Failure Decoded
Failure Decoded
Luxury custom bra maker Ruhee Rajan pivoted her business model to survive the pandemic
In this episode Ruhee Rajan, the founder of Rubies Bras, talks about how she built her business from scratch, learnt how to sew, changed the business model to survive the pandemic, leveraged government grants and also about being featured on Vogue.com.
Rubies Bras specializes in luxury custom-made bras. Originally Ruhee relied on in-person fittings to deliver her products. Once the pandemic hit all in-person fittings came to a halt. Rubies Bras managed to find its footing during the tough times. The brand evolved, adapted and thrived but the journey was not easy. Hear Ruhee's story!
Show Notes:
07:57 - Ruhee leveraged the support and tools from the Starter Company Plus Grant offered by the City of Toronto.
9:48 - Reach out to your governments and private institutions for support.
10:59 - Identifying the need to push the available resources to business owners and making this an organic part of registering a business.
14:41 - Ruhee’s biggest challenge as a founder.
15:02 - Ruhee’s improvisation strategy, bras to masks.
16:36 - Re-assessing and resetting the business operations at Rubies Bras.
18:37 - In person fitting to virtual fittings and how this shift completely redefined the entire business model.
19:15 - Redefining the Marketing plan during Covid.
20:37 - A strong and impactful marketing strategy using blogs, reviews and social media.
23:21 - Outsource activities you are not good at. Being part of groups like Women Who Freelance Toronto on Facebook is a good place to find talented individuals.
23:41 - Just start, do not try to get fancy in the beginning.
26:30 - Challenges of outsourcing custom-made bras.
30:27 - Going back to the basics, putting in the work and being stubborn about not giving up.
32:15 - Building a team and scaling the business strategically.
32:50 - The process from start to finish to create a custom-made bra with virtual fittings.
35:00 - Creating value for the customers.
36:35 - Ruhee’s personal story and why Rubies Bras as a company is special to her.
39:57 - Being featured in Vogue.com and how it happened.
45:30 - Being told no means ‘not yet’, so don't quit.
46:12 - Practice resilience and work on the product.
46:48 - Advice to young entrepreneurs.
48:43 - Surround yourself with like-minded people and founders.
Links:
Rubies Bras Website
Rubies Bras Instagram
Rubies Bras LinkedIn
Starter Company Plus Grant
Women Who Freelance Facebook Group
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