Georgia England runs Zippys in her spare time, around looking after her young daughter.
Auckland woman Georgia England, founder of apparel altering firm Zippys, talks starting a business during her maternity leave, and why she uses Instagram to market and sell her products.
What does your business do?
Zippys is a small breastfeeding-friendly clothing business. We specialise in altering popular, trending clothing by inserting zips into garments so that mums can feed discreetly and look good while doing it. The business launched in April.
What was the motivation for starting it?
When I became a mum I struggled to find clothing that suited my style and I wanted to be able to continue wearing my regular clothing, and feel like myself, and not change my style just because I was a mum, which is what inspired me to start up Zippys.
How big is the team?
The team is just me, myself and I. Although I guess I could include my supportive family – I couldn’t run a small business without my husband being my sounding board and helping pack orders, and at times my mum helping to look after my baby, Kobe, while I work.
Georgia England breastfeeds her daughter Kobe.
How was the business funded?
Zippys has been funded by my own savings account while on maternity leave. Other mums will know the difficulty of budgeting their finances while on maternity leave so I’ve had to be super careful. However I am naturally more of a ‘build up an idea slowly and safely’ rather than a ‘put all in and take a big risk’-type of person and that seems to have worked for us in the initial stages.
What is your current focus?
Our current focus is reaching as many breastfeeding mums around the country as we can. Our aim is to help other mums feel and look good. It is hard enough being busy and tired 24/7 and I’m a firm believer that having a good, trendy piece of clothing gives you confidence and can change the way you feel. In three to five years we hope to be not just in New Zealand but widely spread around the globe.
How do you balance being a mum and starting up a small business?
Being a mum and a business owner is a constant juggle. I have to make sure I’m super organised and prepared in advance. For me that usually looks like having a planner open each day and organising my week ahead in my diary on a Sunday. Every task is written down and ticked off each day. I wouldn’t be able to do it without help from family around me too.
What’s planned/coming up from Zippys for the rest of the year?
We have some epic winter pieces coming which we plan to release one at a time. They can be styled in so many different ways and are definitely our best products yet – I can’t wait to release these.
How helpful is running a business solely through social media platforms like Instagram?
We are currently on Instagram and Facebook but have a website in the works too, which will help in building the brand. It is super exciting to see this start to come together as Zippys evolves. Instagram is so effective in the way that you can quite easily reach your target market and communicate with customers. I absolutely love using it and am excited to see our growth over the next few releases. We currently take orders through direct message.
It is crazy just how many people you can reach through social media, however, in order to ensure orders are processed more easily and fairly it will be essential to have our website up as soon as we can.
Zippys alters t-shirts and other clothes with zips to make them breastfeeding-friendly.
Have you always been entrepreneurial or interested in starting up a company?
I wouldn’t say I have a typical entrepreneurial-type of personality. I’m creative but I’m not a high risk taker. I have people close to me who are, so we balance each other out really well. I finished my university degrees and entered the normal working world as a primary school teacher and although this is one of my huge passions, I know deep down a ‘normal’ job is not for me. I’m always looking for ways to work from home or travel whilst working.
What advice do you give to others wanting to start their own business?
Don’t wait until things are perfect to get started. You’ll never get anywhere if you’re constantly waiting to be 100 per cent ready. Have enough support around you. Bouncing ideas off trustworthy friends and family is so important and even though it can be scary to share your ideas, this can be one of the most helpful things you’ll do.
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