EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

This photograph, of an article which appeared in The Times Style Magazine in 2019, evokes bitter sweet feelings - let me explain why.

Spring '17 saw me launch my cabi business.

cabi Clothing wasn’t like any other US company I'd come across. They didn’t hit the UK and shout, Ta Da, we’re here, you’re going to love us. Instead, they gathered a small number of entrepreneurial women with vision. Women who saw their unique way to work and shop, women who wanted to be the Pioneers launching the brand into the UK. I was lucky enough to be one of them.

During those two years, we proved cabi to be a hit with the UK consumer - exactly as we thought it would be. We shared it with our family, friends, their friends and their friends too.

May '19 saw us launch the brand in to the UK market on a grander scale.

We created a pop up shop on Baker Street in London and invited women to come and experience the brand. Experience:-

• the way we as Stylists work and the fun we have
• quality and superb designs
• cabi collaboration

It was truly magical. We had rave reviews. Firstly from fabulous clients and hosts who joined us, but also from fashion mags, influencers and more.

I still remember the feeling after we packed up on the Sunday night, after our long weekend. As part of the UK Leadership team, we sat together with Founders talking and dreaming about the potential growth we would see.

We received a lot of publicity. We were in national and local newspapers, magazines and appeared on BBC radio stations. We started to enjoy an influx of women curious about starting their own cabi business, becoming hosts or clients.

This feature in The Times Style Magazine was the icing on the cake - this was unexpected and genuine journalism. Reporters who enjoyed a cabi gathering, experienced what it is all about and wrote about it. It wasn't a supplied PR story. After all the hard work and effort it felt like it was our time.

What happened next, impacted everyone and wasn’t something anyone could have predicted, nor planned for. Yep, you got it - the pandemic.

There was a silver lining, for what is essentially an in-person, touchy-feely business - cabi, with one eye always on the future, had already created a virtual styling platform, Front Row. We embraced the changes with a growth mindset and continued to share cabi with our hosts and their friends, enjoying catwalk fashion shows virtually - in fact, it became a meeting place, sometimes monthly, for groups of friends during that time. A welcome break from what was going on in the world and the abundance of zoom quizzes!

The impact those 2 years had on us is well documented. Not only on our mindset, our friends, our families, our work, what we wear, as well as how we now dress, but also to what we felt comfortable doing. It's only relatively recently that women have wanted to be in close proximity in a room together, enjoying shopping again.

This story doesn't have a sad ending. In fact, anything but. Our small but mighty core of cabi UK business owners, backed by cabi leadership, continue to bang the drum and businesses have grown from strength to strength.

The cabi way to shop is an experience women want; being together with friends for fun with an element of learning as well and creating their own unique style.

I often talk about how grateful I am that I was in the right place at the right time and I grabbed this business with both hands and ran with it. I found my vocation.

The opportunity remains there for others to take too - in fact, it is still a ground floor opportunity. There has never been a more relevant time to start your own cabi business and serve women who are struggling to find the right brands for them, ones that are inclusive and focused on an age group that is often ignored!

If you’re slightly curious about the business opportunity, gathering your friends to enjoy shopping together or a 1-2-1 with your own fully trained cabi Stylist, simply get in touch. I’m here to help.

MANDY NOSS

Independent cabi Business Owner & Stylist