The side project: how I became part-owner of a camera bag business

The Importance Of Having A Side Project

I was mildly distrustful of University lecturers. If they knew their stuff, why weren’t they practicing rather than preaching? I was a little naive in my later teenage years. I didn’t quite get the ‘value’ of teaching.

I do now. I have to. As a consultant, the practice of teaching is at the core of your ability to create action for your paying clients.

A few months back I was invited to talk with a startup maker business. Makers of camera bags. Not just any camera bags. We’re talking serious baggage. Hand-crafted canvas and leather bags at a £250-£500 price point (why? because they’re worth it). I’ve never been one to ooh or aah over luggage. These bags ooze quality. I met the founders. I met the makers. I was offered an opportunity to take a slice of the business in exchange for my involvement taking the bags to market. There was no way I could say no.

So, here I am, part owner of a camera bag company. I get to build my own brand less ordinary!

The ideal platform to practice what I believe in. My own time invested in something that I can take ownership of. A new journey where I can allocate time each week to build something unique. The side project.

Frankie Falcon Camera Bags

The brand name is Frankie Falcon. I love the brand name. There’s a great story behind it which I’ll share at a later time.

There is an existing website (FrankieFalcon.com) you can find here. I don’t love the website. It doesn’t reflect what I believe Frankie Falcon represents. We’re crafting camera bags for the premium end of the market. The website, albeit well designed, doesn’t reflect the message we want to present. This is where I see so many premium-end companies getting it all wrong. The emotive sell of the luxury product.

 


The message we want sing from the rooftops is that of Frankie Falcon. We need to craft the story of Frankie Falcon. A story that our potential customers will buy into. A story of craftsmanship and identity. A story people will be willing and ready to share. We’ll be creating partnerships, refining our message, sharing our process, crafting our library of content, meeting and learning from our ideal customers. All the stuff I help my clients with. I get to practice on my own brand.

So. Frankie Falcon. Frankie. Falcon. I’ll be sharing the story of the development of our bootstrapped business during the coming months. The challenges we face in an uber-competitive marketplace to get noticed, earn attention, sell product and build advocates. The challenges we all share in taking a business from zero to something. It won’t be plain sailing. It’s going to demand attention and some creative thought to make this a success. I can’t wait to get stuck in.


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Ian Rhodes

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First employee of an ecommerce startup back in 1998. I've been using building and growing ecommerce brands ever since (including my own). Get weekly growth lessons from my own work delivered to your inbox below.

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