07.22.08

Step Two… Your Personality

Posted in Main, business-a-go-go at 12:33 pm by carrie

Ask yourself…are you an entrepreneur? Do you think you can run a retail shop? Are you willing to take risks, give up vacations and weekends? How do you handle stress? Can you multitask?

Are you creative, good with numbers, sensitive, good with people, outgoing or shy? Can you work 7 days a week, afford to hire a few people, can you tolerate bad news?

I’m a bit all over the place here… but I can tell you, if you are like me… you are creative, sensitive, stubborn, have some ADD and not-so-good at doing paperwork. I love the decorating, buying, arranging and displaying of items. I obsess on it for hours and hours. I like making art when I’m good and ready… when I feel inspired…. have the right light, the right supplies… I’m in the right mood. When I get into that mood or that groove… wild horses can’t pull me away from what I’m doing (I’ve seen many a sunrise). I have an animation and art background… I’m a true (nutty) artist. When it comes to doing paperwork, filing, data entry, figuring out how to use the cash register… bah… I loathe it.

Personality wise, being sensitive and a habitual people pleaser since birth, I was able to empathize with people and really listen to their problems. I wanted nothing but to make each person that came into my store feel at home, relaxed and cared about. The bad thing with taking on each person as a friend, I really internalized every negative story or comment. I took it home with me and it really brought me down. Imagine having 200 close friends… many of them are going through a hard time in their life and naturally, they want to share. Now, imagine going home with dozens of sad stories… and worrying about each of those people. It wasn’t something I was equipped to handle. I felt a bit immature when it came to dealing with these interpersonal relationships, but on the flip side, I did feel blessed to have so many new friends. I just did not know how to shake off those bad emotions. In all my years of retail, I had never felt this way… I guess being the owner of the shop, and being there every day, you build relationships you just wouldn’t if you were working part time or working in the sportswear department of a sporting goods store. Also… I would “pull strings” for every one of my new friends. Discounts, special gift wrap… freebies. I thought I could wind it down as the store got more established, but my new friends came to expect the special service and treatment (I would, too, if I was on the other side of that counter!) Once that was put out there, I couldn’t take it back. I gave too much emotionally and financially. Gift wrap was costing me a small fortune and when I cut back on the frequent discounts and free gifts, my customers got annoyed. It was totally my fault. I wasn’t thinking when I opened myself up for that.

Another thing to mention, I talked about my life with some of these customers, too. I think I told them too much about my personal life. Looking back, I should have never shared as much as I did. Again, not equipped to handle all of that. You may want to make a conscious decision that you will or will not share yourself with your customers. There is a happy medium ground between being too cold to your customers, or being their best friend and therapist.

Click image… an example of being too warm or too cold when dealing with a customer

Commentary on the comic… it’s not necessarily bad to be empathetic, caring and listen to your customers… or even hug them after knowing them for 15 minutes… BUT just be aware that this could create a pattern and be expected every time this customer comes into the store. Now… imagine doing this with 200 customers and 200 customers expect the bar to be that high on every visit. Also imagine 5 of these customers in the store at the same time, all wanting attention at the same high level. Unless you can clone yourself, it is virtually impossible to do. Believe me, I’ve tried it… it doesn’t work. Someone leaves feeling like you’ve ignored them or that you like someone else better (totally not true!). On the other hand, a happy customer will buy more… but how happy do you need to make them? Customer service is very important these days. Lets face it, unless your prices are rock bottom the only way you are going to keep customers is by having awesome customer service, a niche item they can’t get anywhere else or create an experience they won’t forget. The lesson here… don’t be completely cold and be very careful how much time you give away, make a very conscious decision how you will handle any given situation… it’s very important that you set your boundaries, one way or another, immediately.

Lastly… vendors would come in constantly. Some of them were super aggressive. You have to be able to say “no” and walk them to the door. Or have a policy regarding when you will look at new merchandise or how to submit inquiries, pictures or samples. One time, I graciously declined carrying one vendor’s work and told her good luck with selling her items. She left, but not without aggressively yelling “Good luck to YOU! You are going to need it if you don’t want to buy MY product!” Thanks lady. Ugh. I even took that personally. I need therapy ;)

So, that’s my story with dealing with people. Now, on top of that… bad things DID happen. My window broke (possible bb gun shot) merchandise was stolen, I received bad checks, counterfeit cash and phony traveler’s checks… I felt violated. I went home and cried… a lot. I thought I was carefully building a loving, creative and caring environment… then something bad would happen and I would just want to close the doors and hide. Run-ins with customers, neighbors or the landlord when they are having a bad day… you quickly get this “victim” mentality that everyone is out to get you. This may not be you… but I’ve found that a lot of creative people can be hyper-sensitive. If you can relate to this… I’ve got some books for you to read :) And, if you are the sensitive/creative type… you might want to find someone who is good at doing the books… hiring and firing people… someone who can deal with customers until you find a way to handle them professionally. I call this person the “bulldog”. If anything… grab a bulldog and have then help you set up rules and regulations… then stick to them. You’ll have to be strong to survive in your own store :)

If you are more a 1’s and 0’s sort of person… you can crunch numbers, budget and file paperwork like nobody’s business… you may also be ready to open your own store. But, if you want a unique, creative boutique, you’ll need to find someone creative to partner up with… even if just at the beginning. I’m a firm believer that if you are passionate and work hard, you will succeed… but you will need to have a creative edge if you are trying to open something from scratch. I think a franchise is perfect for this type of person. You get the guidelines and expectations up front… then you hit the ground running. It’s an excellent option for someone who is very business minded.

If you are tough, good at filing paperwork and creative… then KUDOS to you!!! (I’m sort of jealous!) We should clone you!

In summary, what I found to be very important, as far as qualities of an entrepreneur who wants to open a boutique are…(and these by no means, represent myself… it’s qualities I wish I had!)

• Thick-skinned… let the problems roll off your back. You don’t take things personally and you can put any issues, problems or complaints behind you and move on.
• Set up rules & feel perfectly fine sticking to them (gift wrapping, returns, other misc. regulations). Do not bend. Post them and refer to them when needed.
• Have strong self control. If you intend on spending X number of dollars at the gift show, only spend that much. Set up a budget and stick with it… no matter how cute that item is.
• Have boundaries with your customers. Don’t tell them too much about your personal life and don’t let them tell you too much about theirs… unless you want it that way. Once you open that flood gate, you can’t go back without hurting someone.
• Set schedule. This sort of goes with self control… but… set up a schedule and stick to it. I clean this day, pay bills this day etc.
• Passion for your business. When walking into your store people know immediately that you love what you do. Find ways to let the joy shine through and renew that love as often as you can, much like putting the “spark” back into a marriage.
• Keep a list of your goals. Daily Goals, Weekly, Monthly etc. Check back to them regularly. Always keep yourself motivated with things you can change and celebrate the things you did change. Refer back to your successes and remind yourself of how rewarding it was.

So, assuming you are still with me, and assuming you want a cute little store…

Homework

Get out a piece of paper…

1. Your store will reflect YOUR personality. What is your personality? Are you sensitive, practical, whimsical or opulent? If you were a customer walking into the environment you created how would you feel? Overwhelmed, comfortable, happy, relaxed? Would you have a lot of clutter in every corner to overwhelm the senses… or would you keep everything neat, clean and orderly (For example… Hot Topic or some other teen-centric store, which is cluttered, fun and loud, versus the Gap or J-crew, which is neat, orderly and clean.) Think of your home as it is now… what do people say about your living space? How would you change it or take it to the next level? Name at least 3 adjective for each of your senses.
For example:
For Violets are Blue I would say…
Sight: Cluttered, overwhelmed with items, lots of color and texture, constantly changing so the customer sees something different every time, dollhouse, whimsical, shabby chic. Items in jars lined up… abundant and inviting. Things hanging from the ceiling which aren’t always noticed, but makes the space cozy… more of a “cave” and safe feeling (High ceilings make you feel uncomfortable and a bit unwelcome.)
Touch: Again, textures… stuffed animals, feathers, wallpaper… put soft things next to ceramic things… break it up a bit.
Sound: The floor creaks giving the feel of an old house, the music reflects the personality of the store with bits from Esquivel, Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra etc.
Smell: Candles, soaps and bath salts. Make sure each area has something that smells pleasing to smell… having the candles all in one place is overwhelming and gives some people headaches. Mix it up and move it around. Even the baby section had a Beatrix Potter perfumed spray… light, but nice and worked well in that section. During the holidays, I would try to have coffee… the smell was warm and comforting. Have pumpkin pie for fall, pine for the holidays etc.
Taste: Well, I didn’t have much for taste… we sold candy and sodas… but they weren’t huge money makers. They look really good in the store, though. At least it rounded off the list to cover all the senses bases. We sometimes had samples out for people to taste… I would recommend that!

Have fun with this list… get out every adjective you can think of that would reflect you and your store!

2. What are your boundaries in friendships and relationships? Do you attract needy friends? Are you able to say “no” to people? Look deep into yourself and write it all down here. Think of specific times you have had confrontations or tense conversations. How did you resolve those situations? Were you tactful and did you keep the peace? Think of at least 3 situations that could happen in your store where you could lose your cool (someone breaking something, stealing something, making an unusual request, making a sexual advance, a small marching band enters the building etc… I’ve had all those happen, by the way). How would you handle each situation, in detail? Knowing that if you make this customer angry, they will tell 10 of their friends. Having a game plan for many possible situations is not only smart, it will help you tremendously and it will help you set up fair policies for the store. It’s SO much easier to point to a posted policy/rule than to have to come up with something based on someone’s level of anger. (Been there, it’s scary!) You want to stay calm, keep everyone safe and resolve a disagreement quickly and you have to think ahead all the time!

I know I’m forgetting things, but hopefully, the above is helpful to someone!

Over the next few weeks I’ll also be talking about finding a location, how to buy inventory and more. I’ll also be out looking at locations and post what I find. Again, I’m not an expert… but I hope you enjoy the journey with me!

Happy Tuesday!

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