{"id":5969,"date":"2023-10-19T01:30:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T01:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketingalec.com\/?p=5969"},"modified":"2024-11-25T14:28:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T14:28:00","slug":"rachel-crawford-running-a-successful-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingalec.com\/ro\/rachel-crawford-running-a-successful-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Crawford: Running a Successful Brand in a Highly Competitive Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"MarketingAlec\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoin 7k+ Subscribers\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Image\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t

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Candid Brand Conversations<\/h2>\n

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Rachel Crawford<\/a> speaks openly about their continuing battle with META marketing and some words of advice to other young entrepreneurs about hidden costs in starting an e-commerce brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\udfa4 MarketingAlec<\/strong><\/p>\n

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After successfully launching a product that revolutionized the pet grooming game in Australia, Rach reflects on the struggles of creating a product that had never been conceptualized before, as well as how she pivots amidst META changes and an uncertain marketing landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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MA: So thank-you so much for chatting with us about Harlow Harry<\/a>! To kick things off, where did the idea behind the brand actually come from. It\u2019s a totally unique product.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: My friend (and now co-founder) and I were away in the Hunter Valley in NSW, Australia, brainstorming over a couple of wines. I always have had an entrepreneurial mind, and knew I wanted to do something. We wanted to bring out something in the pet space that would really disrupt. He mentioned he had always wanted to find a dog perfume that actually smelt really nice that was totally different from what we had come across and as they say, the rest is history. <\/p>\n

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MA: I\u2019m sure there was a bit of doubt at the time about bringing out a product completely new to the industry.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: Of course, we did a lot of research and connected with experts to understand if there was a reason this product hadn\u2019t been developed, or if it was just because it hadn\u2019t been thought of. It appeared to be the latter and we went for it.<\/p>\n

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MA: So no competitors, that\u2019s great, right?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: I said to someone recently that I almost wish we had competitors within our space, we haven\u2019t seen many but they are starting to pop up now\u2026 so be careful what you wish for!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udca1 Struggling with identifying your brand’s risks and ideal persona<\/a>?
We’ve got just the article for you.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

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MA: No way. That\u2019s crazy. No competitor (brand) for four years is nice, but all good things come to an end I guess. What was the biggest challenge you faced in the initial phase of starting up Harlow Harry?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: A challenge that we weren\u2019t aware of was how quickly the little costs add up when you\u2019re building a brand. You need to have savings, even if you take a scrappy approach or launch with a MVP, you still need capital. Also reinvesting profits back into the business for inventory – it can take time before you are able to take money out of the business.
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MA: We really like asking this question. Has there been a \u2018turning point\u2019 for you and Harlow Harry?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: No.<\/p>\n

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MA: That\u2019s the answer we always get! There\u2019s this thought in small business that you have a \u2018turning point\u2019 or \u2018breakthrough\u2019 and then it\u2019s just cruisey. But in our experience, it isn\u2019t that common.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: There definitely hasn\u2019t been a blow up moment for us but we\u2019ve seen slow consistent growth, which I think is a positive as it allows time to learn, make mistakes, and grow. It pushes you to keep going, be consistent and feel like you could always be on the edge of a breakthrough.<\/p>\n

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MA: If you could give someone one piece of advice for starting a brand – what is it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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RC: These aren\u2019t direct \u2018businessy\u2019 answers, but I would say they\u2019re so important:\u00a0<\/p>\n