The Resilient Retail Game Plan

In episode 10 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to get you moving from being a reactive to a proactive creative business owner, and that all starts with setting targets and goals as part of a robust sales plan. A sales plan is the first building block needed for many of the elements that are required to run your business effectively. Even making a simple outline with a few select targets can allow you to clearly see your goals and give you the information needed to correctly forecast and manage your stock and cashflow. We’re not looking at exactly how much money you’re going or are intending to take each week, month or year, but will discuss the importance of creating both realistic and aspirational benchmarks to help drive your business forward; not falling prey to ‘comparisonitis’, and recognizing and celebrating your target-driven sales successes to keep you motivated and your business growing.

Social Media is an inescapable and vitally important channel through which to reach and connect with your customers. With the right mixture of content and posts, you might see great results in a short space of time but it’s important to remember that Social Media is not a sales strategy, but just one device in your selling toolkit. In episode 9 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I go over the approaches, challenges, and benefits of using social media to sell your creative products. We’ll look at how to take the feeling of sleaze out of selling by changing our mindset around sales; we’ll further identify our ideal customers by working out where and who they spend their time with online, and I’ll give you a breakdown of how fostering deeper connections with and providing value to your customer base through a balance of different content and posts will help promote your brand and sell your products.

There’s so much to do once you start your own creative product business! When you’re in charge of doing everything and find yourself juggling so many responsibilities it can be hard to see the big picture, especially when it comes to sales. That’s why in episode 8 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’m diving into the ONLY four ways to grow your sales. From ‘Sales Funnels’ to ‘Super-fans’, we’ll start at looking at how to get more people aware of your business through tools like SEO and social media; improving your conversion rate by streamlining the shopping experience; persuading increased spending through great customer service and by leveraging transaction analysis; and how to grow loyalty and create repeat customers by building relationships through acts of co-creation and personalised perks.

Whether you find yourself bursting with business ideas, think that you've spotted a gap in the market or are simply just tired of the 9 to 5 and are ready for a change, starting a creative product business can seem like the perfect option - but it’s not without its challenges and a steep learning curve. So, in episode 7 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to give you 5 things you need to know before starting your product business that will help you take your ideas, passion, and excitement and turn them into a reality. We will take a look at how key demographics and ideal customers profiles can help you to get clear on who your customers are; the importance of connecting with the ‘why?’ of your business by questioning your motivations and direction; the manufacturing channels that will help get your products to market including where and how to best display and sell them; and the realistic expectations and commitment it takes to build a resilient retail business that is both rewarding and profitable.

Profit is the engine that drives everything you do, so if you don’t price your creative products correctly you can’t hope to last very long or to build a resilient retail business. Underpricing is a common trend I see afflict budding entrepreneurs and small businesses alike, where various elements, often including a lack of confidence or belief in you and your business, means you start charging less than the market value for your products. In episode 6 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'll walk you through how you can identify whether you are, indeed, underpricing and then how to use the ‘Value Triangle’ to set a price that’s justified, not only through customer research and feedback but by conveying quality to your customer base and creating desirability in the marketplace.

Stock management can make or break product businesses. It’s all too easy to fall victim to ‘shiny new stock syndrome’ and bulk buying discounts, where you end up overstocking your business and creating a “stock monster’ that reduces your cash flow to a trickle. In episode 5 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan I cover the four key rules for stock management - having a plan, ordering the right amounts, trialing and repeating, and clearing as you go. These tools will help you feel strategic, in control, and give you more time to focus on the important things within your business - creating and curating a line of products you and your customers love.

If you want to sell more as a creative product business you need to be as passionate as I am about those products at the centre of your business - why else start a business if you’re not going to create fantastic products?I always say “The best sales strategy is a great product strategy” and this involves a number of approaches - from the way you interact and relate to your customer base to revising, refining, and renewing your product lines. So, join me in this episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan as I outline the tools and methods that will help you to find your niche and to steadily grow your business through the strategic management and ongoing evolution of your own fantastic products. Businesses mentioned in this episode:Bibblyboo bibs https://www.bibbilyboo.co.uk/Vintage Sister https://vintagesister.co.uk/

Profit margins are like the foundations of your business so it’s very important you pay close attention to them and that you’re fully aware of how much money you’re making every time you make a sale. In this episode, I go over how to breakdown your costs and how to use those figures to become a more profitable and resilient retailer. We’ll cover the simple calculations (which I've included below) that’ll give you a clearer picture of how your business is operating and discuss the importance of questioning and challenging yourself to make your products more profitable without harming the essential essence of your offering. I also cover blindspots and common mistakes that business both big and small make which hurt product profitability, the importance of valuing your time in regards to scalability and discuss how harnessing opportunities created through shipping and sales channels can help you keep more of your hard-earned money. Profit Margin Calculations: Calculating a profit margin - non-VAT registered business (Selling price - product costs)/Selling price Product sells for £20, costs £8 to make, profit margin (£20-£8)/£20 = 12/20 x 100 = 60% Calculating a profit margin - non-VAT registered business ((Selling price/1.2) - product costs)/(Selling price/1.2) Product sells for £60, costs £18 to make, profit margin ((£60/1.2)-£18)/(£60/1.2) = (£50-£18)/£50 = 32/50x 100 = 64%

Retail isn’t in trouble, boring retail is in trouble. Witnessing the collapse of behemoths like Debenhams can certainly knock your confidence, but don’t be deterred. The challenges we’re seeing facing legacy retailers today are a result of decades of change and are part of a new cycle for the industry. In this episode of The Resilient Retail Plan, we’ll take a look at the birth of the big chains in the 1950’s through to today where artificial intelligence, big data, algorithms, last mile tech, and augmented and virtual reality are all part of a toolset that big retail are trying to use to survive in a world where personalised shopping and experiential retail are leading the charge in customer engagement - and how you too can leverage those tools, using your own unique voice and personal touch to stand out in the marketplace.

So, why am I here and why am I talking to you about the retail industry? Well, first - a little background. After graduating from Warwick University with a degree in International business back in 2000 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. After numerous, uninteresting interviews with consulting firms, and from previous experience on the shop floor, I knew I wasn’t cut out for a career in retail management. I instead found my home in Merchandising. Numerically and creatively-led, in working with products and creating long term strategies I was afforded the opportunities to work in the states, handling 400 million dollar budgets for Talbots; from 2008 I worked on the UK high street with the Austin Reed Group and Coast; and in 2015 landed my dream job of running stationary at Paperchase (because who doesn’t love stationery?) However, after 17 years, a decade of which I’d been a full-time mother, juggling the stresses of supporting a struggling industry with the demands of family life, I made the difficult but exciting decision to step back, let go and start my own business. It was at this point that I began researching why the retail industry was indeed struggling. From identifying the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on consumers to studying changes in technology I came to understand that my expertise and experience in merchandising uniquely positioned me to assist clients in an ever-changing world. And that’s why I’m here - to share my insights with you! Whether you’re operating out of an office, on Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram or at a market stall you are an important and growing part of the retail industry and I want to help you to not only make money, to trade profitably, control stock and to price correctly - but to plan and strategise for the future and become a resilient retail business!

Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan.A podcast for anyone wanting to start, grow or scale a profitable creative product business with me, Catherine Erdly.The Resilient Retail Game Plan is a podcast dedicated to one thing - breaking down the concepts and tools I’ve gathered from twenty years in the retail industry and showing you how you can use them in your business.This is the real nuts and bolts of running a successful product business, broken down in an easy, accessible way.This is not a podcast about learning how to make your business look good, it’s the tools and techniques that will make you and your business feel good.Confidently plan, launch and manage your products, and feel in control of your sales numbers and cash flow to help you build a resilient retail business.