Starting a 2nd business, easy?

I started my first business on a whim, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I knew absolutely nothing about the world of entrepreneurship and it's not very present in my immediate surroundings. So it was a bit naive that I launched my first mask company (LPC Masque, which later became LICA Masque). Being extremely hardworking and dedicated, I have experienced tremendous success with this business. I learned a lot “on the job” as they say. It's thanks to her that I was able to launch my second company, a little more in my image - LICA Wear. Once again, a little naively, I believed that by already having one company under my belt, starting a second one would be “easy peasy”, but… SURPRISE! It's definitely not that easy.

Keep the same name

Good or not good? After reading about it, keeping the same name for different products can be a bit tricky. Having a bit (just a bit) of a hard head, I decided to keep LICA since the meaning is sentimental (it contains my son's first name). On the other hand, it is difficult to break away from the image of the first company. When people hear LICA, they immediately think of masks. It is therefore additional work to try to get the brand recognized differently.

Essential product

In addition to having an excellent product, I was selling a product that was essential and that everyone needed. So marketing was easier in that sense. Along the same lines, underwear is once again an essential product, but it is not necessarily a 'pressing' need. Marketing therefore requires more rigor and it is important to make yourself known enough to be in the lead when the need arises. It's another game!

A different clientele

With the first company, the clientele was quite large: women (98.2%) aged between 18-35 years old on average. LICA Wear has a more specific and restricted niche. Still, these are two essential products, but the cost of the product is not the same and the type of product is not necessarily sought after by all women in this age group. If we try to transfer all the customers of the first company to the second, it is doomed to failure. It is therefore important to find your niche and focus on it.

The perpetual change of social networks

One day it's Facebook, the other is SnapChat, the other is Instagram, the other is Twitter, the other is TikTok, the other is Tumblr, the other it's Pinterest, [...]. Through all of this, there are updates to the different functionalities of each of these platforms which continue to evolve. I started my first business in 2020 and the second in 2022. I can confirm that in two years, the way of using social media is nothing similar. Fashions change and we have to adapt. It's like I'm a new user every time. We have to constantly update ourselves. So what was effective for one company is not necessarily effective for another. It’s stimulating and challenging!

That said, two different companies, different challenges, lifelong learning, but just as much fun in this world of entrepreneurship!

Lincoln & Catherine