Crazy times right? Crazy times to be starting a business (we’re a year and a half past launch, I wonder when I’ll start referring to it as running a business???) It’s an economy thing and it has been crazy. We were building momentum like mad into January, and then everything just dipped. One of our boutiques that really sells our stuff well estimates traffic was down from 20 - 30 people a day to oh, about three!! THREE!!
But if this last month of business is any indication of things, then I think things are finally taking a turn for the better. We had a heck of a great show at Baby Celebration, online sales are up, and the boutique’s sales are picking up too.
We’ve been careful to keep up the momentum as much as possible, focusing on driving traffic to the site and also on keeping in touch with prospective boutiques and current accounts. It’s true that your current customers are your best customers - it’s much easier to sell to someone that already likes you and trusts you. So I’m trying to get appointments with current accounts to get in and show them the new stuff. And I’m really really trying to focus on being optimistic and putting the hard work behind it.
Time management is always a challenge, but my partner is going to take on some new project management tasks, which will help a lot. Imagine if we actually created project schedules for the mountains we want to climb? Miracles might happen.
I hope that all of you are seeing a pick up in business too!! Anyone out there have big trade shows coming up soon? Dallas? Mom2B?
We’ve got Atlanta in 9 weeks because we’ve picked up a sales rep!!!!! Right now we’re in the contract phase and I’m working on getting the first official salesman’s kit together. I can’t believe how much stuff you always seem to need when RUNNING a business.
May 4th, 2008
I just learned about twitter today. Do you twitter? It’s basically a social networking site where you can provide up-to-the-minute updates of what you’re doing. As a business it’s one of those sites that could become important , making it a good idea to reserve your business name as your username. Kind of like domains, it’s all up-for-grabs, so get it while it’s free.
We signed up in about five minutes, to reserve our biz name as our username. You can do the same by following this link to twitter.com.
If you’re launching an online boutique, you’ll learn quickly that SEO is very important. It’s also an ongoing process. One of my friends at mompreneursonline.com posted a link to this great SEO cheat-sheet:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-web-developers-seo-cheat-sheet
From personal experience, I’ve come to believe that two things are crucial in building your online boutique:
- Constant updating - whether it’s via blogging, new images, or constant little improvements to spacing, layout, content, colors, backgrounds, fonts, etc. - it’s important to always work on improving your site. We have an ongoing spreadsheet (which we actually need to revisit and update) that works to track all the changes we want to make to the site. We use google spreadsheets so that I can add to it from anywhere and web design can update it from anywhere.
- Perseverance and hard work - it takes time to build traffic, to get a good number of impressions, to build a valuable pr campaign, and on and on. It won’t happen over night, but it will happen if you I keep at it! ! ( I’m definitely writing this as more of a reminder to myself than anything!!)
Click here to view our latest (and only) twitter update!
April 30th, 2008
Isn’t everything a mixed blessing? Business is going so great that we’re really growing. Growing is painful. I remember reading some book way way way back when I first started about “growing your business”. I was REALLY curious about how I was going to make this happen - as if it was a real concern (little did I know it’d be years before I’d have to worry about that one!). But here it is - it is actually happening in real life. It’s a great, great, great thing - but I’m really scurrying to figure out how to make it all happen.
I know that we need more help. We’re even picking up more help - especially with production and sales. But the worse part is that I keep talking myself into getting “just a few more” things ironed out perfect before I seek out the help. I have to get over this glitch or it’s going to kill me. I have to be ok with where we’re at and just ask for help. I am lining up the jobs that will be easy to train on and pass off and I’m lining up the next level of suppliers. So, see, I’m working through it - even though I feel like a deer in the headlights.
I let my stress get the better of me today and had a totally uncalled for outburst. Shame on me. Lame of me. I even thought I had prepped myself for the day - I certainly prepped my daughter when she got out of school: “Mommy has a shipping deadline today and I’m already behind, so I’m going to need your patience for just a little bit.”
I didn’t make the deadline. WHAT?? I always make it. Even if I’m flying out the door at the last minute - I make it. But not today. And it cost me a pretty penny b/c it was a rush order that we promised would be there. It will be there, it just cost us for express shipping. Oh, and side-tracked my daughter’s homework for the evening.
I’ve landed a guest blog column on a business magazine site (ha ha that won’t make me busier) and since I owe them content, my first column will be about the real effect having our own businesses have on our families. Believe me, everyone in the family sacrifices to make it happen - but everyone reaps incredible benefits too.
***Have you checked out the forums? Sometimes I’m not able to get around to answering emails as quickly as I’d like, but I’ve noticed some of you are helping each other and asking questions on the forum. This is fantastic!!!
April 23rd, 2008
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about making cold calls. I think this was one of the most daunting things for me - before I got the first one under my belt. When it comes to making cold calls, it is one of those things I wish I had started earlier.
Here’s what you need to be successful when walking into a boutique without an appointment:
- Your sales kit!!! - Your sales kit should consist of your samples, line sheets, PO forms, and terms & agreement forms (new account form).
- Brochures / Product Literature to leave behind
When I first walk in, I walk up to the register and ask the person in front of me if they are the owner or buyer (as I write this, it occurs to me that it might be better to first introduce myself): “Hello, (smile smile smile) - are you the owner or buyer by any chance?”
If the answer is yes, I introduce myself and ask if they have a minute for me to show them a few of our items - as I’m asking this, I’m already pulling out the first item. My thinking is to capture their interest.
If they seem hesitant about time, I keep talking and saying “we have really unique ______ that would be great fit in your boutique. Would it be more convenient for me to make an appointment”
By this time, they have the sample in their hands and 8 out of 10 times will say “that’s ok, I can take about 5 minutes to see what you have…”
From there, I handle it like a normal appointment, showing product and sharing the benefits of carrying our line in their store.
If the owner is not in, the sales rep will usually share the owner’s name and the day and time the owner will be in the store. I’ll make a note and try to return at that time for another cold call.
One thing that helped my confidence walking into the boutique was getting a sample bag that I love. Sounds silly, but it’s true.
Let me know if you have any questions.
April 19th, 2008
Sales, sales, sales. I’m learning that I might actually like doing sales. I get a rush when I manage to really pick up the phone and make the calls I need to make. Oh, believe me, there is this whole big ordeal going on in my head before I make the first call each day. I can get myself completely discombobulated, but I’ve found that I can talk myself down with the good ol’ fashion fallback: “What’s the worse that can happen? They’ll say no? So what?”
I mean really, SO WHAT? There are so many boutiques out there that represent opportunity, it’s ok if a few say no. It’s a numbers game, you know.
The one thing that I can’t get is how in the heck I have better luck dropping in unannounced, aka “cold calling”, than I do making appointments? Today, I even had an appointment and got stood up (UGH!). So I stopped by a couple of other boutiques in the area, caught one of the owners in and was able to show my line. I would say I catch the owner or buyer at least 7 out 10 times when I cold call. And I almost always do some cold calling when I’m out for appointments, to capitalize on the trip.
I’m happy it’s the beginning of the month and I have fresh sales goals. I’m doing my best to consistently focus on sales everyday. Does anyone have tips for how they maintain a consistent schedule every day? The only way I can get one to work out for me, - that incorporates all I do with the kids, sales & marketing, and all the other little bits of all the rest of the business tasks - is to wake at 4:15 in the morning. Which isn’t to say I keep to that everyday, but really, it’s the only way to make it work when I figure it out on paper!!
April 3rd, 2008
I can’t believe I finally did this - I’ve uploaded a sample template of the sales cycle tracking sheet that I’ve been promising for so long!
This is the system that I’m using right now (template has generic names and private info removed). Of course, I just found a scratch piece of paper from when I originally had the spreadsheet idea and it has different columns. Now I can’t decide which is better, but I’m sticking with the one I’m already using for now.
The current system (which is a simple Excel file) works for me because it always has the next action I need to take for each prospect, and when that action should take place. As long as I visit, follow, and update the spreadsheet during my sales calls each day, then I’m keeping the pipeline full. There are always prospects to call, follow-up emails to send, and existing accounts to upsell to.
The scratch paper I found had each of the following bullet points as a separate column, in case some of you might find this way more useful:
- Prospect (store name)
- Contact Name
- Contact Number & Email
- Send Pitch (enter date occurred)
- Call (enter date occurred)
- Follow-up email (enter date)
- Appointment (enter y or n and date)
- Contact again on: (always have a date here)
- Signed PO? (enter y or n and date)
I hope that didn’t make it more confusing than not!
March 24th, 2008
I have four days to prep for the next event. This lightbulb is hitting me right now, at this moment. It’s a one day cash-n-carry show right here in San Diego (first in-town event - I can’t believe I don’t have to travel!). I’m ok with the product we have to take, but I have to get my head around other issues.
I’m happy to announce that my sales marathon is going GREAT, although my training sessions are no where near what I envisioned they would be…I can’t put nearly the hour a day into that I want to, but I am accomplishing that hour, or more, on many more days than I was previously.
The thing is that the sales stuff is going so great, and is thus so consuming, that I don’t have time to focus on the other things - like upcoming events. The surge in sales has presented all kinds of new juggling fun - which is why it’s good to grow; every new level presents new challenges.
Being a mom in business is pretty much craziness. I know I’m supposed to be sick right now, - my daughter came home with a fever today and I can feel that achiness, the hot / cold spells, the urge to sleep - but I don’t have time for that. I’m behind on things as it is. Like planning for upcoming events.
This weekend’s event is thrown by Appel & Frank. It will be held on Sunday, March 9, from 11 - 4 pm at the Abbey. I’m excited to be there - it looks like there are a couple of other children’s designers there, but I’m excited to see all the HOT, new, and fun women’s wear and accessories. How great for me, since I never ever get out shopping for myself, I can see some of the trend-setting stuff. FUN. I should also mention that I don’t really like shopping, so something like this is perfect - all in one space and all the good stuff.
If you are in Southern California and want to get an exclusive preview of San Diego’s newest and hottest upcoming designers at the Spring into Style event, just email me.
March 4th, 2008
I was researching fashion advertising last night and ran across what I think is a REALLY cool site, both for fashion advertising samples and fashion designing inspiration. The site is:
Fashion Ad Resource: http://www.fashionadresource.com/
Here’s what I think is great about the site:
- You can view past advertisements by designer brand or by type.
- She has a great section on magazines - which preview images from the decades of the last century.
- You can zoom in on the images twice, so you can actually see them!
Her homepage has her bio, so you can read a bit about her by clicking on the link above.
Enjoy!
February 19th, 2008
Where did Amber go? It’s been a crazy time in my business-owner life since I last posted. We had a fabulous celebrity gifting event in January. I will do a post soon on what a difference our “spinning cake” display made for exposure during that event. (You can see the display cake pretty good in the photo to the right, follow the link above to view more celebrity photos).
I did a great follow-up job of coming home and writing up a press release. I even stayed up late to perfect it and get a bunch of images together to send to one big-traffic site. I got that sent and it paid off. We were featured the next morning.
Then I tweaked it a little for the other media outlets, put my computer on stand-by and never saw its happy face again. That was it, my computer crashed completely. I did an ok job of backups, except for my emails and email lists. Oh what a mistake that was - what a nightmare it has been catching up.
Get an external hard drive and set up automatic scheduled backups for all of your files. That’s my big duh-I-should-have-already-known-that lesson for the day. And I wanted to say I’m back and I really have a lot of posts coming up to share about press releases, affiliate programs, preparing for the next cash-and-carry events, creating a “wow” display, and all sorts of other things I’ve learned since the great crash of ‘08.
February 15th, 2008
Update 1/7 - Hi all - this is really a half-post, but I wanted to get it out there since I started it so long ago - I’ve been REALLY derailed by the holidays. I’ll finish my “sales scripts” post after our big event this weekend.
(12-21-2007)It’s been a busy week at Baby Fabulous, so I apologize for lagging on getting this information to you. I will say that I’ve fallen off the wagon a little this week - but just a little. When Halloween whalloped me, I wanted to write about the need for mompreneurs(R) to implement holidays into their project plans. This is no joke!!! The holidays are foreseeable and should be scheduled. But I didn’t write the post and I forgot to take my own advice. ha ha! But I digress…let’s talk about our FAVORITE thing in the world - making sales phone calls. Telemarketing right?
I used the sales script found in the “Selling Your Clothing Line” book from startingaclothingline.com. That script was a starting point only because I realized immediately that it wasn’t me - didn’t feel natural. I have two phone scripts - one for boutiques that are far away (all communication will happen via phone/email) and one for boutiques that are nearby, (I want an appointment with nearby boutiques). Face-to-face is always the ideal.
Then, once I started making calls, I REALLY simplified what I was saying. If I couldn’t get the owner on the phone, my number one goal was to get a name and direct email. I succeeded in this goal 98% of the time. I will say that making calls in this industry is refreshing. Most of the boutique owners are moms and everyone has been really friendly and willing to share their time.
To get to the point, here’s what I say when I call:
Hello, is (owner’s name if possible) the owner or buyer available?
response: Who’s calling?
I’m ……. from …… We specialize in high-end personalized blankets and unique baby clothes. I’m calling to see if I can come in and show some samples of our line.
- If they tell me owner / buyer is not available, I ask for the contact name and an email address where I can send follow-up information.
-If the buyer is available, then I give a quick spiel on our products and either ask for an appointment, or again, an email.
It’s the first couple of lines out of your mouth that are important. I try to quickly get to the point, keeping it as simple as possible.
(to be continued..)
January 8th, 2008
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