Over the weekend I was getting my car tuned up at a local shop. In the waiting room I saw a brochure for jewelery. Surprisingly – I actually looked through it because I was super bored.
This made me think of a quick idea (just an idea)- why not make really simple product brochures with pictures of your items and your store information and place them where people are bored.
A jewelery brochure might be great at a nail salon
A clothing brochure might be fun at a laundramat
Just try to think of places that have waiting rooms (doctor/dentist offices, car service locations, laundromats, massage parlors, diners, restaurants, etc.)
It might be a good idea to tell the owner of the shop what you are doing AND even give them a cut.
Rishi and I went to Maker Faire in Austin last weekend and were blown away by all the cool stuff we saw. It’s a two-day paradise of do-it-yourself projects including art, crafts, engineering, robotics, science, music, and more. Anyone who likes to make stuff and look at stuff other people have made would enjoy this. We talked with a lot of crafters about running their own businesses and selling online. The majority of them already have products on Etsy.com and many have their own website as well. Many were interested in learning about other ways to expand their online sales, such as creating their own brand on their own store site with Flying Cart. Here are some photos and a video of our day.
Getting new customers is good. Getting customers to return is even better.
Create a personal touch with your customers so they will think about you long after your product has been used. I remember getting a package a few years ago from a backpack I ordered online. Along with the backpack they sent me pictures of how they made it and a little bit about the person that shipped it to me. I thought that was sooo cool!
Here are some ideas on creating a personal touch:
- Put a big smiley face on the package saying “Open with a smile! You just got a package ”
- In the package put a picture of your pet, you, an action shot of you with the product you just shipped to them, a funny picture
- Put in a hand made personal note saying thank you for their business
- Give them a free sticker button with your store name on it
Has something worked for you? Post your ideas in the comments.
In the United States you do not need to charge a sales tax to customers out of your state.
Here are some examples:
Running your business from your home:
Q: I live in Wisconsin and have a home based business (no warehouse or office space). Do I need to charge sales tax?
A: No. You don’t have to charge any sales taxes.
Running your business from an office/warehouse:
Q: I live in Florida and have a small warehouse where I sell my products out of. Do I need to charge sales tax?
A: You only need to charge a sales tax to Florida residents.
Running your business from multiple locations:
Q: I have offices/warehouses in California, Illinois, and Nebraska. Do I need to charge a sales tax?
A: You need to charge a sales tax to California, Illinois, and Nebraska residents.
MORE INFO:
Internet sales are actually regulated by the federal government because it reaches across state borders. Under current law, states cannot reach beyond their borders and compel out-of-state vendors to collect the tax owed by that state’s residents. What happens is those who buy online are supposed to report it and pay “use tax” in their state, even though it’s not heavily regulated.
Disclaimer: Please check with your state and local tax bureaus. Local laws change all the time and I’m not a Tax expert.
Never ever ever do it in emails. Especially with customers. IT WILL SOUND LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING. The person receiving the email will be annoyed and not like you instantly.
Upside down dogs is one of the most amazing blogs ever. Yes, I am being serious. Simple, fun, and very effective. They launched yesterday and have already received hundreds of thousands of new visitors.
This is exactly the type of blog I would want if I was selling anything towards dogs. Everyone going to that blog obviously loves dogs.
This blog is powered by Tumblr which is very easy to use and free to use blogging service. Get your thinking caps on and your creative juices flowing. The time has come for you to start a blog that will attract people that will love your products.
Stephen Clay is the builder and entrepreneur bringing back a very old hobby of Table Top War gaming. “The PC and gaming consoles damaged the hobby terribly but as time has passed younger PC game players are discovering Tabletop war gaming and the hobby is beginning to return to where it began (and belongs in my opinion) – the tabletop”, Clay says.
Rishi: How do you come up with the idea of what to build?
Stephen: The idea for each item come from several sources really, historical information, ideas from customers and everyday sights (I have a terrible habit of looking at building details wherever I go!).
Rishi: Take me through the process of creating one of your pieces
Stephen: Each piece is hand sculpted in wax using fine tools similar to dental tools. Each piece can take anything from an hour to several weeks to complete to a suitable standard. The next step is to take a mold from this original piece. This is a critical point in the process, we use raw silicone rubber to make the mold and any mistake is costly, usually costing in the loss of the piece (this hasn’t happened yet but it is a possibility). Once the silicone has cured the wax model is removed (and destroyed in the process) what’s left is a rubber mold of the model from which we can cast exact reproductions in our own marble based resin. Each piece is cast in a vacuum chamber to remove all air and ‘pull’ the resin into the detail contained in the mold. After the resin has cured the cast is removed from the mold to be tidied up, the base sanded flat and on to painting. The painting is done completely by hand and each piece has a ‘master’ which is copied as closely as possible to maintain both colour shade and painting standards. After varnishing to protect the item the product is carefully packaged for shipping.
As we all know. Behind every great product their is a strong team behind it. Stephen’s wife Kim plays a big role in production of the range of products.
Thanks for the Interview Stephen! Keep up the amazing work.
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Getting new customers is good. Getting customers to return is even better.
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