14 Secrets to Selling $4 Million: How to Find Digital Success Using Old-Fashioned Values

I adore today’s guest post from Beth Marbach of Downtown Gal. She spent 12 years building a $4 million designer shoe resale business on eBay. Her story has everything: Scrappy moxie, digital prowess and a health dose of good old -fashioned values that catapulted her to success. Whether your business is online, in an office park or on Main Street, you will devour these 14 secrets which Beth was kind enough to share. Enjoy.

In 2001, I was an executive recruiter, and I wanted out. Desperately.

On the side, I started selling books, CDs and DVDs on eBay. With time I moved onto selling dog jackets. My profits on books were $4 to $6; my profits on canine apparel were $19 per jacket.

It was when I spotted a $49 pair of Coach Boots at DSW, which I bought and sold that very evening for $149 that my whole life changed. Twelve years later I had earned $4 million selling designer shoes online. The lessons I learned along the way were many. I honed relationship, business and marketing skills amongst many others.

Here are 14 such lessons I feel were some of the most critical to the success of my business.

1. Make Study Sheets

The success of my business was critically dependent on the monthly trips I took to various designer shoe outlets around the country. I made these trips to purchase shoes, but I also made them to solidify and grow relationships with store personnel.

See, my revenue was determined on the quantity and quality of shoes I could access, and as I could not be in all places at once, that access was greatly determined by the store personnel who thought to call or email me first (before any other reseller) when new inventory arrived.

To help support me in this, I made laminated spreadsheets which included basic information such as store names, phone numbers and addresses. These spreadsheets also included names of all store personnel (which I had met to date), and any information which would be helpful in both personal and work related conversations.  Prior to going into every store I studied these sheets and directed conservations accordingly.

2. Call Ahead

Spreadsheet studying and traveling across the country all prove to be futile if, when you arrive, your favorite sales person has the day off. To prevent this from happening I always called ahead to make sure when I arrived, they were waiting for me.

3. Know the Best Days of the Week to Shop

I was not a store’s average customer. I did not go in and purchase a few pairs of shoes. I went in and made purchases up to $10,000. To do this, I needed the undivided attention of store personnel which meant I needed to go on the slowest shopping days of the week – Monday and Tuesday. 

4. Inexpensive Branding Can Work

My branding did not come from a high priced design shop but from a few hours of my husband’s time with Photoshop. Likewise, my business name was not derived from expensive brainstorming sessions but was simply borrowed from what was, during my single days, my Match.com handle – Downtowngal. (Editor note: See? Told you building an irresistible brand on any budget was possible!)

5. Hire Effectively by Hiring Creatively

Having 100s of pairs of shoes to photograph, inventory and ship required assistance. I hired super smart high school gals, paid them more than the mall and kept them happy by letting them listen to whatever music they wanted.

6. Consider Office Space Very Carefully

Storing 100s of pairs of shoes in a basement and working for 12 years alongside them might seem less than ideal, but doing so saved me $1000s of dollars annually (or 10s of 1000s of dollars over 12 years).

7. Know there is More than One Way to Get Supplies (and Just about Anything Else You Need)

The price of shipping supplies was always a challenge. As a cost savings work around, I utilized the clean (and in good condition) shipping boxes from my local grocery store and daycare center. I then invested 2 cents per branded sticker and placed one on every box I shipped.

8. Become an Expert

95% of what I sold was shoes, and within that I focused on a small handful of designer brands. Developing my niche allowed me to use my time effectively (which was very important when you have two little kids), provided me focus on the key relationships to develop and provided me the ability to increase revenue in ways that would not be feasible had I attempted a broad product line. (Oh, and it greatly reduced daily insanity, so there is that too.)

9. Please Your Accountant

With the enormous number of fraudulent designer shoes in the marketplace, it was critical for me to keep all receipts in the case the legitimacy of my inventory ever came into question. More often than you might imagine customers asked for proof that shoes they purchased from me were legitimate. It was always good to have that validation readily available.

Keeping all receipts also helped quarterly taxes go quicker, ensured I received maximum tax benefits and made my accountant quite happy. (Happy accountant = Happy business.)

10. Categorize Your Customers

Keeping detailed records on my customers including their gender, designer preference and shoe size allowed me to easily contact people when I received shipments in which they might have interest. Sometimes I could even sell shoes to them before I had to take the time and expense to put them on eBay.

11. Consider Online and Offline Inventory Acquisition Options

The majority of the shoes I purchased were from brick and mortar stores; however there were times where I could buy shoes directly off their website. To make this process efficient, I bookmarked 20 stores, which I knew carried the designer shoes I desired. Every morning I would go through these links, purchase desirable footwear and have it shipped directly to my house.

12. Be Nice to Everyone. No Exceptions.

The sales folks at the designer outlet stores were underpaid, overworked and rarely appreciated. I found the simple act of bringing a goodie along – calling and taking coffee orders before I arrived, buying nice chocolate as gifts or bringing in a fruit basket significantly differentiated me from other resellers who, I might add, were frequently downright ruthless to store personnel.

Who wants to call a jerk to give them the heads up that new inventory has arrived?

No one.

Who wants to call the woman who is nice to them every time she sees them, brings them coffee and gets to know them so well she is invited to their wedding?

Well, that is how I built my business. It is also how I made an enormous number of wonderful friends.

13. Thank People the Old Fashioned Way

When I was growing up my parents made me send handwritten thank you notes when someone extended kindness towards me. When I received a shipment from a reseller who thought to call me first, I did the same. Within that note I included a $25 Starbucks gift card. For one quick note and a small gift of coffee, I was always one of the first resellers they called.

14. And Keep Thanking Them. All of Them.

I certainly wouldn’t have a business without the designer outlet personnel I befriended over the years, but I also wouldn’t have a business if it weren’t for the UPS drivers, the folks at the post office, my staff and of course, my customers. Christmas time at DowntownGal Shoes meant it was “thank you” time.

To my UPS drivers and post office friends I gave wonderful holiday cakes and popcorn tins, the gals I worked with could pick any pair of shoes they wanted, and the sales associates at the designer outlets would receive a  Starbucks gift certificate (with a higher value than the normal $25 cards I gave throughout the year), a card and a photo of my family. And regardless of what time of year it was, I included a free shoe shine kit for my customers with every purchase.

In the end, I found that although we live in a society that drives very hard towards the big things; it is, in fact, the little things that guarantee we get there.

About the author: To learn more about Beth Marbach, and her 12 year saga selling $4 million dollar of designer shoes on eBay go to: http://downtowngal.com/

Photo credit:  geishaboy500

Your Call to Action: Which ONE tip will you put into practice to boost your business this week? Please share in the Comments below!

Why do you do what you do? Ideas to reconnect with your purpose + passion

Your business is an extension of you. It started with an idea and a hope and problem you were itching to solve. A vision of how you could improve someone’s life, work, relationships, self-esteem or home.

For a moment, forget about the features and functions. Forget about the “tricks.” Forget about the bonus materials or free reports or “Act by this date” price promotions or 6-week programs or loyalty cards or sales numbers or social media stats and think back to your idea, your story.

What did you want to put into the world to make it a better place than when you found it? What problems did you want to solve for people to make them feel joyful, empowered or efficient?

People connect with stories + people, with passion + purpose….not products, not services, not even brands. (Tweet this!)

Without a story, without standing for something, you are simply a transactional commodity. And when was the last time that ever rocked anyone’s world? There’s no loyalty there. That’s like saying you’re loyal to the DMV simply because they renew your driver’s license and registration every few years.

If you’re having trouble remembering your story or have lost sight of your purpose amidst the chaos of everyday entrepreneurship, here are some inspirations to help you find your mojo again:

Ask your best friend, mentor, or close confidante to remind you of what you told them when you said you wanted to (fill in the blank) and what got you jazzed about it. You know, those nights when, after a few too many G&T’s, your eyes lit up and you said, “If I could create this, people would love it!”

Create a simple “Value Proposition Hack

Revisit that old mission statement you once wrote long ago. You know: the one that was imperfect and raw and beautiful and captured every essence of hope you had when you first started.

Stay inspired by soaking up goodness from others who have found their stories and made magic in their worlds. And know that if they can do it, you can do it, too. Like Alexandra or Ali or Warren and Betsy.

Review Simon Sinek’s now famous TED talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action and find your own “Why?

Remember your “why?” Please share it below and make a public declaration in the Comments with a linkback to your site!

How to Define Your Target Market? Channel your inner Aaron Sorkin

What can the screenwriter of such TV and movie hits as West Wing, The Social Network and my new obsession The Newsroom teach you about defining your customer niche or target market? A heck of a lot.

Doesn’t matter whether you have a business, blog or book. It’s vital to define who will realistically consume what you have to offer. Specifically, who is your ideal customer, client or reader?

Here’s a simple and fun exercise to flesh out just the right buyers and ensure all your marketing efforts will attract the right people at the right time. You just need to channel your inner screenwriter (or Inner Sorkin)

When you intimately know and understand your audience, you can better connect with, talk to, and engage with them (Tweet!)

One of the biggest mistakes I see small business owners, aspiring authors – or even blog writers – make is that they boil the ocean. They claim their target market is “Women” or worse, “Everyone.” That creates too large of a target to which to connect and speak. If your target is that broad and wide, how will you know a good marketing investment or tactic when you see it? They will all look good but few may actually work.

As much as you want to believe that anyone and everyone would (or should) engage with you, I have news. They won’t.

It’s a better idea to focus on your IDEAL customers or clients. And that means creating Customer Profiles. Time to put on your creative hat and channel that inner screenwriter. Create a detailed character sketch of your ideal customer as if you were writing a script or casting a show. I recommend that small businesses or bloggers stick to no more than three profiles/segments. You just don’t have the time, money or resources to spread your marketing efforts too thin.

Build a character sketch of your ideal customer. Yes, think ideal, not average because you want to make this person real to you. What is her name, age, occupation, household income? Where does she live, what is her family life like? What does she like do to do for fun? Which websites does she visit, in what stores does she shop, where does she go out to eat (or does she cook at home?). Where does she get her news and info? What books does she read or movies does she see (does she read books and go to movies)? What is her favorite movie or TV show? What are her fears? What does she value? What keeps her up at night? What does she struggle with?

Like screenwriter, build a fully-formed character. Maybe 2 to 3 paragraphs long. Find a stock photo online to represent this person and hang it up by your desk. Every time you write content, or build a new offering, think about Jane or Steve or Charlotte and craft it for them.

Once you have this profile, you can pull out the buying drivers and that will help you craft your offerings and marketing to speak to what matters most to him or her.

You won’t be leaving people out, trust me. It doesn’t mean others outside this profile will not ever buy from you – if others land in the net, great. This is simply about where you will target your limited time and resources on outbound content and activities.

It’s not about who you’ll let into your Open House; it’s about who you are targeting with invitations! (Tweet!)

Just spend an hour on your ideal customer profiles, if that’s all you have. I guarantee it will save you time and money and make your marketing more compelling and effective!

Stuck in neutral? 4 ways to reboot your business and rekindle your fire

Ah, the first blushes of entrepreneurial love. The romance! The energy! But what happens when the passion fades and the reality of demanding customers/clients, overwhelming marketing options and painful tasks (QuickBooks, anyone?) creeps in? Suddenly, your business becomes a grind and you find yourself working harder for less reward, less return…and less joy. Your once appreciative and dreamy-eyed business starts angrily demanding more of your time and energy – but in return, rewards you with the wrong customers, a weak profit margin and just doesn’t take you salsa dancing or wine tasting anymore.

I’ve been where you are. I know what it feels like to have your business success lead you down the wrong path. How choices innocently pile up – each one seemingly rational – paving a perfect road to discontent.

So a few years ago, I took a step back. I sought the objective counsel of colleagues, a wise coach and a wondrous wordsmith and tweaked my business model and messaging – core brand elements. I started doing more of what I loved and ditched what wasn’t working. And you know what? My heart (and success) soared.

If your business (and heart) feel stuck in neutral, here are 4 ways to reboot  – and check out my big announcement at the end on how I can help…

  1. What do you hate doing? STOP IT! If your business offerings have kept piling on so you can simply cater to every single need under the sun, you need to take stock and simplify your business model. What activities bring you the most joy? Do you love teaching and strategic planning but hate detailed tactics? Then start doing more workshops or retainer projects  and don’t offer hourly project work. Do you love doing massage and energy work but hate giving facials? Then cut down your services list. This also translates into how you talk about yourself (i.e., maybe you’re no longer a “full-service spa” but a “body care studio”)
  2. Play with pricing or packaging to attract the right customers/clients: You may find that the people you are attracting pay little but demand a lot, offering little profit margin in the end. How about adding more value/quality to your offerings and increasing your prices to deter more budget-conscious folks and attract a more affluent market? Or offer a tiered set of products or services to give more cost-conscious folks a self-service option, while freeing up your time for deeper, higher-value work that you adore.
  3. Revisit your messaging: Take a good, hard look at your web copy, company descriptor or even job title. Are you saying you do everything for anybody? Are you too vague and not focused on clear, crisp benefits? Does it sound boring, even to you? This could either a) be attracting the wrong type of work or b) confusing the prospective people that you really want. Remember, when you try to create a brand that is all things to all people, you end up being nothing to no one. Detail out your ideal customer or client and only focus on content, services or products – and the appropriate messaging – to attract those people. Don’t worry about pleasing (or offending) anyone else but that target. Trust me, they’ll be fine without you.
  4. Audit your visual brand: OK, this one may require an investment to make some changes. Based on the people you really, really want to attract and the kind of work you really, really want to be doing, is your visual branding way off base? Do you need to modernize your colors, select bolder fonts or change out your imagery to better appeal to those people? I once consulted with someone trying to attract high-powered Alpha-male executives – and yet her website was all pastel colors and flowery script fonts. She was beating her head against the wall and wondering why those powerful male executives were not hiring her. She needed to update her look and feel to match her new offerings and target clients. Side benefit? Updating your visual look and feel might also get your heart racing with pride again about your business and give you a new opportunity for some word of mouth buzz.

With these tips, you can shift out of neutral and into overdrive again. In a good way, of course. Don’t drive yourself crazy. OK, I’ll stop with the driving metaphors….

Photo credit: Vincent O’Keeffe, Flickr

Has business boredom ever happened to you? What actions do you recommend to reignite your business – or your own personal passion? We’d love to hear so please leave a Comment below. Your wise words could help someone else!

 

8 unexpected places to find your next client or customer

It’s simple.

If you solve a pressing problem or have a story to share that moves, ignites, provokes, heals or amuses people, you can find your tribe. The first step is that you have to really believe in what you’re selling. In fact, don’t think of it as selling. What is the mission behind what you do? I don’t care if you’re writing a book, offering massage services or developing enterprise software. Why do you do what you do? What will others gain from it?

That’s what is interesting. That’s what gets people hooked.

Now, take that mission, that story, and bring it to these 8 unexpected places to capture your next client or customer. Or better yet, think of it as “to capture your next client or customer’s imagination.”

  1. The elevator: Not just the networking luncheon or conference itself, but the elevator. Classic place to engage one on one. Often, people are feeling a bit of trepidation going into a big conference hall or luncheon alone. So start the conversation with one person while you’re both trapped in this big metal box.  This is how I met one of my favorite colleagues with whom I exchange business referrals. In the span of one minute, she and I connected based on our passions and missions – and even found out we both had written books.
  2. LinkedIn groups: I posted a comment in an Indiana University alumni group once and a week later got an email from someone, saying he liked what I’d written and asking to chat about his company’s current project. Really. It was that simple. Same thing with another group recently, where someone contacted me after I posted a helpful comment. Of course, make sure your comment is insightful, adds value without asking for anything in return and related to what you do. That helps.
  3. Guest blogs: Reach out and share your expertise with others in related fields. Who really resonates with your brand? Who rocks your world? For whom do you think you can be a missing puzzle piece and add value to their community? Make an effort to guest blog at least once a month and this will open you up to so many more potential clients or customers.
  4. Your butcher, baker, candlestick maker: So often, we tend to separate our personal lives from our professional lives. For the longest time, I didn’t reveal to anyone outside of “work situations” that I had written a book about how to create a brand strategy. I thought they might not “get it” or wouldn’t care out of context. Why? That’s just stupid. Why not tell your massage therapist, your Crossfit buddies or your local UPS Store owner what you do for a living? You’d be surprised at how often people whom you think would never be interested in your business actually know someone who needs what you’ve got. Margit Crane, ADHD Coach and co-founder of Good Enough Parenting threw a fit with a restaurant and the owner called to apologize. After talking a bit, he hired her to be an ADHD Coach for his family
  5. Personal business transactions: Selling your house. Buying a car. Renting event space for your teen’s graduation party. Why not talk up your business to someone with whom you are already engaging in contracts? @ywpresidente, CEO of social networking start-up hub site, YourWorld.me  tweeted me that he turned the guy across the closing table for his house into one of his best clients.
  6. Vacation: While we often let our hair down on vacation and try to do as much as we can to unplug from our work, there are times when an unexpected opening may present itself. Be prepared – and make sure you are always keeping your personal brand in mind, even when “off the clock.” Kelsey Foster, a dating coach and author, found a new client while dancing with her cousin and a Michael Jackson impersonator in Vegas at 4 a.m.  Some people came over the chat with her and – boom – she gained a new client.
  7. Random bump-in: Publicity expert Nancy Juetten had a chance meeting with someone she had worked with before at a natural foods market.  After catching up, she said, “Call me next week to chat about a project” and offered her card. Nancy followed up, and they worked together for several years. ALWAYS remember to follow up!
  8. Volunteer committees: Writer Tina Christiansen worked on a convention committee for a car club. The committee chair was also president of a company and, after getting to know each other, they hired Tina and became her very first client.

If you believe in what you do and why you do it, client/customer opportunities are everywhere. Be prepared! (Tweet!)

Where have you unexpectedly met a future partner, client or customer? Got a crazy story to share about how this came about? Please share in the Comments!

Face forward. Eyes on the road. The one rule you should never forget when chasing your dream.

Years ago, I got into a car accident on Virginia’s George Washington Parkway, just outside of D.C. Morning traffic crawled along on this gorgeous bypass road that runs alongside the Potomac River. I was happily headed to my gig as a Marketing Manager at Discovery Networks (yes, I used to get to put on marketing events for The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC – before TLC turned into trashy reality programming….loved it.) Glancing down to tweak the radio, I only took my eyes off the road for a second, but it was enough to miss the guy two cars in front of me stopping short. I jammed my foot on the brake  – WHAM! – slamming into the car in front of me.

The responsible culprit – the car two cars up – disappeared. My hood was slightly crunched and something was dripping from the engine, making the car undriveable. Thank God traffic had been moving so slowly at the time. The police officer was sympathetic to my plight when he heard what happened, and it ached him to say this but…

“Sorry. I have to cite you. You rear-ended her, even though she slammed on the brakes because of that other car. Her responsibility was the car in front of her which she didn’t hit. But you did hit her, so unfortunately, you’re the one at fault.”

I get it. We all learn in driving school about the two-car (or is it three? See, I forget…) distance rule: You are responsible for leaving the appropriate stopping distance between yourself and the car in front of you so that if they do slam on the brakes, you can avoid an accident.

Kind of a powerful metaphor, don’t you think?

You are responsible for what’s in front of you, not what’s behind you. (Tweet!)

You can’t change the past so stop cursing that horrible old boss, lamenting that start-up you passed up that made everyone gazillionaires, fretting over whether you should have taken that course, attended that event or invested in that opportunity. Interpersonally, stop dwelling on who’s nipping at your heels, what other people think about what you do or who’s more successful than you.

It’s done. Face forward. Eyes on the road. All of that nonsense is their business. Not yours. (Tweet!)

What are you responsible for now? Only your goals, your forward-momentum from this point on. Forget the distractions. Stop looking back.

God is clever. There’s a reason he didn’t put eyes in the back of our heads. (Tweet!)

Photo credit: epsos.de on Flickr

What one event, opportunity or insecurity will you let go of today to keep your eyes on the prize? Please state your intention out loud and share in the Comments!

 

Lights, Camera, Action! 10 posts on marketing lessons from your favorite movies

We all love a good movie. When the perfect plot, setting, dialogue and characters combine with just the right mix of drama, humor and conflict, alchemy takes place and the film magically never leaves you.

There’s a lot we can learn about business and marketing if we study films themselves, as well as the promotional buzz that often accompanies them. Whether you see a big studio blockbuster with publicity tie-ins and product placement, or witness the genius of a quiet groundswell that builds for a beautiful indie film, you can learn a lot if you study and apply many of the same principles to your own business. I often get great ideas from innovative efforts that filmmakers make to get people to notice and talk about their art.

You must agree because one of my most popular posts has been the 4 business lessons you can learn from James Bond in Skyfall

In honor of my impeding sabbatical to take a summer acting program with San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, enjoy this link round up of ten blog posts that  show us what movies can teach us about marketing and business.

  1. Inc.com, Learning Business from the Big Screen
  2. Entrepreneur.com, 4 Business Lessons from Quentin Tarantino Movies by Lindsay LaVine
  3. BusinessZone, 10 Great Movies and the Business Lessons They Teach Us by Lucie Mitchell
  4. Eloqua, Modern Marketing Lessons From The Godfather  by Amanda Batista
  5. Marketo, 5 Marketing Lessons from Spinal Tap by Jason Miller
  6. David Amerland, Four Marketing Lessons Taught by Skyfall
  7. Trendslide, 5 Marketing Lessons From The Dark Knight Rises by Jeffrey Vocell
  8. Sparksheet, Marketing Lessons from The Hunger Games  by Amanda DiSilvestro
  9. Covalent Marketing, Marketing Lessons from 2013 Oscar Nominees by Debbie Rosenfeld
  10. Likeable Media, Marketing Lessons From The Year’s Top Films by Jenna Lebel

Which of your favorite movie/business metaphors would you like to see? Which movies have taught you a bit about the world of marketing, promotion and business? Please share in the Comments!

 

8 must-read blogs to boost your business & brand

There’re waaaaayyyyy more than 31 blog and newsletter flavors out there, tempting readers with deliciously satisfying business and marketing wisdom. I don’t have to tell you – you’re reading one right now (which I hope is one of your faves).

But I’m often asked which are the tastiest ones I follow that help me with my own business and brand. So today for you, I’ve rustled up my top 8 blog and newsletter picks that I allow to invade my own inbox so you can check them out and see which ones will turbo-boost your brand, business or life, in no particular order:

  • Convince and Convert: This daily dose of smart and sophisticated social media news goes beyond mere opinion or playfulness. Jay Baer is one of my favorite people whom I’ve never met and he bills himself as a “hype-free” social media expert, which he is. He showcases interviews, guest posts, reports, case studies and the latest on how companies big and small are connecting with their customers, measuring success and using social media to grow their brand – and their sales. I even get something out of the studies and stories he shares about businesses much larger than mine, because it reveals the latest tools and trends. This is a guy with whom I could sit and have a beer (plus, he lives in Bloomington, Indiana, home of my alm mater IU, so I know he’s good people) – and he’s the real deal when it comes to dropping some knowledge bombs.
  • Heinz Marketing: Matt Heinz is a sales and customer relationship demon. He works with companies on sales enablement, lead generation, and customer relationships to accelerate sales and revenue growth. His blog, Matt on Marketing, is full of practical insights and I also subscribe to his newsletter (one of the few which I do).  Plus, I know Matt personally and he’s a sharp, nice guy to boot.
  • Savvy Sexy Social: Amy Schmittauer is a bubbly, snarky, hilarious online marketing princess who creates fun and informative videos for entrepreneurs and small businesses on how to build a strong online presence. Her videos are full of practical, easy to follow tips to make sense of doing business online – including advice on media outreach, content creation, and editorial planning. Amy is a video content creator working with brands to develop interesting informational vlogs (or “video blogs”) to share with their audience. and she walks her talk: delivering her own engaging and powerful advice in bite-sized video chunks. If you want to sell online without feeling slimy (if you’re part of my community, I pray that’s a “yes”), check her out.
  • Ali Rittenhouse: Ali’s an online business coach and trainer, helping women entrepreneurs build a digital emprire from their own laptop, just like she did. She demystifies tech and helps entrepreneurs embrace it to build their brand, business and revenue. As an “online enthusiast and digital diva,” she’s even taught me a few quick tricks on how to make my website look even better through her many free training videos.
  • Jamie Living: OK, while this is less about business building per se, Jamie Greenwood Dougherty helps rockstars on a mission get their body on board to create the life and business they want. Her content is all about taking better care of your physical and emotional needs so you can accomplish your most ambitious goals. YOU are your business’ most important asset and Jamie never lets you forget it.  You won’t get very far taking care of customers/clients if you can’t take care of yourself and Jamie’s sassy advice has even helped me and my husband improve our game and tackle more challenges with more energy. Her humor and passion shine through every blog post, and her emails are like little presents in my inbox.
  • Alexandra Franzen: I first worked with Alexandra a few years ago on some of my clients – as well as my own brand messaging – and was awed by her wordsmithing wizardry. A writer by trade, Alexandra is now a sherpa of self-expression and her following is huge (and well-deserved). Her weekly emails are like powerful poetry, full of musings to improve your messaging, work relationships, and self-confidence. All without being too woo-woo or preachy. I always score at least one wisdom-filled nugget from her weekly posts that I can immediately apply to my business (and my life). And (squeal!) we finally get to meet in person this May. Alexandra is “soul food” personifed.
  • CRAVE: Looking for a dose of entrepreneurial wisdom and a network of stylish business women right in your own city? CRAVE’s got you covered. You can sign up for your city’s newsletter and discover events, workshops and role models right in your own backyard. Offering business resources, advice and tips, the CRAVE newsletter includes guest posts from entrepreneurs who are out there, making things happen. Melody Biringer, CRAVE’s queen bee, is a dear friend devoted to promoting women-owned  businesses, as well as a serial entrepreneur in her own right, having started at least 23 businesses….and counting.
  • Melissa Cassera: Melissa turns business owners and entrepreneurs into PR rockstars – and she has a blast doing it. This woman knows PR like the back of her hand and is full of great advice to demystify media and make your brand a star. I recently met Melissa personally and besides having our Italian heritage and love for acting in common, you immediately feel her passion for business shining through. She preaches that you need to love your business if you want to get the attention of others – and the press. No one is more passionate about your business than you are and she gives great DIY advice for how to score with the press, sell yourself and build your brand.

Photo credit: Timtak on Flickr

Tweet the love! 8 must-read blogs to boost your business & brand via @redslice http://bit.ly/XPOR6O

Your turn: What do you read as a go-to blog/newsletter for business and brand advice? Besides moi, of course! Please share in the Comments and include a link for all of us so we can get some love.

How to brand your brick and mortar business

If you are fortunate enough to own a sweet little boutique on Main Street or a bustling restaurant along the wharf or a funky pet store in the city’s hippest arts district, I have to admit my jealousy. Brand is just as important to service- providers that survive on a laptop as it is for physical businesses. But there are oodles of possibility for boosting your brand when you have a tangible location to decorate, staff and gather your tribe.

Here are 9 ways you can boost the brand of your brick and mortar business:

  1. Build your online community – and then gather them together for a Fans Only event: Whether you host an exclusive wine and cheese Tweet-Up or invite Instagram followers to a seasonal sale, use your space to host real-life events to not only treat your loyal fans like royalty but to create memories and connections rooted in your physical store. Nothing endears people to your brand more than remembering a good time they had making new friends that was all because of you.
  2. Decorate with intent: While many of us only have websites as our main customer storefront, you are lucky. You have a whole physical space in which to convey your brand in a way customers can see, feel, smell, hear and taste. Carry your visual identity into the store with paint colors, signage in your official fonts, and brand imagery throughout. Trying to create a fresh, airy, calm brand vibe? Lay out your store in a similar way. Stock merchandise and create a floor plan that delivers the brand promise to your community in a real, live way. Choose appropriate music and even lighting schemes and scents. If you can, choose a location that extends your brand. If you’re all about being hip and funky, can you rent renovated warehouse space with brick walls or exposed steel beams? If you’re all about adorable, frilly and cute, can you find an old Victorian and give it a fresh coat of lively colors, inside and out?
  3. Collaborate with “The Enemy:” Befriend competitors or neighboring businesses and exponentially reap more rewards for everyone. Can you host a sidewalk sale with all the businesses on your street, share expenses for some entertainment and ads, and draw more foot traffic for everyone? Can you partner with complementary businesses to offer a “crawl” of some sort that take people from place to place as one package deal, like a food tour or yarn crawl (something I recently learned small local yarn shops do). By joining forces, you can do something bigger than any of you could do alone – and not only create more category awareness as a whole but reach a heck of a lot more people. And this collaboration will only spark amazing brand goodwill in the eyes of all customers involved.
  4. Support a cause: Do you love animals? Support a local food bank? Contribute to the fight against cancer? Partner with a local non-profit and host a charitable event at your location. You can offer 10% of all net sales to the charity for the night or ask customers to bring a canned good to get $5 off their purchase. Not only is it brand magic (and good karma) to give back and align with a worthy cause (especially one that compliments your brand, like a pet store hosting a mobile animal adoption event or a women’s boutique raising money for breast cancer), it can attract new customers and perhaps garner you some killer press.
  5. Sponsor targeted events: If you’re an athletic apparel store, sponsor the city’s annual 10K Holiday Run. If you’re a pet photographer with a lovely studio, contribute a photo session package to the Humane Society’s fundraising auction. If you’re a spa, sponsor a local women business owners’ luncheon. Similar to #4, this involves going out into the community to support a worthy cause or event related to your target market, rather than bringing people to you. And you can often provide a goodie bag item or some other tchotchke that gives people a reason to visit your location when the event is over: a discount, a free sample, an exclusive invitation.
  6. Offer live classes and educational events: You’re lucky enough to have a space so use it. Just like you promote valuable educational content on your blog, you can also give people a live experience. If you’re a yarn store, offer Knitting 101 for Beginners. If you’re a pet store, conduct a seminar on proper dog and cat dental care. If you’re a book store, bring in a local business book or cookbook author to present a mini-seminar. If you’re a hair salon, ask one of your product reps to educate on the benefits and proper usage of some of their most popular products. Offer attendance incentives, serve some nice appys and beverages and keep the selling soft. Nothing endears your brand more to people than when you give them something useful. They will remember.
  7. Develop a signature touch: OK, so the Tiffany blue color is taken, but what little touch of class can you add that will become your brand signature and delight customers? A local coffee shop places a single chocolate-covered espresso bean on the lid of every drink. Totally unexpected, totally cool. A home décor store wraps your purchased items tissue paper enclosed with a delicate raffia ribbon. Felt like a gift to yourself every time. Examine your business from every customer angle: Can you do something with the packaging, check-out process or even in-store displays that can become a brand differentiator for you? Maybe all your shelves are a unique recycled wood, maybe your hangers are all purple velvet? Get creative.
  8. Hire right: With the unique ability to convey your brand in the physical world comes great responsibility. Just one negative experience in your shop with an employee will ruining your brand forever – and with social media, you don’t want to take the chance of that one unhappy person influencing thousands. Hire good brand ambassadors. Will they support your brand values and leave the right brand impression on customers each and every time? Do they treat people who don’t buy on a visit just as well as the treat the ones who do? Just one employee has the ability to make or break your brand, since that one person represents your entire business to the customer at that moment. Hire people you know will live out the brand when they pick up the phone, turn around a disappointed client or ring up the next person at checkout.
  9. Remove all barriers to purchase: This sounds obvious but I’m constantly shocked by how many times small businesses get this wrong. Make it as easy and seamless as possible for someone to buy from you. This experience will make or break your brand. This means accepting cash AND credit cards (sorry folks, cost of doing business), investing in a really great and easy-for-employees-to-use POS system to expedite checkout. Clearly labeling all items with the right SKU’s. Posting the right pricing information near the product (don’t make me guess). Making sure you staff well enough so people don’t wait forever in line and change their minds because it’s too much hassle. I hate when I’m ready to buy my stuff and the cashier has disappeared for a spell. Ensure your staff is trained well so they can truly serve the customer and are not just some hired monkeys scanning a bar code. I’m always uber-impressed with bike shops. My husband is a cyclist, so we’ve been to many and we never fail to find that any staff person we may grab is super passionate and knowledgeable about cycling. They attract the right people, invest in training and ensure there is no reason for the customer to leave without exactly what they are looking for, unless they don’t happen to carry it. And if there’s ever a wait, a staff member will always drop whatever they are doing to assist in almost every bike store I’ve seen. That’s quality.

If you have a brick and mortar business, how have you branded yourself? What has worked for you or been less successful? Do any businesses you love have a signature touch? Please share your wisdom in the Comments!

3 tips for business success on – and off – the golf course

Sure, golf and business go together like peas and carrots. And today, more and more women are taking the game by storm for business and for pleasure. No longer the domain of rich white men and plaid pants (cue joyful montage to Caddyshack), the game is changing to be more inclusive, stylish and accessible. My friend and past client Elizabeth Noblitt, is the fashion stylist and founder of Shi Shi Putter, the premiere online resource for women golfers who play like their style depends on it—on & off the golf course.

Today she shares a guest post on 3 ways to ace your business performance on the golf course. But methinks you could apply these lessons off the course as well: 

Closing deals on the golf course is a main objective for most business people who play the game.  Just like the beginning to any relationship, golf is about compatibility.  You are spending five hours with someone to see if you like them, trust them, and want to invest in them.  It could be the longest date of your life, depending on how it goes.  Here are three tips to make sure you ace it.

Be on Your Best Behavior.

In addition to the official rules of golf (of which there are hundreds), there is also an unwritten code of conduct, the basis of which is respect.  Be courteous to those in your foursome and those playing around you.  If you aren’t sure ask a friend who golfs or get a lesson on etiquette before you play.  Here is a great video with a few basics.

Be Stylish. 

You don’t have to be Tom Ford stylish, but don’t show up wrinkled like you just rolled out of bed.  Call the club ahead of time to learn what their dress code is; they are more than happy to help.  While following their rules is important, I think it’s more important to be yourself and not forget your own style.  (Tweet this!) If polos make you look boxy, don’t wear them; find a different collared shirt.  Being successful depends a lot on confidence and it’s hard to rock it when you feel like a dork.

(Extra tip:  When you are purchasing new golf clothes, be sure to try them on for fit.   Take a practice swing and bend down to see how the garments fit in those situations.  You don’t want to be water cooler talk the next day because you shared a little too much skin on the golf course.)

Have Fun. 

In a nutshell, be the person your associates and clients want to play with again.

About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Noblitt is an avid golfer, seasoned event marketing professional and fashion stylist. She founded Shi Shi Putter in 2009 to redefine the game of golf, with a confident blend of beauty, grace and fun. If you would like 1:1 help to look and feel your best on the golf course (and on the street), email Elizabeth at elizabeth@shishiputter.com. Follow her @shishiputter

Your turn: What tips do you have for mixing business with your favorite pastime, be it golf, cocktailing or tennis? Do you close deals or build relationships this way? Please share in the Comments!