Laura Daly has learned many a lesson in the past
21 years, and shares them with those who are planning
to open a bridal shop. This is advice from the top…
It was June 2001. I had just returned to the UK after many years of travelling and working abroad. Somehow, armed only with huge enthusiasm, a burning desire to change the world, and no business knowledge whatsoever, I managed to open a bridal shop.
I’m pretty happy with how my baby Bellissima has blossomed in these past 21 years. She’s developed a personality and identity that is very much her own, and of which I’m immensely proud.
Not a day goes past that I don’t wonder how on earth I’ve managed to go from ‘Mrs did not have a clue’, to multi-award-winning retailer, and quite honestly, I’m still not sure.
I do know I’ve learned a LOT on my journey and am happy to share some of the gems I’ve picked up along the way. If you’re a ‘newbie’ take heed, and if you’re a fellow ‘old timer’ then I’m high-fiving you from here, because seriously, there’s no handbook for bridal retailing, we’ve probably all learned the following at the cost of our sanity!
1 You need more money than you think. Quite apart from the fixed costs of running your business, there’s the problem of stock, and discontinued lists. You need to be very strict indeed with yourself to not overspend.
Customers’ dresses will also need paying for when they come in – don’t blow the deposits on handbags or holidays. Prepare for the troughs and the peaks equally – the toughest times will come a few years into your trading. Remember, anyone can open a bridal shop, but not everyone can keep paying the bills.
2 Trust your gut and believe in your vision. You are really going to have to re-invent the wheel to make an impression on a very saturated market, so you need to do YOU.
Unless by some weird quirk of fate you’ve been forced to open a bridal shop against your will, you’ve started your business because you think you have something new to offer. Your vision and your gut feeling about what will work is what will drive you forward. Don’t be swayed at the last minute by someone else’s opinion, especially if that opinion is negative, and expressed to make you doubt yourself, when the way ahead is so clear to you. Don’t get caught up in what your competition are doing. Do your own thing always.
3 You’re only as good as the last customer you served. Bad news travels fast. Us humans are programmed to home in on the smallest bad thing that happens to us, whilst largely ignoring or taking for granted the sea of goodness and niceness that we swim in most of the time. The same is true for customers.
The last person leaving your shop is just as important as the thousands that may have left over the years, because if that last bride has something negative to say or post about your business, it’s literally the first thing that your next bride will see or hear.
4 Only buy what you honestly like. Given that your business reflects you – your personality and your vision – you absolutely need to ensure that your rail stock follows suit. I don’t mean not to liking something for yourself, maybe a certain style that you know wouldn’t look good on you, but you should still be able to appreciate and like all your gowns for what they are, and understand how they will enhance your boutique and gel with the type of bride you wish to attract.
5 Get help with the things you’re not good at. I struggle with numbers. I’m a creative through and through. I see in pictures and colours, and I feel things that I can make happen. For me the huge stroke of luck was that my husband and business partner is my complete opposite in that department, and has been the firewall between me and commercial suicide on more than one occasion.
I’m also not great at actually ‘doing’ social media, or websites, or anything vaguely practical. I can see what I want, I know what I want – but I know I have to get other people to do it. Please understand that what you can’t do shouldn’t be seen as a weakness – it’s a strength to know what you can’t do, and more professional to get help with it!
6 Approach everything you do with love. Everything. Especially the hard bits, especially the ‘difficult’ people and the tricky situations. For me, this has been probably one of the hardest things to take on board.
Recognising my impatience with those who don’t have my vision, or are slow to understand my point, or who dislike me, and realising that all I must do is show them love and walk away, has been a very empowering life lesson for me. I hope it will be for you, too.
7 Never think you’ve seen it all. However crazy a customer might be, however outlandish a request you might have, in time something will come along and beat it. Family rows, fainting brides, no knickers, puking children, dresses that magically come apart at the seams, items that disappear (once in the customer’s hands) only to reappear magically and it still be your fault, weight gain, loss, pregnancy and break ups that will ultimately be blamed on you because it couldn’t possibly be anyone else’s fault… dreadful unexplained smells, babies being changed in the middle of the fitting area, drunk relatives rocking up to ‘help’ the bride pick her dress… floods, plagues, insects… eventually they will all come your way, and much more!
8 Lead by example always. This is especially true if you employ anyone. Pull the late hours, do the graft, clean the toilets, do everything you can to get your hands dirty. If you want a strong work ethic amongst your employees, then the easiest and most authentic way is to demonstrate that you value what they do, and that you understand what it is you’re asking them to because you’ve done it as well. Always thank and reward a good job done.
9 You are allowed to switch off. The bigger the monster, the bigger the appetite. Unless you build in systems that will help you switch off from your business, you will burn out in no time. This may be making a firm decision not to respond to social media outside opening hours, or making sure you take time off and trusting staff to run the shop on your absence. If you work on your own, consider working appointment only and not opening every day. Don’t be a slave to your monster – tame it and it will work for you!
10 Never burst the bridal bubble. Ever. Brides live in a bubble – even the ones that say they don’t – they just don’t realise it. DO NOT go anywhere near anything that implies your customer has put on weight, looks fat, looks skinny, can’t afford something, needs to save money on something or doesn’t suit a colour or style that she loves. The word NO should be used as infrequently as possible, your job is to lead her to a place of safety and love; you can’t control anything about her wedding other than your words and your actions and how she interacts with her dress.
11 Remember, your brides stay the same age. It’s you that gets older. This was a hard one for me – I was a lot younger 21 years ago, and much nearer the average age of our brides
I’ve gone from qualifying for big sister status to being Mum. and with that increased age gap also comes the realisation that what is new for this season’s bride is old hat for me! When buying, I do now listen to the feedback of our younger stylists – something I wouldn’t have considered before. It’s a constant learning curve, and as we can’t be financially successful without a commercial rack of dresses, I’ll bite my lip and buy that old, I mean new, style!
12 Don’t presume anyone knows anything. Explain and teach all the time – everyone thinks they know everything, but do they really? Probably not… they just have their own take on everything and their own truth, which probably won’t be the same as yours. Right from your first touchpoint with your customer, you will need to take the time to teach and explain yourself, your business, your ethos. You need to be the leader, and ensure that your customers understand what to expect, how you will deliver your services and goods and how that will affect them going forward. If you have any doubt about their understanding, then explain again. A customer armed with the correct knowledge right from the start, will be your best, happiest customer who will also be your best advocate. That’s how you build a truly successful business, one solid happy customer at a time!
