Vernalagnia: A romantic mood brought on by Spring. Infect your shoppers.
Some ideas from the treasury of inspiration (more…)
Archive for the ‘Really good ideas’ Category
Time to get it all together?
Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged advertising, customers, resale shopkeeping, small business on December 28, 2017|
Thinking of getting a resale map together?
If your shop has similar neighbors (and by neighbors, we mean in driving distance!) a simple handout could draw traffic to your business.
Such a handout needn’t be elaborate nor expensive to produce. Here’s an example that looks to be a third-sheet, heavy-stock paper. This is the type of brochure that could be easily printed and even replicated as needed by each shop:
Click to enlarge. Photos courtesy of sonomanews.com
And don’t think you’ll simply be siphoning off the other businesses’ traffic. A concerted effort like this will find all of you new customers and draw new folks nto resale-fandom. Not to mention press and blogger attention.
All a map like this requires is someone to contact participants and set a budget for participation, someone with minimal computer skills to do the layout, and someone to deliver and store the finished product. That should be three different folks; but if it’s all one person, this could even be a paying job. (That’s how my local map is produced, as a profit-making production.)
I suggest adding one thing to this layout. A spot for each shop to stamp/ print “Courtesy of [MyShop]” so the recipient feels especially warm to the shop that gave it to her/him!
Earthy Elegant. An exercise in branding.
Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged competition, merchandising, resale shopkeeping, sea of sameness, small business on August 24, 2017| 2 Comments »
What is branding? It’s “a consistent message aimed at consumers’ emotions” and: “There can be no branding without differentiation, which is the ability to persuade consumers that your [shop] differs from the rest,” according to Entrepreneur magazine.
If that sounds good to you, create a visual and verbal message that makes your shop stand out from local resale stores and even from online options. Design an ambiance that persuades shoppers that yours is the best place to shop.
Perhaps you remember the Earthy Elegant (more…)
Too shy to send out press releases?
Posted in 5- Minute Fixes, Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged advertising, resale shopkeeping, web on August 9, 2017|
Believe it or not, there are some independent, talented resale shopkeepers who simply cannot bring themselves to brag on their businesses. (Drives me gaga, but it’s a fact of life.) I’ve tried to encourage these reticent entrepreneurs. Even given them reasons to put themselves forth. Yet still there’s some puritanical streak in them that’s
holding them back from spectacular success.
If you’re a Shrinking Violet, here’s a technique that’s (more…)
Computers? Distraction.
Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, Teeny Tips, tagged daily operations, resale shopkeeping on June 19, 2017| 4 Comments »
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
A quote that could make all the difference in how you run your business… and how you manage your staff.
Twenty years ago, computers were productivity tools. Now, they’re distraction tools that kill focus, kill creativity, and kill our ability to do good conceptual thinking by providing a never-ending stream of irrelevant interruptions.
When a computer task crosses your mind, add it to a paper “computer to do” list that you keep handy. At defined, scheduled times of day, walk over to your computer and go through your computer to-do list. Treat the computer as a tool that you use consciously, take out, and put back. Don’t use it as a default location to distract your mind and attention. —http://www.steverrobbins.com/
(Emphasis mine. That list? The perfect accessory to any consignment, resale, or thrift shopkeeper’s outfit: a clip clothespin with your to-do list dangling from your designer outfit.)
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