Jane Hamill

Increase revenue using content & email marketing.

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My Family and Friends Don’t Support Me in My Business. What Should I Do?

What to do if your family and friends don’t support me in my business

Do the important people in your life support you in your business?

In this episode, we discuss what to do when people are just not “getting it”. Maybe they make passive aggressive comments, maybe they give you the blank stare, maybe they openly tell you you’re crazy to have your own business!

Does that mean you can’t love them and still have a great relationship with them?

Have a listen…

You can also listen on iTunes and Stitcher Radio

What do you think? Has there been a time when you didn’t feel supported in your business?

How did you handle it? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for listening!
Jane

P.S. If you’re looking for support, you should run, not walk, to check out my new monthly coaching program. The goal of the program is to get you focused and into action to make your business EXACTLY the way want it. Check it out now.

Selling Wholesale Sucks, Right?

Selling wholesale sucks. At least that’s what I hear from a number of you, my dear listeners, on a weekly basis.

Today I make a list of all the reasons selling to boutiques and department stores can feel suck-y. And I say FEEL sucky, not necessarily that they ARE sucky. It’s all in how you perceive things and it certainly depends on who you talk to.

Next, I made a list of things to LOVE about selling wholesale. Touche.

Click below to listen, or…

Things NOT TO LIKE about selling wholesale

  • Markdown money
  • Buyers who ignore you
  • Buyers who place orders and then don’t accept the delivery
  • Boutiques who get terms and then don’t pay
  • Lower margins than B2C
  • EDI compliance
  • Packaging requirements
  • Confusing shipping requirements
  • Buyers who are crazy
  • “I just want to switch it out” buyers
  • Buyers who cut you off while you’re showing them the collection – No, no, no…

And that’s not all…

  • Late deliveries that “aren’t my fault”
  • Financial crash(es) that put many designers reliant on wholesale out of business
  • Cold calling
  • Making lists of stores to contact –  time consuming and mind numbing
  • Pre-screen the stores with a phone call
  • Have to be nice all the time
  • Have to pretend you don’t mind waiting
  • Buyers who place large orders have a lot of power over you (Starbucks story)

Things TO LOVE about wholesale

  • Quantity
  • One buyer, one order, more streamlined
  • Can FIND the buyers fairly easily
  • Reorders!!
  • Boutiques are loyal
  • Make great friendships
  • Trunk shows
  • Larger quantities increase production quantities and lower your manufacturing price
  • Street cred – Bloomingdales, Saks, Macy’s
  • Social proof
  • Increased awareness can lead to MORE online sales
  • Seasonality of selling balances e-commerce / direct to consumer sales and busy periods
  • Less schlepping than if you’re selling at markets of craft shows
  • Outdoor markets that get rained out – windy / cold / hot…
  • Customers who complain about price

So the question is…does selling wholesale really suck?

Depends on you. Your goals, how you like to work, your product, who you like to work with. It’s worth considering if you want a few powerful “bosses” or many “little bosses” who each only have a little power if you’re selling online or direct to consumer in any way.

Jewelry designer Megan Auman has a great article on why she loves wholesale and how it improved her quality of life.

The verdict

I think it’s TOTALLY worth it to sell to other retailers, even if it’s just 10 stores.

Here are the 2 main reasons I recommend selling wholesale:

  1. Pad your production quantities so you get better pricing on your manufacturing
  2. Street cred / social proof

And a third reason – IMHO not as important but still valid –  is that the increased distribution can lead to more online sales. In my podcast interview with San Francisco designer Sarah Liller, she talks this and shares her experiences.

The problem I see with makers and designer trying to sell to boutiques is that they think like designers and have NO CLUE what goes on in a buyer’s head. If you want to get your product into stores, boutiques, museum shops, etc., you need to know what’s important to the retailer, not to you.

Think like a retailer, not a designer

You need to know what they look for in new lines, and…

  • what to say to get a buyers attention
  • what NOT to say
  • what email subject lines work
  • how to send emails that get opened
  • how often to contact a buyer
  • the main pet peeves retailers have about working with small companies
  • what a good line sheet looks like
  • what the selling seasons are so you’re not too late to the party

I teach you everything mentioned above in this course.

“How to Sell to Boutiques” online course

Check Out the Course and land your NEXT 10 retail accounts

One more thing…

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, you have to check out my Imperfect Action Coaching Program, where we take these same topics, we dissect them, create your plan, and get you into ACTION. Everyone needs a business coach, and I could be that coach for you.

Head over to janehamill.com/imperfect and join me. I’ll see ya there.

Jane

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Coterie Trade Show
  • Getting residual sales from wholesale – the Sarah Liller episode
  • Megan Auman’s “How Wholesale Improved My Quality of Life” article
  • Jane’s “Get Your Product Into Stores” course – available immediately, at your own pace

#LaserCoaching: How Can I Have a Successful Business and Travel 3 Months of the Year?

Jolie Dennison is an American artist based in Northern Ireland. She’s owned a retail store for the last 6 years and is ready for a change. She’s recently changed her niche and mostly, she wants her BUSINESS to fit into her LIFE – rather than the other way around.

We dive deep into her business in this coaching call and come up with a plan for her to get her “dream” business where she gets to travel (back to the States, weekends in Paris…) for 3 months out of the year and still run her business profitably.

What we cover in this coaching call:

  • The main problem with selling art online and how Jolie can work around it to get consistent sales
  • How to build a business around the lifestyle she wants – in this case traveling 3 months out of the year
  • How Jolie can combine her faith with her business – without scaring away all of her current customers
  • Adding live and virtual events to her business to engage her audience and sell more art & art products
  • How Jolie can add a new product – bible journaling – to her business and make it profitable
  • The importance of selling replenishable products for repeat business and steady income

Mentioned in this episode:

I’d LOVE to know what you think of this episode! Just leave a comment below and let’s chat.

Jane

P.S. If you want a FREE podcast coaching session, you can apply here.

#LaserCoaching: Do I Still Have to Use Facebook Even if I Don’t Like it?

#AskJanesBrain: Meet Erika from Rare Dirndl.
Today’s podcast is a laser coaching session all about where to spend your time and effort on social media. Here’s Erika’s question…
“I feel like I’m just posting to post when it comes to Facebook.
I don’t feel excited about it right now. Should I just keep posting to keep some people engaged or can I skip it? I’m much more interested in Instagram.”

(Interview) Getting Consistent Sales with San Francisco Fashion Designer Sarah Liller

Today you’re going to meet San Francisco clothing designer, Sarah Liller. What I love about Sarah is that she’s SO HONEST and willing to share her struggles, her wins, and the behind-the-scenes reality of running a fashion business. Sarah is one of my “Sell More Products Online” students and someone who takes ACTION on what she learns.

In this interview, Sarah breaks down the exact steps she took in the last 9 months to make her online shop actually convert to money in the bank.

Sarah always had confidence in her product and she knew it sold well in retail stores. But getting online sales was proving to be a big challenge for her.

SO… she started doing things differently in her business. She switched from Squarespace to Shopify (huge win), she did an “expensive” NYC Trade Show, she got a rep, opened new wholesale accounts (and is getting re-orders) and she went from “I have no idea who my customer is and no idea what I’m doing online” to “it’s working!” and getting consistent sales.

And she’s just so darn transparent about things! In fact, here are some awesome quotes from this interview…

“I had to pick somebody to sell to, because when you’re trying to sell to everyone, you’ll go crazy. There’s just no way to do that without going crazy, logistically.” 

“I knew that I had no idea what the hell I was doing (when it came to selling online). I knew enough to know that I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“The wholesale business, while I don’t make as much per unit, it drives the online business and they push each other in tandem.”

“Within the last 9 months my site is getting 1 – 2 sales a week, I’m selling to new stores in NYC and I’m getting re-orders, and I now have a national showroom repping my line.”

“I was really scared to put myself out there and of the rejection, and people saying no…”

You can watch this interview as a video or listen to it as a podcast…

 

Listen to this episode as a podcast on iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

 

Sarah’s best-seller! The jumpsuit she’s wearing in the episode…

 

The easy fit, soft & cozy dress that does NOT fit like a tent…

 

Show Notes and Links:

Your Feedback??

What do you think of this interview? LMK in the comments below and please SHARE IT with other designers if you think it will help them!

-Jane

P.S. If you like this podcast and want more tips, episodes, and real-life strategies to grow your creative business, get on our VIP list now.

How to Go From Zero Sales Online to a Profitable Business with Erika Neumayer

Imagine you’re running your business from your parents’ living room trying to make a go of it. You have no website, no sales, and almost no money. And you probably feel like you have no clue what to do about it.

And your product is dirndls. You know, the outfit St. Pauli Girl wears? Whaaaa??? That’s a TINY (and sorta weird) niche.

Yet somehow you figure out how to go from no sales and no customers to a VERY successful company with 90% of your sales coming from your online store. How cool would that be??!!

Meet Erika. This is her story.

You can also download this episode as a Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher Radio, or click below to listen.

Here’s what we cover…

  • Why Erika’s first 2 websites didn’t get sales and what she finally did to make money online
  • How she sold $24,000 in dresses during a 4 day email campaign
  • Her marketing strategy – Facebook ads, email, and blogging  – what’s working and what’s not
  • How she hated the idea of marketing her product at first and what she did to overcome it
  • Advice for companies selling online who aren’t getting the sales they want
  • How to fit it all in – making time for marketing and not just focusing on product creation

Show notes

Whadayathink?

Did you like this interview? LMK what you think in the comments below. And if you’re ready to learn how to be a BOSS marketer like Erika, click here.

Thanks for watching,

Jane

P.S. Are you going to do the “assignment” Erika gave you at the end of the video?

 

 

 

What’s Realistic to Sell Per Month from My Online Store (Shopify)?

Last night, I received a question from one of my students and VIP clients. It’s a tricky (loaded) question and I think the answer will help not just Grace, my client, but everyone.

Side Note: I use Slack with my team and VIP clients to communicate quickly – I only work with 6 coaching clients at a time so it works GREAT! I’m not an affiliate, I just love the app because it reduces my # of emails.

Here’s how the discussion went down…

graceA [7:50 PM] @grace I have a goal go sell 800-1000 units at new price ($125) per month – is that unrealistic? 

janehamill [7:50 PM] @grace at the moment it’s probably unrealistic but it may not be in the future. Are you talking all of these sales to come out of your retail store? If so, write that down into the number of units per month, per week, per day. And, of course, not all months are created equal so consider that as well. Then figure out if I need to sell 10 dresses per day how many people need to enter the store to have a conversion of 10 units per day.

graceA [7:55 PM] @janehamill No, I want most to be online sales.

janehamill [7:57 PM] @grace Ohhhhh – that changes everything! For the better…OK. To sell that much online, you can work it backwards… 800 units sold = $100,000 in sales per month. Absolutely doable but not quickly. You need to determine some key numbers and in all honesty, you’ll be guessing at a lot of this in the beginning (planning is guessing – but it’s a good place to start. What % of web traffic will place an order, what’s the total # of unique visitors you need per month. What’s the dollar amount of each order? If you want to sell $100K/month, you need to know the average purchase amount from each customer, and how many of your web visitors will become actual customers.

janehamill [7:59 PM] @grace Wait a sec…how about I do a Podcast and explain this in detail?

So here we are, taping a podcast with the answer…

Download this episode on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. You can also click here to download it to any device as an mp3.

Want this as a PDF?

There’s math involved in this episode. While I LOVE crunching numbers  – # of visitors needed to site, conversion percentages, average pricepoint, # of units per sale – I know it’s not everyone’s favorite thing. So I put together a handy PDF for all of you visual learners.

Download the handy PDF

Screenshot 2017-09-01 13.57.54

Here’s what’s cover in this episode…

  • The 5 things every online store needs to get consistent sales
  • The actual math around driving enough traffic and getting enough conversions
  • Organic growth vs. fast growth including what your budget has to do with it
  • The 4 main factors to growing your site organically for long-lasting success
  • “Typical” conversion rates for an online apparel store and what Grace can expect from HER Shopify site

Now it’s YOUR turn. 

Was this episode helpful?? Let me know what you think in the comments – I LOVE hearing from you!

 Jane
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