Small Business, International Headaches

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For those of you who know me, you know that I usually wake up around 12 Noon. Today, however, I was awoken by a phone call from Ghana at 7:58 AM. On the other line was my supplier. He was trying to send some product from Ghana to Canada. I had assured him that British Airways could arrange for the good to be paid for in Calgary, but of course, in Ghana they wanted cash only. Good grief!

I made an attempt to drag myself out of bed and get to the computer meters away. I was hoping I could send the money within about 15 minutes through Western Union and get back to bed. Boy was I wrong. I attempted to send money on the business credit card only to find out that MasterCard’s SecureCode system was not accepting my code. I was instructed to call MasterCard to have this cleared up. Great. Now I have to wait on hold. I go through the whole rig-a-ma-roll, say thank you, and try again. By now it is 8:35.No luck. I have to call Western Union or go into an agency to complete the transfer. The closest agency doesn’t open until 10 AM so I call.

Me: Hello?

Automated Voice: Press 1 of you are an agent. Press 2 if you are not an agent.

Me: Groan. I pressed 0.

Automated Voice: I’m sorry I did not understand that. Press 1 of you are an agent. Press 2 if you are not an agent.

How did I manage to speak to a real person? I will tell you. I had to pretend I was a victim of fraud to get an agent to help me send money.

Western Union Rep: Hello ma’am, how may I help you?

I proceeded to tell her I need to send money to Ghana and gave her my particulars.  

15 minutes later…

Western Union Rep: I’m sorry ma’am but the computer is telling me you have to go into a branch to complete this transaction with this credit card.

I hung up and called back in an attempt to use my own credit card. By this time it is after 9 AM.

Me: Hello?

Automated Voice: Press 1 of you are an agent. Press 2 if you are not an agent.

Me: Victim of Fraud: Protect me.

I am transferred to a Western Union Rep and get my transfer completed, but now I have to go and be verified by another department. Once I get through it is already 9:34 AM.

Western Union Rep: Can you call back in about 30 Minutes? Our system that verifies transactions is down at the moment.

I call back twice and it is the same thing. I finally decide to go to the agency since it is already 10:01 AM.

Once I get there and fill out the form I tell them I want to pay on credit. Apparently they only take cash and debit. I race home, transfer money from the business to by debit card account online, and race back. All I am thinking about is how bad I feel for my supplier. I finally try and pay for my transaction, but lo and behold there is a hold on the money I transferred. For F*&!sake! Now I have to call the bank and get them to fix it.

Finally, at 10:58 AM I have transferred the money. I call my supplier to tell him he can pick up the money for shipping, but he tells me that he can’t get the money today because it is lights out.

Jameela

www.ejwipsdesigns.ca

@EJWIPSDesigns

What are SMART goals?

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We mentioned in our last post that it is important to have SMART goals, but what exactly are SMART goals? SMART stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

Specific When considering this aspect of your goal be sure to outline who will need to be involved, what results need to be realized, when it should be complete by, why you are creating this goal, and the constraints that you are working within.
For example, a general goal would be “I want to get new products”. A specific goal would be “I am going to purchase necklaces within the next two weeks that I can retail for between $30.00 and $65.00.” A specific goal with be much easier to complete than a very vague one.

Measurable

Be sure to create criteria which will make it easy for you to measure your progress toward completing your goal. The criteria you create will help you to stay on track and know when you have reached your goal. Ask questions like when, by how much, and how many.
A good example is to say “My business will become profitable in three years” or “My business will have a net profit of 26% by 2017”

Attainable

By implementing the first two parts of a SMART goal you are well on your way to making your goal attainable. When assessing attainability ask yourself if your goal is realistic? Your business may not be able to become the number one retailer general merchandise in the country by the end of the year if you opened your doors last month.
Creating an unattainable unrealistic can lead to you becoming discouraged. This can lead you to abandon your goal completely. Make sure that the goals you set for yourself are attainable and realistic in the time frame you set.

Relevant

The goal you make and the path you take must be relevant to your business and your current position in the market place. For example, you may be looking for growth opportunities and you have a few choices. If you are a business to business company it may be advantageous to do some networking or expand your personal selling. The path to your goal that may not be relevant may be expanding your inventory selection. Be sure that your goal and the path to your goal are relevant.

Timely

If you do not set a time frame your goal it may not seem urgent to you. A time frame creates a sense of urgency. A timely goal is something like “I will acquire 20 new clients in 6 weeks” rather than “I hope to acquire 20 more clients one day.”
Making SMART goals will help you to grow your business, and if you do not own a business, it will help you to reach your personal goals.
EJ WIPS Designs always uses SMART goals to help with business planning. What specific goals are you making for your business?

• Visit our website at www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
• E-mail us at emilynandjameelag@gmail.com
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--> EJ WIPS Designs
www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
@EJWIPSDesigns
emilynandjameelag@gmail.com

5 Things You Need to Know to Start Your Own Jewellery Business

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You have decided that you love to create jewellery and accessories and you are good at it. You have so many pieces that you cannot possible wear them all or give them all away. People want to know where you purchased your earrings, headband, or necklace. You have always wanted to have your own business, so where do you begin?

1. Know Your Strengths
2. Start Small
3. Know Your Target Market
4. Focus!
5. Be Prepared To Change Strategies

Know Your Strengths

I propose making an inventory of your skills. Just jot down on a piece of paper what you know you are good at as it relates to your proposed business. After this you should have a good understanding of the gaps you need to fill to get your business up and running.
Here is an example, my mother and I started EJ WIPS Designs and we had Human Resources skills, personal selling skills, and business management and marketing skills. We lacked accounting and detailed web development skills. We were able to take our business as far as we could until we had to hire an accountant and a web developer.

Start Small

One of the biggest mistakes we made when we started our business was to have too many product lines. Here was our line of thought: “WOAH! Wouldn’t it be great to have bags, and belts, and necklaces, and earrings, and be a full fashion accessory retailer?” We tried to start at point B instead of point A, and in the process, we wasted a lot of time and money. At the moment we retail handmade jewellery (necklaces, bracelets, and earrings) and African art. That is it.
My advice is to choose two or three of your best products and stick to them if you are doing festivals. If you are opening a retail store try to start in a small location. If you rent or lease a space that is too large you have to find the money to fill the shelves. Remember, you can always expand into larger spaces as you grow.

Know Your Target Market

It is very important to know who you are selling to. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are going to sell everything to everyone. Do your pieces appeal to a certain type of person? Do you create items for males or females? People who like to stay on trend or people looking for timeless and classic looks? Knowing this will help you to choose festivals, store locations, and even the colours of your website and marketing material.

Focus!

Once you have started you need to focus. Make a list of the most important things that need to be accomplished and do them. Don’t be swayed by festivals that only cost $300 for three days if they do not attract your target market. Think twice about those cute headbands you want to start making if they are not part of your main product line.
Doing a few things well is better than doing many things mediocrely.

Be Prepared To Change Strategies

Not everything you decided that you want to retail will be received by the market well. Not every strategy you employ will work out. Be ready to change directions or strategies as needed. Make SMART goals for yourself and your business when you do this you will be able to determine when a product, festival, strategy or even your business in general is not meeting your expectations.

EJ WIPS Designs has employed these strategies and has greatly benefitted from them. If you need more information or advice in general

• Visit our website at www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
• E-mail us at emilynandjameelag@gmail.com
• Like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/EJWIPSDesigns
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--> EJ WIPS Designs
www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
@EJWIPSDesigns
emilynandjameelag@gmail.com

Holiday Advertising: How soon is too soon?

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On January 16th I was watching television and there was a commercial for Easter eggs. As a business owner I am all for making customers aware of the products you have to offer through effective marketing. As a consumer and a critical thinker, however, I have to ask the question how soon is too soon?

Christmas Shopping Season: Then and Now

Let us take a look at the biggest shopping season in the Western world: Christmas. Every year it seems that the “shopping season” for Christmas extends itself more and more. Researching this I have discovered that the advertising season for this particular holiday has increased by a solid four weeks since the 1990’s. In Canada, as soon as November 1st comes along it is game time to heavily advertise for the Christmas shopping season. I remember the time in which no one bothered with Christmas shopping or advertising until December 1st—it wasn’t all that long ago. Those were the days, the days in which you didn’t walk into a retail store or turn on the radio in November and have to listen to countless “new and improved” Christmas songs. I have to speculate that, while a good holiday for confectionaries and costume makers, Halloween impedes extending heavy Christmas advertising in the Great White North. Darn you Halloween. Why can’t you be on September 31st instead? Ah well, at least in Canada, unlike our unfortunate neighbours to the south, the United States, we don’t have Thanksgiving in the middle of November.

Is Easter the Newest Consumer Holiday?

Let us now look to Easter. This is a religious holiday that we retailers are desperately trying to convert into a consumer holiday. Now I am not that old, but back in the day (2001) I had never heard of Easter presents. Easter egg hunts were popular in school, but no one decorated their homes or bought clothes in the name of Easter. In these modern times things have changed. It was estimated that in 2011 consumer spending for Easter among 18-34 year olds in the United States would increase by 17.19%*. Easter doesn’t start until April 8th this year, yet I still see a push for confectionery items and Easter apparel sales in January. Yes, January. Might I add that as I type the temperature is -30°C.

Other Potential Consumer Holidays

In these uncertain economic times it seems retailers are eager to entice consumers to shop as much as possible and as long as possible hence inviting consumers to shop for holidays 1.5 to 3 months in advance. I have reason to believe that if retailers had their way, every holiday would be a consumer holiday: Canada Day, Heritage Day, Ash Wednesday, Victoria Day.
As consumers and retailers we have to ask ourselves how soon is too soon to be advertising for the holidays?
Leave a comment on the blog or you can

• Visit our website at www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
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to get in on the discussion.
*I used the statistics from http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1105 and did some rudimentary calculations to determine this number.
--> EJ WIPS Designs
www.ejwipsdesigns.ca
@EJWIPSDesigns
emilynandjameelag@gmail.com