by Jonathan Staley on October 23rd, 2009
Buying off-price clothing by the case and hoping for at least some size variety and products that matched the description is a business strategy of the past. R.G. Riley, in keeping with its strong 75 year tradition of customer service, has launched a real-time case pack summary feature on its online product catalog (”Riley Interactive”). Users can now view dynamic pricing, size scales, colors and case availability on a single page.
Riley is a major reseller of closeouts and irregulars from Hanes, Gildan, Badger, Russell. Their specialty is case lots or “prepacks” and they move inventory in excess of a... Read more »
by Steve Strauss on October 6th, 2009
Q: With business slower than usual it does seem like a good idea to check out possibly getting into e-commerce. I certainly have the time! I was hoping you could give me some steps to follow. Thanks –
Linda
A: There are so many great things to be said about e-commerce that I am not sure where to begin, but let’s start with this one: E-commerce is, even today, a fairly new market; it has really been around for a little more than a dozen years.
Being able to tap such a huge market at the relative start won’t happen... Read more »
by Steve Strauss on October 6th, 2009
Q: In all of your years of representing businesses as a lawyer and giving small businesses advice, you must have come across some good, cheap strategies that businesses can use. If so, can you share them?
Ira
A: If I think about it, there are definitely some strategies I have learned along the way – legal and otherwise – that are inexpensive while also making your business life easier. Some are well known, others are not, but all can make a difference.
And of course, being the lawyer I am, let me note that nothing beats meeting with your own... Read more »
by StartupNation.com on September 9th, 2009
1. Send People to the Right Page
If your online marketing campaigns send everyone to the home page, you are missing out on the opportunity to customize your Landing Pages to resonate most directly with your prospective customers. Instead of the home page, direct people to a highly relevant page that ties in with the marketing campaign that drove them to the page.
2. Calibrate Your Headlines
Similarly, make sure that your Landing Page headline uses similar language to the page that drove the visit or the copy from the referring ad. It’s critical that you establish relevancy immediately when... Read more »
by Christina Lee on September 9th, 2009
With today’s economic instability, retail industries have managed to stay afloat by recovering best-selling products of their past and catering them to present customers. Such a strategy is all part of a retail mantra becoming more prevalent in modern marketplaces: stick with what works, the tried and true. Take note from a few industries who are adapting this for themselves:
Video Games
Though experts deemed the video game industry recession-proof in 2008, it finally began to show some weakness in 2009, as profits fell 14 percent in July from the same month last year. In efforts to counter this fall,... Read more »
by Barbara Weltman on September 9th, 2009
Most businesses are feeling an economic pinch, with record oil prices, increased inflation and other hiked expenditures making it a challenge to ensure that cash flow keeps pace with expenses. NFIB has reported that 30% of the 65.7% of businesses with cash flow concerns say that difficulty collecting money owed is the main reason. What can you do to keep from finding yourself in the uncomfortable position of being a bill collector or, even worse, failing to get paid the money that’s owed to you?
Limit credit to customers
If you have been extending credit to customers, consider a change... Read more »
by Chad Maslak on September 9th, 2009
One of the most common emails that I receive from my newsletter subscribers is about the frustration they experience when they are trying to purchase wholesale merchandise to resell. Often times the frustration actually comes when they think they have found the perfect product or a wholesale distributor only to discover that the products that they want to sell are already selling on eBay for the same price or less than what they can buy them for!
In other words, you won’t be making any money and at best you’ll find that you’ll be lucky just to break even!
This... Read more »
by Robert Cyr on September 9th, 2009
Similar in concept to the day old bread stores, salvage dented can stores are opening up nationwide offering incredible deals on the same name brand food items that we are all used to buying [at full price] from the dreaded big box grocery stores. Lower food costs found at salvage grocery stores offer budget minded shoppers the chance to save money in our tight economy, while salvage grocery resellers are experiencing tremendous growth in their business.
What is a Salvage Grocery Store?
A salvage food store is simply a smaller grocery store where the bulk of the inventory is sourced... Read more »
by SmallBusinessDelivered.com on September 9th, 2009
These are important to keep in mind at all times.
1. Set the tone at the top
Do you shout at your employees? Are you always ducking out of the office early? Monitor your actions as the owner of your small business. Employees follow your lead. If bad behavior is acceptable for you, then it will be seen as being acceptable by those who work for you. The tone starts right up with you the small business owner and travels downhill. Show respect, tolerance and have patience with those working for you. If you as the leader do not show... Read more »
by Steve Strauss on September 9th, 2009
Q: Fall always feels like the new year to me with the kids going back to school and all. Do you think this year will be better than last?
Emile
A: It couldn’t be much worse, could it? Like many others, I do indeed see things continuing to improve as this calendar year winds down, and getting better next year especially.
I think the real question is – what are you going to do to make it better?
By now, you know the drill. I don’t need to tell you to work smarter, or market more, or increase your networking,... Read more »