Wow—what a response! I want to start by saying a heartfelt thank you to everyone who commented, shared, or messaged me after my first post. Your support, feedback, and encouragement has been overwhelming, and it means a lot to me and my co-founder, Mark.
So, why am I writing this series?
- Reflection: It’s a way for me to pause, document the journey, and process everything we’re learning. This step so often gets overlooked.
- Community Connection: Sharing our experience helps us gain invaluable input and insights, and I hope it’s helpful to others navigating similar paths. And who knows what valuable working relationship could come from this.
- Brand Exposure: It’s no secret—we want to put Baby Sunnies South Africa on the map!
December has been exhilarating! Our peak season sales have exceeded our expectations. We’re thrilled, but it’s a constant game of optimizing ads and ensuring we stay in stock—both on our website and on Takealot. But this gives us the validation that our consumers love our brand and is spurring us on to make Baby Sunnies a household name in South Africa.
It’s been a whirlwind, but every challenge feels like a steppingstone toward something bigger.
Key Learnings from the Journey So Far
Launching a start-up is a rollercoaster. Here are the lessons that have stood out for me so far:
- Do Your Due Diligence: Starting a business is damn hard. It’s also very time-consuming, and costly. Before diving in, you must cover your bases. Research the market, assess the competition, and satisfy yourself that the brand is a great fit for the market. Do your non-negotiables checklist, and then give it everything.
- Pick the Right Business Partner: Mark and I complement each other perfectly. The catalyst for this was laying out clearly defined roles. This removed unnecessary uncertainty. We also trust each other completely; we both have a lot to lose which inherently ensures a very high level of commitment. Our strengths are different but synergistic. Lastly, make sure it’s someone you can have a laugh with, you’ll need this in the dips.
- Ask the Right People the Right Questions: There’s no shortage of opinions and advice out there. The key is to filter the noise and lean on trusted sources. I’ve been amazed at how willing people are to help if you just reach out. They want you to succeed. But at the end of the day, the most important voice for me, is my gut, I’d much rather fall on my own sword then someone else’s.
- Keep Expectations Realistic: Growth takes time. The phrase “If you build it, they will come” resonates very strongly with me. It’s about trusting the process and staying patient. In our first 6 weeks, we were only averaging one sale a day—not great! We chose to focus on building the foundations rather than looking at results at this early stage.
- Don’t Compromise on the Foundation Phase: Shortcuts may save time initially, but they’ll cost you in the long run. Take the time to lay a solid foundation for your business. Our website launched a few weeks later than we planned, but we were not prepared to sell the brand short by putting out something quick and “good enough”, it needed to represent the quality of our product.
- Prioritize Brand Awareness Over Everything Else in The Early Stages: For us, brand awareness is the most important thing in the short-term. Specifically in the children’s category where there is a snowball effect. We want as many Babies and Kids as possible wearing Baby Sunnies, not just to boost our sales, but also because eye health is extremely important. Once people see and experience the quality, the brand will grow organically, and its strength will shine through.
What are your thoughts? Have you faced similar challenges in your ventures? Or do you have advice on staying agile during peak season? I’d love to hear your input.
Thanks again for being part of this journey. Here’s to more growth, learnings, and Sunnies on Kids everywhere!
