Quantitative and Qualitative Data...

Qualitative and quantitative data is a way of processing data either through numbers and measurable resources or analysed data below is a table explaining these different methods:

I found that the data in which I gathered fit into the Quantitative data method as the data I gathered for my shoestring project was taken from Instagram likes and followers and also Facebook likes and shares. I found using these methods helped me realise what kind of ways you can collect data and what needs to be added to each section to fit these methods.

PechaKucha 

PechaKucha is a way of presenting slides 20 slides in 20 seconds its proven to help people create presentations. Its a way of making sure you meet time specifications throughout a presentation and not going over time limits set. Its to the point but in a watered down way so that you don't go off on a tangent.

PechaKucha nights are held where people present slide shows following this method and they help other people to use this style of presenting you can attend these nights anywhere you just need to find where your local one is being held you can turn up with a presentation and show people.

I feel this method helps when presenting work to keep it short and to the point without not adding enough or to much information although I do find it hard to speak for only 20 seconds in between some slides.

I wil look into this method for my next presentation.

Business Plan...

As part of my shoestring project I had to put together a business plan. I found that putting together a business plan was extremely helpful for me, it helped point out ares for improvement, large sectors which were missing, customer profiling and target markets and areas which were obvious to help develop my business. I found that if you write up a business plan though and you change your whole business idea it won't work out well and by creating a business plan there is always going to be the opportunity for a big change within the business.

Business plans are important as they will help build upon your business but if you are applying for loans or grants through banks or the Princess trust then they will need to see evidence of business ideas to see if it complies and meets with the needs that they are asking for. Also they need to see if the business in which you are offering to them is going to produce the money to either pay back or succeed so that they can see their money isn't being wasted.

A business plan doesn't need to be a large document it just needs to have a brief over view of what there is to be offered within the business. I found that the business plan I produced I was able to go in depth and find ways to develop and improve upon my business idea.

Marketing Strategy...

To help market my business on Etsy I have created a Facebook business page called NatashaAnnnterior and I have also created an Instagram page with the same name. I have uploaded images to these pages which help promote my business. I feel that promoting a business with the correct social media websites that you can develop a business further and gain more customers and recognition of work. I have found that I receive more feedback through Instagram and likes and followers to my business page that any other online platform I have added images of my bespoke cushions to my social media websites and have had friends and family share and like my business page to their personal Facebook pages to help me gain more recognition below are images of my social media pages with links:


https://www.facebook.com/natashaanninterior/   


https://www.instagram.com/natashaanninterior/   

Customer Profiling...

I created a profile for my target customer, this is the type of customer i felt would by from NatashaAnnInterior:

•       Female
•       Aged between 17-25 years old
•       Work part time jobs
•       Attend college and university
•       Trend driven
•       Living at home with parents
•       Earn up to £300 a month with their job in retail which results to at least £3,600 per year
•       They only have bills such as their phone or car insurance
•      Read magazines regularly such as Vogue, Elle, Tattler, Country and Home and Home and Living magazines.
•       They have their own distinct styles so they like to have things which are unique to them, so purchasing bespoke items is something they would usually do
•       They are creative people who study things like, art, graphics, fashion, architecture and photography

i  I feel this customer profile fits well with the business I am offering and that I will gain loyal customers who will buy from me on a number occasions.

Mission Statements...

I looked into independent boutiques missions statements, a mission statement is a way of expressing what your business has to offer in a paragraph it can be a few words or it can be a long paragraph their isn't a limit on how big it needs to be. As long as you are getting the point you need across for the mission of the business.

I created a mission statement for myself which went

Unique and different is the next generation of beautiful

I decided to change this as it didn't fit well with my business into bespoke cushions so I decided to change it to,

NatashaAnnInterior mission is to offer luxury and bespoke cushions with great customer service and to offer beautiful hand made designs for comfort and design to your unique style within the home or working environment.

Legal Structures...

Legal structures are something all businesses need to comply to in order to run a successful business. There are many types of legal structures but the main ones are:

• Sole Trader- This is when a company is run by one person, being self employed and run your business independently.
• Limited Company- This is when an organisation set up can run itself, it means a business or person running a business is responsible within its own rights for everything that happens within the business. The finances are separate to your personal finance, any profits made are owned by the company or business but only after the incorporation tax is payed.
• Ordinary business partnership- This is when you and a business partner personally share responsibility for the business. All profits made within the business can be shared between the partners, each partner pays tax on their share of the profits within the business.
• Limited partnership and limited liability partnership- This is when liability for the business debt differs depending on whether the business is a limited partnership or limited liability partnership. You can share all the business profits between the partners. Each partner pays tax on their share of the profits.

All these legal structures involve having to:

• Send off self assessment tax return forms every year
• Pay income tax and the profits made on this business
• Pay out national insurance
• You have to register for VAT if the business takes more than £82,000 a year.

My business will be run with a sole trader legal structure as I will be running my business alone.

Putting Together A Shoestring Project...

As part of a brief I was told that I had to complete a shoestring project. I decided that I will create a shoestring project through an online platform making and selling bespoke hand made cushions. I decided I would use Etsy which is an online selling platform for designers who make or sell vintage items. I decided that I would call my shoestring business NatashaAnnInterior.

I will only be offering handmade and bespoke cushions but I will hopefully develop this shoestring project into an on going business venture. Ive enjoyed the process of creating this shoestring project and feel that I can carry this forward and develop into a successful business.

I found it hard sticking to a budget as there were many fabric choices I wanted to use but I had to limit myself to only buying a handful for this project.




Here are images of the cushions I made for my shoestring project, all these were handmade by myself with quality fabrics and finishes.

Cash Flow Forecasting...

Example Cash Flow Forecast

Above is an example of a cash flow forecast the figures on this forecast are made up. This was just to help give an idea of how to create a cash flow ready for when I create my own for my shoe string project.

Cash Flow Forecast For My Shoe String Project

Above is a cash flow forecast I have created for my shoe string budget as part of my project. Until this project I didn't know how I was to go about keeping up with my income and out goings without it getting confusing but I feel this way is very simple and efficient.

Blogging About Blogging...

As part of a brief which I have been working through I was asked to research into blog sites and explain why I chose to use Blogspot.com as my blog of choice. Throughout my research I looked at the following websites:

• Blogspot.com
• Tumblr
• Wordpress
• Linked In
• Blog.com
• Penzu 
• Square Space

The reason I chose to use this blog was for the following reasons:

• I found it easy to navigate around 
• I could follow bloggers who's blogs I already looked at and took inspiration from
• It looks professinal 
• Its ways to upload a post and add images to each post 
• You can share comments of your thoughts to other bloggers
• You can track your viewers around the world and see how many views your blog receives per day or by week.

I feel the down sides of having a blog are:

• Its public so anyone can access and copy work which you have posted to your blog 
• Future employees could access your blog and if you blog about personal life it could potentially cost you a job
• If you lead a busy life keeping on top of a blog could prove to be hard work so you will lose followers and the blog will then start to look unprofessional. 

I think having a blog is a great way for people to view your work and also see your personality in the way that you blog because everyone adds their personality to their work and the way they write a post.

Creative Enterprise, Reflection Two...

During todays lesson I looked into cash flows and legal strategies. I also looked into creating a customer profile for my business.

When I created my customer profile I released how I needed to maybe change a few of my ideas to make sure my business could be as strong as possible, during this lesson me and my peers on the course all read out who are customer is and what they were like, during this time many of us realised just how similar are customers and target markets were. Although we are selling very different things we have strong competition with each other to attract our customer, this pulled up a red flag for me so I have reconsidered my customer and how I plan to promote and sell things within my business.

I then looked into cash flow examples, due to this being new to me I wasn't sure what I was doing but after the lesson I now know how to work out a cash flow and to see if my business will be bringing me money and profits or wether I will be losing money and not gaining any profits in which case it wouldn't be a very good business venture. I was also working out a strategic plan for my business which I will be creating this helped me figure out what is most important to consider such as working out a target market, mission statement, legal strategy and looking at the best way to approach creating a successful business, this also included me looking into other boutiques which have become successful and to see if I could take any useful information from them.

Creative Enterprise, Reflection One...

Lesson one involved looking into my initial ideas into setting up a business. I looked into different ways to convey my business for example, opening a boutique on the hight street and also setting up an online boutique, I have also decided to see if I could set up a pop up boutique. During my two years on Foundation Degree I never really looked into business and the different aspects of being able to open a successful business, although I did look at making business cards and a logo for my business venture as I knew thats where I wanted to be going within the fashion industry so this is still very new to me.

I feel this lesson today has inspired me to pursue opening my own boutique, before today I wasn't very confident in my knowledge and skill within the Enterprise aspect of fashion. After talking to peers I feel like i've been able to gain more ideas from them as some are trying to pursue or have pursued similar ideas and interest which I share with them also.

Filling out the evidence modeling sheet I realised what I wanted out of opening my own business and what was and wasn't important to include in order to achieve this, also understanding what I wanted to gain from opening a boutique.