I’ve set myself a tasks and added to my to do list to try and write a new blog piece every week eeeeek!

Trying to get my creative cap on and come up with new content and ideas that people might be interested in is proving rather difficult. However I know this is something I need to do and I’m going to try my hardest to deliver and hold myself accountable for the task I have set myself.

Having googled the top 10 best content ideas for blogs I wasn’t inspired to put pen to paper and start writing. Then I started to think what would I like to read and what would interest me? I was in two minds to write about fashion/business or just general chit chat about life. Let me be honest I love fashion, I own a ladies fashion boutique but I wouldn’t say I’m a total fashion guru in fact half of the time I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards, I’m always drawn to the colour black and I don’t plan my outfits I just find whatever is clean and hanging in my wardrobe.

What I’m trying to say is although I love fashion, I wouldn’t be passionate about writing about what the celebs are wearing or researching the runway fashions, its great to get inspiration from said areas but in reality we can’t all afford the Dior trench coat spotted on Kate Moss. My passion is finding and sourcing clothes that I love, my customers love and what doesn’t cost the earth, my passion is also watching something grow and flourish and learning how to make that happen.

So answer to my question is let me write about my business, my passion and what I’m learning along the way, and trust me I could write a lot of blog posts about that…

So let me start with the business side and my downfall which I still struggle with and thats the ability to say NO I really struggle to say NO if people ask me to do something even if I don’t particularly want to do it I find the words “yes course I can” “Yes I’ll help you with that” Yes put me down for that” rolling out of my mouth and on the inside I’m thinking why the heck did I say yes…

This is something I’ve learnt that in business you have to say NO especially when it involves money, when I first opened House of 925, many businesses contacted me trying to sell me advertising space, companies were ringing me trying to offer social media services, card reader companies were trying to sign me up to there card payment service, the list went on and some of these guys gave amazing sales pitches which I fell for hook line and sinker and I spent a lot of money on things such as advertising space which gave me very little or no return on my purchase.

Obviously as a new business you need to try things its all trial and error maybe things such as advertising space would work wonders for your business, but I’ve learnt its so important not to get swept up in a sales pitch, do the research and if it doesn’t work for you then say NO.

Looking back on the past year I’ve spent money on areas of advertising that I wish I hadn’t however it’s definitely a lesson learnt and now I have a vague idea what works for me I often wish I’d of put all that money into a more returnable advertising process.

Going forward I’m going to learn to say NO which I’m getting slightly better with and I’m also going to keep researching what advertising works well for my business, if I want House of 925 to grow then its all about getting House of 925 in front of the right people and thats exactly what I’m going to try and do…I’ll do a blog on my advertising journey and let you know how I’m getting on.

Kate@houseof925

xoxo

House of 925 turned one on August the 1st 2018 after a busy couple of weeks I can now take time to reflect on our first year of business, the up’s the downs and the craziness of starting a business and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. 

House of 925, originated firstly in my head, when I use to spend my days sat on the M62 heading to my previous job, as much as I liked my job, and loved the people I worked with, I had a niggle inside me, that told me I was meant to be doing something I truly loved, Days and weeks past the same commute, the same amount of traffic and the same niggle pecked away at me. 

When I heard The Piece Hall, was renovating the building I thought this is it, this is my calling I literally lived 10 minutes away, the location was perfect, and I just knew this was meant to be. I arranged a viewing of a couple of units and I immediately fell in love with Number 12. A small little white box, with its old Georgian style windows, and glossy wooden floorboards, Number 12 was going to become House of 925 and that it did. 

The papers were signed, the keys were handed over and we got to work in turning Number 12 into the start of my new adventure. Don’t get me wrong I was terrified about leaving my job where I had spent to last 10 years, with a regular income and a place where I felt comfortable. I was now venturing into the unknown I didn’t even know if I’d make any money, if people would like my style of clothing I had months and months of sleepless nights. but I knew deep down it couldn’t and wouldn’t fail. 

After weeks of work and tweaking my little unit, open day arrived, nervous was an understatement, luckily I had a couple of bottles or should I say glasses of fizz and after a few we opened the doors, and I was good to go. 

The open day was a great success The Piece Hall had over 22,000 visitors through the gates, the day couldn’t of gone better. The following months were just as great, The Piece Hall hosted some amazing events including, Tour de Yorkshire, Antiques Roadshow, Chow Down food festival, The big sing and that's just to name a few. 

House of 925, took part in the Forget me not children's hospice fashion show, we featured in the local Halifax Courier, we were interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds, we’ve attended several christmas fares and ladies nights and the most exciting part for me is, we’ve built up a regular customer base with returning customers so I’m hoping we’re doing something right. We’ve made new friends, met some great people and learned a lot along the way. 

House of 925, has achieved a lot in it’s first year but I know we still have a long way to go, this year was all about finding our feet, learning as we go and slowly learning how to grow the business. We have lots planned for the future, but we know if we’re persistent, consistent, work hard and enjoy the moments everything else will fall into place and we’re excited for what's to come. 

Most of all a massive, huge thank you to all our lovely customers, who have walked through the door, looked at us online or even just given us a thumbs up on Facebook, we really do appreciate it and we wouldn’t be here without you. Here is to many more years to come…Thank you  xoxo