retailers to meet exhibitors who showcase their products for everything in a kids world. From children's clothing, footwear, toys, accessories and much much more!

It is held at the Business Design Centre in Angel, Islington twice a year. In January and in June to highlight the Autumn/Winter Season and the Spring/Summer Season.

As this was my first ever trade show, I had no idea what to expect! I attended hoping to see what trends were being introduced at the moment and to get an idea of how big the Children's fashion industry is. I also wanted to check if there were any companies who were producing the same type of clothing that Mini Men UK will be producing and I am very happy to say that there is not. I now feel that I have a place in the Market for great boys clothing and it is full steam ahead for my clothing line!

There were over 60 exhibitors in the trade show from all over the globe representing for their countries and excited to be able to show off their designs.

On arrival I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of people, colours, designs and happy smiling faces.

The first exhibit stand that grabbed my attention was for Red Urchin.

Red Urchin was founded by Beth Bourrelly and has been trading for a year. Beth decided to create Red Urchin after taking some time out to from her career as an Architect, to have her third child. She designed clothes for her children, Maia, Theo and Zachy who all had their own input into the beautiful clothing she has produced.

Red Urchin clothing is made from organic cotton and is made in Turkey. The company is very eco-friendly and believes in looking after the planet as well as providing great clothing for children.

The beautiful clothing is stocked in boutiques in the UK and also Northern Europe. It is a very popular brand and I was completely taken with the exquisite great quality clothing.

You can take a look at the collection at www.redurchin.co.uk

The next exhibit stand I visited was Fabric Flavours.

Fabric Flavours has been trading for 5 years and specialises in superhero and best loved childhood characters on their children's clothing.

The clothing showcases bubble print, applique, embroidery and foil designs on their 100% cotton t-shirts and baby grows. It has a vintage style wash to some of it's garments and also speckled cotton fabrics to show the diversity of the collection.

Fabric flavours clothing is stocked in Harrods and Harvey Nichols and they also have a showroom in Hampstead.

I really loved the packaging. It was bright and bold just like the clothing and my son loved the Batman and Spiderman t-shirts. Really beautiful!

You can take a look at the collection at www.fabricflavours.com

I was so overwhelmed by all the beautiful clothing, I did not know where to look. So much colour, texture, fabric and boldness was bestowed upon me. I was literally like a kid in a candy shop! My son Elijah was the star of the show of course. Showing everyone is great style with his sunglasses on which he refused to take off. He was photographed by the lovely gentlemen I met at the Tito & Teo exhibit stand. Mr Giovanni Rabitti

Tito & Teo is an Italian clothing line just for boys aged 2-14 years old. All the clothing is cotton or linen, organic and made in Italy. The collection is really trendy, showcasing rough edges , soft cottons on some garments such as t-shirts and tops and stiffer cottons on jackets and coats.

I really loved this clothing line because it is just for boys and really shows that boys clothing can be trendy!

I also liked the innovative style of the 'Jersey Game' It is a t-shirt that combines fun with fashion. You order the 100% cotton soft jersey tee and cut the t-shirt following the unusual layout to create a vintage style tee.

Tito & Teo have a store in Italy and has stockists in Europe and the Middle East. It is a multi brand company that is owned by Camac, Italia.

Giovanni definitely took a shine to Elijah and I offered his modelling services should they ever need a cute little boy who has very long eyelashes, a great smile and a great sense of style!

You can take a look at the collection at www.titoeteo.it

So, now the trade show was starting to get really interesting as I was able to see that there is some fashion conscious collections out there for boys. I then stumbled upon a beautiful set of ladies at the Tom and Drew exhibit stand.

Tom and Drew was created by Alexia Panzia.

The company has been trading for two years and has become a huge success! The clothing specialises in clothing for boys with age brackets of 12-18months, 18-24months, 24-36months upto the age of 8 years old. It quirky, stylish and really beautiful! I was absolutely in awe of the colours and styling that has been used for this collection. The use of cottons, linen and even Japanese denim was just exquisite!

It has a great celebrity following with Sandra Bullock's son Louie and Kourtney Kardashians son, Mason frequently papped wearing her clothing.

Tom and Drew is stocked in 150 stores in the USA, Japan, Iceland , Loos Loos in Essex, AlexandAlexa and Bubbleboutique. All the clothing is made in China.

It is a global phenomenon and this is definitely where I aspire to be myself with Mini Men UK in 2-5 years time!

All I can say is, love, love, love!

You can take a look at the collection at www.tomanddrewboys.com

Another very trendy clothing line is Name it.

Name It has been trading for 25 years and is a global company from Denmark.

The clothing is made from cotton, its colourful, trendy, stylish and organic. All the clothing is made in Turkey and Bangladesh.

The collection is stocked in Department stores and boutiques and again this company is global.

You can take a look at the collection at www.nameit.com

Thinking that things could not get any better, I came across four more great clothing lines!

Mini Morocc

Mini Morocc are a new company and it was their debut at the Bubble London trade show.

The clothing is bright, vibrant and has great attention to detail with the braiding detail on it. The Kaftan influenced clothing uses fabric that is printed and is sourced from the UK and India. The wonderful ladies are going to be stocking this beautiful collection in boutiques and all garments will be made in Morocco.

I really liked the clothing because of the bright colours and it embodied the Moroccan feel. All garments are organic and made to a very high quality!

Check out the garments at www.minimorocc.com

Immink

Immink is an organic clothing company owned by husband and wife, Ben and Emma Johnson.

The company had been trading for two years and originates from Norfolk.

All the clothing is for both girls and boys, soft, plain, bright and manufactured in house. A made in England stamp is very clear on the company logo and both Ben and Emma are very proud that they are able to control how their clothing is produced! Because the clothing is plain, it gives the potential to be able to layer it. The age range is 0-5 years old and the clothing is stocked in boutiques and department stores.

An eco-friendly company that is self sufficient and affordable. What more could you ask for?

The fact they are able to manufacture their own clothing is something I really admire. This is a great USP to have and I hope to one day be able to do this myself!

I think Ben and Elijah had a little bromance which I thought was quite cute and I happily offered his modelling services! He would have a great time with their three children.

Take a look at the clothing at www.imminkkids.com

Ava&&Luc

Janice Rokita and Vicki Leaver are the owners of this beautifully organic clothing line. The clothing specialises in brightly coloured tops, playsuits and pyjamas that have appliqued animals on them.

The company has been trading since 2010 and is another global phenomenon stocking its garments in 6 different countries, 45 different stores and boutiques and will be introducing an adult range in October 12 by popular demand!

Phewww, that is a great achievement in less than two years of trading!

The age range for the clothing is 6months to adult and showcases a wrap around applique detail on organic cotton that is brightly coloured and soft on the skin.

This is another eco-friendly company who also use bio-degradeable plastic for their packaging.

Ava&&Luc is definitely a great success!

See what I mean at www.avaandluc.com

So by now I had been at Bubble London for nearly 4 hours and Elijah was getting quite restless. So we decided to have some lunch and sit in one of the seminars that was running.

How to build an exceptional Sales and Customer Service plan was being presented by Dennis Reid, the Chairman of Retail Performance Specialist www.rps-global.com

Dennis talked about analysing the business by keeping up to date records of retail numbers. Knowing my conversion rate, how many items are being sold per sale, total number of sales per week, sales per hour and how many items does each customer purchase.

I learnt that I need to get my foundations right and think about what exactly it is I want to achieve? And I need to go out and purchase a book called 'Why customers buy' by Paco Underhill as well as downloading some of the worksheets shown at the seminar from the website.

I did find this seminar beneficial although I think I will use it more when I have launched the company.

At the end of my first trade show experience, I was able to meet Lauren Levy from Magnificent Baby!

Such a lovely lady who showed me a great new baby grow that is magnetic which means you can dress your baby in seconds!

The clothing is made with 100% cotton with great patterns and has reversible accessories. All clothing is made in China and shipped to New York City, USA.

They only have one store in London but will be expanding.

See the clothing at www.magnificentbaby.myshopify.com

And last but not least, Mini ZZZ Pjs

Mini ZZZ Pjs is an Australian company that has been running since 2006 specialising in Pyjamas and soft slippers.

A great sleepwear company that stocks its garments in boutiques and department stores. Gift packs are available to purchase and these items would make a great gift for a child.

I really like the prints on the pyjamas and they were very soft to touch. They even had super soft robes to match the pyjamas! Beautiful!

Check out there items on www.minizzz.com.au

I have had an amazing time at Bubble London and will be attending the Autumn/Winter 2013 show.

If you are interested in attending, go to www.bubblelondon.com and apply for a ticket. It is free!!!

Definitely going to apply to become an exhibitor for the Spring/Summer 2013 show.

Great day! Thank you Bubble London

Who wants to be a designer baby??!!!

Top 10 Children's Wear Designers

So, this week I have been looking at the High End Designers of Children's clothing ! The designers who are featured in wonderful world of High Fashion that evolve trends and make people part with large amounts of money for well produced clothing! I absolutely love fashion and some of the well known fashion names make some really beautiful children's clothing!

I have picked my top 10 favourite designers, who I think are setting the currents trends for young boys clothing. (please note this is not an official chart. Just my opinion as a huge fan of fashion and is in no particular ranking)

So, in descending order:

10. Moschino


Moschino was created in 1983 by Franco Moschino. A innovative Italian designer who uses colourful and eccentric designs to capture his customer eye! His children's range shows colour, originality and luxury. With garments ranging from Tops to Footwear, it is a truly beautiful collection.

9.  John Galliano


John Galliano is one of the most influential and controversial designers of all time! He has been in the public eye with his collections since 1984 and has created some amazing designs, redefining the fashion industry! Now with his children's collection, he has injected a bursts of his creative and colourful personality!

8. Junior Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier is known as the bad boy of fashion and landed with a bang in the fashion world back in 1976! His Children's collection was launched in 2009 and was received with great success. He has gone against traditional boundaries with the styling of the collection.

7. Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger has been around for many many years and always showcased the wonderful American Preppy style. This children's collection continues to showcase this genre of clothing style but has a more playful element to it and has a wonderful variety of garments such as casual trousers to smart evening jackets. Just what a little boy needs!

6. Most Wanted

Most Wanted officially launched in the UK October 2011 and is well know for it's rhinestone t-shirts and hoodies. This range was created in California USA and is very popular with celebrity kids and babies. With inspiration from Kat Von D and Christian Audiger, how can you say no to this collection!

5. Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney has been a well known fashion face for many years! Stella uses vibrant colours and a playful style to express her designs and with such a wonderful eye for detail and trends really shows how fashion-forward Miss McCartney truly is.

4. Burberry

Burberry has a 150 year fashion history! It is a British luxurious collection that revolutionizes the fashion industry. Signature looks and colours have been developed for the young generation of today.

3. Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman is famed for its male designs and was founded by Arthur Benjamin Sugarman. Ben Sherman has adopted the shirt and beachwear look and the children's collection envelops this and so much more.

2. Paul Smith Junior
Paul Smith launched in 1970 and is one of the leading labels in the fashion industry. It continues to dominate the luxury fashion market with its quirky, colourful designs. These have now been passed on into the children's collection which is very innocent and childlike.

1. D&G Junior
D&G was created by Domenico Dolce and StefanoGabbana in 1985 and they started with a beautiful women's collection, creating a huge storm and paving the way for other designers. These designers are the real trend setters who use colours and structure to showcase their talents!

All these designers are so wonderful and I love how they have all used bright, vibrant colours and trends to make young boys look swerve, cool and sophisticated.

I would happily dress my children in any one of these designers clothing, even though their pricing is beyond my financial capacity! lol

Beautiful clothing that young boys can really be comfortable in!

Fashion is such a great way to express yourself and show your personality. It is the universal way of letting people know exactly who you are and what you represent. I absolutely adore it!

Thank you the Fashion Industry for these designers!

Tech Pack Hell!

So, I have not written a new post for a couple of weeks now. I have been trying to put all my designs together in what the industry calls a Technical Pack. This is a collection of information, beautifully presented and very detailed to inform the manufacturer exactly how you want your garments to look.
You have to add sizing, fabric, trimmings, threads, your logos, colours, fabric weight, logo positioning, type of stitching, labels, neck tape, the list goes on and on. It is a very detailed document and I have had to use trial and error in order to find the information I needed! Hence why it has taken so long for me to grasp exactly what I need to do!
I firstly had to try and find the sizing for each of my age groups and then the Pantone colours I wanted to use. This was the hardest part of the Technical Pack, as I had never heard of Pantone and did not have a clue where to find it. I managed to get the information line from www.pantone.com such a useful website! It has been my saviour as not only was I able to find the Pantone colours I wanted but also the converter on the website helped me to find the TPX colours. As sometimes manufacturers use these different types of colouring software for the fabric and printing references.

Once I had thought of the colours, I then had to find out what sizing I wanted for the garments. This has been a nightmare to find out and was complete trial and error. Thank God that the manufacturers have been quite help and I have had to Google as many sizing charts as I could find and then just wing it really. And I am still not sure if the sizing is correct. I suppose I wont know until I see my samples! Oh dear, fingers crossed!

Trial and error is just like life in general. Sometimes you do things and it all works out! Other times you try things and it goes terribly wrong and you keep trying until you get it right.
I hope this is one of those times where I manage to get it right because getting it wrong would be extremely costly!

Now that I have managed to get the required information, I have submitted the document to the manufacturer and await costing for each garment and shipping costs. In the meantime, I am trying to put my business plan together which at the moment seems like I am trying to climb Mount Kilimanjaro!!
An steep uphill climb in order to get to the top!

I know what I want to write in the business plan but the words do not seem to want to come out! So i've decided to take my time with it and like my good friend C.J Knock (Founder of Arty Kids Club.com and Off the Rail.com) says, starting your business is like eating an elephant. You cant eat the whole thing in one go! You have to take small bites and eventually you will eat the whole thing!

Taking my time and perfecting my plan is crucial to making sure I have the right information and that my business becomes viable! I always find that I try and rush things but I am learning to be patient and perfect my craft and then unleash my wonderful designs to the world. As another good friend mine Walter Gbedze (CEO of Blue Colla Media www.bluecollamedia.com) says, it is all about timing! It is so crucial to what I am doing and I really hope I get it just right!!