Creative Shop Talk with Wendy Batten

Admin and paperwork, a necessary evil and time suck for shop owners. The thing that overwhelms us at times and we put off. Then it weighs on us.

But in this episode, I want to help free up some brain space for you and share some tips that help me stay on top of things.

As we know, tax season is here and these strategies will save you both time and money. We must make sure that things like payroll, inventory, loans, and mail are all in order and we create solid habits that will help keep us organized and reduce that overwhelm.

Build time into your schedule, go virtual with bookkeeping, have a proper system for paperwork, get organized, and more. Listen in - it will save you some headaches, time, and money.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-95/

When a business owner comes to me for help, there is usually a part of their business that is a little out of balance in one area. As we evolve, so do parts of our business.

Your business's ecosystem can very much be compared to a fish tank. I'm serious!

You start with an idea of owning a little independent shop and you begin that journey.

Everything looks pretty and shiny just like your first fish tank - a little fish swimming happily in a cute bowl. We tend to do everything meticulously, but as our business (or our fish tanks) grow, balancing the ecosystem of what needs to happen to keep the business (and the fish) thriving has to evolve too. How's that for a visual!?

But what should you focus on in order to keep your business ecosystem healthy? This episode goes over four core categories to consider that need to be balanced as we grow:

1. The Front of House - products, service, merchandising, team, etc.
2. You - your responsibilities, self-development, and your role as the CEO
3. The Business End - financial health, systems, and vision strategies
4. Marketing and Sales - the tools, strategy, and intentional planning for marketing, etc.

We must continue to keep litmus testing all the areas of our business - and keep the ecosystem in check so that we can thrive and grow in a healthy way with more ease.

When was the last time you checked in on your retail ecosystem?

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-94/

Wowing and delighting your customer, what does that actually mean? This is a follow-up, promised episode that is packed full of ideas to help give your customers an amazing experience. It's really all about making your customers feel seen and feel like a real part of our brand. So much so that they leave telling the world all about your shop! It's all about building a community of regulars who love and sing our praises.

Try to think of ways to make things in your shop a little bit more interesting, fun, and different than everybody else. It's not about discounts and sales. It's about experiences and feelings. Creating and adding value add when customers come in. There are many ways we can do this beyond the obvious. Use the existing customer data and really create a circle of awesomeness where your customers love shopping with you, leave happy, share their experience, and tell their friends. The circle just keeps going round and round. It is a feel-good marketing strategy that works. So grab your pen and let's go!

Want to continue this conversation? Join our free Rockstar Creatives Facebook group and let's chat! We will be discussing ways to wow and delight your customers in the group this week.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-93/

If you're like me and you really didn't buy into the whole morning routine thing, this is the episode for you! I just felt like I wasn't really good at it, but I eventually went from being a super squirrel brain, jump-into-work-right-away kind of business owner, to somebody who actually really enjoys a morning routine now. Why even bother, you ask?

I noticed a lot of people I admire, am coached by, and/or who achieve great things, have great morning routines. I wanted to be intentional. And that began with the start of my day. Actually, it really starts the night before. I also wanted to feel empowered. I level up not only my business every morning, but myself. My morning routine includes personal development as well. Reading, journaling, enjoying a cup of coffee without social media, moving my body, or sitting still for 10 minutes. They are all things that are now a part of the start of my day - and it's making a big difference.

I've shared this with some of my clients and it's working for them to feel more intentional, more empowered, and less chaotic.

Are you ready to choose your habits?

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-92/

Wendy and Malinda are friends who have been business partners since childhood. From event and wedding coordinators to furniture flipping in the early days, they are now melding the two passions together. Their individual strengths complement each other so beautifully and allow them to work together through the pivots and shifts they've had to make throughout the pandemic. It hasn't always been easy, but they've still found amazing success.

Wendy and Malinda have found silver linings during these times, too. One of those is the creation of an EXPERIENCE bucket (a new revenue stream). They were able to take a group of customers and travel from Southern California to Roundtop, Texas to an antique market! Brilliant!

Learn how Wendy and Malinda turned themselves into true CEO's of their business. Their focus on planning, community outreach, their creative ideas, and the confidence to follow through with those ideas have propelled their business forward! Be confident and clear with your brand!

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-91/

Are we giving our customers an EXPERIENCE? As we move into 2022, our customers are seeking to be seen. They want more ease, more connection, attention, and more relatability. They want to gather again, take workshops, and laugh together. Don't we all!?

Today's podcast episode discusses how you can customize and build loyal customers and level up some of the experiences inside your shop for your customers. Ways to really humanize your brand.

I'm not saying we should reinvent the wheel, let's optimize the things you're already doing. Find those touchpoints within your business that you can enhance. Make sure your customers are getting what they want and what you WANT them to experience.

It's time for you to be a customer of your own business so you can keep your customers loyal.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-90/

April Stroink is a Profits First expert and money coach who is passionate about helping entrepreneurs fall in love with their finances. She started out 20 years ago as a classically trained financial advisor but was simultaneously developing her financial practice and working with her husband to run their large specialty outdoor gear retail business. She opens up about the classic mistakes they made during that time - chasing top-line revenue, and the problems that creates.

Mindset and money go hand in hand. We tend to get so attached to our business that we see the sales, but because we're so emotionally wrapped up in it, we don't want to see the TRUE numbers. It's so important to have people on your team that are not emotionally attached so we can look at our business in a real way.

You'll love April, who happens to be MY Profits First coach too, listen in and share your feedback.

What is your money mindset? Do your habits and mindset align with your future?

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-89/

This series is not just to share the highlight reel of real retailers' success, but also the ups and downs as retailers grow into their confidence, CEO role to see that success. It is a journey.

Meet Melanie Kolb. Melanie's shop owner journey is a remarkable one. Her business growth and her love for her customers has grown since day one due to her hard work, following her dream, and pushing through the hard things with determination. Like many, Melanie started out as a hobby, progressed to booths and soon grew to vintage pop-up markets. But she wanted to stop traveling and create a destination shop. She made a pivotal decision to set up shop on her beautiful farm in Alabama, donned her CEO hat and set up marketing strategies to attract her customers to her farm, using things like Facebook Lives selling her french farmhouse decor.

We discuss fear of failure, reverse engineering, keeping customers happy, planning, and knowing your financial numbers. All CEO decisions that helped Cedar Grove Farms become the destination shop that it is today. As Melanie said, "No one's expecting us to be perfect except ourselves. If we let that go, we're a lot happier. Just be consistent, do what you love, love on your customers, and everybody's happy."

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-88/

This series is not just to share the highlight reel of real retailers' success, but also the ups and downs as retailers grow into their confidence, CEO role to see that success. It is a journey.

Meet Stacey Allgood. Stacey didn't start out wanting a business (an accidental entrepreneur) she quickly realized that her love of people helped her to significantly grow and find her niche. She has grown and morphed from a tiny space to her own brand new building - she's successfully selling creative kits, door decor, gifts and more! Folks can come in and paint their own pottery/canvases as well as host parties. And through all the ups and downs of her journey, she was able to consistently grow her customer base and make real CEO business decisions.

Since starting her business in 2012, she is Better Than Ever (pun intended!) And that's all due to her striving to always learn and wear that CEO hat. Making smart, revenue generating decisions. Decisions that include using her space wisely to create an actual event center and focusing on what's missing in her community., paying attention to business foundations, the numbers and more - which quite frankly - Stacey admits she didn't want to do. There's no specific formula, but there are business foundations for all of this, and big conversations need to be had. Conversations and education about your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA), foot traffic, inventory, money per square foot, and the backend financial management.

Learning the building blocks of her business and knowing what truly lights her up has given Stacey the confidence to make those crucial CEO decisions - to see more profits, more success - on her terms. Listen in for some great business nuggets...

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-86/

Is your business running you or are you running your business? Do you know there is more potential for success but you don't know how to get there? Headed to burnout trying to figure it all out?

Making business decisions on how you want your business to run is in your control. In this last episode of Season 2 of the Creative Shop Talk podcast, I'm sharing my story of burnout, how I see the pattern repeated with many retailers, and 5 ways you can fast track past mistakes and take full control.

I almost hit that wall. Things were going well, but it was busy and I always knew there was more potential. I knew I was failing to reach said potential. I also knew I shouldn't be this tired. So what was I missing? It wasn't until my daughter told me that she was moving to New Zealand that I knew I needed to make a change. I needed things to stop being so hard, but I didn't know how.

So I took control. I made a choice based on how I wanted my lifestyle and business to look.

There is SO MUCH POTENTIAL for your business to thrive with more ease.

Here are five mistakes I kept making and I see time and time again, and a way to fast track past them.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-86/