Get yourself out there!
want people to find your website, blog, etc.... try this
http://www.submitdomainname.com/ or/and https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools
It is where you can submit your domain name to all search engines and all they ask is to do what I just did add their link...lol! I just tried it so I hope it works!
ta ta!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Quick tips
Not much progress yet.....
Although I am posting later in the day.. I am just thinking about the progress we have made so far..... not much. Well we havent decide on a name yet, Although I really did have a dream about a concept. I woke up the next morning and said to myself this could be it. I even conjured up a story behind it. Attention grabber is the key. Even though I have resigned from my job... I picked up alot of good things like marketing and sales. We are a team though so we must agree on something, an I know "Tiffy" has something good stored in her secret place too. For right now I have just been searching the web to see what is out there in terms of wholesalers. Computers are like crack... I can't get off! No but really I found a few good one's out there, but we are really going to have to attend some tradeshows.
Wholesalers usually make you buy in bulk.. One that I have been eyeing has 2 of each size in a package: 2sm,2m,2L.... sort of thing. Decent prices, but it all falls into what target customers we would be aiming for. That night at my kitchen table.. we had'nt come up with a business plan officially yet but we spoke about not getting too cheap like a "Forever 21" or anthing like that ...but more along the price lines of "Express". I thnk our choice in this case is quality over quantity. Our vision is style for the everyday women and that trends are really just trends! fashion is reflection of who a person is.. it is a legacy and being fashionable doesn't have to mean being trendy. I consider myself to have personal style... Once in a while a will follow a trend but only because I make it look good not the other way around. Our target market should be 20 somethings. Other options out there are dropshipping, which is basically a service where you purchase directly from a supplier and they ship the products for you...instead of placing orders and shipping from home yourself. I really haven't found any drop shippers but I think we prefer seeing the merchandise first before we send it out to our customers. Later on as inventory builds we may choose to have our inventory shipped to a fullfillment service, where it is to be considered somewhat of a storage warehouse and they ship for you instead of actually selling items from their warehouse. It's a good way to take less stress off of your hands when you get really busy with the business
Our first order of business is to get some merchandise to get a feel of what we will be dealing with so that we can move foreward. But we need a Business License and Tax ID.. So I guess that won't be the first order of businesss then...lol!
ta ta for now,
Annmarie-
The "To Do List" for the "Not To Do" girl.
Okay so now that I have pretty much told everyone and their mother that we were starting this whole e-commerce clothing boutique biz, so it's time to have a plan of action. Where do we start??? as my girlfriend and I are brainstorming ideas at my kitchen table, we literally laughed at ourselves because we just really can't believe that we are going through with this. It seems almost like a joke. Mainly because of the thought of how the economy is and starting the business during the middle of a recession... great timing huh? But as we brainstormed a bit more we realized that people are still shopping!!! the thought of "recession" is thrown out the window once you step foot in the mall. I guess it's our way of dealing with it. For a shopaholic it's even worse. We are capable of getting evicted for a new pair of shoes.. well not to that extent hopefully.. but we have got it bad, you know who you are!
I though a lot, or shall I say I have been googling a lot.. about how to start a boutique biz. I really couldn't find much. Luckily I have close family member that had already been in the biz. She actually started of with a "brick and mortar" store and then progressed to online, So I was able to get a lot of info from her. I was really discouraged though. The more searching I do the less I find on the Internet. I think I may have saved about 3-5 links in my favorites on starting an online boutique.. I think that's pretty sad for the world wide web. As far a s literature I mean yeah, there are a few things out there like http://www.openaboutique.com/ and http://www.entrepreneur.com/ just to mention. I have narrowed my choices down to two or three so I will update you on a book review once I am done. But if you guys have any suggestions let me know!
So far this is what I know for sure we will need to start off with...
A name- Corporation- which I will talk about in another post
Resale License
Logo design and marketing materials.
A Business Plan..very very important
Money..lol! also very important
Business supplies- bags with logo, hand tags, printer, mannequin or dress form for inventory images, clothing rack etc... (quiet area for me to call an office is most important.)
Planning a trip to a trade show to see different vendors.
Website and fixings..(shopping cart,hosting)- also very important! especially when you do business solely online.
A big mouth.
Account with USPS/FEDEX/UPS for shipping packages.
Our Launch Party!!
There is probably a lot more but I am sure I will touch on them throughout the blog.
Now I am not known for being the most organized chick I the world so a to do list will be a challenge. I am what people like to call a procrastinator... I can't help it I work better under pressure! But It's gotta get done, and we are going to do it.... on time.
ta ta for now,
Annmarie
Saturday, November 15, 2008
My first post yay!
Okay so I guess I should just jump right in...
So my BFF and soon to be boutique partner and I are hanging out at my house one day after I was explaining to her how a co-worker was thinking about starting a clothing boutique herself and had asked me to partner with her. You know, there are just some people in this world that you can be friends with but some you know that you just won't work well with.. so sadly I declined. As I had already been starting my own business in the beginning of the summer I knew somewhat of the beginning stages as I had already been doing a lot of research on how to start a business. So I am not trying to be a copycat here... but I really thought this would be a great idea!! So wagreed, what the hay. The idea behind the title of the blog is simple. I read a book called "ladies who launch", great book about women who are ready to go out on their own, whether being a WAHM (work at home mom), or becoming a CEO and launching a company the moral is to take action and live a better quality of life.
So this blog is almost like a portal to success.. I mean if you can blog about anything why not about something positive. This will be like my journal to you, giving you the inside scoop of what's gong on with our venture...why we do it, how we do it, and what happens when we got it, and yes I believe we will get there!
My original business venture was dealing with home staging. For some who may not know, it involves decorating a home to prepare for a sale so that it is more appealing to buyers. But unfortunately this particular area has been seeing it's down side because of the drop in home sales lately. I also was working at a company that I just really wasn't happy at and wanted to do something from home so that I could spend more time with my two kids. I still plan on staying in the interior design field though.... currently in school... my dream is to one day become an interior designer or start my own firm. But for now my love for shopping will just have to do! Who knows maybe this little idea will work..maybe it won't.. but we won't know unless we take a risk. Isn't that what starting a business is about?
My girlfriend "Tiffy" is just about the most hard working girl I know whether or not she likes what she does... and I know that she will be the perfect business partner.. hell she has been the perfect friend! Needless to say that her fashion sense is amazing.. us two at the mall together.. is dangerous. But it goes beyond really just shopping. It has to do with marketing, sales, finance..OMG! what the heck are we thinking!!!!..lol! I am definitely looking forward to your comments and especially your advice as we head down the road to "?" as I like to call it.
ta ta for now,
Annmarie
So my BFF and soon to be boutique partner and I are hanging out at my house one day after I was explaining to her how a co-worker was thinking about starting a clothing boutique herself and had asked me to partner with her. You know, there are just some people in this world that you can be friends with but some you know that you just won't work well with.. so sadly I declined. As I had already been starting my own business in the beginning of the summer I knew somewhat of the beginning stages as I had already been doing a lot of research on how to start a business. So I am not trying to be a copycat here... but I really thought this would be a great idea!! So wagreed, what the hay. The idea behind the title of the blog is simple. I read a book called "ladies who launch", great book about women who are ready to go out on their own, whether being a WAHM (work at home mom), or becoming a CEO and launching a company the moral is to take action and live a better quality of life.
So this blog is almost like a portal to success.. I mean if you can blog about anything why not about something positive. This will be like my journal to you, giving you the inside scoop of what's gong on with our venture...why we do it, how we do it, and what happens when we got it, and yes I believe we will get there!
My original business venture was dealing with home staging. For some who may not know, it involves decorating a home to prepare for a sale so that it is more appealing to buyers. But unfortunately this particular area has been seeing it's down side because of the drop in home sales lately. I also was working at a company that I just really wasn't happy at and wanted to do something from home so that I could spend more time with my two kids. I still plan on staying in the interior design field though.... currently in school... my dream is to one day become an interior designer or start my own firm. But for now my love for shopping will just have to do! Who knows maybe this little idea will work..maybe it won't.. but we won't know unless we take a risk. Isn't that what starting a business is about?
My girlfriend "Tiffy" is just about the most hard working girl I know whether or not she likes what she does... and I know that she will be the perfect business partner.. hell she has been the perfect friend! Needless to say that her fashion sense is amazing.. us two at the mall together.. is dangerous. But it goes beyond really just shopping. It has to do with marketing, sales, finance..OMG! what the heck are we thinking!!!!..lol! I am definitely looking forward to your comments and especially your advice as we head down the road to "?" as I like to call it.
ta ta for now,
Annmarie
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