By Rita Chioma Daisy Raffan, is 28 year old quite creative boss of Beach City AE ; a fashion brand based in Dubai. The young entrepreneur w...
By Rita Chioma
Daisy Raffan, is 28 year old quite creative boss of Beach City AE ; a fashion brand based in Dubai. The young entrepreneur who is from United Kingdom but runs the affairs of Beach City AE in Dubai and other parts of the world tells her success story, how she overcame the initial challenges as well as the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on her young, growing business.
Can you tell us more about you?
My name is Daisy Raffan. I’m 29 years old. I have been living in Dubai since 2008 but I am originally from UK. Growing up I also lived in Spain and went to boarding school in England.
I have always been passionate about starting my own business as both my parents are entrepreneurs. I admired how hard they worked and the life they were able to create. Being an entrepreneur gives you the flexibility to work whenever you want and travel whenever you want (even though you end up working more than you would)
My parents brought me up to be hardworking and to believe you are able to achieve whatever you set your mind to as long as you put in the work. they also made me realize that you don’t need much to get started and you are able to teach yourself so many things along the way.
I have always loved learning and my desire to constantly learn more about the world will always be there.
I plan to start many more businesses and initiatives in the future as there is so much i want to do and achieve.
Can you tell us briefly about your educational and background career?
I went to boarding school in the UK from the age of 13. Then I moved to Dubai to study business at the American University, Dubai. I did a double major in finance and marketing.
I knew I wanted to own my own business but at the time I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So, I went from job to job until I decided that I should just start something. That was how Beach City came about.
What inspired you into starting up Beach City AE?
I always wanted to own my own business and I always loved fashion. When I was living in Dubai, I noticed a gap in the market for unique but affordable clothes. There were mainly only high street and mainstream brands in Dubai and any boutiques selling different styles were very expensive.
I used to travel a lot, so I started by buying clothes from different countries and bringing them back to Dubai to sell. When the business started to grow, I sourced more suppliers online.
There were also styles I was unable to find such as beachwear, so I started to manufacture our own designs in the UAE.
Who are your mentors in fashion business industry?
I admire Conna Walker who is the founder and CEO of House of CB. It is a British company that sells party dresses online. She started the business when she was only 17 and has been successfully growing if for 8 years. I admire how she has created such a well known brand with unique styles. Their branding is always on point and they are always evolving and growing.
I also look up to my parents when it comes to business advice. They have owned multiple businesses since they were young and can really give good advice when it comes to making big decisions.
What plans do you have for the rest part of 2020?
We have some really exciting things planned for this year. We are launching our first collaboration with a UK celebrity. We are also starting to distribute from the UK as they are our second biggest market. We are also expanding our manufacturing and own designs which is super exciting!
Would you say the Dubai Economy is favorable for fashion business, such as Beach City AE?
I think Dubai has been great for starting my business. When I first started there was not much competition. As the UAE is still very young there are a lot of business concepts that can be taken from other countries and started here.
It is also a very captive audience for the type of clothes we sell. Due to the weather and the lifestyle here, swimwear, beachwear and dresses sell well. Also the people that live in Dubai like to look their best so they are always on the lookout for nice styles.
It has also been good as Dubai is a very popular destination at the moment for people from different countries so it has been great for our brand to be based here.
What are your views on the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken over the major parts of the world?
Well, in terms of it directly affecting our businesses, it has done quite a lot. When the Coronavirus (COVID-19) first started in China, it affected our production there that was urgent for an upcoming launch. We scrambled to move all our production here in the UAE and once we got that started we went into lockdown here also.
In terms of coronavirus (COVID-19) overall affecting businesses, I think the impact will be huge. Obviously, fashion business have noticed the affects immediately as consumers are no longer allowed to go out, so there is no need to be buying new clothes. Consumers salaries may have been cut as well, so they will definitely be cutting down on buying non essential items.
Once the lockdown restrictions are lifted, I think it will take a long time for businesses to get back to the way they were. With dead stock and cash flows being the major issues.
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How do you handle Social media sales for Beach City AE?
Instagram has played a huge part in the success of our business. It is our main tool to connect with our customers. being in fashion we sell our goods through great imagery and content. We pride ourselves on our good engagement and we put this down to being real and authentic with our followers. We don’t post content that is too edited or too unrelatable. We use normal girls with normal bodies and we love reposting our customer photos as well.
As a successful entrepreneur, what was your challenges starting up?
There are a lot of challenges when you start your own business. Firstly, it is hard to stay motivated when you don’t have many customers. You are putting in a lot of work with no immediate return. It also takes a lot longer than you think to build your business up. Being an entrepreneur can also be quite lonely. Before you hire any employees, you are working alone all day every day. It is very easy to give up in the beginning, so you need to keep reminding yourself why you started and you really need to believe in what you are doing.
What’s your advice to young people out there trying to be like you?
First things first, just start. Start with what you have and what you know. A lot of people never get started because they are always waiting for the ‘right’ time or say they don’t have certain things they need. In my opinion, you really don’t need much to just get started. You also need to be aware and prepared to spend all your time working on your new business in order to get it off the ground. Then again, always go with your gut instinct and listen to yourself and what feels right.
What is the name of your business and when you started?
My business is called Beach City AE. I started is in 2016. The name Beach City was obviously inspired by Dubai and is meant to reflect the styles that we sell. taking you from the beach to the city.
How are you overcoming the challenges that come your way?
I always say everything is fixable. I tell my employees not come to me with a problem, come to me with a solution. You are always going to face challenges and the business that survive are the ones who are able to be creative and overcome those obstacles. You always have to be ready to change and evolve if something is not working.
What is motivating you to continue growing Beach City AE despite the challenges?
I am motivated by the fact that I still love fashion and get excited when we get a new style or create a new design. I get so excited to be able to show everyone and see people wearing our styles. There is nothing more exciting than buying new clothes so I love that I am able to work to give other girls the same feeling.
I also still think we are bringing something different to Dubai and the rest of the world.
How do you attract and retain good hands to help you run Beach City AE?
Finding the right staff is really important and can be the most challenging thing. I prefer to hire people who have the passion and the right mindset rather than those who have the skills but don’t have the right work ethic. I believe that people who are passionate and love the business we have are able to learn the skills they need for the job. We always put people on a little trial because it is really hard to tell from an interview what the person is like in a real job setting. Once they have been with us for a couple of days, it is very easy to tell if they are right for the part or not. It is also really important to give employees responsibility and not micro manage.
What is your assessment of the Dubai business environment?
I think Dubai is the best place for entrepreneurs and new businesses. It is such an evolving market and everyone is open to new ideas and concepts. Almost everyone that comes to live in Dubai is really open and ahead of the trends. Dubai is a small place but has such a big part of the world so it is great for business exposure.
What two or three things do you want your government to do to make the environment friendlier for business people?
I think to make it even easier for people who want to start their own business there should be some initiatives so reduce the cost of business setup. It is quite expensive to register and open a new company. Then hire employees which is obviously difficult for those just starting out.
Apart from that, I think they are doing the best job to make Dubai a great environment for businesses.
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