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Tips on Running A Business by Owners of Coast 10

By Glappitnova December 19, 2013

Coast 10™ is a creative brand started by Paul Weaver and Nick Sandish.
“Relying on teamwork, individualism, and unique artwork. We strive hard to showcase our traits in everyday lifestyle as artists through social media, photography, and clothing. Our ideas and concepts are inspired by music, culture, and our own ideals. By combining our love of our passions on an all new medium, we can create truly inspiring items for our friends everywhere.”

In The Beginning

In the year 1999, Paul Weaver moved to Minnesota with his family. After being in Minnesota for 5 years, he and Nick Sandish met on their 5th grade basketball team and soon discovered they were both originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Not only that, but they were delivered by the same doctor.
Paul and Nick became fast friends and attended the same high school. This is where the idea of a clothing company began, but neither one of them had the time or the money, so the dream would have to wait. Four years later, now high school graduates, and attending the same college, the dream of starting a clothing company was still alive.

Business Tips from The Owners of Coast 10™

No matter how much revenue the company generates, it is still important to make smart business decisions and be frugal with your money. Treat every dollar like it’s your last.
With social media being a crucial tool for businesses today, we knew that in order to be successful, we were going to have to grow our social media platforms. Many start-ups assume that once a website is made, and their sites go live, orders will automatically start coming in. We knew that wasn’t the case. In order to gain business, we needed to utilize our multiple social media platforms to push our clothing brand to it’s maximum potential. When looking at the top clothing brands today, the one thing they all have in common is their undeniable social media presence. With interest in photography and design, we started working with popular musicians to help build our following. We strive hard to showcase our traits in everyday lifestyle as artists through social media, photography, and clothing.
Always strive to better yourself, your business, and your employees, but you have to be realistic when approaching each new obstacle. Nothing good will come or last over night, so be realistic with your goals and expectations. Of course you need to set long-term personal and professional goals, but with that, set some shorter-term goals as well to help yourself get to those longer-term endings. When we first sat down to discuss all of the different designs and items that we were going to carry for our first line, there were about a million different things we wanted to do. We then sat back and started thinking on a more realistic stand. Were we really going to be able to carry 40 different designs, and on top of that have stock for each size? We soon realized that carrying only a limited variety of items at first would be to the best of our advantage, to gain brand recognition, and then we could add to our line as we grow.
As an entrepreneur, no matter what type of item you are selling, it is crucial to have a good slogan or message. Coast 10 is a creative brand that relies on teamwork, individualism, and unique artwork. By having this on our website and blogs all over the world, it conveys our image to people who might not understand by just looking at our logo who we are.
We suggest that people whom are impatient, stubborn, creative problem solvers, visionaries, driven, and obsessive, should be an entrepreneur, and those who expect equitable reward for time and effort, should not. Last summer, we both gave up having a summer job in order to tackle the things that we knew that would benefit our clothing company. With many prospective entrepreneurs, it isn’t uncommon to not make money for a long period of time. That is something that as an entrepreneur has to be given up in order to succeed sometimes. For Paul, this past summer he got the opportunity to tour the U.S. with R&B artist, SoMo. It was tough having to give up his job at home, and 4 months of time at home, but he knew that the relationships that would be gained, and experiences that came with it, would be extremely beneficial for Coast 10.
For any entrepreneur that is starting a business with a close friend, or family member, we suggest thinking hard and long about if it’s going to be for the better or worst. It is always good to establish from the beginning who is better at what, so roles don’t clash, and the path ahead runs much smoothly. By combining our love and our passions on an all-new medium, we were able to create inspiring items for our friends everywhere. That was only possible with us both understanding what positions in the company that we were going to take responsibility for.
If you’re looking to start your own clothing company, don’t immediately think that you have to buy direct wholesale from China. Although it’s cheaper when ordering a large quantity of items, it’s not as dependable, and gives off a bad image to outside clothing companies. When we started producing clothing for Coast 10, we researched and researched for months trying to find the cheapest prices. After asking a number of clothing company owners in Minneapolis for advice on this decision, we were told by every single one that it would be a mistake to. This has brought our company to being American Made.
We have realized that you have to always be nice to everyone, embrace your failures–they will help guide you to success, and make sure that what you are creating or offering comes from a place of integrity, and is not just a vehicle to try to make money.
Finally, we suggest that as a business owner you have to realize the relationship between success and failure. With success brings failure, and although they are much more closely related than one might think, failure is just another step on the ladder of opportunity.