Behind The Project: The Bow Tie Flow
I’m creating a series where I take you behind the projects I’ve worked on so you can get a better sense of what it may take to get your project moving or moving again.
TODAY’S PROJECT
Today’s project is called, “The Bow Tie Flow.” Many of you know me as someone who wears bow ties everyday–well almost everyday now that I have a kid. Believe it or not there was a time when I didn’t wear a bow tie, but when I decided and committed to it, many good things started happening.
I’m not saying you should start wearing a bow tie, but that you should embrace your own personal brand and style.
The first time I decided to wear a different bow time everyday was at the inaugural WDS (World Domination Summit) in Portland, Oregon.
Someone from the media team noticed (Wes) and suggested that I check out Xoelle.com. I did, and it just so happened that they / she was looking for someone to partner with on creating custom bow ties. She had one caveat, she only made bow ties from secondhand / recycled material. That worked for me because I just lost some weight and had shirts that could be created into bow ties. We decided to give the proceeds to a charity that is near and dear to my heart: The Brooklyn Skyhawks Youth Football Program.
This video from a 2 minute presentation I gave at the WDS conference tells you more about the journey of the bow ties in a beautiful way….if I do say so myself:
THE BREAKDOWN
Alright, here is the project breakdown of how I / we created co-branded bow ties, but it in the market and helped to raise money for charity.
- The desire was there on both sides. I wore bow ties everyday and I was passionate about the charity that had given a lot to me growing up. Xoelle was passionate about making bow ties that were sustainable and in making a difference in the world.
- We set up regular time to talk via Skype to walk through the vision of what the bow ties and branding would look like. Xoelle had already been creating and selling bow ties so in many cases it was just taking the material she had and co-branding it. You can do something similar by researching websites like https://imprint.com/shop/custom-apparel/sweats/hoodies if you want to custom brand apparel too.
- We decided on the standard shape of the bow ties and size of the bows by tracing the outline of one of my favorite bow ties that I currently owned.
- We created little cards that would come with every bow tie. The cards had a QR code which lead to a video on how to tie a bow tie and pictures of a few of the bow ties. Those pictures where taken by my wife once we received samples of the bow ties from Xoelle.
- We decide on how much of the proceeds we wanted to give to charity (20%) and a target for a dollar amount ($300). That dollar amount was based on how much it would cost to pay for 1 young man to join the Brooklyn Skyhawks Football program for a season.
- I purchased the website domain: www.TheBowTieFlow.com
MARKETING
- Xoelle shared information about the bow ties with her list and on her website
- I shared it on social media
- I gave the speech you saw above at a conference that had 1000 attendees
- I called friends and asked them to buy
AFTER THE INITIAL LAUNCH
After our joint venture I went solo and basically sent Xoelle clothes to make bow ties for my 2nd collection. I also joined StorEnvy so I would have a place to showcase and sell my bow ties.
I began taking pictures of different people wearing my bow ties (mostly at conferences). I would literally ask people if they would like to be my bow tie models.
After the Brooklyn Skyhawks we started giving part of the proceeds to charity: water.
WHERE IS THE PROJECT TODAY
The Bow Tie Flow is mostly promoted during holidays and I also take pictures of different people wearing bow ties and sharing their story.
I hope you found that helpful and it sparks you to take action on a project that you or your company has been thinking about. If you have any questions about the Bow Tie Flow project don’t hesitate to ask me questions.
Do you have a project inside of you that needs to come out?
Need help?
I only have a few slots available each month to help businesses and individuals with the digital side of things that may be getting in the way of a project being launched. I’m serving as a digital project manager as I would like to see more projects in the world.
Reach out and lets find out if my skills matches your project needs.
