Brand New Day

Brand New Day

The debut book, Brand New Day, takes you through the highs and lows of starting a small business. Think Bridget Jones fused with Richard Branson and you have the true life account of starting small business with award-winning business entrepreneur phenomenon, Lara Solomon. Brand New Day is a funny and brutally honest Bridget Jones Diary style account of starting a new business and launching an unknown product and brand, and then making it a success…a million dollar success that is!

Brand New Day is an inspirational read and ideal for those who are looking to start their own business and gain ideas whilst being motivated enough to reach their own life dreams.

The novel follows Lara on her journey through the growth of her company LaRoo as well as the relationships with employees and her friends and family. Readers will feel like a fly-on-the-wall as they view the mistakes she made along the way, even the hugely expensive mistakes. LaRoo is the company that produced the iconic brand and first original mobile phone sock or Mock. LaRoo has sold over a million Mocks around the world via websites and stockists in Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. Mocks are an everyday essential fashion accessory which is designed to protect small electronic devices from scratches! Mocks ensure your goods stay tip top whilst still expressing your personality with different patterns and colours!

Did you write Brand New Day as you realised there was a gap in the market?

Lara Solomon: Yes and no. The reason I wrote this was to help small business owners understand that the trials and tributions that they experience are those of small business, not necessarily because they are doing a bad job. I wanted to write something that was an honest open account and focused on the emotional journey rather than a how to of small business - when I looked for books like this there was nothing, which it when I realised Brand New Day would meet this gap.


Why did you choose to produce it as a funny, Bridget Jones Diary style, account?

Lara Solomon:I wanted it to be an easy to read book that people could pick up, read and put down and easily get into again. Plus I wanted it to be an inspirational read and one that the easiness of the book format would appeal to a wide audience.


How long of a period does the book cover?

Lara Solomon: It covers 4 years - from January 2004 until the end of 2007.


Did you ever think you and your company would be this successful?

Lara Solomon: No. When I started yes I thought wouldn't it be great to be selling millions, and to have millions to sales, but I never really fully imagined it. I really enjoy new challenges and this is what I enjoyed.


What is your major tip for someone who wants to start their own business?

Lara Solomon: Passion. In starting a business you need to be passionate about what you do, you end up working far more hours that you would for someone else - often with little or no pay, so you need to have the passion and determination to be able to keep going even when it's hard. This passion for your business will also show to others and will help the business succeed - I've found that people love helping and working with people who enjoy what they do.

Where did the idea for LaRoo come from?

Lara Solomon:The name is 'La' from Lara and 'Roo' from kangaroo because it is an Australian company. I decided early on that I wanted to have a parent company - LaRoo and have the brands underneath it so that if I ever decided to sell a brand I would still have the company name.


What made you put together the idea for a mobile phone sock or Mock?

Lara Solomon: I was in Thailand in 2003 and I saw something similar being sold on the streets there, however the quality was poor, there was no branding or packaging and the designs weren't appealing to the Australian market. I came back to Australia and carried out market research - talking to around 100 teenagers on Manly beach and decided to launch my own brand.


What are some of the different styles of Mocks?

Lara Solomon: There are now over 70 different designs and new designs are launched every three months. The different types include what we call Teddy Mocks which are made from a soft fluffy yarn (it feels like a teddy bear), animal designs which have googly eyes, electronic Mocks for Nintendo DS's, Photo Mocks where we apply a photo of your choice to the Mock - so you have a one of a kind design and licensed Mocks - at the moment we have the license for the Sesame St characters, but this year we will be launching Sponge Bob.


Lara Solomon: Born in London in 1975, Lara Solomon studied Business at the University of West of England, specialising in Marketing. After being offered a position with Jaguar and a six-month stint at Reckitt Benckiser she sold up shop, packed her bags and moved to settle permanently in Sydney, Australia. With valuable marketing and business experience under her belt, as the Brand Manager at SC Johnson, Conair and Vidal Sassoon, Lara took the plunge in March 2004 to start her own company, LaRoo and launched the product Mocks.

Brand New Day
Author: Lara Solomon
Price: $24.95


Available at various bookstores across the country, and online at www.amazon.com, and www.brandnewday.com.au.

Related feature: www.femail.com.au/competition-brand-new-day.htm