You’ve got a creative idea that may have the potential to generate loads of cash for you!. One problem though, you’re not quite sure how to turn your creative idea into a business. Joining me now to discuss how to turn your creative idea into a profitable business we have Owner of KarnivalbyKandi and StockingbyKandi, Kandi King.
Identify a gap in the market, figure out a solution and act on it.
This is the approach entrepreneur Kandi King used when she launched her business Stocking by Kandi.
What started as a simple observation has grown into a business that services multiple Caribbean countries and is looking to go international.
Speaking on MoneyMoves with Kalilah Reynolds, King, who also owns a carnival travel company called Karnival by Kandi, said that the COVID-19 pandemic hit her businesses hard.
“The pandemic was a little rough, especially for those of us in the entertainment industry but the bounce back has been the comeback,” she said.
King said that while her travel agency was doing well, she felt that the profits were not enough for the amount of time and energy that the business required.
Her latest business Stocking by Kandi sells decorative Carnival stockings for women with a ‘V’ cut welt.
“I got the idea for Stocking by Kandi from attending Carnivals and seeing the girls and seeing that their stockings were straight and their Carnival panties were cut in a ‘V’ and I just didn’t like how it looked,” she explained.
That’s when she decided to do some research online and found overseas manufacturers who were able to bring the vision of Stocking by Kandi to life.
The process from idea to her first sample took approximately three months King said.
The CEO said she immediately went about protecting her stocking design.
“Off the bat, I knew that people would copy this idea because a lot of people already as a side hustle sold stockings. I knew once it came out that a lot of those people would think it’s ok to just buy into those stockings,” she said.
King said she quickly sought out an Industrial Design Protection, locally and in several Caribbean countries in which she conducts business.
“It’s not a patent because I didn’t create stockings, I created a design on the stockings,” she noted.
King said after doing further research she applied to have her stocking design protected under the Hague Agreement, which governs the international registration of an industrial design. She explained that this gives her design protection in all of the countries which subscribe to the Hague Agreement including China and the United States.
Despite having this protection, the CEO said that this has not stopped individuals from copying her design.
“I always go the amicable route first, because a lot of people just don’t know that it’s protected and I can’t expect them to know,” she said.
However, King said she has issued several cease and desist letters via her lawyer for individuals who were defiant.
“I just really try to focus on making my product superior. I have to ensure that it is the best quality and is the best verison of it, I have the most colours and the fit is to the carnival girls’ likings,” she said.
And as her business’s longevity, she noted that Carnivals happen in many different countries around the world and at varying times throughout the year. This, she said, alleviates a lot of the worry about Carnival being a seasonal event in Jamaica.
“Carnival is only season here in Jamaica. There’s always a carnival happening. There’re all the small island carnivals happening in the summer, Trinidad’s carnival usually kicks off in January and then at the end of the year there’s Labour Day in America,” she said.
She added that her online store does well all year round.
King said her company’s next step to expand is to market Stocking by Kandi to dance schools around the world.
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