Gwen Blake | Bio

With a marketing career spanning 17 years, Gwen has managed packaging design projects for some of Australia’s best-known supermarket brands. she has also helped many entrepreneurs establish credible brands and launch successful products.

Gwen and the talented team at boxer & co. are on a mission to raise the bar of Australian packaging design, one brand at a time.

What you will learn in this episode:

* Learn more about BOXER & CO

* What is a brand strategy?

* When it comes to packaging you will learn what you should be looking for from you suppliers

* How much packaging is important to sell the product

Romance consumers purchasing our products
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* How much design of the package is important for the product?

* How to expend your business in more than one area

* Can I create my own package?

You can learn many thing from you competitors
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Get Gwen’s Design Checklist

LINKS:

Gwen’s website

Gwen’s book Packaging a punch!

When it comes to advertising, does your hand subconsciously grab your purse, and your mind conjure up big invoices and a not knowing where or what you should try first?

Well, today, I’ll let you in on a little secret – This simple place you probably haven’t thought of advertising, that won’t cost you any money.

If you’ve managed to overcome the hard part, the getting people into your bricks and mortar or even your online store, then there’s a good chance the person is already a potential purchaser.

So how much advertising once they arrived, do you actually do?
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Download Tips For Free Places To Advertise Your Business

Now when I talk about advertising, I don’t mean just sticking up a poster of a particular brand.

What you need to be doing, is telling the customer how your store, your service and the products you stock, can benefit them. What problems are you solving, and how should they feel, when they walk out the door with their new purchases.

Here are 5 places you probably haven’t thought of, or aren’t using effectively, to advertise in your own store.

1. Your shop windows.

Seems obvious, but are you truly using them to their full potential? In addition to an eye catching display, that takes your customers on a journey, or tells them a story, do you have your opening hours, your website address, your contact details and the places you hang out on social media, all listed for potential customers to see.

Don’t underestimate how many people look at your store, just waiting for the right moment to come in.

2. On your shop counter or cash wrap.

If they’ve made it this far, they’re probably already purchasing. What extra benefit can you add on for them. Gift wrapping, a small upsell or home delivery, are just a few things that immediately pop to mind. Present your offer beautifully, so it fits in with the theme of your store.

3. Hang it from the roof.

The roof is so often under-utilised, but after your shop floor, it’s the biggest amount of space that you have. Use your real estate wisely and make the roof space work for you.

4. In the change room.

Big stores do it, so why aren’t you? Pop a nice frame inside the change room and use it to advertise on. One great option I once saw, was an extra mirror, that had an offer written on it in chalk pen. Simple and effective

5. On you receipt

Whether you hand over a paper receipt, or you email it to a customer, people will glance at their recipes to make sure the total is correct. Utilise your point of sale system to customers the message that the customer sees. hint: this is a great way to advertise in-store events

So those are just 5 places within your store, that you should be making more use of, when it comes to advertising.

This week, I’ve prepared a download with not 5, but 12 places you can advertise in your own store, both bricks and mortar stores, along with online stores.

You can grab the download over at salenaknight.com, along with a host of other free, actionable, retail biz strategies.

Amy Roche | Bio

With over 18 years experience in the appliance and retailing industry, Amy started experimenting with these SHOWS in her own store because she saw 3 alarming trends emerging;

* Every year profits were deteriorating

* She could see her showroom was underutilised (prices on-line being the same in-store and increase of online-only competitors)

* Neither the suppliers demonstrators, nor her staff were skilled up on creating experiential shows that were wrapped around products

What started out as a local area marketing campaign, quickly revealed it was not only great for customer experience, but also produced impressive sales, increased profit and a whole lot of good will with her customers.

Amy is a self confessed ‘Appliance Nerd’ and she believes that people inherently love to shop, when something cool and fun is going on. Unfortunately, we’ve trained our customers that buying appliances is a routine task, a necessity when things are broken. She believes we need to start utilising our showrooms (that we pay dearly for) and stop perpetuating the price only story.

Her book entitled, “Retail Rockstars, the 5 Game changing steps to becoming a highly profitable, memorable and locally famous retailer”, is due for release in late October 2015.

Get Amy’s Tips To Experiential Retailing – Checklist & Ideas For In-Store Experiences

What you will learn in this episode:

* What Retail Rockstars Does.

* Vanessa Van Edwards in one of the previous episode talks about how to know what people want before they open their mouth when they walk into retail store – Our today’s guest Amy compared that on her own way

* How to do a show in your retail store

Whatever your branding style is, keep to that!
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* As s retailer what do you get out of shows

* The retail store has an advertising cost – Amy tells us more about how we should be spending it

* To be a successful retailer, why you should try to open up conversation with customers

* How shows can be useful for your retail business

If you want to have great advertising plan then you have to search for target audience
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 Get Amy’s Tips To Experie...

Why you should send out a newsletter no matter how big your store & 6 things you can put in it

Do you think your store is too small for a newsletter? Have you contemplated putting one together, then thought “I don’t have anything to say”, “nothing exciting is happening in my little business”? If so, today’s episode is just for you.

Hey there, Salena from salenaknight.com and the bringing business to retail podcast, and today we’re talking all about Why you should send out a newsletter no matter how big your store & 5 things you can put in it.

The first tip is to have a reason to sign up, and this should NEVER be to save 10% on your first order. Give your peeps something they want. Solve a problem for them.  If you give them something they can use, whether it’s a free tutorial, a product FAQ or a how to video, you’ll condition them to choose on knowledge rather than price, and that can only be a good thing.

Download your 12 things you can put in your newsletter

These people have signed up because they want what you have to offer and you need to be respectful of that, you need to make a commitment to serve them up something on a regular basis, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.

Having a customer database and sending out a newsletter is a low cost way of engaging with your…
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So, what are some things you can feature in your newsletter, particularly if you are extremely seasonal.

A quiz

Use some online software to make a free quiz up. I recently put one together called “what kind of shopkeeper should you be”. It doesn’t take long, and by being business savvy, you can create an opportunity to sell at the end. Once the customer has gone through the process, highlight a product or service that would be a benefit for them.

Highlight an interview

You can do video, audio or just written interview, blog style. Interview suppliers, designers, trendsetter and even customers. People love being nosy, so give them some goss!

Do you provide a service in-store as well, such as styling advice? expand on the interview format and create a case study of how your services have helped a client.

If you don’t provide a service, create a case study in the form of a long-form product review. Get customers onboard with this by providing brand-suppled samples for customers to review.

Recipes

Recipes appeal to everyone. Even if you don’t sell food based products, work out what draws your customer to you, and use that to tailor a recipe for them. Maybe your customers are busy working mums, so you could curate 3 easy weeknight meals you can get on the table in 20 minutes. Or maybe your customers are foodies, in which case you might do a 3 course menu for Winter. This can also present opportunities to sell product, especially if you sell homewares!

A day in the life of

Create a pictorial or video journey of what a day in your store looks like. Whilst it may seem boring to you, you’d be amazed at how much customers love to see this stuff

And as an added bonus,

Tim Paige| Bio

Tim Paige is known in many circles of solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, online marketers, affiliate marketers and the like. Everyone in that world knows him as one of the kick-ass dudes bringing us LeadPages and their podcast, ConversionCast. And when you hear him talk about opt-in pages, conversions, and email tips & tricks, you’ll instantly hear the passion in his voice. He loves his work because it helps people like you do what they love most.

What you will learn in this episode:

* What is automation email conversion

* Why is it important to grow your email list

* Is actually worth the time and the money to grow the email list

Business is need to be doing to connect with the customers on a whole another level 
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* Learn 4 simple strategies to grow your email list without spending all your time on the marketing (Is that actually possible)

* Learn more about leadpages, how can leadpages helps you to get more email addresses?

* How to create perfect landing page

Your email list is something you own!
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Download Tim’s Tips To Growing Your Customer List

LINKS:

Tim Paige – Podcast Intros and Outros

LeadPages

You’ve managed to get through the holiday season, the frenzy of the sale season, and now, you’re in that post-holiday lull.

Or perhaps you’re one of those retail stores, whose trade actually drops during the holiday period. So what do you do, to make that time effective for you and your business?

Hey there, I’m Salena from salenaknight.com and the bringing business to retail podcast, and today, we’re talking all about how you can use the slow times in your business to ….

There will always be slow times in your business.  The most obvious thing to do to make this time effective, is to…

Download Tips And Ways To Grow Your Business When Retail Is Slow

1) Take a holiday, because you need to have downtime, you need to recharge. It’s super important to your mental and physical health, and let’s not forget, you are the most important part of your business. But if taking a holiday is not on your agenda, here are twelve things you can do to make the most use of this time.

2) The most effective thing that you can do is to take this time to sit down, and map out your marketing advertising and editorial calendars. Knowing where you’re headed in the coming twelve months will give you confidence and focus, and hopefully stop all those last minute rushes, confusion and aggravation that tends to come with unplanned activities

3) Check out your product descriptions on your website and update them. The google gods love you to be different, and original. If, in your haste to get products onto your site, you’ve just copied and pasted the manufacturers descriptions, now is the time to go and make them unique to your store.

Write what you love about the product, and sizes or other things that are frequently asked…
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4) Clean out your store room. Take stock of what’s in your stock room. Pull everything out, clean the shelves, vacuum all those crevices and when you’re putting everything back in, assess it’s suitability in your store. Is it time to offload a bunch of old stock? If so, I’ll pop a link to my most downloaded resource in the show notes, 9 Strategic Ways to Move Old Stock

5) Write some blog posts. If you’ve been putting off this blog post idea that I always talk about, now is the time to get it sorted. You could write a whole 6 months worth of posts over these few weeks

6) Expand your mind. Take this time to undertake a bit of professional development. Learn something new. If you need some ideas, I’ve got 2 courses that just might suit you. If you’re not up for the time and energy a course takes, try a 1 day course on how to use your camera better, or how to use a piece of software that will make your life easier

7) Clean out your “online” store room. Maybe you’re one of those people that files everything methodically. If so, skip to point 8, but if you make up the 99% of us that don’t, this is a great time to go through and sort out your digital files and documents. Whilst you’re at it, scan all those pieces of paper you have lying around and file them in your new, clean, digital system.

8) Listen to some podcasts.

Natasha Vanzetti | Bio

Natasha Vanzetti lives by the motto “Just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean we can’t create it”. As a Discovery Coach and Speaker, Natasha helps big-hearted entrepreneurs pin-point their business sweet spot. By using her innate ability to see what people can’t see for themselves, Natasha helps her clients discover where their true value lies and what’s standing in their way. The result – people feel excited & energized by their work, and have the confidence to go after what they truly want.

What you will learn in this episode:

* What does it actually mean to Discover Your Business Sweet Spot?

* How to organize your business, your workdays, and weekends.

* Discover how our guest Natasha has similar strategy and philosophy to Louise D’allura

Pay attention to what is your clear vision and clear focus
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* What do to if you don’t like specific task, to do it yourself or to give it to other who are going to love it?

* How to recognize if your job is perfect for you.

* Life decisions – how to live with them and what to say to others when you make big changes.

* Pivot – learn more from Natasha about it!

Get Natasha’s Top Tips To Working Our to Out

Giving yourself space it’s really important thing to do !
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LINKS:

Natasha’s website 

DISCOVER YOUR BUSINESS SWEET SPOT – Free webinar 

Free Video Series

3 Simple Foundation Steps

Getting Started on Periscope

 

A few weeks ago, the question came up in The Boutique Academy about being a business owner vs. buying or creating yourself a job.

So, what’s the difference? And is one better than the other?

A job versus a business.

This is a big issue many business owners face.

They open a store because they are passionate about a product, and soon realize there is more ‘paperwork’ involved in the running of the business, than there is time working in the store.

It’s not just the physical paperwork, of paying bills and ordering stock. It’s working out marketing calendars, editorial calendars, creating content, networking, updating social media, hiring people, managing staff, making sure your accounts are done and that you’re up to date with any current legislation in your field.

I have a saying, if it can’t run without you there all the time, it’s just a job.
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So, is it wrong to create yourself a job.

Well, yes and no. The answer lies within you and what you want from your business.

 

Download This Retail Biz Strategy To Work Out Your Role In Your Business

The key is to define what your role should be.

If your focus is to just work in the store, then it’s your responsibility to map you what your role is within this business of yours.

You need to get your systems, your cash flow and your own business acumen up to a level where you bring in someone else to act in the ‘CEO’ or business administrator type role.

And therein lies many small business owners decline into burnout, and eventual closure, because they are trying to be every part of the business. It’s too much.

I can tell you from experience, that working all week by yourself drains you very quickly.

You’ll be facing burnout within 18 months if you don’t have someone in-store helping you out, whether that’s on the shop floor, or in the administrator role.

As the creator of this business, it’s your responsibility to set income targets for your overheads and outgoings.

Mao that out for the year, and work out when you should be looking to hire another team member, or administrator, even if it’s on a part time basis, and add that into your projections.

Remember, You should be able to make a wage, even if you aren’t in the store – not right from day one of course, but you should have a goal for when this point should occur.

When you go on holidays, or if you get sick, someone else (and you) needs to be confident enough to run the store with your systems and processes and you should still draw a wage.

Because, you would if you worked for someone else right?

So, what is your current role in your store, and what role do you want to hold in the future?
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A few funny things  about our guest (from her website):

I’ve traveled to 69 countries so far and my aim is to see half the world. In the last 12 months alone I’ve visited 4 continents, 18 countries and 25 different cities (several more than once).

I fancy myself as a bit of a pool shark, and table tennis too and have an odd penchant for picking guys up in bars (no, literally picking them up off their feet – especially the taller and heavier). It’s a rugby lift thing….

I have New Zealand and United Kingdom passport and Canadian Permanent residency and I have bank accounts in four different countries. This year I was told I was officially a fiscal nomad – love that title.

I entered Burma illegally in 2006 and got chased out by a crazy man with a gun….

I almost got arrested in Sydney when I told security that he didn’t need to check my bag for explosives because they were strapped to my chest (yes I know stupid joke to make).

What you will learn in this episode:

* Working online, is that possible or is that the myth?

* How exactly do you create money online?

* What is freedom and adventure in your life?

If you want to be successful you have to follow your dreams
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Learn from our guest how it’s possible to travel all around the world and work your business at same time

* How much is a calendar and planning important in your business?

* How do you create freedom when you have to turn up at a job each day?

* Constantly travelling and running your business – it is physically hard?

Every day learn from other people, that could be your freedom
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Get Natalie’s “How To Create Your Painted Picture” Strategy 

LINKS:

Natalie Sisson’s website 

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

You know that feeling when someone tells you they want to buy a product you’ve just spent the last 10 minutes telling them all about the benefits and features. You think to yourself, I really should tell them about that accessory that goes with it, but, you don’t want to seem pushy.

Lets talk about when upselling is a benefit for your customer and your cash register.

Have you ever thought about the fact that upselling to your customer may actually be a benefit for them?

Before you shake your head, let me give you a couple of examples.

Say a newly expecting couple wants to buy a cot for their impending newborn.

Now, I can sell them the cot and obviously the mattress that goes with it, but in reality, I should also look and selling them 2 sets of sheets and a metres protector or 2.

Whilst the first thought that comes to mind is that I’m trying to fleece these loved up parents to be, in fact, I’m actually helping them.

When that baby sicks up in the cot in the middle of the night, do you think that couple will be cursing me, that I sold them an extra set of sheets and that mattress protector, or will they be thinking I’m so glad that helpful lady thought to tell us about needing these extra things. We never knew we’d need.

Now, it doen’s need to be a big ticket item. Perhaps it’s a belt to go with a dress, or those little sticky things you put on your shoes to stop them rubbing, when you buy a new pair of heels. Like OMG, how much do I wish I’d been upsold those when I bought my last pair of peep toe wedges! In fact, I would have even been more happier if the assistant had whipped them out of the pack and stuck them on for me before I left the store. It would have saved me a dash around the city looking for bandaids on my way to a friend’s wedding, but that’s another story.

The key is to ensure that what you’re upselling is a genuine benefit to your customer, and not…
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So how do you implement this in your store, and get your team on board?

Start with your top 5 selling products, and identify the complimentary products that would benefit the customer if they purchased together.

Download your script

For example

“Like all peep toe wedges, you can get a bit of rubbing on your big toe with these shoes. I find that these little sticky pads make life so much easier, and you won’t have to dash around looking for a store to buy bandaids on your night out. Should I pop those in for you as well”?

SOLD! Add those in, plus another set for my shoes at home.

See, you’re not hassling me to buy. You’re making my life easier, and I will truly thank you on my next evening out, wearing those shoes.

Of course, I’ve created a download for you, to help you work out a strategy to upsell without being pushy.

Hint, give this to your team, and get them to do their top 5.

You can grab it at salenaknight.com. And for more retail biz strategies, remember to subscribe to the bringing business to retail podcast.