I Remember When… 2012-01-09

The beginning of a New Year seems to remind us of hopefully where we have come from and help us plot where we intend to go.

So I want to start with things that have popped into my brain over the last couple of days as I look forward to the start of a new business year.

I REMEMBER GOING TO MY FIRST TRADE SHOW

For a Michigan-based business, the closest trade show for gifts and decorative accessories, where giftwrap and stationery is part of the mix, is inChicagoat the Merchandise Mart.

It was the same weekend as the Super Bowl- so as a concession to my husband and my son, who was young at the time; I flew toChicagoSunday morning and came back the same day.

I had no idea what to expect as I had only gone previously to a local showcase.

It was in a word: Overwhelming. Especially to someone who was a novice retailer. At the end of the day, I was totally exhausted- visually and mentally.

As the day went on, I got my story about my business to be short and concise. For those vendors who were not interested in dealing with a home based business, I learned to move on.

Gratefully, I met a company, The Stephen Lawrence Company, who welcomed me. Their sales rep was extraordinarily knowledgeable and helpful- and for that singular reason I stayed a faithful buyer for years to come.

Lesson learned- you never know who will become your best customer. So treat any prospective customer with dignity and excellent customer service. And hopefully the same will be returned to you.

I REMEMBER MY FIRST CORPORATE CLIENT

I originally started out teaching gift wrapping classes through local venues, like community centers, Parks & Recs, local organizations and alumni groups- heck anyone that might want to learn more.

Because of the catalogs of classes that many of these organizations published, I got a lot of media attention. I attribute some of this interest to the growing phenomenon of Martha Stewart, and the fact that gift wrapping was an unusual and new idea for a class.

A reporter came to one of my classes and took the class along with the rest of the attendees. She also brought along a photographer and they stayed for the entire class. ( I would dare say that wouldn’t happen today with the stress of “immediate” news).

The subsequent article netted me my first corporate client. THe accompanying photo to the article was not flattering- my mouth was at a peculiar angle probably imparting some gem of wisdom- but it served as a “glowing testimonial” to my skills at gift wrapping. The corporate client who followed up and called me because of the article was short on time and in need of my services for the company’s annual Christmas party.

Next lesson: Never underestimate what a photo or article can do for you. Say yes to the media and then figure out how you are going to do it. Always deliver more than you promised and they will call back for more help.

I REMEMBER HOW I GOT MY FIRST CUSTOMERS

So after two years of giving classes, my students started to ask for help in preparing special gifts with that extra oomph of glam, glitz or glitter. I hadn’t really thought about offering gift wrapping as a service but frankly it kinda made sense- I mean it was really an extension of what I was teaching by doing.

Many of my students would confess that they loved the class but felt either through lack of time or the ability to develop this skill that they might never attain the look they envisioned.

And I so began to wrap for my customers.

Diversification is a wondrous thing- it can add another source of revenue. Or just allow others to see and hear about your work.

No struggling artist would want to work in a vacuum without the world seeing their artistic efforts.

Same for me.

So every time I did work for customers, I’d always ask them to tell their friends and family about me.

I still have many of those first referrals. They are like family to me as I know them, their children and sometimes their grandchildren. And this year, I added a great-grandchild to my list.

Another lesson: don’t be shy- talk about your work. Come up with your 30 second “elevator pitch” – maybe several depending on who you are talking to- and practice it often.

Because you’ll never know where it will take you.

I REMEMBER HOW I GOT THE NAME “WRAP ARTIST”

As part of my mission to learn everything I could about retailing, I worked at every place that offered gift wrapping services.

Maybe it was a volunteer stint as a fund raiser for our local PTA/PTO. Maybe it was through a friend that brought me in on a call-in basis. My final stop was working part time in the wrapping department and then in the shipping department at Neiman Marcus Troy, Michigan.

Every experience taught me something.

The experience at Neiman’s remains the most complete and detailed learning experience. I loved Neiman’s and they were willing to let me experience as much as I could handle. I would work for them in a heartbeat- they were so good to me.

Especially the customers. They were and are the envy of every retailer- good or bad.

My favorite story was working the seasonal gift wrap room which took some effort on the customers’ part to find since we were the “M” stop on the only elevator in the store.

When they found us, they loved hanging over the half door watching the process. That’s when I learned that dead silence is not a good thing- as it makes the “wait” seem interminable.

So I found out that asking a couple of questions- like who the gift was for and how they picked that particular gift- would get them yakking. I would have only to nod or give a brief “really?” to keep them talking and me wrapping.

One particularly chatty man, who had apparently been sent to get this chore done while his wife continued to spend without oversight, decided he was a comedian.

He decided then and there that I was the Queen of Wrap. I said maybe he had me confused with Aretha Franklin, aDetroitnative and the Queen of Soul.

No, he insisted, I was definitely the Queen of Wrap. So, O.K. I went along with the flow and agreed. I bet I was his favorite story for weeks on end.

But guess what, I use that moniker with my staff, my ever creative Wrap Artists. And our customers love it as it has two meanings- wrapping and rapping.

Next lesson to remember: A casual thought can turn into an opportunity. In my case a 50’ish, White Female bordering on the slightly chunky side gets a second look when she claims to be a “Wrap Artist”. Yo-Yo-Yo!

I REMEMBER THE BIG BUSINESS DECISIONS-
OR SO I THOUGHT AT THE TIME

First biggie- an answering machine and a second telephone line to be my home based business’  “official” presence. (Yeah- dinosaur time here!)

Then a Yellow Pages listing- and being the only one in a category that didn’t exist they had to do some research to determine a SIC (Standard Industry Code). The good news was that I was the only one- so my listing expense was reasonable. But it was my first advertising- Yikes! Huge leap for this home based business. And again the answering machine conveyed to me (and hopefully those that would find my incredibly specialized service) a REAL business.

Then going to trade shows to find products.

I had sales reps like Franci Lopatin from Stephen Lawrence orMikeFallsfrom Packaging Services come to my business aka my basement and help me make intelligent purchases designed to grow my business.  Franci is still in the rep business- Mike is not. Stephen Lawrence got bought out, but Packaging Services is still my go-to for shopping bags, boxes, tissue and more.

And then my leap to a brick-and-mortar location. That took the help of a very supportive husband and son (O.K. they wanted the garage and the air hockey table back). But that and the belief that I could make that transition had me looking for space, buying not one but side by side buildings and opening in 2004. It’s hard to believe that it will be 8 years in April.

Lots more names and help have been shared with me over the years. And I suspect more will play a part in this ever growing business.

I will never forget my roots and those that have been a part of this success. Loyalty, trust and faith in my ideas with a healthy dose of reality from my “Brain Trust” and others, keeps me looking forward and building on previous successes and failures.

So here’s to 2012- let it be a break out year for my business and be especially good to family and friends, my customers, Michigan and the whole United States. We deserve it.

Macy’s Has Stopped Gift Wrapping – An Era Comes to a Close 2010-11-30

Here in Michigan, before it was Macy’s, it was J.L. Hudson, Hughes and Hatcher, Himelhoch’s and Jacobson’s, just to name a few of local retailers that carried high praise from competitors and customers alike.

You knew what kind of experience you would have when you shopped there. You knew the quality of staff, because they took the time to learn your name and greet you as you came into their establishment.

You would find your favorite outfit – or they would find it for you because they knew your style, color choices and especially your size.

The visual displays were unforgettable- especially at the Holiday time. Who didn’t dream of lunch at downtown Hudson’s- the ultimate treat to go there with your parents or grandparents.

And of all of the glorious wonders in these stores, the best was walk into the gift wrapping area and look at all of the beautiful wrapping papers and ribbons that you could pick to have your gift wrapped. It was a thrill to pick one- even more wonderful to receive one. This area was legendary.

So the last of the “giants” has now decided to drop gift wrapping.

It really is a shame – to me it was the last vestige of civility. It was what set a gift apart from any other gift.

Now we get a box or bag with the store name or logo on it. Who needs a package that telegraphs where it is from?

O.K. maybe Tiffany’s can get away with it because their iconic color is their image- and that image stands for luxury, and uniqueness, and not available to all.

And what has happened to the element of surprise and wonder and awe when opening a gift, if you can guess where it’s from without much of an effort.

No wonder people lament at the loss of customer service. That personal touch seems to have slowly evaporated- maybe because of economics, right-sizing and brand image.

An era has come to a close. Too bad that the chance to create that person-to-person relationship seems to be following suit.

“Controlled Chaos” this Holiday Season 2010-12-07

I wrote recently about the special tricks I learned when I was starting out as a gift wrapper.

First- how to work in a sardine can sized wrap station. I learned that because I took over my son’s nursery when I started gift wrapping from my home. While I didn’t have a lot of supplies, I had one tiny closet to store everything.

So I got sucked into buying one of those over the door wrapping organizer.

Well that’s great if you have 2 or 3 rolls of paper, some pre-made bows and you have a small square spot on the floor to wrap.

That lasted about 6 months- and I was hard pressed to keep the stuff from spilling out the door and across the hall to my guest bedroom. I finally gave up and started using that room- except now everything had to be stored under the bed. And if guests came, I had to do a major overhaul of the room so they could use dresser drawers and hang their clothes up.

So that is when I was exiled to my basement. The good news- 3 times the space. The bad news- it’s a basement!

I got some plastic stacking shelves, clear plastic containers and some rolling racks that draftsmen stored their rolled up drawings in. Got a table from my parents’ basement, found a discounted desk chair at the local office supply and I was officially calling this space “My Studio”.

Fast forward to today- 6 years in our store and almost 12 years in “My Studio”.

I still use many of the first organizing tools I started with. The clear plastic containers hold backstock of ribbons sorted by color (we can see when we need to refill a color bin).  The same rolling racks now hold open rolls of wrapping paper upright.  We use the boxes that the rolled paper is shipped to us to store the backstock paper under the wrap station. I found a rolling shelf that can hold ribbons, sorted by color. Started with one- now have 6 of them. Small spaces utilized and many of the answers are multi purpose.

Customers comment on how everything is so organized. It happened because of that sardine can size room where the early “magic” happened. It has ended up (due to male displeasure at the scraps of paper, ribbon, baskets, shred, cellophane and the other miscellany that goes with wrapping gifts) in me opening a retail store in a space that was formerly a sign shop.

The most perfect table and undercounter storage existed- the rest of the place was a wreck.  But I could see what “magic” could be created with a little fix here and there.

I never in my wildest imagination would have ever guessed that we would outgrow the space.

But we have. So we are very good at organization. We now have two off-site storage spaces. The bathroom becomes the shipping department at the Holiday time. My van is the mobile storage unit and the middle seats are taken out by mid-October and are returned by January. Cara is our tallest person- so she gets the job of stacking things and getting stuff down from high places.

As one of our favorite customers put it once- it is “controlled chaos”.

Oh, so true.

A New Year and New Trends for Brides 2011-01-23

A new year always brings renewed interest in the trends for the coming year. What are the hot colors and what’s new and different to add that personalized touch to your very special day? That is what Bridal Showcase 2011 is all about.

A big trend is the feel of vintage- whether it’s the dress, jewelry, decorative style or even arriving in a vintage car or carriage. You’ll be seeing many of the “champagne” colors- from ivory to beige for dresses, lots of lace and fabulous jewelry. Black or Brown are great add ons- but another accent color will bring that extra touch to your vision.

Not feeling black or brown? Try Navy- it was big on the Red Carpet for men’s tuxedos and it is considered a “neutral” just like black or brown.

Having a designer create the perfect “logo” or monogram can be used in so many ways. Use this embellishment on beverage napkins for the cocktail hour, or printed on an aisle runner or ribbon to tie your bouquet. If it is well designed, it will stand the test of time and can be used for stationery; custom embroidered linen napkins and tablecloths, or even your wedding handkerchief that could be turned into a baptismal bonnet for your first child.

Wedding cakes can go big or stay small. It’s really about your budget and the story you want the cake to say as a part of your reception. There’s something intimate about a “sweetheart” cake that you and your groom can cut, while the staff is cutting the sheet cakes in back. Or have the 7 layers of cake, which makes a grand statement. Use as inspiration your colors, the lace from your dress, brocade that your tablecloths are made of- there are endless sources of inspiration.

I love giving a special gift that is unusual and most likely would not be something a bride and groom would consider asking for. For instance, a vintage silver cake server and knife for the cake cutting portion of their ceremony or special toasting goblets is something nice and will carry a lot of meaning. I also like to give a set of special holiday dishes- maybe something that has been passed along through your family.

Also a great gift is hand embroidered, vintage hankies to carry on that day. Take the hanky to a local embroidery store and have their first names, their new last initial and their wedding date added. It will become a keepsake they can enjoy for years to come.

Brides and groom can personalize their special attire in new ways.  Brides- wear blue shoes or have a blue embroidered logo added to the inside hem of your dress. Something personal and all yours!

Give your groom some special cuff links that represent a collection he has, an interest say in sports, his heritage or a complete tuxedo set of studs and cuff links. Think of that as “his wedding jewelry”. My friend, Joy, gave her husband-to-be a set of cuff links made from Irish coins that had been enameled and sealed. They were stunning and very unique.

There is no end to the ideas. We have our ideas and we have seen over the year’s dozens that bride have incorporated. Add to that your own imagination and it’s really limitless.

Come see us and we will share our ideas. If you can’t visit us in person, visit our website, www.StylinBride.com, for more ideas and inspiration. Personal consultations and specialty shopping are available on request.

Down time…what is that? 2011-02-08

The month of January was often the month that I could take some breathing space and plan for the coming year.

I am a strong believer in making a plan and then holding yourself accountable. (Yeah and I love cleaning out my purse, going grocery shopping and cleaning bathrooms!)

Except- being the owner, I have had no one person that I had to be accountable to. So it’s been too easy to put off a phone call or follow up on a past due account if I didn’t feel like it.

Last year my plan was to have someone hold me accountable. Starting last April I had weekly meetings where I had to account for all of my activities.

My task master Diane did her part exceptionally well. She took copious notes, encouraged me when I felt I was floundering, and helped my staff see where they could be a more integral part in growing the business by taking on responsibilities and lifting them off on my shoulders.

Was it easy? Heck no. Did I reach or surpass my goals? Absolutely.

It sometimes came in baby steps, but as we were getting there, I shared with my staff the short and long term goals (including real numbers) and explained how we were doing as a team. That helped everyone know where we were going and how well we were doing.

Many of my peers and customers wondered out loud why I would need someone like Diane to track my work with. I had had a career in a large company that had good structure and well defined policies on everything. They had a commitment to train and educate their employees in hopes of creating advancement opportunities. In that light, I attended many training courses, within and external to the company, that included well regarded programs such as IBM Sales, and Xerox Sales and Sales Management. I had also worked for two high tech companies in a very entrepreneurial environment. That helped me see responsibilities, risks and rewards in all aspects of running a business. And in my teen years, I had worked in our family’s business doing clerical and inventory duties.

But with all that experience I still think working with Diane has been the best decision I have made.

While the economy struggles here in Michigan, I have seen a glimmer or two that things are starting to “get right”.

I have talked to peers and other industry decision makers and they too feel a sense of encouragement comparable to many previous New Years’.

We know the hard work ahead.  I for one know where my path needs to go and it includes lots and lots of hard work ahead.

But I feel better about that path. For lots of reasons not the least of which is that I have Diane on my wing to keep me accountable.

So hold on for a fast and furious 2011- that’s where I’m going!