Royal Loot Bags

I wouldn’t call myself a fan or follower of the British Royals, but I have been, let’s say, curious over the years. In fact, the marriage of Charles and Diana in 1981 might be one of the first world events in which I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened. So, while I certainly didn’t get up at 5am on April 29th to see the spectacle of William and Kate’s wedding, I tuned into the repeat broadcast later that evening, and various TV specials over the weekend.

Until now, I didn’t know anything about the Middleton family, except that they were “commoners”, so when I heard via Biography channel that Kate’s parents had started their own business which has had great success, I was both delighted and perhaps not surprised at all. While most micro businesses provide a modest living for their founders, there are a few gems that propel the proprietors into a socio-economic state fit for a king (or in this case, future queen.) The Middleton family business was described as an Internet-based business, and that made even more sense as a type of business that could grow very quickly. Still, I was curious about exactly what type of products and services the Middletons sold. I continued to catch bits and pieces of various shows over the weekend, and finally my persistence paid off.

Kate’s mother, Carole, frustrated by the time-consuming task of preparing loot bags for her daughters’ birthday parties, recognized this task as bothersome, and came up with an online solution for other mothers struggling with the same chore. Loot bags! A simple concept, with lots of complicated details. (The Brampton Enterprise has had a number of aspiring loot bag sellers over the years, and operational planning was always more complex than the fun idea would suggest.)

But there it is – the foundation of launching a business – just the same half way around the world as in Canada: fulfill a gap in the marketplace.

• Step 1: identify the problem;
• Step 2: come up with a solution;
• Step 3: conduct market research to ensure there are prospective customers who share the same issue and are willing to pay for a fix;
• Step 4: creating a vision: Carole wanted other young mothers to be able to create birthday parties for their children that would be fun, magical and memorable.

So, to all my clients and future clients who have a seed of an idea for a business, keep plugging away at it! While there are no promises of a fairy tale ending, this is proof that sometimes it does happen.


A few articles with a brief mentions on the Middleton’s enterprise:

http://www.partypieces.co.uk/

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-princess/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110215/en_ac/7860484_kate_middletons_family_business_party_pieces

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8474828/Middleton-familys-website-plugs-street-party-essentials-days-ahead-of-royal-wedding.html