People will pay for convenience. If you add saving money to that convenience equation, then you've struck gold in your business! Erica offers both convenience and savings to customers of Rainey's Closet - an online rental company for kids' clothing.
Not every family will splurge for a full photo shoot complete with fancy outfits, but the ones who do know that pairing the right dresses and accessories can be a challenge. Add to that the incredible cost of those dresses and accessories, and Rainey's Closet is there to fill in the gaps.
Erica has such a unique business model - complete with its own challenges. But I know you'll find inspiration when you listen to her story. Whether you're reminded to head back to the trenches and spend more time with your target market, or you discover a brand new way to solve someone's problem, you won't want to miss hearing from Erica and what she's doing at Rainey's Closet.
On the Podcast
01:41 - How the Quest for Perfect Photos Led to the Perfect Business!05:33 - First Steps to Building a Business and a Website08: 52 - Partnerships with Vendors10: 44 - The Initial Investment13:13 - The Rental Process16:00 - The Best Part of Erica's Job!17:26 - Getting Great Photos18:52 - How to Determine a Price22:37 - Where do Customers Come from?24:39 - Knowing your Target Market28:00 - Changing Strategy33:25 - Making Smart Business Decisions34:46 - Erica’s “Secret Weapon”38:53 - Erica's Funny Mom Moment
Press Play on the Podcast Player Below to Hear from Mamapreneur Erica Richards
How the Quest for Perfect Photos Led to the Perfect Business!
Erica Richards worked in marketing and public relations before deciding to be a stay at home mom once her daughter was born.
When Rainey was about 3 years old, Erica began receiving offers for various jobs but nothing seemed worth going back to work. She began looking for a creative outlet and way to use her talents.
Erica's light bulb moment came after a frustrating experience of spending a lot of time and money preparing her family for a photo session. She wanted gorgeous photos, and she searched and searched for the perfect outfits for her daughter. She ended up spending a lot of money on that outfit and accessories, and of course, after the shoot it just sat in Rainey's closet. It felt a bit wasteful.
Erica realized that finding and coordinating great outfits for children - particularly for their family photos - was a problem lots of moms were having. She came up with the solution of Rainey’s Closet. Erica had used “Rent the Runway” in the past for special occasions for herself, and she thought, "why couldn't this model work for kids' clothing as well?"
Rainey’s Closet started as a part-time side hustle and quickly grew to a successful full time business.
First Steps to Building a Business and a Website
In October of 2014, Erica began buying her inventory. She found that fall was a perfect time to start buying clothing and accessories for her business as there were many sales, and many moms were selling their clothing after completing their own photo shoots.
Erica then created a Facebook page, bought her domain name and set up her website. Intially, Erica got quotes for a custom website, but discovered that that option would be extremely expensive. So she and her web developer got creative. They found a great program to use as the base for their site. It was designed for clothing rental companies, so it had the right tools for inventory management and scheduling an order built right in. From there they customized the overall look, and Erica began adding inventory.
Erica admits that it took weeks and weeks of late nights getting photographs of all her inventory and adding it to the site. This has been the most time consuming and labor intensive part of her business, but it has certainly been worth it!
Partnerships with Vendors
Erica buys a lot of kids' clothing and accessories from Etsy shops and small boutiques. For this reason, she purchases the majority of her i