Creative Shop Talk with Wendy Batten

Today we are sharing strategy on adding Shopify or ecommerce to your brick and mortar with my friend and Shopify expert Susan Bradley of The Social Sales Girls! We will talk about tips and tricks on how to build an ecommerce Shopify site and find success.

Susan had her own brick-and-mortar retail business in 1990 and sold her small chain of stores in 2010. A year later, she bought a little ecommerce company called We Squeak where most of the sales were wholesale to brick and mortar retail boutiques. She quickly found herself close to bankruptcy and realized in order to make a sustainable business, she needed more online sales.

In 2018, though, after she sold We Squeak, she created a course and then created her successful ecommerce business. Believe it or not, Susan is an expert coach and shares her knowledge about the ins and outs of Shopify on her weekly podcast, The Roadmap to 50K.

She's absolutely wonderful at sharing information regarding the CEO side of Shopify - the metrics and the measuring. It's truly where the ecommerce magic happens!

We chat about the fact that you can't just build a pretty website and hope they come. We also chat about how foot traffic is different for brick and mortar vs ecommerce. They require two different types of marketing and strategy. Understanding this key difference is what will help you see success if you want to add this additional stream to your retail business.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-75/

Here's two questions I get asked all the time:

1. How big does my audience need to be to see profits in my shop?
2. What should I be posting on social media to get the most people I can to visit my website?

We don't have to have a million people following us in order to be successful. We just need the RIGHT people following us.

It's all about the quality of your AUDIENCE. Your people, the buyers, your customers, your community. In today's episode, we will discuss a few ways that we can maximize profits, impact, and joy with the right size audience and the right people.

We discuss the following steps you can take:

• You must know what you want to be known for (Retail marketing 101) - You can find more about this in my Foot Traffic Made Simple masterclass!
• You need to know WHO you are serving and why YOU are the person for them. You can't be everything to everybody.
• Know how to talk TO your audience, not AT them, by creating content that invites them into your world.
• Build your small but mighty fanbase by loving on your people, sharing and caring and they will return that and become your raving fans who will support you.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-74/

A replay from Episode #58 for our Encore Series this month! We are featuring some of our most popular and most downloaded podcasts for this round and you won't want to miss them! They are extremely relevant as you are planning for the holidays. It's important to level up and become that CEO right now. Enjoy!

I know…nobody wants to talk retail math and numbers. I get it. There are so many numbers we feel like we should be looking at within our business like profit and loss, balance sheets, etc, etc, etc. and we don't quite know where to start. In this episode, I'm sharing three major (but simple) metrics that you'll want to be able to rattle off at the drop of a hat! These are numbers that I didn't even know existed when I first started running my shop. My shop was busy, we were making money… but I honestly had no clue where it was going. Or how to use these numbers to increase sales. Scary. Do you know your KPI – Key Performance Indicators? They will help you PLAN FOR PROFITS and growth!

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-73/

A replay from Episode #50 for our Encore Series this month! We are featuring some of our most popular and most downloaded podcasts for this round and you won't want to miss them! They are extremely relevant as you are planning for the holidays. It's important to level up and become that CEO right now. Enjoy!

One question I received from a coaching client is, "What's coming for retail, and how can I be ready?" The answer is simple: Get ready! Don't be complacent, take action on the momentum you may have built. Shore up the gaps, get confident and strong in the areas you may feel that you have weak links. There's so much hope for retail. Let's congratulate ourselves for getting where we are and let's get ready for what's coming!

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-72/

A replay from Episode #48 for our Encore Series this month! We are featuring some of our most popular and most downloaded podcasts for this round and you won't want to miss them! They are extremely relevant as you are planning for the holidays. It's important to level up and become that CEO right now. Enjoy! Are you constantly asking yourself, where did the day go? Or, why time runs so fast? Believe it or not, we are bombarded by so many time wasters in our day-to-day business that we don't realize the impact it can generate in our lives. Between emails, text messages, calls, social media notifications, and even our colleagues, we're constantly battered with potential time-wasters. Eliminating all the distractions at the office can have a positive impact on your productivity, output, and mental wellbeing. Don't get me wrong, my friends, distractions happen but we can reduce them.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-71/

A replay from Episode #2 for our Encore Series this month! We are featuring some of our most popular and most downloaded podcasts for this round and you won't want to miss them! They are extremely relevant as you are planning for the holidays. It's important to level up and become that CEO right now. Enjoy! Before you roll your eyes at this episode title. Know that I don't mean corporate, stuffy, suited CEO….I mean head honcho, the queen bee, the chief creative, the VISIONARY of your biz, etc. I mean the person in control of your business. The boss. Take a minute to think about why you started your retail business. Do you remember your original business dream? Are you living that dream? Your dream can get lost in the daily grind of doing ALL THE THINGS in your shop. I'd love for you to change your thinking and take the small steps to become the Creative CEO of your business. You're not just an employee. Your dream was not just to create a job for yourself. You've got to take control. This CEO mind shift doesn't come overnight. You'll want to practice it.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-70/

Isn't it flattering and exciting when customers make a day around visiting your shop!? Doesn't it make you a little teary when people make visiting your shop a special event!? Today we're talking about how to build that business that attracts all of the customers for all the right reasons.

It's time to widen the net and become THE destination shop!

We have the opportunity to not just sell things, but truly create an experience for people and make them feel something. And this should be at the top of your list, and in order to make it happen, you have to know your ideal customer.

We discuss so many ideas in this episode on HOW you can get your customers excited to come in and experience your shop. Whether you own a bookstore, a vintage shop, a home decor store, a jewelry store, or a paint store - we've got you covered.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-69/

My most requested guest - Marian Parsons is on the podcast today!

Business owner, artist, blogger, creative, author, painter, booth and market seller, podcast host, product developer, paint line owner, business mentor - and so much more. We chat about her business journey and how she has evolved and grown her beautiful business, staying creative, and so much more.

In 2008, Marian was a mom of a four-month-old and a two-year-old, had no money or experience in running a business, but her family needed to make some extra money. So she began decorative furniture painting and painting murals in local homes.

Realizing that this wasn't all that she wanted to do, Marian quickly evolved, started a blog, and re-branded herself as a business focusing on antiques, home decor, and painting. She became a vendor at the Lucketts Store and had a milk paint line which made her feel as though she was flying by the seat of her pants. All while being a sponge and learning from the amazing people she surrounded herself with.

Yet another Accidental Entrepreneur…

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-68/

Get inspired by another member of the Retailer's Inner Circle whom we are talking to today, Jane Bellante of Morning Dew Creations! It's always so helpful to hear how others manage and run their business.

In Jane's own words, her business journey is kind of crazy! (I love that though, because we are all unique in our business journey)

She started making jewelry in her early twenties, had children, went back to get her teaching degree, all while painting custom furniture pieces on the side. Burnout set in quickly. And soon, as we like to say, Jane became an accidental entrepreneur!

She previously owned a 3,000 square foot shop and had to close due to covid. But this pause gave her newfound energy and motivation. So she moved all of her products online and launched mixed media kits with all the ingredients needed to create. She would then hop on a Zoom call so they could make it together.

Through all of her planning and decision-making, Jane shifted again. She now owns a 750 square foot shop and it's doing so well because of the community she has built. Jane SHOWS UP for her customers and her love of teaching shines through.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-67/

In this series, I want to introduce you to some of my coaching clients inside the Retailer's Inner Circle and hear how their retail journeys evolve and how they are seeing success. We learn so much from hearing how others manage and run their business.

Enjoy hearing from Virginia Warner of Tazewell Co. Mercantile.

Believe it or not, Virginia took over her current shop from her daughter! At first her daughter was selling only locally resourced items. Virginia is a history buff and was much more interested in collecting! Currently, her revenue streams (or, as we call them in the Inner Circle, revenue buckets) are from the selling of antiques, food baskets, and in-person, artistic workshops.

Everything she does is personal and has such a special touch!

Of course, everything changed during covid and Virginia had to make a 'sanity decision', a decision that kept her business going but wasn't for the long term.

How did she pivot and what did she pursue to create yet another revenue bucket during these dark times? Listen in and see how she tapped into a source she loved.

Full show notes at https://wendybatten.com/episode-66/