Background and Context

Business Description Bohéme is a small thrift store located in downtown Davis, California near the UC Davis campus. It is independently owned and operated, with a limited staff. The business model relies on reselling donated clothing and household items to generate revenue. The owner recently expanded inventory and is looking for ways to better engage with the local Davis community members and university students.

As a small business with limited financial resources, Bohéme struggles to recruit and retain employees, often relying on inconsistent part-time staff. The owner has difficulty offering competitive wages to attract qualified, reliable employees. Minimal training is provided due to time and budget constraints, making it challenging to uphold customer service and merchandising standards. The inconsistent staffing also leads to operational challenges in managing inventory, merchandising, and general store operations. On top of the staffing and outreach issues, there is a problem of managing inventory with changing fashion trends. There are varying levels of turnover rates for clothes and she ends up wasting and getting rid of clothes that do not sell.

Problem Statement and Validation Bohéme is constantly understaffed and is unable to retain its employees. The time invested in continually training new staff leaves the owner overwhelmed and unable to focus on driving sales, managing inventory or marketing the business.

Speaking with Yelena, the owner of Bohéme thrift store, confirmed that the time and financial constraints of having untrained and unreliable employees are negatively impacting operations and growth. She has limited time to properly train employees, increase marketing efforts, or build partnerships with Davis and the UC Davis community. Our interview validated that time and finance restrictions limit Bohéme's ability to retain staff, promote brand awareness, and engage the community. Yelena confirmed that time is her most precious and restricted resource, limiting crucial business needs.

Users and Pain Points

High School and Undergraduate Students We asked 9 design students interested in fashion to rate where they fall for the questions above

Students hoping to build careers in the ultra-competitive fashion industry know that raw talent alone is not enough. They need practical experience, industry connections, and strong portfolios to demonstrate their abilities and stand out. However, fashion programs tend to be heavily focused on theory rather than real-world application.

Students have limited access to studios, quality equipment, and a diverse range of garments to style and include in their portfolios. As a result, fashion students show little progress over their four years of study (as shown in the figures above) when rated on key skills like developing creative ideas, mastering styling techniques, staying current on trends, and acquiring industry-standard materials. The on-campus environment provides minimal exposure to the practicalities of global fashion or opportunities to network with professionals. Without supplemental internships or retail experience, students struggle to understand the competitive practicalities of the industry.

What fashion students truly need to succeed is increased hands-on practice in areas like styling, more connections facilitating relationships with working fashion professionals, and greater access to equipment and diverse, quality garments to showcase their talents. With improved real-world preparation, fashion students can build the compelling portfolios and professional networks necessary to stand out when breaking into this competitive industry after graduation.

Solution and Requirements

The proposed Bohéme Ambassador Hub is an all-in-one web and mobile platform that will enable recruiting, training, and retaining a reliable in-store workforce through career development, rewards, and recognition features. This innovative platform serves as a one-stop hub, seamlessly transitioning students, undergraduates, and individuals interested in careers in fashion and business into brand ambassadors for the business.

Key capabilities include online training courses to certify ambassadors for roles, shift sign-ups based on company needs, a rewards program for hours worked, exclusive shadowing opportunities, performance tracking, and data analytics. By focusing on the employee experience, the Ambassador Hub aims to improve retention and customer satisfaction. This end-to-end solution will provide Bohéme with a steady pipeline of motivated and skilled talent to staff stores.

Below is an overview of the key features and components of our proposed solution:

Training Modules & Certifications

• The platform offers a series of training modules covering various roles pertinent to the business, such as - cashier, quality assurance management, and inventory management.
• Users can access these modules, complete them at their own pace, and earn certifications upon successful completion.
• Specifications: Each module will be interactive, engaging, and designed to provide practical knowledge and skills relevant to the specified role. Assessments will be included to ensure comprehension and proficiency.

Shift Sign Up

• Once certified for a role, ambassadors can sign up for open shift slots on the company calendar.
• Shift sign-up will be managed through the platform, allowing ambassadors to conveniently pick times that work for their schedule.

Rewards Program

• The business owner will have the flexibility to offer the incentives they deem most appropriate.
• Ambassadors will earn credits for each hour worked that can be exchanged for cash bonuses or discounted or free clothes from the store
• Ambassadors can also shadow the store owner to get first-hand experience and exposure to the day-to-day operations of a fashion small business.
• Ambassadors gain inspiration from trends and creativity in outfit styling since they get to see the latest clothes being brought into the store and organize displays. They can also express their creativity and style a mannequin model with an outfit to be displayed in-store.
• Depending on their dedication and quality of work, ambassadors can earn potential letters of recommendation to help advance future career or education goals.

Analytics Dashboard

• Ambassadors will have access to an interactive dashboard that shows their total hours worked, weekly hours, compensation, credits earned, and performance feedback/ratings from managers.
• Employers have access to an analytics page providing insights into ambassadors' performance and engagement, including total hours worked, weekly summaries, and more.

Go-To-Market

The proposed marketing strategy utilizes both outbound and inbound tactics to increase awareness and engagement with the target audience.

Outbound Flyers Around Campus Eye-catching flyers strategically placed around the UC Davis campus to grab students' attention and inform them about upcoming fashion events and collaborations.

Social Media Advertising Leveraging popular social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to reach a wider audience beyond the campus, showcasing the club's activities and events to attract fashion enthusiasts and students alike.

Fashion Shows Around Davis Organizing dynamic fashion shows featuring club ambassadors and industry professionals at various locations in both the city and on campus, offering a platform to showcase talent and engage with the local fashion community.

Inbound Fashion Club and University Collaborations Establishing partnerships with UC Davis departments, student organizations, and career services to organize collaborative events, workshops, and panels, fostering a vibrant fashion ecosystem within the university.

Career Services at UC Davis Partnering with the UC Davis Internship and Career Center to offer guidance and support to students interested in pursuing careers in the fashion industry, spreading awareness of the ambassador program, and providing networking opportunities and industry insights.

Speaking at Local Schools Sending ambassadors to local schools to speak about fashion, creativity, and career opportunities in the industry, inspiring the next generation of fashion enthusiasts and building connections within the broader community. Boheme can also reach out to more ambassadors.

Open Questions & Future Considerations

Looking ahead to the future of the Ambassador Hub platform, we're genuinely excited about the opportunities for growth and impact. Scalability is a major focus for us – we're looking beyond Bohéme and aiming to support more thrift stores and small businesses with our innovative approach. As part of our research, we also approached the owners/managers of locally owned businesses Newsbeat, Armadillo Music, and Bizarro and found several of them faced similar problems of difficulty in training and hiring employees. After establishing ourselves at Bohéme, we plan on expanding to other small businesses in Davis such as those and implementing similar use cases but for other niches (like video games/comic book knowledge for Bizarro or magazine knowledge for Newsbeat). With this, we aim to build a vibrant community within our platform where small businesses can connect, share insights, and support each other. By fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration, we aim to empower small businesses, ensuring they have the resources and support they need to thrive in an ever-changing market landscape. Ensuring a seamless user experience and continuous improvement is also important to us. We believe that the best way to improve our platform is by listening to our ambassadors and businesses we partner with to evolve the platform based on their feedback and needs.

Our goal isn't just short-term success; we're focused on fostering long-term engagement and providing pathways for personal and professional growth for our ambassadors within our ecosystem. We plan on doing that by offering continuous training and development opportunities, facilitating mentorship programs, and creating a supportive community where ambassadors can network, learn, and grow together.

By embracing these opportunities and considerations, we believe we can fully realize the potential of the Ambassador Hub as a catalyst for positive transformation and empowerment within the fashion community and beyond.

Built With

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