Re: [wholesalejewelryforum:38] Shambala needs a miracle! [heur SPAMTRAP]

[Aaron Rome]

John,

 

Thought I sent this last week... sorry. Something went wrong!

 

...

 

I can give you some ambiguous advice which will probably not help much but I guess it can't hurt.

 

Think about your paradign in this way - do you have 100% market share? Have you exhausted every possible strategy that could lead to success? If not, there is something you can do to marginally improve your business, no matter what the economic climate. But it is certainly tougher in this economic climate. The trick is to try something new - probably a bunch of new things and idealy those which do not require a lot of additional financial resources.

 

1) Take advantage of our virtual website - just login to www.wholesalegemshop.com and you can set it up for free. You can send the link to customers, friends, etc and take pre-orders.

 

2) Home parties/ private shows - I have a customer in PA who totally stuns me. She has been buying $3000 in the past 2 months and is focusing on shows at businesses, hospitals, people's homes. She is going gangbusters. Now here is the thing. This is new to her. If she had been doing this 5 years, no doubt she would be complaining about how lousy business is. But her paradign is that of a new business owner with no track record so it's all gravy to her. The thing that is working for her is she is getting these parties booked and has a captive audience.

 

3) Is there another outlet you have not considered? Craft shows in the next town? Holiday fairs? Have you tried ebay? Ebay is very competitive but if you have niche there is still money to be made. 

 

4) Another skill you can exploit? Example: My business is down 50% from this time last year. Yes, it sucks! I am cutting expenses, yes, but also looking for new rev streams. I happen to know Google Adwords very well because I have spent (gulp) $100,000 of my own money on it in the past 4 years! Turns out it is a skill in high demand. So I am placing bids on www.elance.com to help others manage their adwords accounts and think this will help with supplemental income.  I am sure that given the business you are in, you have a unique skill set - how about using your store as a base and doing some other stuff off site such as group readings, consulting, business functions, bachellorette parties, birthday parties ... maybe even school programs.Focus on your skills and knowledge rather than products.

 

Anyway, there is a point here somewhere. I think I am more pragmatist than optimist. Also somewhat lazy and I know from experience that sometimes you just gotta kick yourself in the ass to get he next great idea rolling! And it sounds like the bottom line for you is that unless you have a trust fund stashed away, you are going to have to think outside the box.

 

One more suggestion. Do you run? If you do go for a long one to clear your head, that is when I get my best ideas. If not, jog a mile and see what happens :)

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Aaron

Wholesale sterling silver gemstone jewelry
www.wholesalegemshop.com