KISS

. KISS, one of my daughter's favorite words. She used it quite frequently before leaving for school three years ago. She used it so much I had to find out why. She explained to me when she told someone KISS, it meant 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. According to her that most of time we spend our time making everything more complicated than what it need be. I was thinking about this the other day and I think I figured out why I'm always so tired, in trying to stock my shop, I'm not keeping it simple. I have so many varied interest that I can't decide which one I really want to dedicate myself to. I love to knit, sew and crochet, not to mention jewelry. Being a creative person missed the point of keeping my shop simple. As online shop owners we should strive to keep our categories and product line straight forward so our customers know who we are. Making sure our potential customers understand exactly what we do. Get know for being the best in what it is we do. I work hard at being the best at whatever I do. I look at my shop and see beautiful items but no cohesion. I think that now is the time to narrow my view to pick something and make it my focus. I've that my inspiration lately has been the newest member of my family, my granddaughter. Lately it has been shoes/booties but there is so much more to do. It's coming upon the fall of the year, yes I know summer just kicked in but there will be a need for fall/winter items before we know it. If we're into handmade, it's gonna take time to produce and this is a good time to start. School just ended and know is the time to start the new school year shopping. After thinking school think of the year's end holidays that are also upon us. So this month I will start taking a long look at my shop and see what it is I can take away and what I should keep. Decide on the sizes I want to make and handle and definite color decisions. Sometimes less is more and more can always be added later. But sometimes a few simple items are the only things necessary for sales. To anyone who reads this and has visited my shop I apologize for the confusion. I promise by the end of the year I will be able to look at my shop and smile and not just look at a finished product, photograph it and place it in the shop.

Customer Service

I recently had an experience with on of my customers that I truly found to be a learning experience. She didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know but she helped me to be I feel a better seller. She also boosted my ego.

None of us want to hear that there is a problem with our merchandise. That just snatches the rug from under you, "Oh, no!", the first response, what could be wrong. The product in question has been sold over and over again in the past. Not one customer has contacted me with this problem.

At first when the customer told me she was new to the craft, I felt she just misread the booklet. I checked my hard drive (I just recently had my computer in the shop - virus')found the file and looked at it, checked the pages, I didn't and couldn't see the problem. I resent a new file to the client, now there's a separate problem. I still couldn't find it.

So in keeping with the lessons learned throughout the years of shopping and working in retail, I did the only thing I could do, I used the lessons:
1. The customer is always right.
2. When you can't do anything else go back and see rule number 1.

Dealing with Sears some years ago, I remember the saying they used " Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back." I bought a sewing machine from them with a specific cabinet, in '83. When I picked up my purchase and got it home my ex put it together and it was the wrong cabinet, beautiful and larger than the one I purchased and more expensive. I took it back to the store and explained what happened. The cabinet I purchased had been discontinued and they offered me dinged up floor model, of course I declined the offer, I paid for a new one.

The salesperson went to management and came back with a better offer. I could keep the new more expensive cabinet, $200 more. Of course, I was surprised, why? Even though over the entrance to the building the slogan was there clear and in plain sight, I didn't believe them. I had another incident with them and the same thing happened, they were true to their slogan, 'Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back', got to love Sears.

In Mystery Shopping, I critique services for major companies, I love doing this and seeing the changes on the managers and clerks faces when they find out who I am. Needless to say the service gets better, which it should have been at peak performance anyway and the managers always offer something extra to offset what happened when I was suspected to be the typical Joe off the streets.

In dealing with my clients I use what I've learned from Sears and Mystery Shopping and those old rules and do whatever it takes to make my customer happy. A happy customer is a return customer. I often check with them to see if everything is going well with the item purchased and inquire about the family or how's the weather and they in turn check on me. I love this.

It's okay to build a relationship with your clients, let them know that you're human and that you care. It makes their day and yours. About this last client I refunded a portion of their payment for the missing pieces they won't be able to utilize. Here is the comment they had:

Hi Sheryl,

Thank you very much. You're a super seller, thank you for your
patience and all your help. I'll enjoy the rest of the patterns, they
are very beautiful.

These grateful words mean a lot to me as a seller and helps build confidence. Always do and give your best, that's why we're in business for ourselves and please try and put yourself in their shoes, think of how you want to be treated and rest is easy.

144 Days to Christmas

For those of us that make and ship items for sale, we have less time to prepare. I would give us about 134 days to Christmas.

Considering the time it takes to ship and the time it takes to make we need to get busy and start thinking ahead for this year and next. Some of the big box stores in other countries have already started their holiday season, toys, gifts and decorations are already at hand.

I realize that some of us are dealing with triple digit heat, but the holidays are right around the corner. Years ago, my mom and I use to start shopping in January, that’s right, January. Of course that was when lay-a-ways were in abundance and stores knew how to turn a buck.

I appreciate a good lay-a-way. Sure it ties up inventory but that inventory will and can sell with a reasonable lay-a-way policy.
What is a reasonable lay-a-way policy, don’t expect a $300 item to be purchased within a 30 day period, if that was the case it wouldn’t have been laid away in the first place.

So far in the first three blogs of ‘Ready for the Holidays’, we covered:

1. Update your product catalog and inventory.

I’ve gone through my products and I see a need for additions and improvements,so
I'm working on it.

2. Make it easy for your customers to shop for gifts.

I’ve made a list of items I feel would be great for gifts and also added categories to the list.

3. Give your site that ‘Holiday’ flair.

I’ve had the same banner for the past three years and I feel a real need for a change, so I’ve been working on a new.

So, what have you been up to? Have you started readying your shop for the holiday? How’s it going?

Next week we’ll talk about some more issues we can pursue in order to ready ourselves for the upcoming holiday season.

Ready For the Holidays?

Are You Ready For the Holiday?



It’s the middle of July and it’s time to start thinking about the holidays. I’ve personally noticed that the decorations for the fall celebrations are beginning to come out with school supplies. What’s the rush? Its simple some of us like to shop early, get a head start, not feel the rush so we can enjoy more. With the state of our economy starting early allows us to stagger our purchases and see a silver lining before the dreaded rush that some people enjoy sets in.

Now is the time to start looking at inventory on hand and thinking of future inventory for the month of August starting and running as close to the holiday as possible. What do you have available for the holidays. What do you have on hand that would make great gifts or what do you need to add. What do you have to fulfill a need or what do you need to add to it. School starts in August in most places and so does the holiday shopping season for a lot of people.

If you have any inventoried items you were waiting for the right time to place in your shop either online or not, now are the time to get them out and stocked, ready for the holiday. Beef up that inventory; give your shoppers a selection of the best you have to choose from. Determine which items you have that are your most popular, best-selling items. Make them available. Add new products to your store.

Good product information is important; update your descriptions if you haven’t done so in a while. Use past customer feedback for items already sold, this is a useful tool. People love to read reviews. Highlight these compliments to help enhance your sells.

Making Money Doing What You Love

Niche II

If you have worked through the previous questions of finding your niche, you should have yourfoundation for creating your business. Let me say this now, this will not be the only time you willhave to think about your niche. This process can change even after you’ve started your business. I’m still working on mine.

Knitting and crocheting is such a broad category, there are so many different items one can make, some time consuming, some quick. I think about all the items I’ve made and try to figure out which ones I derive the most enjoyment from (one that I can do over and over again). I’ve found that I have done more shrugs than anything else, so this is truly my niche anything else I do is secondary. I can also see that shrugs can easily turn into midriff sweaters and possibly cardigans in the future. With all this said this is one way of adding to your niche. But remember, one item at a time as to not be overwhelmed.

Keep a notebook with your projects in mind and add to it as often as needed. Take a look at what it is that you enjoy, note it. Next think in terms of adding to it slowly, over a period of time and figure out what are the other possibilities over time. Nothing happens over night. There is nothing wrong with working at a slow and steady pace to get your business where you want it to be. The key is not to give up or get discouraged. For insight feel free to ask family and friends for input or insight, food for thought and outside you can be good for business. Even if you don’t like some of the things you hear, try and keep the answers in prospective, they may come in handy later.

SCORE is also another good place to start for help and objective input.

SCORE: Counselors to America’s Small Business

http://www.score.org

SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a nonprofit organization with about 400 chapters in the United States. They have volunteers who provide training and one-on-one business consultation at no charge.

We are in this to make a living doing what we love.

DO ONE THING

DO ONE THING



Commit to doing only the projects and activities which are connected to your main goal. Make sure it is directly or indirectly moving you towards your main goal. Please, try and stay away from anything that will confuse, sidetrack or drain your energy.

Now that your goals are set, remember to say ‘Yes’, to what vehicles take you to the place you want to be and ‘No’ to those that don’t or won’t.

If you’re anything like me you have friends that will usually need you to stop and hang out, pursue a project for them an assure you it won’t take much of your time. You have a schedule, stick to it. Nothing hurts as much as putting you on the back burner when there is work to be done. Playing catch up, and that is with just about anything in life, is very hard to do. Hang out when it’s convenient for you; hang out when you need to unwind. They will understand in time. Your time (life) is very important.

When I was younger, I thought I worked better under pressure. Now I’ve found that that is not the best thing for your mind or your body. The assembly line does not work well for me now. I find it to be draining. I share this because I care. I’m not good at math or wish to deal with the details of it, so I let someone else handle my ledger. I’m only good at what I do and that is one thing, I work with my hands.

I do this blog, not because I’m good at it, I do it because I enjoy it; it helps me to stay focused and relaxes me. Plus I do like to talk as anyone that knows me will tell you. As a matter of fact I spent the holiday catching up on friends and family, both close and long distance.
Take a day, just one day a week and let people know when you will be available. Pick a day for advertising, a day to relax and the others are devoted to your goal. You can’t do it all at once and that that you can’t do designate. Your goal or goals are very important and important to and for you. Never lose sight of where you’re going and remember to take care of yourself and your business.

How do you eat and elephant? One bite at a time. So after each bite be nice to yourself.

As usual, comment, question, speak out. Communicate.
Sherryl

Fantastic Week

Earlier this year I took a business class at the Community College, via the web. It was a lot to consume for a person that hadn't been to school in years. I did it for the knowledge I needed and wanted and also thought it would be good motivation for my children that are in school.



When I completed the class, I got my Certificate, it hangs above my computer to remind me of my accomplishment. It wasn't all that easy, but it wasn't that difficult either. My children were proud of me and I also.



Well, after accomplishing this feat, I wonder 'Now what?' From February to September I didn't have a clue. I tried a variety of things, including MLM. None of which suited me or made me happy. Then I thought back to my lessons learned, 'Do something you love.' Simple, I love to crochet. But where do I start. I have the yarn, I have some stock to start. I questioned friends and family, some with good advice and some not so good.



I placed an order with a seller on Ebay, and low and behold, a total stranger had the answer I was looking for....ETSY. The seller contacted me as to what I do and with the merchandise I bought, something she says she never does is contact a buyer. I emailed her back, she emailed me. In her third email she told me about Etsy, she understood my plight. She was my Angel.



I signed up with Etsy in late September. Weeks went past, no sales, not even a nibble. I didn't get discouraged. I kept crocheting and listing and one day I stumbled upon something someone wanted a little girl's coat - toddler. I've managed to sell four, three this month alone. Two of which was a special order and the other two went to the first purchaser of the first coat I listed. Then there was a boy's cardigan.



The FANTASTIC WEEK, I sold three of the above mentioned items this week alone. I've got the fever and I've got the bug.



I'm estactic. I'm finally in business. The lesson was during the confusion and not doing what you love, something you're passionate about you don't go far happily. And don't waste a lot of time figuring it out, just do it.