Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Manon Martin, Founder of Les Aimants, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Imagine revolutionizing the bridal shopping experience with a solution that offers customization, eliminates hidden fees, and streamlines the timeline. That's exactly what Les Aimants is doing. We are a bridal brand and retail solution that eases the bride's shopping experience by working with 3D fitting and industrialized the traditional way of manufacturing wedding gowns.
Tell us about yourself
I am Manon Martin, a New York-based entrepreneur, and former Fashion Technical Designer. I founded Les Aimants to improve the bridal shopping and manufacturing experience for brides. My experience hunting for a wedding dress was restrictive and repetitive, leading me to believe that there was room for improvement in the industry. After spending 10 years in the fashion industry of New York and Paris, I realized that fashion technology was the future for anyone who needed to produce quickly and ethically. So, I launched my startup with the goal of making the shopping experience better for the 20 million women in America who search for a wedding dress every year and breaking down negative stereotypes about bridal shopping.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Bringing something new to the industry. FOR REAL! Our concept is avant-garde because of the way we are merging 3D tech and fashion together. What I am the proudest of is being able to call Les Aimants a consumer brand because of the way we disrupted the bridal shopping experience and retail at the same time.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
It's been almost three years since Les Aimant's journey started. Starting from scratch a business around tech and bridal where nowhere to look for inspiration since it was just brand new was the first part of the challenge. I spent the first year on the road all over the US, meeting with bridal stores businesses owner to understand their sales challenges. Then the second year was about gaining the trust of our first brides and opening our first flagship in New York. Starting year number three, things get slowly easier as we know our brides and that our technology is working. The next step of the challenge is to scale into a bigger business and open additional retail locations across the country.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Have weapons before starting. Ideally, those are a financial backup or investors behind you and a business partner.
- Think like a customer. What problem are you solving? Why are you doing this differently? Ask yourself the WHY at least 5 times every time, and you should get into something interesting to work on.
- Have clear objectives but take a minute to step back and enjoy the journey and small victories once in a while.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://les-aimants.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesaimantsbridal/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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