Trade Shows...Why you should make the time!

When I had my clothing store, I used to LOVE going to a trade show. It was an excuse to get out of the store for the day, have a nice drive, and maybe a drink and a snack after the show to digest what I had seen. When I was in Fashion Design several decades ago I learned a valuable lesson that I have never forgotten. The lesson was simple: LOOK AT EVERYTHING!!! LET EVERYTHING BE YOUR INSPIRATION!! As I recall we were doing an assignment where we had to design an outfit based on an insect! Now, I am one of the most practical people you will ever meet. Assignments like this used to drive me up the wall! " How can an insect be an inspiration for an outfit" I cried!! " Who would want to wear something that made them look like a BUG?", I moaned! I was ignored by my instructor, who happened to be an artist...and I slinked upstairs to the library to look for pictures of insects. ( I just realized how OLD, that statement makes me look!)
That lesson, combined with many others, worked to expand my mind from the place it normally resided, in my head, to the world outside.

If you have a business, can you afford to stay inside your space day in and day out, and expect to come up with any fresh ideas? Many business owners feel that the time away from work combined with the expenses related to travel or hiring staff to cover your absence makes attending trade shows less attractive. I completely disagree. YOU are the investment. YOU are the visionary leader who started your business and FEEDS it every day with energy and ideas. To set aside a few hours or days a year to attend a show, meet with suppliers, or other people who have similar businesses is an investment in the health of yourself AND your business.

Part of Cavern Retail Consulting is doing merchandising for stores. The photo above is from a trade show that features mostly interior design. Should I have not attended because I have a background in Fashion, not interior design? Should I have not attended because I have never designed the interior of a store...and store design is not included in my business Menu of Services? Of course not! This show: The IDS West Design Show was to provide me with inspiration. I attended the show almost 2 weeks ago, and my mind is STILL percolating with ideas of every kind! I posted more photos on my facebook page, and have used those photos to chat with people I never would have met if I had not taken the time to attend the show.

Destiny's Child said it best: " Free your mind, and the rest will follow..."
IDS West Design Show: www.idswest.com
PHOTO: Eighteen Karat booth: www.eighteenkarat.com
Cavern Retail Consulting Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Cavern-Retail-Consulting/130690110314227

Small Business Week- Oct 2010

When I had a small business I always looked forward to Small Business Week. It was the one week of the year that the spotlight was shined onto the many of us,(383,300 of us in 2008) who decided to give self employment a try...and were in varying degrees: successful, happy, fed-up,or just trying hard to make a living...EVERY DAY!

I took this photo quite by chance. I was looking for a gas station on Fraser Highway in Langley, and I turned off on 216th...and came across this beautiful little house, that just happened to be a business as well. It made me think about what an asset that business was to that little corner, in the 'littler' hamlet of Murrayville. That business gave this house LIFE...and visa versa!

I also came across an article in the Vancouver Sun last week in the business section called: Entrepreneurship is a Vital Driver of Innovation. ( The Newspaper's View) Visit www.vancouversun.com, and you can read the whole article. It was a great snapshot of why people start businesses...and how important their drive is to our life here in Canada, and all over the world.

This week, take a minute and give some love to a local entrepreneur. This quote comes from the article in The Sun:

"Entrepreneurs not only find new ways to make money, they discover new ways to cure disease, distribute aid, improve public transit, educate children, travel in space, fight crime, feed the hungry,and erect energy-efficient buildings. They have spearheaded change in every human endeavour."

Good Luck to every, single one of them...

Celebrating a Milestone...with Gone Crackers...

I think that having a business is reason to celebrate! All of the effort involved in coming up with an idea, and a business plan, and securing financing, AND managing to open the doors...it's just a remarkable accomplishment! If all goes well, and you can make it past the magical 2 year mark...I think that you should throw a party!

I went to a celebration a couple of weeks ago, for my friend Heather. Heather owns a business called Gone Crackers, and was in the mood to celebrate not only 2 years in business, but 10 YEARS IN BUSINESS! She was also celebrating the launch of a new flavour of cracker: Moroccan Spice.

The evening was great! It was held at Brix Restaurant in Yaletown. From the minute I walked in, the Moroccan theme was evident. I was handed a glass of sparkling wine with rose petal and gold flake floating dreamily in the glass. I tasted the most flavourful lamb, and pita, with delicious spreads...and was later entertained by a bewitching belly dancer.

Heather made a short speech Thanking all of us for celebrating with her. I believe that successful businesses need to keep celebrating...and we all need to stay involved and watch them grow and thrive.

Small business is the backbone of the Canadian economy...and most other economies in the world. We should all be proud of our local success stories. In this case, showing my pride just means going to the cupboard for some more delicious crackers!

Congratulations Heather! Here's to another 10 years!

Customers...and their ' Patient Partners'

When I had my store, I was always aware if a customer had come in alone...or if there was someone else with them. Sometimes the person was minding the dog outside, sometimes a husband or partner decided to stay on the sidewalk, sometimes the dog stayed outside with a child or grandchild. In all of these instances...the customer in my store was on 'borrowed time'. If I had any hope of making a sale, or even a good impression, I had to consider, the 'shadow customer' lurking outside my front door. Shopping is NOT an activity to undertake when you are on any kind of time limit. It makes the whole activity a sprint...instead of a stroll. It doesn't matter what type of thing you are shopping for, clothes, food, furniture, even a place to eat a nice lunch...if you think that you have to hurry up because someone is WAITING FOR YOU...it takes all the fun out of it.

I spotted this chair outside a favorite gallery of mine on Granville Island. I thought it was brilliant! The decoration suggests gallery...and the soft seat suggests, 'Relax...she,or he,or they will be out in a bit.' Sometimes the reason a customer decides NOT to buy, has nothing to do with your merchandising, or price point, it has to do with the shadowy figure waiting outside. Make them comfortable...say, hi! Maybe even offer them a chair in the sun...

What's Your Name??

When you look at this photo, what catches your eye. Is it the attractive men? The spiffy looking kilts, or the name on the side of the truck? This company has GOT IT ALL!! The name matches the look...and hopefully the work! This company, and these gentlemen worked at BBQ on the Bypass to make sure everything was neat and clean all day! I for 1...will NEVER forget the name of the business. It made an instant impression on me...and if I had to recommend their business to someone else, I would have no problem calling it up in my mind. MEN IN KILTS...they clean...and you will never forget their uniforms!
Does your business have a WOW name like Men in Kilts? Your name is everything...Make it GREAT!!

Your Business...Your Community

I attended BBQ on the Bypass on Sunday September 19,2010. It is a huge community event sponsored by a local business: Well Seasoned, a Gourmet Food Store. The event takes place in Langley, in the parking lot of a group of businesses that include Well Seasoned. The owner, Angie Quaale, plans the event a full year in advance. For anyone who is running a business to take on a huge project like this, has to be like working at another full time job! There is no doubt that WellSeasoned benefits from the media coverage that a large community event like this brings...but if Angie had to count the extra hours worked over the year on the event, divided by the estimated increased revenues...I don't know how well the numbers would come out.
The question then would be: Why Do It? What does your business OWE your Community? Most people would say, nothing. I disagree. It is completely worth the time and the effort, and the headaches, to let people know that you are a good neighbour. Do all of Well Seasoned's customers live in Langley? I doubt it. Do all of the Well Seasoned customers know about the BBQ, and tell their friends and neighbours about it? I would think so. Even if you live in Abbotsford, or White Rock, or in Victoria...you know that when you shop at Well Seasoned, you are shopping at a store that doesn't just pay rent in a community, and sells gourmet food. Well Seasoned contributes to the Community of Langley, by hosting this event. Does that fact make you shop there? That's up to you.

I believe that everyone has a responsibility to participate in the life of the Community they live in. For some people, that might mean shopping at the local Farmers Market, or buying Girl Guide Cookies from a kid at the mall. For others, it means going to events sponsored by local businesses that showcase something different and unique in their Communities. BBQ on the Bypass is a one of a kind event, sponsored by a store that celebrates the tastes and smells of that style of food.

What is your business's passion? How do you let the Community you live and work in, know? What benefits could be gained from finding out? As we head into the busy Holiday Season do you know who you are and what you stand for? I guarantee that finding out, and being able to tell people in a sentence or two, will cause you to stand out in a crowd. Even if that crowd is full of happy people munching on sandwiches with a trickle of BBQ sauce running down their chin...

Aritzia in Pacific Centre- Flying Angel Pussycats

People speak about Window Design like it is an Art. I was fortunate enough to have won a Window Design Competition in 2002, Sponsored by the then Retail Merchants Assn. of BC. My partner Sharon Wallace and I designed a Window in a narrow space in my Cavern Clothing Store in Abbotsford. We had an idea, and somehow the planets aligned, and we won! Seeing the other windows that didn't win, made us feel quite humble. In every case, the time and effort to create these windows, was enormous.

This window, at Aritzia in Pacific Centre dragged me all the way over to it, from way across the mall! I noticed 2 things: There is no focus on clothing, and the flying pussycats have the most incredible expression on their little cat faces, and the way they are positioned gives them the most incredible energy! I kept expecting one to leap off it's strings and POUNCE!!! The window is unusual, considering that we are coming up to 2 major holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas...I did not see an autumn leaf, a vampire fang, ( I forgot to mention Halloween!) or a Christmas ball.
I believe that the things in this world that are noticed the most, are unexpected. I certainly did not expect to see a leaping, flying, pack of pretty, fluffy, winged pussycats in a store window, that usually has a clothing focus.

It made me wonder what YOU could do with your store window, if you just let yourself go and created a vision that pleased you. Would people stop and stare? Would they blog about you? Who knows...you had better get started, and see...