ReBride is a new Irish wedding dress resell platform.
We worked with Rebride on the launch of their website just over a month ago.
The launch went as successfully as a website launch could go really.
It received great media coverage, acquired lots of happy customers already and had a great kick start for the brand overall.
Some of the media coverage can be seen here:
Breaking News – Irish stylist sets up platform to resell your wedding dress
Independent.ie – Bride who sold €5,000 dress for €2,800 the day after wedding sets up online reselling platform
Evoke.ie – Bride who sold her dress on Instagram a day after saying I do launches dress resale site
Image.ie – Introducing ReBride: Ireland’s new wedding dress resell platform
Making Uncertainty Work to your Advantage
Having heard so many mixed things lately about the economic climate, it’s easy to have a pretty pessimistic outlook on business.
However, seeing a new business like ReBride legitimately do really well completely reframed my mindset on what opportunities are out there currently.
It was real first-hand proof that even these changing economic times can work to your business’ advantage.
I had often read about examples of majorly successful companies being created in recessions such as Apple, Mailchimp, Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft, Pinterest, General Motors, CNN, IBM, Uber, and Instagram. But having more of an interest in small businesses, these examples seemed almost unrelatable given the magnitude of their size and success.
However, ReBride’s amazing start drove the point home that businesses of all shapes and sizes can thrive in uncertain economic times.
Factor Heightened Consumer Financial Sensitivity into your Ideas
ReBride would have been a good idea even before there was uncertainty around the economy.
Nevertheless, the fact that people are currently more interested than usual in generating extra money (by reselling their wedding dress) and spending less money (buying a second-hand wedding dress rather than a new one), it was the perfect timing for such a company to launch.
So, heightened consumer financial sensitivity is definitely something to factor into your business ideas at the moment. At the same time, we have a broad range of clients who are doing really well with businesses that do not focus on saving their customers’ money nor making them extra money. They focus on different things, like wellness and helping people be the best version of themselves.
So by no means is helping customers make or save money now the be all and end all of business ideas, but it’s worth noting that it’s a heightened consumer sensitivity to be aware of.
Stick to your Strengths
“If you have what it takes to start an electrical contractor business or to start a tutoring service, you may be successful even if the economy is in a recession. If you don’t have the skills but start a hair salon or auto repair service just because it’s supposed to do well in a recession, you likely won’t do well.”
– The Balance
Isabel (ReBride founder) didn’t start ReBride because of changing economic certainty. She was already an expert in the space and would have launched the business regardless of this good timing.
I’m always conscious of trying not to flip flop too much between ideas, especially for short term, fleeting reasons. The phrase, “he who chases too many rabbits catches none” comes to mind.
So even though it would be great if your business idea aligns well with the current economic uncertainty that’s out there – it’s still important to leverage your existing resources, skills and passions in order to increase your chances for success in the long-run.
Conclusion
To recap:
– now is potentially a very good time to launch your business
– factor consumers’ heightened financial sensitivity into your new business ideas
– no matter what idea you pursue, in the long run it’s best to stick to your strengths rather than just jumping into something new solely because of the timing
Thank you for reading as always,
Gary
