Interview With Victoria Keating Owner of Cubs Kids Wear

Name:-Victoria Keating

Business:- Cubs Kids Wear

Tell us a little bit about yourself:-

I currently live in Liverpool with my husband Jak who is a chef and our 2 boys, Elijah 5 and Dylan 11 months.  I have been designing and making womens wear for nearly 10 years.  After Dylan was born I decided to try my hand at childrens wear and I absolutely love it.

What is your business all about?-

Cubs Kids Wear is handmade clothing, funky design and old school service.  The fashion market has become so fast and faceless.  I would like to get back to a time where people appreciated the craft and time involved in making a garment.  When it wasn't so cheap and badly mad you could care less if it came apart after one wear. My mum still has a beautiful dress that was handmade for me as a child.

 My main aim is to create and stock clothing that brings out the true spirit of children, the fun and innocence that has been lost in the mini-me market.  Little girls wearing a halter neck sporting a sexy logo and short skirt is a definite no no.  My business is all about twirling and playing, soon my boys range will be all about jumping off walls getting mucky and having fun.

What inspired you to start your business?-

Haha well you can read it on my site but in brief, I was convinced my second child was a girl, absolutely convinced.  Well my eyes were well and truly wiped come scan day.  I was having a boy end of story.  Well so I thought.  I had a ton of sketches and ideas of outfits I was going to make for said girl, it kept playing on my mind what I was to do with all the ideas.  I was taking a year out from work (at the time I was a costume designer for a fancy dress shop, tonnes of fun it was too), I used the time during my maternity leave to study costume design further (my idea of time off hmmm), but realised that with the travel involved it would not be practical to pursue the career I was working towards with 2 small children.  So I went back to the childrens wear, started toying with patterns and my design ideas and it all snowballed rapidly after that.

Have you found it easy to set up your business?-

Not sure really its been easy on one hand as I really enjoy what I do, but having to wear 20 different hats in one day is something else.  All the sewing and designing is fine but fitting in website work, book keeping, marketing, branding etc.  I think the main thing is to have a honest, workable business plan and to create targets for yourself or things tend to get a little out of hand.  There is so much help available it’s just finding the time and childcare to go and get it.

What Do You Consider To Be The 3 Most Important Factors About Your Business And The Service It Provides?-

I am a small business that is flexible and can accommodate customers needs a little better than a large company can, I can customise or fully custom make items, I'm not tied to trends and forecast, So I'm not limited by current fashion.

The fact I make the majority of my stock means the customer can have a lot more input into their purchase, if they need something altered I can do that , if they see something they like the style of but would like it in a different size or fabric this is also possible.

My aim is for Cubs Kids Wear to be a personable and down to earth business; I have no ambition to become an exclusive over priced label. It’s about fun and anybody can join in.

What Are Your Future Plans?-

I plan to add a range of boys wear real soon, mainly at the request of my eldest son as he is not impressed with having to try the various tutus on so I can see what they look like, when I'm decorating them.  I would like to have a bricks and mortar shop again as I did enjoy it but I think this will be something to consider when the children are older and both are in school. I would also like to sell wholesale in the not too distant future.

What Has Been the Most Difficult Aspect of Setting Up Your Business?-

I think the whole time thing has been most difficult; my husband Jak is a chef so his hours are long and he rarely, if ever, is off at the weekends.  My mum has been a great help looking after the boys when I need time to sew during the day. I am a midnight sewer mostly. I think after the initial idea, it’s getting everything together and making a tight business plan and sticking to it, as it’s so easy to go off on a tangent when your enthusiastic about your business.

What Has Been The Hardest Part About Starting A Business?-

I have found it particularly difficult to price my work, I always have and it’s something I need to get more help with. Again time and not wasting what little I have. Also getting the image right has been a bit af a task, keep it neutral choose a theme........... in the end I have reflected my personality and that works best for me.

How Long Has It Taken You To Get To This Point?-

I started my business plan in January and am almost ready to launch the website.  I have been designing and researching for about a year.

If You Could Rewind, Is There Anything That You Would Have Done Differently?-

I don't believe in looking back, I think you do the best you can at the time and if you did it wrong well then hopefully you won’t do it again.  Nothing is or will ever be perfect so I'm pleased I have got to where I am.  Of course you would do things differently but then that would be boring because it would all be right and you would never learn anything.

What Have You Gained As A Person By Starting Your Own Business?-

Confidence in myself and pride.  I feel very proud that I am giving this my all, for myself and my family.  I'm also chuffed as I've finally figured out HTML, this was my nemesis, but after reading up on it, making huge messes and fixing them I think it’s starting to make sense.  I'm proud of what I'm doing, I'm happy I have time for what I love doing and time will my babies.  The feeling of working for your self is second to none in my opinion, yes it’s hard but the rewards balance it all out.

Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years from Now?-

Standing in a booth at a trade show, with an order list for my designs being stocked all around the world would be incredible. Apart from that still enjoying what I do, hoping it doesn't infringe on my family life too much and Cubs Kids Wear becoming a solid reputable business.

What Advice Would You Give To Anyone Considering Starting Their Own Business?

Join up with lots of WAHM sites and get as much info from real people, first hand advice is invaluable. I have found them an absolutely blessing.  Believe in yourself and understand that you are learning and you will and should keep learning.  Never beat yourself up if any idea fails, you were brave enough to try, learn from it and move on.  The best advice I have been told is ..........you are amazing, you can be the best you can be all it takes is bloody hard work and much coffee. Anything you want to do is achievable you just have to take each step at a time and you will get there and smile lots of smiling.

All the yummy Web Mums are entitled to 10% discount their first order.