5 year plan

2011
Due to not passing my second year I am intermitting my studies without attendance to retake 2 units I failed, PPRD 2 and the Professional Project. The reason I think I failed was lack of help and not being knowledgeable when it came to programmes such as Photoshop and most importantly InDesign, so I am taking two short course in both these programmes to help me expand my knowledge and so I have a better understanding of the programmes. I hope to complete both these short courses and gain certificate to show I have undertaken these courses. So far my knowledge has grown greatly and I have learnt so much more in a month then I have done in two years. I have already started researching my new project. I have decided to start a new because redoing my old project would be an easy way out. I never pass anything with great marks so I’m determined to pass this project with a merit, or a distinction. I have chosen the subject of plastic and fake for my topic and so far I have completed a lot of research and have a path for my project.
Goals
• complete both short courses gaining certificates
• complete more project research
• prepare work for tutorial beginning of the new year
• start to rewrite learning agreement

2012
In 2012 I will be re-enrolling into my course to carry out and complete my two failed units. On the 10th of January I have an hour tutorial with my course leader to look through and discuss what I have done so far and how I’m progressing. I will be showing her a rewritten learning agreement, a lot of research and my idea for my project while getting her views and ideas, also ill be showing a new PPRD 2 folder which will be much fuller and well written then the last attempt. I have this thing when I get bored I do a half hearted attempt at it and leave it, but this year I am determined to pass with more then just a pass so I am going to try my hardest. After my tutorial, if it goes aswel as it does in my head, then I will be arranging a photoshoot for as soon as possible as I have a lot of ideas for it, such as a lot of sweets and pink, and I already have my photographer and models sorted I just need to book a date, which hopefully be for around the 20th January. After my photoshoot has been completed the photos will be edited and then I can start to but together my supplement magazine on vanity. Ive gone for a different approach this time as I know plastic and being fake interests a lot of people so I’m going to give them something to read so they know here to go for trendy clothes so they don’t look so plastic, a lot of Barbie will be involved.
Once I have put my entire project together including the learning agreement and my PPRD 2 folder I will be handing it in for marking and hopefully I will pass this time. I’m planning to graduate on the 29th June with everyone who went on to do their third year. I am choosing to graduate because I don’t think the third year would be the right choice and I know I would severely struggle with writing my dissertation. If I do end up graduating or not my next step would be to try and find a job or placement in a boutique. I want to do this because I want to open my own within a year after finishing University. I am going to try and get a placement at Lily Allan’s boutique in London called Lucy in Disguise, this would be an amazing opportunity because A its Lily Allan and B I would get to see how a boutique runs and I would make some amazing contacts for when I open my own. This would take place over the summer or hopefully for a lot longer maybe until the end of the year. During this time I would write my own business plan and how it would work out financially and I would then pitch this idea to my Uncles who I know would loan me the money and help support me during the start up of my own business.
Goals
• To graduate with merit or distinction
• To get a placement in a boutique
• Write a business plan and financial proposition for my own boutique
• Get a loan from my Uncles
• Find a location for my business

2013
At the beginning of this year I hope to have a business project in full swing. I will need to have contacts with designers to see if they want to stock in my boutique, I will also have to find a buyer to help out with the stock and supplies to start my business up as I would struggle on what I could have in my store. Hopefully I will have a secure location, hopefully start up in the Bournemouth area and when my store becomes a success it will be able to spread or move to different places. I will get my brother to set up a website for my boutique as he is a web designer, and my friend Emelia penny has her own vintage underwear line and I know she would be interested in having her range in my store. The next step would be picking a name for the boutique. Short one word names seem to have more of an impact when it comes to naming a boutique, a few I have in mind are Marmalade Boutique, Nine, or Boutique Eight. I think numbers are quite catchy, and having something short has more of a ring to it. After the main bulk of this is done the shop fit will have to take place, I do like the vintage feel to a shop so nice vintage wallpaper and the odd brick wall with chez longs and old phones would be my ideal store look, and not a cluttered shop just a few rails and a few fitting rooms, and stock can be kept in stock rooms for different sizes. The visual merchandising is the most important aspect of getting customers into your shop. A window like you see in Harvey Nichols would be ideal but depending on how much money there is to spend that will have to be decided upon and can always be changed in the future. Hopefully the shop with take about 6 to 10 months to get fully fitted and stocked up before a big launch and a successful start. Towards the end of the year I aim to work at the shop with my employees to get more involved with the running of the shop.
Goals
• Start the boutique
• after 4 months have all the stock sorted and start having the shop fitted
• open the boutique end or autumn/beginning of winter
• Have a successful launch and start to the boutique

2014
After a few months of opening the boutique I hope it is still running successfully. I want to be introducing maybe more designers into the shop and attending fashion shows to get more inspiration for my shop and maybe start thinking about putting on events for my store for more publicity. My older sister is an events organiser so I could collaborate with her to arrange events and fashion shows at the start of every new season, and maybe hold nights like the body shop do to get more customers, I could do a beauty fashion night and collaborate with my younger sister who is a beautician, herself and her employees could give clients massages and manicures and pedicures or even spray tans, and before or after they could shop around the latest collections in the boutique and possible make some purchases. Also end of season stuff would go into sale but the stuff that doesn’t really sell in the sale can go into auction and the money made in the auction can go towards Cancer Research UK as I would like to give more to charity and Cancer Research is close to my heart as I have lost a lot of family to different types of cancer.
After the summer if the boutique is still going well I would maybe think about having a catalogue. If people are interested in my boutique who have shopped there from visits from other parts of the country they can have the chance to subscribe and also have the chance to shop online. I know catalogues are expensive so I could see how well the online shopping works before I consider a catalogue.
By the end of the year I would have hoped to of have a successful first year and that my shop doesn’t close down.
Goals
• Launch event nights
• do charity events
• Beauty and shop nights
• launch online shopping

2015
With hopefully a good shop up and running I would think about maybe starting some in house designing. I would love to start my own collections have them in a store and why not in my own store. I would obviously design to go with the flow of my store, so vintage and designer inspired; I would hire a pattern cutter and a seamstress as I wouldn’t have the complete skill to do this. This would obviously be depending on how well the store is going and how much money I would be making. My dream would be to have a boutique and start my own in house collection. I’ve seen some boutiques who are more charity shop then designer/vintage boutique and that’s really off putting so putting my own stamp into the shop would be a huge and hopefully successful step. If the designs don’t go to plan and are a failure then I will discontinue the line and it wont be done again as it will all be trial and error, but however if it is a HUGE success then I shall continue to design my collections every season and have my pattern cutter and seamstress to help me. This would be my main goal for the whole year. If the designs don’t pan out then I would continue to run the shop as it has been run.
Goals
• start my own in house collection
• launch my in house collection

2016
If everything has gone to plan and my shop is in big demand then I would think about expanding to bigger places or even to London of I knew it could make it there, or simply just move my shop as a boutique is supposed to be unique. If the boutique moved and the store was to get bigger I would introduce more designers into the shop and maybe make my collection bigger if that was still going strong. I would maybe see if any designers wanted to do a unique collection for my boutique or even collaborate with me on a one off collection. This would be an amazing opportunity not just for my shop but for me and my career. I would only be 26 but this would be an ideal time to have a boost in my career especially if my boutique was doing so well. I would love to stock designers like Oscar de la Renta and Victoria Beckham as the have that different look to them and are so unique in there own ways.
Goals
• To expand and/or move my shop
• To collaborate with a designer on my collections
• To have a designer design just for my boutique