General Business
Webinar Series on Retail CRM
Friday, June 6th, 2008I’ve never been a big fan of taking in webinars, but I know some people swear by them. Perhaps I’ve just seen a few too many for one lifetime. This one actually sounds like it could be halfway useful, though, especially if you’re selling high-end products like luxury watches or designer clothing. Take a look if you’re interested in seeing the results of their studies.
Success Comes to Those Who Innovate
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008In an increasingly competitive small business world, you have to do something differently to carve out your niche beside stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Linens and Things, and every other massive store that has a price advantage. Whether you start a wine club for your customers, aim to provide a high level of knowledge and assistance (which you’d never get from a minimum wage 16-year-old in the big box competitors), or create a children’s play area so moms can shop in peace, you have to do something unique.
A few more ideas:
-Keep the very newest items in stock. It can take big retailers months or even years to get an item into the stores (assuming that it’s not part of their distribution network as with movies, magazines, and video games). As an independent, you can call the manufacturer and have a product on your shelf in just a week or two. Just be extra cautious with popular items around the holidays, as most manufacturers will send available stock to their big customers before the little guys get anything. If it’s sold out, you’re probably out of luck.
-Snacks! Just make sure that it’s affordable and that it won’t make a mess all over your inventory.
-Clubs - Plenty of pottery stores host clubs and classes to teach those skills to customers and members of the community. If you’re a clothing store, try offering classes in dressing more adventurously or designing your own.
-Guest Appearances - If you sell Thomas Kinkade art, see if you can get him to come in (yes, this is a tough one). It works best with smaller, independent designers, but there’s no harm in trying to get a big name, too. You never know when they’ll be in the area.
Dealing With the Slow Season
Saturday, February 16th, 2008Once the Christmas and Valentine’s Day holidays are over, things tend to slow down in the gift retail business. It’s the beginning of a 6-month period of reduced sales that culminate in the need for even more inventory to start the holiday season. For me, it’s important to use some kind of budget software so I don’t find myself coming up short in September when I’m placing all my holiday orders.
What do you do to make sure that things work out? Or do you just hope and pray?
Checking Online
Monday, February 4th, 2008If you do a lot of business online, you’ll probably find it worthwhile to set up an online checking account. I receive a lot of payments through PayPal and I like to transfer it over to my online checking account. I hate dealing with my “real” bank if I can help it. The lines alone are enough to keep me away. After I got a paper check in the mail last week, I ended up spending 45 minutes in line waiting to deposit it.
What kind of solutions have you come up with for organizing your business finances online? Do you do everything the old fashioned way? Have you figured out a good way to handle actual paper checks, or do you just try to avoid them?
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?
Holidays & Retail - Keeping Your Employees Through the Season
Monday, November 19th, 2007Whether you work in online retail or brick and mortar retail, one thing is certain: Thanksgiving is vital. Both Black Friday and “Cyber Monday” are huge for retailers, and unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to offer the day off to any of your employees (although Internet retail may be able to pull this off in some situations). In fact, it’s tough to give off any of the best days for shopping, especially if your staff is very small. How is it, then, that you’re supposed to keep your best employees, most of whom could probably get some pretty nice perks over at the nearest big box competitor.
Here are a couple of ideas that may help keep your employees positive and upbeat through the season:
-Music: Instead of a single Christmas CD on repeat, encourage your employees to bring in their favorites to enjoy.
-Treats: Just as providing cookies, donuts, or candy can please your customers, it can also make your employees feel more welcome in your business.
-If space permits, consider allowing young mothers on your staff to bring their children to work and keep their playpens in the back. Yes, it could be difficult at times, but think of the joy you’ll bring both your customers and your employees. I remember being in a store once when a baby started crying in back. The mother rushed back to be with it, and the store owner answered a customer’s questioning look with a simple, “It’s tough sometimes, but she’s a great employee and it’s important to me that she’s able to spend more time with her new daughter.”
-Bonuses: No talk of the holidays is complete without bonuses. Make sure it’s cash or a gift card to somewhere extremely useful, because almost no one wants to get a ham. That’s especially true for people who work low-paid retail jobs. It won’t cost you a lot to give bonuses, but the costs of not giving them are extremely high in terms of morale.
There are tons of creative ways that you can keep your employees happy - much more than what I’ve posted here.
If you have more ideas, please feel free to add them in the comments.
Holiday Merchandise Need Forecasting
Sunday, November 4th, 2007In retail, the last two months of the year are absolutely crucial. It really doesn’t take much to realize that. If you own or manage some kind of retail establishment, however, it takes on a whole new meaning. 80% (and sometimes more) or your sales will come from that time period, and yet that’s the period where you will have the most difficulty with both staffing and supply.
While most of us have done the bulk of our holiday stock-building by November, this is the time to evaluate those faint beginnings of the holiday rush. By taking a good look at things now, you can place the things you’ll probably need for re-orders before everyone else - and hopefully, you won’t be stuck with backorders in late November.
In early October, I ordered roughly 5 times what I normally need for a 3 month period. Next week, I expect to place similarly large orders for items that have done well in the last two weeks. I’d be interested to hear how others do it, though - There’s definitely no perfect way to go about it.
Backorders & the Holidays
Monday, October 29th, 2007If you haven’t already started beefing up your inventory for the holidays, you’d be wise to get started as soon as possible. If you sell seasonal items like Christmas figurines, costumes, or decorations, your buying season is practically over. Most seasonal suppliers make most of their sales in July-September, often discontinuing items or making no additional stock available once the items sell out late in that period.
Even for regular items, you may find that you’re starting to get replies that items are backordered through the holidays - definitely not what you want to hear when you’re trying to make a profit on an item you’ve found to work in your store. So, if you’re not all set for the holiday madness, call your suppliers today. You may already be too late.
Funding - A Brief Look at Debt vs. Equity
Friday, October 13th, 2006Depending on your level of business knowledge, this title may confuse you. Let me explain.
Basically, there are two common ways to get outside funding for a business. The most common, and the method that most people envision when they think of starting a business, is debt financing. Debt financing is when you take out a loan for a set amount and then you pay back a set amount, usually with interest. Whether your business fails or succeeds, a pre-specified amount must be paid back. If you go under, you still have to make payments. If you’re wildly successful, that doesn’t change anything. The payments are made and you keep all the excess for yourself.
With equity funding, it works differently. You still get a set amount of funding, but in this case, that “loan” gives the lender a claim on your future profits. This can be really great for some businesses, since your liability goes away if the business does (unless you’ve done something really awful and they take you to court over it). If you do well, your lender - more like your partner - gets a proportionate amount of the profits.
I’ll write more about why you might have an easier time getting one or the other, or why one or the other might be preferable for certain kinds of businesses. Stay tuned in.