Nicole loves fashion. For the past five years she has spent her free time running a small business selling fashion items such as dresses and accessories via Instagram and at local markets in the southern regions of Melbourne. She imports her items from China and Indonesia and runs the business from a spare room at her home.

Her friendly nature, unusual clothing styles, and fantastic photography have all helped to build a significant following on Instagram and throughout Melbourne. People love her unique style, colour choices and motivating quotes that feature on many of her clothes, such as If you feel good, you will look good!

COVID-19 has impacted many businesses across Melbourne, including Nicoles regular office job which she has lost. Now with more free time on her hands, she has started to consider whether she could turn her part-time hobby into a full-time role and grow her business through the development of an online retail platform.

Nicole has thought about some of the changes she will need to make in order to scale up her business. She believes with the right changes to her business model she can increase her online orders by 4 times. She will manage product buying, the online platform and marketing herself and will look for a junior employee to assist with sending out orders and other administration matters.

Over a coffee she sits down with you to discuss her ideas and expansion plans. While you want to encourage your friend and their dreams, you also think of the Business Model Canvas and say to her, I think you need to think about this a bit more.

Question : We know from the popular Instagram feed and successful market sales that Nicole has great marketing skills. Expanding her business will require different skills. List five skills that you think are important for her expansion plans to succeed and provide a reason why you think each skill is important.

COVID-19 has changed many things, including our fashion preferences and what we like to wear now. What is one thing that Nicole can do to better understand her customers and their changing needs?

What are some of the new costs that Nicole will need to think about as she expands her business? List three costs and a reason why they could impact her business model. (2 marks per cost listed with reason)