Brick & Mortar
« Previous EntriesOdds & Ends
Monday, November 17th, 2008For the last week, I’ve been placing some unusual orders with my suppliers. Although I usually stick to a lot of decor and “old lady gifts” (as my nieces and nephews say), I’ve added a lot of items for kids during the holidays. I found a Floam-like snowman kit, along with a bunch of cute odds and ends from Worldwide Fred, too. It’s not like I’ll be adding Harley parts any time soon, but I do like to have some variety during this heavy buying season. I just hope the customers keep coming like they have in years past. With the economy as it is, it’s hard to tell.
All I Want For Christmas
Monday, November 17th, 2008As a retailer, you’ll probably spend most of the next month thinking about what everyone else wants. That’s why I’m taking a few moments to think about what I want, because after Thanksgiving, it won’t matter (at least not for a few weeks, anyway). I would love for my husband to set up a home theater room. Not the ugly kind that men often create, either. I want a plush room with thick home theater carpeting, tiny little theater lights in the flooring, and tasteful decor - not sleazy movie posters.
What about you? What would you like to have this Christmas?
Apple Distributors
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008Although I’m usually the one posting sources, I have a request today. Does anyone know of an Apple distributor that would make it possible to purchase small quantities of iPods and resell them in my shop? I know I can’t meet the minimum purchase requirements of going direct with Apple, but I’d love to carry iPods in the shop throughout the holiday season. I’m sure we’d be able to move quite a few of them with all the people who are so desperate to get them for their kids. Let me know if you have any leads on a distributor.
A Death Plan
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008When you run your own business, it’s important to know what would happen in the event of a major illness or even your own death. If you have kids or a spouse, you need to make sure that they will know what to do, and that they’ll be financially cared for later. Lately, I’ve been looking into term life insurance quotes and overall coverage. It’s still all very new, and pretty confusing. Have you ever been through this process? What did you look for in a policy? How did you sort it all out? Any tips are welcome!
I Love Promotional Pens
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008I’m a huge fan of promotional products. I love going to trade shows and meeting people and getting all kinds of imprinted promotional pens and notepads. At the last show, I ended up coming home with over 50 different pens, and I’ve been using them over the last couple of months. I’ve even called one of the companies and placed an order since then. Given my own experience using promotional products, I’m considering getting some of my own promotional pens to give to customers this holiday season. What do you think? Have you ever invested in promotional items?
Replicas
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008Although I’m not sure how legal it is, a lot of stores in my area carry replica products. I suppose it may depend on the way they deal with the logo. I’ve seen a lot of local stores carrying Tiffany jewelry or replica watches, and people love it. You never know who’s carrying a real Louis Vuitton and who isn’t, or who’s wearing a real Rolex and who isn’t. You can guess, but no one knows for sure.
What’s your take on replica products? Do you carry them in your store?
Medical Supply with a Gift Shop?
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008There’s a store here that has come up with a surprising combination that seems to work. Instead of being “just” a gift store, they’ve opened up a medical supply shop in one half of the store. They sell canes, adapted toilet seats, and bandages, among other things. Given that sick and injured people often get gifts, it actually makes sense. Whether you need an adult diaper or a get well soon card, they have you covered.
Consider these kinds of unconventional combinations if you want to increase your foot traffic. You never know what could work.
Investing Outside the Business
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008When you have a small business, it’s tempting to invest all your money into the business and ignore other avenues. I try not to do that, though, as it’s important to diversify your revenue streams. Lately, I’ve been doing some online trading to build up a portfolio that I can use to retire someday. With the markets down, it’s a great time to put money in before things eventually go back up again. I’ve been investing in an S&P index fund for now, along with a few random stocks that I just wanted to buy to satisfy my urge to pick a few.
What’s your strategy? Do you maintain outside investments?
Great Stocking Stuffer Items
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008I love the holiday rush, and it’s a great idea to experiment with new products you wouldn’t normally carry in your store. A few ideas? Candy, CDs, golf balls, and jewelry can all make great stocking stuffers for your customers. By including these small items near the register, you can help your customers satisfy another need AND you can increase your average order size. You’d be crazy not to pick up at least a few new items around the holidays. What do you carry?
Price Comparison Services
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008Have you heard about the new Google phone? It lets you take a picture of a barcode and then it compares products against online comparison shopping sites. For people who sell products that are easily compared, it could be disastrous in the long-run. What if you owned a store with gadgets, and your customers were able to scan your barcodes and see that Best Buy is selling the item for $30 less across town? Of course, if you sell less price-sensitive items like decor items, vitamins, or Phentermine, it probably won’t matter nearly as much. How will you deal with the increase of high-tech shopping and improved price comparisons for customers?
Busy, or Nothing At All
Sunday, September 7th, 2008Lately, it seems like life gives me total chaos or nothing at all. Like I said before, I just got back from a short vacation, and now I find that I need plumbing work at the store, my sister wants help with her job search, several of my top suppliers have backordered my Christmas orders, and I still need to get some things taken care of with the accountant.
Two weeks ago, everything was dead. Why can’t life spread itself out a little better? It’s a shame you can’t put certain crises on hold and come back to them later. Of course, then it wouldn’t be a crisis, right?
In-Store Television
Sunday, September 7th, 2008Does anyone happen to know of a good cable program or network for displaying in-store television, kind of like what grocery stores do? I’d love to have some kind of Gift-TV for my store, but I’m not really sure where to look. I have two televisions now, complete with mounts and tv lifts and everything, but I don’t really know what to put on them. I’ve been told that you need to pay some kind of royalty fees to display movies, but maybe some sort of ambient content would work…like a snow globe for the television or something?
What do you think? Have you experimented with in-store TV at all?
Speaking of Vacations…
Sunday, September 7th, 2008…I spent over an hour tonight looking into Mediterranean cruises. I’m not even sure why, as that’s completely unrealistic at this point in life. I always dream of this perfect holiday season where people skip over the malls and head to little stores like mine, but I know that’s not the way things work - not in this day and age. Today, people would rather save money by going to big box stores, effectively killing small businesses and the jobs they bring…and pushing even more people into the kind of uniformed, degrading jobs that the big box stores offer.
But hey, you can’t win ‘em all, right? I guess people will just have to get a taste of the world they’re creating before they realize what they’ve done…and by then, it may be too late.
My Quick Vacation
Sunday, September 7th, 2008My apologies for the lack of updates lately. I recently took a quick vacation to catch my breath before the holiday madness, and I’ve been completely away from internet access. As for what I did? Well, I was dreaming of Lake Tahoe and Orlando vacations, but my budget made a local winery tour much more realistic. I’ve been pouring everything into holiday inventory, of course.
Did anyone else take a quick trip before the holidays kick into high-gear? Where did you go? Did you go all out, or stick with something simple this year? It’s hard to say what the economy will give us this Christmas, so I know a lot of local shopkeepers really held back this year.
Holiday Stress: Incoming
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Next weekend is Labor Day, and everyone in retail management knows what that means. Summer is officially over. From here on out, it’s nothing but Christmas up through the new year. It’s time to stock up on relaxation CDs, hot tea, and acne cream, because it’s going to be stressful.
This Christmas should be a little different than other recent holiday seasons, given the sad state of the economy and the price of gas. Last Christmas was a pretty weak season, so I can’t even imagine what this one will be like. How are you preparing? Will you be ordering less inventory than usual?
Personalized Products for Your Store
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008If you’ve ever read many catalogs, you’re probably well aware of the popularity of personalized products. Whether it’s a rug, a yard sign, or a t-shirt, personalized items go over extremely well with certain segments of the population.
Since personalization is usually something done at a factory, it might seem like it’s something you can’t offer in your store. Really, though, there’s no reason not to. Just locate a few suppliers who would be willing to do the work, then take orders from your store and have the items shipped directly to your customers. You could do personalized pens, aprons, wreaths, or even toilet seat covers (though I wouldn’t recommend that one).
Wow - Just Wow
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008I had always thought that personal auto insurance was expensive until I looked into insurance for my business. Since I occasionally send employees out on errands in my car, I thought it would be wise to just get a vehicle for the business and arrange to compare auto insurance options for the best deal.
After doing a bit of shopping, however, I’m going to have to decided against the move. With the economy the way it is now, it’s just not a smart move. Both the car and the insurance would be much more expensive than I would have expected.
Is This Legal?
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008I’m curious. A friend of mine would like to sell eyeglasses in her boutique - not the actual prescription glasses, but the frames, and possible clear lenses. She’d like to cater to those who want the look of glasses but without a prescription.
Is it possible to buy frames like that? Is it legal to sell them? If you happen to know from experience, let me know here in the comments. I’ll pass the message along to her.
Evaluating Your Clientele
Sunday, July 27th, 2008Depending on who’s coming into your store, you may actually be able to target groups that don’t come into your store. For instance, I get a lot of women in their late 30s-late 40s. After some thought about this age group, I realized that many have teenagers. With that in mind, I tested out items like acne treatment, yoga mats, and books on teaching your teen to drive safely. All three were a hit, despite that fact that they weren’t actively used by my customers. They bought them for their sons and daughters.
Have you ever had indirect success like that? Do share!
Trends I Won’t Be Accomodating In My Store
Sunday, July 27th, 2008Despite the fact that we’d all love to be able to profit on every single consumer trend, it’s just not possible. We each have to assess our stores and investment abilities to determine what’s going to be most profitable for each of us. Below, check out some of the trends I won’t be hopping on this year.
Home theater seating - I love it, but I just don’t have the capital or the space.
Colon Cleansers - I’m not prepared for this one.
Video Games - My customers just won’t go for this.
What about you? What are you passing on for now?
« Previous Entries