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its a bead/ glass art store. . . . the owner likes to think people will buy anything so she sells anything. . . theres everthing for 25 cent temp tattoos to 2 $1675 glass art peices. . . . she wont listen to me. plus its located next to a $1 shop! they are crazy busy all the time and we hardly have people coming in the door! Help!! i need to make her money so i can get a rasie!!

2006-12-21 05:18:50 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance Small Business

4 answers

after doing research, have an open house.

2006-12-21 05:32:08 · answer #1 · answered by nwnativeprincess 6 · 0 0

There is no guarantee that you will be able to save the business or get the owner to listen to you. There are reasons why people go into business for themselves and in a lot of cases it is so that they don't have to listen to what somebody else tells them to do.

Enough of that already. IF you were to have complete control of the situation, you should try to bring focus to the store's offerings. You've already identified that things are scattered. So, you need to focus on what the store is offering. Then, you should take a look at any competition that is out there and what they are doing. There could be direct competition like a bead store down the street or there could be indirect competition like a bead store on the internet or a jewlery store. Do an analysis of what these stores are offering in terms of selection, services, cost, etc... Try and up them one.

2006-12-21 13:29:38 · answer #2 · answered by BAM 7 · 0 0

It's hard to start a business; it's even harder to keep one open. Some of the best business ideas can falter before they get off the ground.

IDENTIFY YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE: What, exactly, is it that you sell? It's ok if a business has more than one 'thing', but if those aren't defined, people may not identify their needs with that business. Stand out in a crowd or be alone in a wilderness...you can only do one or the other.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Competition is one thing, but not being accessible to your customers is something else. Find out where you can best reach your customers and how they can reach you the easiest way possible.

STICK TO THE BASICS BEFORE YOU GO CRAZY: You can't survive the ups and downs of a business if you don't have a business plan, much less if you aren't making enough profit on your sales to cover your expenses. Every (and I do mean EVERY) item in your store has to be more than you buy it for until you have a solid customer base. After that, if you want to draw new business, you can try 2 for 1 or 10% off, but only if the overall sales are not affected by the loss in revenue.

HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER: It's not a surefire thing, but a catchy name, unique storefront, or snazzy salespeople can be the little 'oomph' you need to draw customers. Local radio stations can do on-site broadcasts from your store, or you can advertise in local circulating weeklies. People have to KNOW you are there...and they have to think you're the new/hip/cool/retro/WHATEVER you mean to be in your market.

DON'T TRY TO COMPETE WHEN YOU CAN'T WIN:
There's no point in trying to sell virtually the same item a person can get at the 1 dollar store for 3.99 in your store. Do an inventory of your store and casually check these items in your competitor. If they have it, can sell it for WAY cheaper than you can buy it, and it's not a unique brand/color/size that you can trumpet over their item, drop it. You'll have too much inventory and no way to move it (for a profit) before you know it.

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER: What is it that they want? What are they willing to pay? Where do they come from? What kind of perks/freebies/coupons get them going? How do they get to you? How old/gender/economic...the whole 9 yards. If you don't know this, you DON'T know your customer and you won't know what sells them (and sells your business).

2006-12-21 13:52:30 · answer #3 · answered by CarinaPapa 4 · 0 0

A bead shop could offer classes, that will bring people in who are interested in her products. She may even offer them offsite, a course through the community college or teh recreation department. The key for her is regular customers, she needs to develop a base.

2006-12-21 13:58:12 · answer #4 · answered by Landlord 7 · 2 0

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