“All I had was an idea, a few contacts…and $2000. And off we went” – Priya Sharma on her deep dive into entrepreneurship and the birth of Toronto Custom Suits
Are you an armchair entrepreneur waiting to open your dream business but don’t have capital to do so? Are you waiting for the ‘right moment’ to jump into the deep, dark world of business? Wonder what it’s like to ‘bootstrap’ a new business? If you answered YES to any of those questions, you want to hear the inspiring story of my newest guest, Priya Sharma, founder of Toronto Custom Suits. Join us as Priya talks about her initiation by fire into entrepreneurship and her adventures in the fashion world…
Faheem Moosa: Thanks for joining us, Priya. Tell us about Toronto Custom Suits and why you started it. What makes TCS different from other players?
Priya Sharma: Toronto Custom Suits is a men’s custom suits business that I started a little under a year ago. I have been a part of the corporate fashion world in Toronto for sometime now, but like many other people I wanted to start my own business and to have my own line one day, but there was never a right time for that. When the recession started in 2008, many people in the industry were victims to downsizing and I was no exception. Suddenly I found myself with no job and I was pondering, “Do I apply for a job that I don’t really love just so I can be secure and go through the motions? Or do I take the opportunity to follow my dreams?” It’s not as though I was giving anything up first place. I decided to go with the latter and wondered, “What can I do that will allow me to use my experience and my knowledge in fashion and be profitable in the Toronto market?”
I realized that in Toronto, you could either go to Harry Rosen and get an incredible bespoke suit with great customer service for $4000, or you go to a Hong Kong or a Thailand based agent – such as Maxwell’s – that puts out a decent product for a cheap price but with little to no service. I realized there was a huge gap in the market. I realized that if I kept my overheads low, offered great customer service and utilized master tailors from the Far East, I could really be on to something. And that is how Toronto Custom Suits was born. What makes us different from all the other people that do this is by far our customer service. When I ask my customers what keeps them coming back to Toronto Custom Suits, they mention customer service, not the price point. It’s all about relationship building and offering what’s current in the market for men, in addition to working with different body shapes and sizes and determining what’s going to be perfect for each individual client. It is much better than offering a cookie cutter suit to our clients and saying ‘Here’s what all the Bay Street folks are wearing, so you should wear this too!’
FM: Talk us through the start-up phase and your bootstrapping experience.
PS: Well, the startup phase in general was tough, honestly, it’s probably the one phase with this whole experience where you really feel like giving up – it’s one massive, uphill battle. But if you get through it then it’s really rewarding. I had an idea, I had some contacts from my previous work (I did product development, so I have some contacts in Asia) and I didn’t have a job. And so I took $2,000 from my savings and I told myself that I am going to start this entire business on this $2,000. And with that, off we went. I didn’t know for sure that this was going to work, I didn’t know what was going to happen but I knew that I needed to try it.
I used the $2,000 to get myself set up legally and just to get the initial word out so I could sell a few suits and test the market, and also finance my growth. That was my plan. This involved me getting really creative. I hired a web designer that came recommended through friends. I promised them I’d give them a lot of future business if they could help me get started for a small fee. They did a fantastic job, and eventually when I was profitable I went back and I did a complete overhaul. But the point was in the beginning I just did what was necessary to have something that represents who we are, without compromising on quality.
When I started there was no retail space. Our pitch was that we are mobile and will come to your office or home. Our main clients were the finance professionals who just don’t have the time to book appointments for an hour and go through the buying process. That was our big pitch. It really helped keep overheads really low – which is the biggest key to our business model. In the beginning all these things are really tough when you only have $2,000 and don’t take a pay cheque. Every cent that you earn, you put back into the business, because eventually you need to purchase things like rolling racks and steamers and mirrors which cost a lot of money. So, the startup process was definitely rough, but once word of mouth started to spread, it made for an easier ride.
Another secret to the business model was that I initially carried no inventory. All I had in my hand when I started this business were some books, some fabric swatches, and a catalogue that told you what kind of options you can get, and just one sample – a jacket and a pair of pants. Every time a client placed an order, I used the payment as working capital. There was no inventory, there were no stocking of things and the business functioned just on a per order basis.
For the most part, I still operate this way. But these days I do have a lot more samples. If I come across a novelty piece I will order a few of them in standard sizes to show customers. So we have a lot more samples to show people but we don’t sell anything off the rack.
FM: How did you get the word out about your company? What methods did you try – what worked and what didn’t?
PS: When I first started I thought my target audience was going to be downtown Toronto professionals that wear suits everyday. But as we started growing, a new clientele opened up that I didn’t focus on but just evolved…and that was the wedding client. Wedding suits soon became the number one item we sold! And it wasn’t planned but just worked out that way.
In terms of advertising, there were a lot of things that worked, and a lot of things that definitely did not work. And when you are on a slim budget, hindsight is always 20-20, so when you go back you think ‘Oh, I wish I wouldn’t have put any dollars into this’, but by that time it’s too late.
Sales events didn’t work for us. Sales events are where you are hoping to get walk-by clientele during a launch party of sorts, etc. where you are trying to attract a large group of people. We now realize the reason that didn’t work was because your typical custom suit customer wants to have an intimate experience, a one-on-one sales process. You can’t have that sort of consultation with somebody in a large group setting where there are people walking by and asking questions, so that did not work. Handing out fliers and all that type of ‘in your face’ advertising did not work either.
On the other hand, Google advertising and search engine optimization worked extremely well for us. If you’re looking to buy something, especially for the first time, you are very likely going to Google it. So if we can make ourselves rank #1 on Google, then that allows us the opportunity to connect with first time suit customers, who don’t already have a tailor or supplier. Once given that opportunity, if we give them a great experience and a great product, there’s no reason why they should go anywhere else.
That being said, by far the best advertising for us has been word-of-mouth. Happy customers are walking advertisements. If someone feels confident and happy in their garment and is walking down the street and someone asks, ‘Where did you get that?’, they will say with pride – Toronto Custom Suits!
FM: What has been the most challenging aspect of your bootstrapping experience? Is there anything you would’ve done differently? What learning can other entrepreneurs take from your experience?
PS: I think for myself, honestly, the number one most challenging aspect was the internal battle to stay positive and focused. There are external things such as managing cash flow, etc. but the one thing that’s important is to have a positive attitude everyday. When you start and there is not a cent coming in but just money going out, it can be tough on you.
It’s easy to get stressed out when small things don’t go your way, like when you have a few leads and they don’t work out. That can get you all worked up and make you wonder if it is not going to work out. Once you give up mentally, you are done. There’s no way you are going to be profitable if you are not on your A-game – it’s going to go downhill from there.
If you believe in your gut that you’re on to something, then everyday you must tell yourself when you go to bed that you are on the right course. Even though you didn’t sell anything today, remind yourself it will get better, and that way people believe in you. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody is going to believe in you. For anybody else out there who is thinking they want to start a business, we all think that we want immediate results right away, but even though that doesn’t happen in most cases, follow your passion and then the rest will come.
FM: What’s next for Toronto Custom Suits? Where do you plan on taking the business?
PS: Right now, I’m focused on building the Toronto client base. When I walk outside my door everyday I am surrounded by potential clients. So I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to stop. There’ll always be more room for growth, but when I think of the future I feel that with the way this is going, once we have a solid presence in Toronto, then Calgary Customs Suits or Vancouver Customs Suits or Ottawa Customs Suits are really not that far behind. I was toying with the idea of starting these operations myself…
That’s the direction we are moving towards. However, we are still very new and I definitely haven’t reached all my goals. There is so much work to be done but it’s tough not to get excited when I look at the kind of growth we have had so far. That being said, right now I really, really want to build the Toronto market, have a substantial presence and have a lot of happy customers wearing Toronto Custom Suits!
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Check out Toronto Custom Suits here.
