Archive for December, 2007
Business Trends for 2008
Sunday, December 30th, 2007While it can be hard to pick out the upcoming trends in things like fabric patterns and decor, some things are easy to figure out. For instance, 2008 marks the first major wave of baby boomer retirement. That means there are a lot of old people, and that’s only going to increase. So, if it works for your store, you could start offering products related to aging.
Here are a few of my thoughts:
-Items that make life easier for people with arthritis and fibromyalgia.
-Items that help people with impaired vision - giant remotes, magnifying lenses, etc.
-Religious items
-Affordable convenience items like remote control holders for chairs, shelves that go inside cabinets
What are your thoughts? How would you reach the elderly market?
New Year, New…Fido?
Saturday, December 29th, 2007While I’ve always found pet supplies to be top performers in retail environments, I’m not sure that I’ve ever met someone who created New Year’s Resolutions for his or her pet. I came across the article below and it made me giggle to think about hordes of overweight puppies trying to get fit for the new year. It shouldn’t really, since it’s kind of sad to think that our massively overweight country is now doing the same thing to its pets, but gosh darn it, chubby puppies are just cute!
What do you think? Do your pets have New Year’s Resolutions? Will you be carrying any pet products to suit the needs of the slightly crazy owners who are buying into the idea?
A Guide for Austin
Monday, December 24th, 2007Next spring, I’m taking a brief, 3-4 day trip to Austin, Texas. It’s part business, part pleasure, but definitely a little heavier on the business side of things. That means that I won’t have nearly as much time as I might like for things like getting lost and exploring. Fortunately, they make city guides for scenarios just like mine.
Instead of getting lost and wasting half a day looking for something fun to do, I can use an Austin City Guide to figure out what’s good before I even get there. It includes information on cheap hotels, interesting events, attractions, weather, and general tourist information.
My main goal will probably be to get a good deal on the hotel so I can spend more money on live music and some good ribs. While there’s no shortage of good ribs here in the Midwest, it would just seem wrong to miss out on barbecued meat during a trip to Texas.
If any of you have been to Austin and have suggestions the guide doesn’t cover, definitely add them in the comments. If you’re going on a trip soon, I highly recommend checking out the HotelsbyCity.net guide page for the city in question. I’ve found their Austin page to be helpful enough to justify giving it a spot on my Bookmarks Toolbar until after the trip.
Taking Advantage of Big Business Research for Small Business Profit
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007As a small business owner, you probably can’t afford to do the kind of research that large companies are able to do, and when you try to draw conclusions from your own data, you may find that it’s not statistically significant. If you’re not familiar with that term, it just means that you don’t always have enough data to make a strong conclusion that will hold up when applied over many more instances.
When it comes to choosing products for your store, it can be tough to figure out what will sell BEFORE you dump hundreds or thousands of dollars into inventory. Unlike big companies, you don’t have thousands of sales worth of data to help you decide what your customers want. All the same, you can use their information to help you figure it out.
To start, you’ll want to figure out what stores are most like yours. If you sell gadgets, you might select stores like ThinkGeek and X-Treme Geek and Kleargear.
Once you’ve found similar stores, you’ll want to browse their sites carefully. Pay attention to which items they’ve featured on their homepage and main section pages. Also note the items in the “Best Sellers”, “Most Popular”, and “What’s New” kind of sections. The items in those sections are likely to be a combination of their consistent top sellers and best hopes for the upcoming season.
Of course, you’ll also want to try to figure out what they’ve selected that doesn’t work as well. The “Clearance” section should help you out there.
That’s not to say that all sale and clearance items are poor performers. There’s a difference between a golf store that runs a promotion on Ogio bags vs. the same golf store putting last season’s prank gadget into the Clearance section until it sells out. Do your best to differentiate.
You can also get additional information from Amazon.com, as they rank every item on the site. Just look up the item you’re interested in and see how it fits in relative to other items. Obviously, the comparison will be somewhat lacking since Amazon is a general merchant instead of a specific store like what you may be, but it’s great for confirming your hunches.
Finally, you can seek out a keyword tool like WordTracker (commercial) or the free keyword tools from Yahoo! and Google AdWords. Wordtracker and Yahoo! provide actual numbers of searches from the previous month, which makes it easy to get a general idea of the interest level in a product or product type. Using only the free tools from Yahoo! and Google, I have had great success in choosing products that will be hot sellers. Just remember, though, that high interest doesn’t mean a whole lot if the product isn’t a fit for your customers.
There’s a pretty good chance that you’ll never be a retail giant like Amazon or Wal-Mart, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of their hard work. If you have any similar ideas, please feel free to share in the comments!
Big Paw Pet-Related Jewelry
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007Big Paw Designs carries some great pieces for pets. If you run a gift store or e-commerce site, you should definitely check out what they have to offer. I looked to see if they had anything like a gold anklet for my cat, and it seemed like they had everything BUT that. I guess anklets for pets would be tough.
I was particularly fond of this cat collar charm.
To find out about carrying Big Paw Designs pieces, contact them below.
Big Paw Designs
1920 Abrams Pkwy #352
Dallas, TX 75214
Toll Free Phone: 888 506-1409
Phone: 888 506-1409
Fax: 214 660-7099
Email: wholesale (at) bigpawdesigns.com
Fisher Mars Space Pen
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 Business Broad Wholesale Product SourcesI’m a big fan of Fisher Space Pens, and the Titanium Mars Space Pen is no exception. They’re offered at Countdown Creations, and you can easily purchase a sample there to ensure that it’s what you’d want in your store. For wholesale purchases, you can contact Fisher Space Pens directly.
Get in touch with them below if you’re interested in reselling the Titanium Mars Space Pen or any of their other fine pens.
Fisher Space Pen Co.
Telephone 1-800-634-3494
FAX 1-702-293-6616
Address
711 Yucca Street
Boulder City, NV 89005
Information Email info@spacepen.com
Webmaster Email webmaster@spacepen.com
Next up, we cover wholesale tv stands.
Wholesale Diamond Rings
Sunday, December 16th, 2007Lately, I’ve been curious about diamond rings. What is it that makes you decide to purchase a diamond ring (or another piece of valuable jewelry) from a particular store? What makes you decide on an actual piece? Is it the look of the piece, the price of the piece, the feel of the store, or something else entirely?
I’m mostly curious about how important the store’s image is in the transaction. Clearly, diamonds are all about the image, given the fact that CZ looks roughly the same to the naked eye. What do you think?
Donating Your Car
Monday, December 10th, 2007Have you ever wondered where all those anti-drug and positive message videos they show kids come from? While I know that many are created in the private sector, on a for-profit basis, there is also a need for content that is created and made available on a non-profit basis. Schools and youth homes and youth groups shouldn’t have to decide between providing good content and providing other important resources.
That’s where you come in. If you have a car or vehicle that you’re not using, you can arrange car donations through Car Angel. They’ll make great DVDs available to the people who request them if you make funding available through a tax-deductible donation. If you’re looking for a year-end deduction, check them out today. You can also view some of their videos on YouTube at this link.
Holiday Hours
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007Online, I find that I put in about 40-50% more hours during the holidays. Most brick and mortar retail stores seem to extend their hours by at least 20-30%, too. I’m curious, though, about independent retailers. Obviously, it’s the busy season, and obviously, it can be tough to work the extended hours. Do you do it, though? What factors into your decision to stay open extra late for holiday customers?
A local shop here actually decreases their hours, which is what made me start thinking about it. They close up shop around 5 when it starts to get dark, and they leave a fireplace DVD playing in the window with the dvd subtitle feature turned on to display the lyrics to Christmas music that accompanies the video. It’s actually very cool. Perhaps that’s the right attitude to take during this season.
Random Inspiration for Your Store
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007I like to brainstorm about what products might work out in my store. I don’t always end up carrying the things I think of, but it’s definitely a good exercise to consider new avenues for profit. I look through catalogs, watch commercials, read trade publications, and ask the people I know. Lately, I’ve given some thought to food, diet pills, jazz music, coffee table books, and kitchen gadgets. Of those, I have been testing coffee table books and kitchen gadgets most recently, with a reasonable amount of success. Things don’t always work out, but it’s worth testing, especially if you can find vendors with small minimum orders.
What odd or previously unfamiliar items have you decided to carry lately? If the answer is none, perhaps you should be brainstorming, too 
Emily’s Chocolates - Wholesale Holiday Treats
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007Despite the fact that it’s now December, there’s still time to get in on the holiday action. The delicious treats from Emily’s Chocolates are one great way to do that. Take a look at the incredible snowman set below.
They also have year-round products, too, so if you’re hesitant to bring in seasonal items this late in the year, you can always try out something else in their line. You’ll find their products in small independent retailers and even big chains like Target, but they definitely have a personal feel.
To get in touch, fill out their wholesale contact form.