i thought this might be a nice subject.....
since staying open and viable is our goal...... i definitely want this to keep on working....
and we can all look around snd see lots of shops new and old closing up their doors....so much is working against us small shops...we have competition from internet, big box stores, the companies we buy from...grrr,,,,ebay ...etc etc... ....our store has survived thru all kinds of outside and inside problems.......including the imploding of the antique business.....and being in a really poor state in a crappy economy....we aCTUALLY MAKE MONEY HERE!!! YAY!!! and wish we had a way to make even more or help other stores make more with whaT WE WHOLESALE.... ANYWAY heres how i think we did it...and are still doing it...
``````in a nutshell heres our recipe
try and give a good deal/value/price to your customers...thats probably why they come back and thats why they give you good buzz...its not that we are cheap or bottom feeding...but most of what we sell is really worth the money ..
pay attention to your customers....if you have something for a long time that means they didnt like it....try not to bore your customers....or have things they like that they cant afford...or what they just saw in hobby lobby....
if i see a lotof interested in something i go for it!!!
if i really like something and they dont i just have to get rid of it and move on...
be timely.....try and have what they are looking for at the time....garden items in spring, pumpkins in fall etc etc, plasma tv stands for their living rooms..computer desks for their computers...and a fun christmas season in the early early fall..
bloom where you are planted....consider the circle around your store and the people in it who might consider buying from you...i call this my target customers...for me its homeowners...adventurous, fashionable trendy, outside the box people who love their homes and want to make them just right....i love the ones without budgets!!!! who can go wild on a whim.... but i really depend on the big middle income group of people too...
bloom where you are planted....consider the circle around your store and the people in it who might consider buying from you...i call this my target customers...for me its homeowners...adventurous, fashionable trendy, outside the box people who love their homes and want to make them just right....i love the ones without budgets!!!! who can go wild on a whim.... but i really depend on the big middle income group of people too...
if i really got interested in say nautical ...well that would be bad and probably a waste of time ......im in corn country...so i have to keep that in mind too...
go a little wild and unexpected and outside the box......the great buyers out there are very jaded and can shop anywhere...so you need to have something to wow them a little....when possible...our customers know its never the same here...always something different.... when they walk up to the door they see a 24 ft robot...with a baby robot hanging on.... that is kind of a sign that they arent walking into a hallmark!!!!
inside i have nice furniture but also fun stuff...like a rolling antique casket rack...aka a church truck!!!
just say no....dont get tied up in custom orders, layaways, or giving credit....... so many reasons and ways to go bad on this.... i realize the modern person is used to llbean and zappos...i cant do that speed or accuracy...im very happy to be as is where is and with everything either sold and paid for or for sale...makes my life easier...
do the math....how much do you have to sell to make what you want to make?....do you have the inventory to achieve this?
build it and they will come....doesnt work...see my very cool steampunk signs.they are great imho..but not selling here...they just dont fit...we need to have something they want and need....i like funky hand made furniture from the 1870s... i make my best money on painted black furniture from the 1930s...i cant go where my real taste is....well i could if i didnt need to make a living.....
i hear a lot of internet talk about doing your thing and getting people to find you...thats really hard for brick and mortar.... its ok if they are really out there...too often they arent ....
my idea is usually more like figuring out what the neat adventurous buyers are wanting now.... we are getting so many young families in.....they like our prices and many have come in with their moms when they were little...so my job is to figure out what they think is cool... what they want in their houses
my idea is usually more like figuring out what the neat adventurous buyers are wanting now.... we are getting so many young families in.....they like our prices and many have come in with their moms when they were little...so my job is to figure out what they think is cool... what they want in their houses
build on what works....dont try and educate your customers...get educated on them.... they dont have to GET YOU...YOU HAVE TO get them....
be known for something.... for us its huge inventory and all the cool rehabbed and recycled things.... we stand out in that way.... why would someone drive an hour to see you? ..then, if you are lucky enough to find something they like and you are good at....GO WHOLE HOG
the safest place is good quality and style at a reasonable price..upscale style and a midscale price....... that is a winning situation...especially in our area...but believe me rich people like good quality at a reasonable price too.....
big events..big repeating events...ours are major and crucial to our years numbers..... each one of the 4 has a theme....its about the same every year....and our hope is always that its interesting enough to bring in the customers..... last weekend we had about 900 people thru.....
use that database....
big events..big repeating events...ours are major and crucial to our years numbers..... each one of the 4 has a theme....its about the same every year....and our hope is always that its interesting enough to bring in the customers..... last weekend we had about 900 people thru.....
use that database....
work work work.....improve all the time....make it better and better...add value to something... work on displays....
pay yourself..
find a role model.... find a store out there that is making money and study it.... country business publishes stories on successful stores sometimes....why copy a gorgeous store thats going under? doesnt make sense...i love seeing a big going store and always try and figure out how they do it......
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