Archive for January, 2009
Oh crazy first month of 2009, I love you! This month was incredibly stressful scurrying to figure out CPSIA compliance, taking in some of our biggest orders to-date, and going on the roller coaster of having a best-selling product sell out (this is a fabric availability issue).
Ah, the CPSC has issued a one year stay on testing regulations for certain products. This was the news as of yesterday. Here is a link to the press release. Anyhow, what this does is let us go ahead with the testing we are doing and go ahead and keep selling the blankets. I think it’s important to note that you still have to comply – you can’t sell products with lead over the limits, but it seems you can decide how you’re going to do your due diligence and test your products, or accept certifications from suppliers (such as Michael Miller recently declaring all of their fabrics are CPSIA compliant).
We have new organic onesie designs and they are selling like mad. There was finally a noticable pick-up in January. We’ve seen so many boutiques go out of business in the last year, that it seems (cautiously optimistic) that those that have managed to stay in business are finally picking up some of the customer’s from the boutiques that are no longer around. For example, one boutique in the center of town just placed their biggest b*Fab order yet – they have watched no less than six competing boutiques go out of business in the last eight months (most of those were our customers too). At some point, even if all those businesses had less customers, one out of seven boutiques should now have more customers. This pendulum has to start swinging this way at some point, right? It seems to be for us.
We had a cute little poncho featured in the January issue of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine and that sucker
sold out almost immediately. Between the boutiques that managed to place wholesale orders and the online sales, it wasn’t even in stock for two weeks. The reason I’m bringing this up is because I ran into the good old fabric is now out-of-stock issue again. This time, we wanted to do another production run – it’s selling like mad, it will sell well through the Spring – but the fabric is no longer available. So, instead of being able to keep it available on the site, we are scurrying to replace the print fabric. The bright side is that now I know more about our potential and that informs me for ordering increased yardage and supplies for the next go round.
I can honestly say we’ve never worked as hard as we did in January. This could well be the year of the 16 hour days, but we’re up for it, because the business is growing up to it. I don’t let myself watch much news anymore either, it is seriously too depressing. I get it. I’m proceeding with more caution than I ever have before, I’ve learned a lot of lessons from the economy hitting the skids. But I have to focus on the positive and how I’m going to keep us going through this. It’s nice to be bringing in a great flow of business again – that definitely helps to see the bright side of things.
Here’s to the launch of a great February. And for me, a happy weekend when we’re actually doing some painting around the house.
January 31st, 2009
This post is in response to all the emails I get from buyers wondering where they can find unique products, and vice versa, from manufacturers wondering how to find buyers. So I wanted to share with all of you a great resource, no matter which side of the coin you’re on – the boutiqueup.com newsletters.
Lisa, from CreativeWritingStudios.com, has put together an bi-weekly email, similar to HARO, but aimed specifically at connecting buyers with manufacturers. There are two separate emails that go out – one where manufacturers list their product offerings and another where buyers who are openly buying list their product requests and contact information.
This is an invaluable resource for all of you who are looking to target your pitches at buyers who are actively seeking new lines. If you’ve been involved with any of the sales aspect for your company, then you know how hard it is to get the buyer’s attention, and even harder to find buyers who are looking for exactly what you’re offering. BoutiqueUp! is a free service (yes, I really said that and yes, it’s really true!), so make sure you sign up to receive the updates (sign up is at the bottom of the page).
Boutique UP! has a lot of additional services that you will want to look into – including a wholesale directory and wholesale catalog, and unique product reviews (she’ll create an amazing one-pager for you to send to retailers).
You should also contact Lisa if you are in need of writing services – she has incredible rates and I am familiar with her work, which is outstanding. She can write you web copy, your marketing materials, your press releases, etc. And like I said, the rates are reasonable for start-ups. Visit her at creativewritingstudios.com.
Keep on moving on!!!
January 24th, 2009
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I’m still here and hanging in there. I’m doing great actually, I feel the new year is off to a good start. I spent a lot of December doing business planning. I hashed out my total financial goal and then broke it down into monthly goals.
Create a time line for 2009
My 2009 time line is different than my master business plan (which is in desperate need of an update too). Starting with the main financial goal, I mapped out not only how much the sales should increase each month, but also what it will take to make that happen. I have a plan for release of new designs, monthly advertising and pr, rate of increasing sales reps, and even the number of units (by product) that we need to sell each month.
How to get yours started: Make a list of the top ten things you want to have accomplished by the Dec. 31, 2009. Write this in past tense (ie: We made $8 zillion this year). Next, get 12 pieces of paper, and starting with your MAIN goal, work backwards from Dec. Make sure you cover all the development, sales, and marketing steps it will take to reach the monthly goal. Think about potential obstacles you could encounter each month and create a plan for overcoming them (including laziness and de-motivation!).
Meeting my January goals
One of the first things I need to help meet my January goals is MORE HELP, and thankfully, I’m getting it already. We’ve brought on some fantastic new sewing contractors for the blankets. This is huge because it will decrease our turnaround time without effecting the quality. This will translate to even happier customers, which will translate to more good word-of-mouth for the company.
Stay committed to your goals and plan
The hard part about goals is staying committed to them. So I make myself look at my January plan every morning. So far I’m on track. Had some great conversations with existing retailers today, will be visiting a few of them next week because they are ready to re-order (yes!!). We’ve got new designs for them too – which the retailers always love.
So that’s how I’m starting the year – optimistic.
Other ways you can stay connected to your goals include posting them on the wall, creating a vision board, and having an accountability partner.
Side note on the CPSIA – I’m not saying much about how we’re handling this because I’m not in any position of authority on the matter. I’m weeding through the information and am talking to whoever I can and am forming a plan. I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking…please visit Fashion-Incubator.com if you are looking for more detailed information on this very pressing topic. Also Get on twitter and search #cpsia to follow the conversation.
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/babyfabulous
Have a great new year!!
January 6th, 2009
