Vintage Letters & Co husband and wife team, Chris and Mel Ward, turned their bright idea into a business

Focus on what you do best

The day-to-day management of the business is done by Chris, while Mel handles the customer orders, enquiries and bookkeeping. “Clearly separating our roles ensures everything runs smoothly”, says Chris. “We have become really effective because we know what we have to do and are able to bounce off each other. Our business is now easy to run because we have procedures in place and we just follow them”.

Design your products around your strengths

Experience in the construction industry gave Chris an advantage. “We wanted to produce something unique so we decided to create our own vintage style letters made from steel”, explains Chris. “Due to my trade background, I knew what shapes you could make and how to use the materials cost effectively. We then worked with our manufacturer to produce a product we were happy with”.

Don’t be afraid to rely on tools

Vintage Letters & Co uses MYOB, WordPress and Woo Commerce to ensure their finances and bookings are seamless. “All the information we collect from Woo Commerce helps us figure out the delivery range and how much to charge”, explains Chris. “It will also show us what we haven’t booked out for the month or what isn’t popular so we can do a promotion or get rid of that product completely. Using our data helps ensures we make better business decisions”.

Talking to the right people

When Chris and Mel attend expos there is a line of people out the door waiting to speak to them. “We do three different types of promotion: print ads in bridal magazines, social media advertising and exhibitions”, shares Chris. “Thanks to our marketing efforts, we have customers booking a year and a half in advance”.

Go slow so you get it right

While the franchise is growing steadily and currently looking for a franchisee for each state and territory, Vintage Letters &
Co doesn’t want to expand too quickly. “We want to really test the market in each area first. We want to ensure we can replicate
the success in Perth. Everything is indicating that we can, and this is something that is getting us and potential franchisees very
excited”.