Kath Purkis Founder of Le Black Book
Kath Purkis launched Le Black Book in April 2008.
She is a young entrepreneur who had the vision and drive to create one of Australia’s leading luxury online shopping destinations – Le Black Book. Having been recently named a Clinique 2009 IT Girl, here she talks about the challenges and triumphs of running a successful online business.
What was your motivation behind starting Le Black Book?
I was passionate about fashion and looking to make a difference in the Australian fashion industry. I had worked for an Australian designer and alongside leading industry members and felt I was ready to start my own business.
I registered the company at 21 and launched it at 22 years old.
What’s the number one piece of advice you could give other women thinking of starting an online business?
Do your research! It was crucial to research every element of the online business.
There are so many options available when creating an online business and it is essential to find the best systems for your businesses. With sufficient market research you will also understand the wants and needs of your customer.
It is also essential to have contractors that are ready to grow with you, are reliable and hardworking. If you create a great external team, the business with thrive and grow without distraction.
When starting an online business it is also essential to be passionate about the industry you are in. If you are passionate about something, success will come naturally
What was the toughest part about getting your website online?
The hardest part of getting the website live was having contractors that worked to the same deadline.
Often the elements of the website that the customer will not see such as CMS are the toughest and most time consuming.
Do you have any advice about how to get visitors to your website?
- Online Marketing
- A presence within Social Networking websites
- Web editorials
What are the three most important factors to running a successful online business?
- Passion
- Organisation and
- Innovation
What is the wildest success story you can imagine for Le Black Book’s future?
I would love Le Black Book to be a top 10 website hit wise around the world.
I would love to know that everyone in Australia has visited Le Black Book and purchased something, if not for themselves then as a gift for someone else.
I feel I have created something innovative and it is rewarding taking Australian designers to a global customer base.
Visit Le Black Book
If you liked this, you might want to check out my business website - Women in Business.
Thanks for reading, please leave a comment below or follow me on Twitter.
I've been working online since 2001, started my 
Leave a Reply