Archive for June, 2010
I’ve had the same “how’s business” conversation with numerous people in the last week – and in all of those conversations, we’ve ended up talking about the difference between those boutiques that survived and those that didn’t survive over the last couple of years. I’ve also realized that I’ve learned from first hand experience why some boutiques do better than others, and I thought if I shared my thoughts, it might help a lot when you are first setting up your sure-to-be-gorgeous boutique.
Location, Location, Location
One of our first retailers to go out of business had an absolutely quaint boutique. It was setup in a little craftsman’s cottage, and each room had a unique theme, such as stationary, toys, baby clothes, etc. Great layout for the store itself. But, for it to be in a cottage pretty much put it in the middle of a neighborhood. The owner told me when she had decided to close up shop, that her foot traffic had gone from about 30 people a day to four or five people a day. when I paid her my first visit, I remember being somewhat shocked that shops existed in that area at all. And I’ve lived in the San Diego area for years!
The trend continued, those shops that were setup in “unique” areas were consistently some of the first to close. Hand-select your location, consider the reputation of the area – hang out and watch how much traffic comes by…”we thought we were in a great spot in this newer strip mall, but we are off in the corner and there is virtually NO traffic.” – from a boutique owner that mostly pulled through but just quit.
Keep it simple
People do not like to walk into an over-crowded boutique. People like to walk into a boutique that they know has hand-selected the best of the best for them already. Too many options and you start to overwhelm the senses, start to lean towards a more “discount store” type of atmosphere. I think that buyers start to think “if I offer more options that will save me”.
I think the opposite is true – offer fewer, absolutely perfect, options, and you’ll create a loyal following. We had a retailer in a very touristy area of town – as she got more desperate for sales, she kept piling more stuff in her store (adding to her costs too mind you – the more inventory you carry the more money you have that is just sitting around, not making money for you).
The last time I stopped by, she had added buckets of plastic $5 and under trinket toys – saying to me “this seems to be all people are willing to pay for in this area”. She couldn’t see that when people walked in, there was no rhyme or reason to her selection – there was nothing that said “THIS is the superb style you can count on finding here” – instead it said “we have a little of everything, search around and see if there is anything good”.
Your style
In the end, the selection offered by a boutique comes down a lot to the style preferences of the owner or buyer. As a buyer, you need to know your style, need to know that your customers look to you to tell them what is cool, beautiful, unique, the next “it” product. They want you to do the work for them. Make sure your boutique has a cohesive look and feel that matches the product selection, and says exactly who you are….trust that you went into this business because you have ideas about what people “are really looking for”, and then offer it to them.
Mind Set
In the end, the attitude of the owner is what makes the biggest difference between survival and giving up. When I was in the thick of doing sales, I got to the point where I could almost tell by the tone of voice when the buyer said “hello” whether it was a good avenue to pursue or not. You would not believe how many sob stories I would get right off the bat. Which isn’t to say that those with the “right” mind set weren’t realistic – it’s just that they always start with a positive note in their voice and end with an “but there’s no question, we’re making it through this.” I don’t care how cheezy it sounds, success starts (or ends) with your state-of-mind, your ability to visualize, and how much fight you have in your spirit.
Learn, learn, learn
I have learned so much just by visiting so many boutiques over the last few years. You should do this too – visit baby boutiques that you know have a great reputation, take note of how MUCH product they carry, their price points, how long they’ve been in business, their location. I bet the ones that have been around the longest have a relatively simple selection, are in the “hot shopping districts” in town, and have spent time building a reputation for excellent customer service and top-notch style and trend spotting.
Selling to boutiques
Because I was just starting out, I was more than happy to have our product in all the boutiques that I talked about above…but I really shouldn’t have been. What boutiques your products are spotted in matters a lot to your brand. It also matters a lot to your time and ROI. Focus on getting into established boutiques but don’t ignore the new ones either. Sometimes, a new boutique nails all of the necessary criteria to be the new “it” boutique in town. Just make sure it’s a boutique you’re proud to see your product in.
June 30th, 2010
Come on in, the water’s nice. It’s work. It’s hard work. It takes more self-motivation than you imagine you have the ability to produce. But if you have been blessed enough to discover your passion, you darn near have an obligation to jump in and after it. I think I jumped in at the wrong time – maybe I wasn’t as ready as I should have been. But what else would I have done? Not jumped? Ha ha ha ha
So, right now, I write for additional money while I’m raising my business and my family out of a recession. But we are still here – and growing. Finally growing. I don’t think I’d be half the business owner I am now without the recession. I lost a lot of kindred spirits through it – I watched some throw in the towel early with an “I-see-the-writing-on-wall-and-I’m-outta-here”. They closed their doors before I really wanted to see, or believe, that we had launched at the brink of a sinking economy.
And they kept surrendering, so many shutting their doors – just facing the fact they weren’t going to pull through. And in turn we lost a lot when so many closed their doors.
A certain amount of bull-headedness saw me through times I logically should have thrown in the towel. But tsk-tsk -tsk, in spite of all the craziness, I kept persistent and I learned. I learned how to love my business again, I learned what a blessing it is to be brave enough to follow my passion, but, most importantly, I’ve learned to run a much tighter ship.
Recession Lessons
- It doesn’t matter how much I love a product – if that product is not selling, must cut the fat. As hard as it is, or as much as I KNOW it’s an incredibly fabulous design, it’s best to learn to let go from the beginning. Plus, it makes it easier to walk into a retailer’s super-cool boutique, put your designs on the table, and take an onslaught of comments with a grain of salt.
- Location matters and sometimes it’s better to be selective – it really doesn’t matter if you have umpteen boutiques under your belt if those boutiques aren’t producing for you. Focus on the retailers who are jazzed about your product, give it fair shelf space, and reorder and reorder and reorder. ***I say this over and over again, but it goes both ways, your product better DESERVE shelf space
- Watch every dime, plan, and never let up - always true; but I tell you I’m a lot better at it after the pain of the last two years.
My point here is that yes, you are likely to go through incredibly stressful times too, just like me, but what’s the other option really? You have your gut, your guardian angels, your dreams – all telling you this is your passion and you’re going to hold back? The time is going to pass anyway, you might as well walk to the path you were born too. It’s a lot more painful to live a life that is a lie – right, you hear me?
Honestly, I feel like I’m rebuilding a business from the ground up, so build one with me. Start talking OUT LOUD about starting your own line, start sharing your designs, think of the perfect name and commission a logo design, get your business license – start taking the doggy-paddling steps that will gear you up for jumping off the diving board.
June 25th, 2010
Center Stage for
Getting into stores. This whole game comes down to whether or not you can earn retail shelf space and then whether or not you can keep it.
So how do you get into stores? I think this is the question I get the most often. The answer is simple – hard work. Once you have developed a high-quality product, sales materials, and a stable production cycle, you’re ready to approach the retailers and sell your product.
You have to go through a pretty standard process: phone calls and emails to peak interest and introduce your product, appointments and phone conversations to show, describe, and sell your product. Then there is the paperwork (they sign!) and finally, the delivery and follow-up.
The first and most important thing is your product and your readiness to produce your product in mass quantities. If you are the starting sales rep, then you can control the rate at which you sell. If you are ready to really jump into it and ready to produce and deliver, then hiring a sales rep might be the way you want to go. If you have the same experience as me, your first sales rep might not sell anything at all. But you could land a real go-getter with established accounts and so you should be ready to fill as many orders as your rep can produce.
I recommend that you undertake the process of getting your product into the first stores. There is nothing more valuable than the first-hand experience of selling your product. Especially when you are first launching. Making the first sales enables you to understand your sales process, establish a presentation order for your products, understand which selling points hit home with the retailers and which ones don’t work at all. This is also important so that you can train future reps on your sales process.
So assuming you are going to be the one to get your product into a retail location, you have to start with emails and phone calls. Start by calling and asking for the buyer and owner. Here’s where your personal product spiel comes into play. Or if you don’t get the owner or buyer on the phone, then you ask for their email and name and a good time to talk to them. Don’t be afraid to tell them who you are when they ask.
Then you have to keep following up, via phone and email, until you get an appointment with the buyer. Sometimes this happens right away, other times it can take months. But you keep at it, and keep it at consistently, and it will happen.
Others who have tips on getting into the first boutiques, share, share, share!!
I got into my first boutique by walking in the door and asking for the buyer. As they were telling me they were busy, I was pulling out a sample product – this is where you really need a product that speaks for itself. If it does, it will peak their interest enough to give you an appointment. This is true whether you have just walked in the door, sent your first email, or are making the first phone call.
June 21st, 2010
