Lara, can you tell us a bit about your company LaRoo and the mocks and imocks products, ie what are they, how did you get started etc.

My background is in marketing, I used to work on brands such as Mr Muscle and Windex. I was in Thailand in 2003 and saw a sock for your mobile, but the quality was very poor, there was no branding and the designs were not right for the Australian market. I was at the time looking for an idea to use to start up my business, when I came back I decided that this was the right idea, if I Australianised it! I carried out some market research into the brand and the designs and Mocks were born. Mocks stands for mobile socks, because that's what they are socks for your mobile to protect it from getting scratched and personalize it. I originally started with a range of 12 designs and was selling them at markets while trying to get them into stores, I ended up calling every mobile store in the yellow pages trying to get sales. In August 2004 I started trading with 17 stores (in Sydney) selling Mocks (at that time I did everything myself, I couldn't get anyone to distribute), now we have over 700 stores selling Mocks in Australia, plus in UK, US, NZ, South Africa, Denmark and Sweden. I moved out of the spare room in May 05 and then employed my first person, then moved to a larger office in May 06.

Mocks can also be used for MP3 players and digital camera's. We now have over 70 different designs with new designs launched every 3 months, this is very important as they are a kind of fashion accessory. iMocks were launched in December 05 for use on MP3 players, with the difference being that they are reversible - you can turn them inside out for a whole new look!

To this day we still do all our own distribution, although we have been approached a number of times by a company who want us to use them. I also have one full time person working for me in the UK, expanding the market there.

Your websites www.mocks.com.au and www.imocks.com are really innovative - is your web marketing strategy an important part of your sales strategy or do is your primary focus wholesaling to retail outlets?

Our websites are very important as they portray the brands. We mostly sell to retail outlets such as Fone Zone and Telstra, but through the website I wanted to build the brand and the following for the brand, the brand is innovative and fun, and that is what we have tried to do on the web, to engage our consumers. In the retail outlets we supply we cannot guarantee how the Mocks will be displayed or where, but with the website we can control the brand image.

What three innovations / great ideas in your company are you most proud of?

The Mocks brand- as when I started I was told it was a silly idea that would never work by a huge number of people, I had to create the market for mobile socks.

Design competitions, where we get our consumers involved, there are a number of designs in the range that were designed by the fans, it shows to me that they absolutely love the brand to spend their time thinking of ideas, just because they want to, often we get designs even when we are not running competitions.

Teddy Mocks - these are made using a different type of yarn, and yes it sounds simple, but they have been hugely popular, at times we have struggled to keep up with demand

I'm a big believer that successful people fail more times than most the defining characteristic being that they learn from their failures. What have been some of the failures or challenges in your business and how have you learnt from them?

Staff Challenge - I have found it exceptionally hard to find a good team, when you start out you can't really afford who you want so settle for second best, which gets frustrating. I am now in the position where I have a great team, but it took me 20 people to find the 4 I have now! I learnt from experience that I shouldn't go too much on gut feeling, and get people to do tests for skills, plus not rush the whole interview process.

Stock - last year I had a problem with my supplier in China, which caused major disruption due to the fact that we have just brought on a major new customer. In hindsight I should have had a backup supplier, or have pushed him much earlier, now I make sure that I order well in advance and have more control over the timings.

I originally saw you featured on a channel 7 television show, how important is publicity in your business and how do you go about making the best use of it?

Publicity is extremely important, as Mocks are one of those products that other people don't seem to take seriously. I enjoy talking to groups inspiring other people to get out there, and have spoken to a number of networking groups. Last year I was a finalist in the Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year and I have the logo on my business card. I regularly get out there and enter my business for awards to increase brand awareness. I have car covered in logos and the website which generates a huge amount of publicity and I regularly network to promote the brand.

Do you have any formal or informal mentors?

I have a business coach, who you could say is a formal mentor. Informal mentors I have are other women I know from networking, who I know on a personal level and we regularly meet to talk through ideas.

Would you recommend any books for other people wanting to achieve success?

This is a hard one, I have read lots and lots of books, and learn something different from each one. The one I have just finished reading is called Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin, which gave me lots of new sales and marketing ideas. I try to find areas in which I am weaker and get books to help me address those areas, although I am a sucker for a good marketing book, just because that's what I enjoy most!

If you had to give 5 pieces of advice to other young entrepreneurs what would they be?

• Keep a really close eye on the numbers, getting sales is one thing, but you need people to pay you so you can pay bills
• Try to find creative ways to promote your product or service that costs you a minimal amount, perhaps look at contra deals with magazines or other media
• Don't be afraid to do it just because someone else thinks it is a bad idea, if you have done your research then go for it. When I was looking for a manufacturer I met a guy in Sydney who made socks and told me that "why didn't I just make normal socks instead?" To which my reply was that I didn't want to, I wanted to make Mocks. Also distributors who I approached when I first started up and thought it would never work, have now 18 months later launched competitor products!
• Love what you are doing! Sounds simple, but all the hours you need to put in you need to be enjoying it then you don't notice the time fly!
• Network lots, you never know who you might meet who knows someone who knows someone who can help, also it is great for feeling support if you know that other people are having the same issues. Plus they are great to bounce ideas around with as they know where you are coming from.

Lara - thank you for your time in giving this interview! It just shows you that with a vision and some steadfast determination to ride out the waves and other people's preconceived notions of your product - anything is possible. Don't forget Lara's Mocks websites are at: www.mocks.com.au and www.imocks.com