Business of the Month Persona – Colorful Persona luxury socks

Tell us about where it all began and what inspired you to start Colorful Persona luxury socks

In a previous life, we worked in an office where everyone seemed to wear the same boring grey suits and blended in, however, we always knew that we wanted to stand out and express our unique personalities. We also love being creative so at first, we just thought about making something that added a bit of fun to our outfit so we started designing some socks. Before we knew it, we learnt about Egyptian cotton and what a luxury and great material it is and we were having so much fun creating designs that seemed to make people happy, so a couple of short months later in 2020, we decided to launch our socks on a bigger scale and set up a small business. The rest they say is history and we have not looked back since. As with anything there have been ups and downs and a lot of learning but we can honestly say, it is the best decision we ever made!

What makes your brand unique?

You! Let us explain – most brands try to sell you a brand of who you could be if you use their products but we don’t. We want you to show us and the world who you are by using our products.

Our core mission is to empower everyone to express their Persona because we believe true happiness comes from being truly comfortable with who you are, so we want to see that person living their best life. Whether you’re someone who loves to go on a night out, stay in, read comics, watch reality tv, is tall or short, whatever, we want you to show that person to the world and nothing makes us happier than seeing people truly happy in their own beautiful skin!

That’s why we want you to “Express Your Persona”

Where do you see your brand in the next few years? Any specific goals or aspirations?

Where do we start?! We have a lot of goals and aspirations, maybe too many some would say, but it’s important to dream big we think. Without giving too much away, we hope to be more than a luxury sock brand at some point, but to always maintain our emphasis on luxury and empowering people to be themselves. We also hope to be pretty well known one day – we’re so grateful for having a number of stockists to date, but we would love to be able to be in everyone’s local high street!

As you know Popup United is all about supporting small businesses… So as a small business what advice would you give to other small business owners who are just starting out?

Have fun! Ultimately, running a business is just like life – there will be loads of ups and downs so you may as well have fun whilst you’re doing it. It’s OK to not know what you are doing at times and feel like you are winging it, as all the fun comes from figuring it out along the way. After all, it’s a journey so you want to enjoy each up and down rather than focussing on the destination.

In terms of practical advice, I would say make sure you focus on progress rather than results. If your aim is to release new products, then make sure you are regularly working on new designs, even if it is 15 minutes a day. The little efforts and discipline you build will add up along the way and will put you in good stead, not just for your business but make sure you get into the habit of getting things done. The second part of the advice was to not focus on results – whilst it’s great to reach a certain number of followers on Instagram or a certain amount of sales quickly (or as fast as other businesses) that may not be a part of your journey. When you focus on the results, you miss the important growth in the middle which will make you and your products better, so make sure you don’t get caught up in the superficial aspects of the business and are focussing on building the brand and vision you want, rather than what’s popular in the short term.

What is your favourite item from your business and why?

Everything – given that we design everything ourselves and love being creative, it’s so hard to choose one item. If we had to, we would say our “Colourful Combo” and our “Stripe Up A Conversation” gift boxes, as we (1) are so happy with how our vision turned out and how we managed to turn our idea into reality in a way which is true to us; and (2) because we’ve received so much feedback on how great the sock boxes are as gifts, from the colours of the socks to the luxury material they’re made from all the way to how they are wrapped up and presented in our different gift boxes! There’s no better feeling than knowing that people enjoy your work and to be able to see the smile it brings to their face!

What can we look forward to seeing? Do you have any new collaborations or new projects coming up?

A LOT! We have actually just launched our new autumn and winter “Stripe Up A Conversation” sock range, which is all about fun and colourful striped socks! As well as that, we have also added 8 new stockists of our luxury Egyptian cotton socks in the last few months so it is a really exciting time to see what else we can add. We don’t want to give too much away, so all we can say is watch this space for a couple more surprises!

What is one thing you really want the reader to know about

We’re going to be cheeky and say two things:

1. If you’ve not tried Egyptian cotton socks before then you need to! Egyptian cotton is softer than regular cotton, more durable and kinder to your skin (so perfect for those with sensitive skin) and ours socks are also ethically made. If you don’t believe us, we have received so much feedback about how our socks are incredibly soft and comfy – once you try Egyptian cotton socks, you will never want any other socks ever again!; and
2. Be proud of who you are. Whether or not you wear our socks, only you can do the things you do so be that person and walk your walk. Our differences are what make us beautiful so diversity is something to be celebrated! So you do you boo thang!!!!!!!!!!

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