Identity Decisions

Two questions I’ve been grappling with of late are:

• What kind of brand am I going to be?
• When do I need to decide by?

I’ve worked in communications for over 10 years but never explicitly in branding. I say this to highlight the fact that I’m no branding expert. I do know that when it comes to Mummy’s Muse, I want to be socially responsible. I feel like I finally have the chance to build something of my own and so beyond WHAT I give to you, my dear customer, HOW I give it to you is equally important. The challenge is this: being a start up many of these decisions are going to affect the price at which I can sell the product. I could sell you exactly the same product, with the same quality, but for a lower price if I didn’t make some of those socially responsible choices. This is where commitment to the cause comes in. At a lower price, I feel like I’ll have more people willing to purchase the product. I want lots of people to want to purchase the product because the price is right, but I think I want to build something I’m proud of more than wanting the highest number of sales possible.

I am willing to try and trust that I’ll be selling to like minded people. People who care about being socially responsible and building a better world for the very people our products celebrate and clothe.

For Mummy’s Muse, as a start this is going to involve looking for packaging that doesn’t harm the environment. Another idea I’d like to incorporate is donating a portion of each sale to a not-for-profit partner. This isn’t a new idea, but I love that there are some small brands that have committed to this and have now raised huge amounts of money for a number of causes. I want our contribution to these causes to grow as we grow. This is a real incentive to produce the best products and use the best thinking possible to sell them!

I’m not an expert when it comes to social responsibility and e-commerce businesses but I will continue to educate myself and see where ideas can be incorporated into our business model.

The second question of, ‘When?’ I feel I have to be true to this mission from the very start. My mother used to tell me there’s no point saying you’ll be a philanthropist once you’re rich. When you’re not rich, you should give, so by the time you’re loaded it come naturally to you to give! I loved this then and I still do now. In other areas of my life I’ve applied this principle and I’m going to try and apply it for Mummy’s Muse.

My hope is that I’ll bring our customers along on this journey and give them something they’d be happy to be a part of and feel good paying money for.