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Tips for Starting your Own Business

Autotelic is a sustainable tote bag business with a twist. Their bags were made to inspire and motivate their consumers, as well as being durable, trendy, and multi-purpose. Autotelic started in 2022 here at Hamilton Girls’ High School, and sales instantly skyrocketed, where they sold out of their first collection in a matter of weeks. A few of their products included a motivational tote bag collection, a sustainable collection, and a denim collection, which customers can browse on their Instagram page (@autotelic_totes).

What was the easiest and hardest thing about creating your business?

The CEO of Autotelic stated that the easiest thing about creating their business was promoting their product. They said that social media was a lifesaver for expanding their customer base and reaching large audiences, which ultimately increased sales. Without social media, Autotelic would not have been able to make their business known, and they would not be as successful as they are today.

They also mentioned how the hardest thing about creating a business was finding a product that was innovative, whilst also having the potential to help people. The team at Autotelic conducted thorough research before deciding on making tote bags, and they said “the months we took to research our product was worth it, as we knew exactly how we wanted our product to look, as well as the exact effect it would have on the wider community.”

How did you come up with the idea of what product to sell?

Whilst researching, they found that approximately 500 billion plastic bags were still being used every year. This research created a desire to make a change. There were already competitors such as Typo, who sold graphic tote bags, which meant they had to make changes in order for them to be innovative and better than their competitors. To separate their product from the rest, they had the idea to incorporate motivational messages such as “I can, I will”. This was the beginning of their first collection, the motivational collection. Their sustainable collection came not long after when they discovered many members of Autotelic had the skills to sew. They received many donated fabrics and old clothes which they used to make their tote bags.

Tips for other new businesses?

Nearly 20% of businesses fail within a year due to a lack of planning. Autotelic recommends having a well-thought-out plan, including possible competitors, finding out what will make your product/service better than your competition, and working out why potential customers would want to spend money on your business. By writing out a SWOT analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the members in your business, you’ll be able to assign yourselves to work in the specific areas and environments of the business where you work the most efficiently and effectively. As well as this, by writing down SMART goals that you and other members of your business aim to achieve by the end of the year, not only will you have the motivation to successfully sell products, you can reward yourselves once you achieve the goals. Having a solid plan to follow makes it a lot easier to achieve the goals your business wants to achieve, such as selling a certain amount of products or earning a certain amount of profit by the end of the year.

Another tip that Autotelic suggests is to find a way to give back to the community. Autotelic chose to donate a portion of their sales towards a charity of their choice that focused on mental health. This not only provides a positive mindset when it comes to selling your products knowing that part of your profit is going to a good cause, but also entices your customers and provides them with another reason why it would be a good idea to purchase the products you’re selling - resulting in a larger amount of profit for your business and your charity of choice.

Finally, Autotelic recommends having a short, unique, and catchy name for your business. While brainstorming for names for their business, members of Autotelic had endless ideas but soon realised that they were either boring or unoriginal. They soon decided on ‘Autotelic’ as it means having a purpose in itself, which is what they intended their tote bags to provide - purpose.