Inspirational Women Series: an Interview with Mimi Noor
Welcome to the first in my occasional series of interviews with women behind Bath’s great businesses. You can read more interviews with Inspirational Women on my blog. My first interviewee is one of the latest additions to Bath’s retail sector. Mimi Noor is Bath’s only designer denim and casual-wear boutique, located in the heart of the city, Milsom Street!
Jane: Mimi, you set up your business at the relatively young age of 24. That is so impressive! How did that come about?
Mimi: Thank you! Whilst I was at UCL, I worked in retail & fashion, enjoyed it and learned a lot about the industry, particularly about denim. However, once I achieved my degree, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I accepted a position in a major IT corporate fast track graduate scheme. Whilst my interests never lay in IT, it taught me a great deal about running a business and the skills required to be successful. Despite this early success, my passion still lay with fashion and so I made the decision to leave.
I moved to Bath; the city became my main shopping centre. Despite the large array of shops, I felt there was a gap in the market for a premium casual wear boutique, particularly one that provided a wide range of denim brands under one roof. I was still returning to London to buy my jeans, premium tees and fun accessories, and felt that I may not have been the only one.
After further research, my passion got the better of me, I wrote a comprehensive business plan, secured the investment needed from my business partner and I hope the rest will be history!
What’s the best thing about running a business in Bath?
Bath is a fantastic place for retail business due to its dedication to independent shops. It is one of the few cities that combine a huge range of high street shops with independent boutiques, which is why it is recognised nationally as a great place to shop. Having the independents focused around the Milsom Street area is great too, as it means that our type of customer knows which part of Bath to shop for more unique or designer pieces.
And the worst..?
Due to the City’s popularity, the rental and rates are high which can be a big inhibitor to new businesses.
What is the best lesson you have learned about running your own business?
I think you can gain a lot from being open minded. Running a business takes up all of your time, and although you set out with very defined views about what you want, it is easy to get caught up in irrelevant details. I have gained and learned so much from listening to industry experts, friends, employees and suppliers.
What advice would you give to a young woman today thinking of a setting up in business?
Be diligent and comprehensive in your business plan; you’re running a big risk in ‘going for it’ if you haven’t proved that it will work on paper.
Don’t let anyone kill your passion; if you truly believe that your business will work, plug away at it and don’t be put off or put down by other people’s opinions.
Try and forecast whether it will still be relevant in five years time, and if it’s the kind of business that can evolve with new technology and buying behaviours. Don’t underestimate your competition or your customers. Set out with clear differentials, stick to your knitting but don’t be scared to expand on your offering as you see your market or customer change.
Most of all, be conservative in terms of how quickly you will achieve your return on investment and make sure you have enough funding from the outset.
What are your hopes for 2011? Where do you want to take your business over the next year?
Our key aim for 2011 is to establish ourselves in Bath and continue to get repeat custom and recommendation. That said we are keen to open up our next couple of stores within the year, and have started to look around.
If you could have any career you wanted, what would yours be?
I love my career now; it’s what I have been driving for over the past few years and now that I’m here it certainly hasn’t disappointed!
Your shop aside, what is your favourite place to shop in Bath?
That’s tough with so many great shops, but it has to be Duo for boots and Hannah Dulcie for luxury lingerie.
Bath has an amazing number of eateries, cafes and restaurants. What’s your favourite one and why?
Another toughie! There’s something for every fancy but my fail safe restaurant has to be The Moon and Sixpence. Café-wise I’m a fan of Jika Jika; the coffee is always good, the atmosphere is friendly and the bite sized flapjacks are genius.
Mimi, thank you so much and all the best for 2011!
Photography: Vivian Chen [陳培雯], kaysha
lovely mimi,I things i learned from the merge records book: more than half of the dudes in neutral milk hotel wore really ugly teva-type sandals.
I tip my hat to anyone who in this climate is opening a retail shop – for the last two years we have been trying to give back to the industry I love through the London Fashion Network so people who don’t have a huge database or network can tap into ours and get expert advice – my daughter Alice fronts this as she knows she is lucky to be born with a silver retail spoon ……
Mimi your shop looks fabulous and I hope you have a great 2011 – retail needs you