Luxury businesses aimed at an elite clientele can be lucrative.
But the best operations don’t sustain success by chance — prior preparation and thorough research shortens the odds on a long-shot startup until it’s well worth a calculated gamble.
So if you’re considering whether your entrepreneurial pipe dream can convert to cold hard cash, here are three hacks for launching a luxury startup.
Create your niche
If you can target a niche customer base you’ve identified, rather than jumping on a bandwagon built by other businesses, you’ll enjoy the brand marketing benefits of innovation and originality.
Ideas can slowly germinate over time and through personal experience — some services were first developed to meet the pain points of their own creators and gradually gathered steam.
But inspiration can also strike like lightning — Bernard Sadow first realised the need for wheeled luggage when struggling through customs with his suitcases in Puerto Rico in 1970.
In a eureka moment, he spotted a worker carrying a piece of heavy machinery on a wheeled contraption and connected the dots to transform luggage design.
If you’re the original and best operator in your niche you’ve got a head start over competitors.
Use data to meet demands
Looking at customer data from a new angle can allow you to develop a luxury service that delivers exactly what customers want.
The Dorchester Collection hotel group used customer complaints about their laundry service to totally transform their offering.
They realised that most of their maligned customers invested in luxury clothing that made them feel connected to the world of high-end fashion.
So when staff didn’t take the appropriate care with their clothes, there was a disconnect that caused deeper dissatisfaction because of a perceived lack of understanding of the garments’ cultural currency.
They increased their laundry budget by 30 per cent and hired an expert clothes craftsperson who had the requisite appreciation of designer labels.
Complaints reduced significantly and the associated social media campaign led to the service expanding to offer bespoke laundry services to private homes.
If you can think more profoundly about how your luxury startup understands customers deep desires then you’ll build a brand that lasts.
Business Savvy
Once you’ve identified your niche and dug into rich data, it’s essential that your business savvy is commensurate with your ambition.
Competition can be cutthroat and rivalries are ruthless, so online degrees in business management and leadership equip you with the strategic skillset to survive and thrive.
Learning through experience has its benefits, but having the formal training to avoid potential pitfalls will stand you in good stead as you set out your stall in the luxury market.
These four hacks for launching a luxury startup should position your business perfectly.
Have you launched a luxury business? Share your advice in the comments section.
