Want to know the benefits of buying an already established business?
Take a seat while I chat with Mia Baillie who purchased Shop Nomadic from its original founder and never looked back!
1. So Mia! What’s your background career wise? Did you have experience in fashion industry prior to Shop Nomadic?
I’ve had nearly 20 years’ experience working in the fashion industry for some of Australia’s largest fashion brands such as Witchery and Country Road. I love being a part of such an exciting and ever changing industry.
2. You purchased Shop Nomadic as an established business, can you explain the process?
It was actually through talking to a neighbour that I found out the business was for sale. Word of mouth and networking is EVERYTHING!
I was in the process of setting up a small business from scratch when I heard about Shop Nomadic. It had a great social media following along with a strong support from bloggers and local celebs, such a Sam Frost and Nadia Bartel. I was wanting to break into the Personalisation market, and luckily I was able to introduce this into the existing Nomadic brand really easily.
3. What are the advantages of buying an already established business?
When I purchased Shop Nomadic, it already had a strong social media presence and I loved the existing product range. I’ve been able to easily introduce new products and trends quite organically whilst growing and evolving the brand. Another factor that was super important to me were the established suppliers. I could see the quality of the Nomadic product was amazing, and I knew that the original owner had spent time and consideration when choosing suppliers. The sample process is very time consuming and expensive, so to be able to continue working with amazing, existing suppliers took a great deal of stress out of the equation.
4. What are some of the hurdles you’ve had to overcome being a small business owner?
It’s definitely hard being a small fish in a big pond large businesses. Not having the expertise from a large staff base (such as IT – I am not the most tech savvy person) and the big budgets definitely adds challenges, but I am finding that most people love to support small, local businesses. And in addition to this, I have found the support from other female small business owners has been really overwhelming.
5. What’s your favourite product in your range and why?
Definitely the Leather Weekender. It is made with the highest quality Italian leather, and it looks fabulous. It’s a bit of an investment piece, but something you’ll have forever (and it just gets better with time)
6. What would your top tip to a future female business owner be and why?
Network, network, network! Make the most of your contacts, past colleagues and friends. I have made some of my best deals and connections through my close network of friends and existing contacts. You need to put yourself out there and get out of your comfort zone a little, but in a world that revolves around social media, its much easier to do than most people think.
