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- Goodbye 2020, Hello Friends!
Goodbye 2020, Hello Friends!
Goodbye 2020, Hello Friends!👋
As 2020 winds down, I think business owners are both glad it's almost over but know these next few weeks are critical to get through.
Business owners and non-profits typically are making more money in the next few weeks than we do the rest of the year. This gives us some hope in the middle of a pandemic but we also have some responsibility.I want to challenge us not fall onto the potential guilting side of the 'buy local' and 'shop small' sentiments.I know we understand our neighbors have been hit hard too. Some need delivery services to get goods safely as they can't leave home with compromised immune systems or other difficulties. Some need flexible payment terms as they juggle which bills get paid in what order. Some don't have the time to go to six local stores to see who sells X item as home demands have stepped up. I have a few tips below I think that are a way to encourage people to support us while not making them do so out of obligation. Because anyone who has ever been in a relationship with another person knows how short term and ineffective a guilt trip is. As business owners, we are running a marathon not a sprint and we have a chance to help people like never before this holiday season, so let's do what we can.I also have some useful marketing opportunities coming up that you might want to take part in. I'll include stuff from our sister businesses Gift Your Town and Anchorspace too as they all involve me working differently with different groups of people but all support my personal underlying life mission of helping people create income for themselves on their own terms without joining a pyramid scheme or otherwise selling their soul.If there's any other content you'd find helpful or you just want to catch up over a virtual coffee, please feel free to reach out. And if I don't get a chance to say so through a mask in real life or over Zoom call, Happy and Safe Holidays to you and yours. Nicole and the Breaking Even Team
12 Things To Do To Get Sales This Holiday Season (Instead Of Guilting Your Customers With #BuyLocal Social Media Posts)
1) Offer private shopping appointments.Calendly.com has a free service and you can link it to your website. I have a few retail clients using this with success!2) Offer free local delivery, maybe just certain days a week to start. Sometimes the shipping fees are what keeps people from buying but leaving the house is difficult so play Package Santa yourself or partner with those delivering for local restaurants to make it happen on at least a trial basis.3) Put items for sale online. Squareup.com doesn't require you to buy a domain name to set up an online store and Etsy has a $.20 per item listing fee. If you are in New York State, check out the Empire State Digital Initiative with your local SBDC for discounts or free usage of some ecommerce services. 4) Offer at least some items at a lower (under $30) price point online. These are the most common spends on gifts. If you can't, at least sell a gift certificate in an open ended amount.5) Have extended hours.If you are only open 10 am to 5 pm, the average person can't shop at your store. Try opening later 1-2 nights a week leading up to the holidays and tell everyone. 6) Go live on video and/or update your online business profiles with pictures of what you have.Show potential customers what you have in your store without them having to come in. You can use Facebook Live or IGTV or Youtube... just tell people where to watch. Or to get extra credit, add inventory pictures to your Facebook, Google, and other pages so people can see that you have a selection and might be enticed to come in.7) Make a local gift guide.Combine what you have with what other small businesses around you have locally in a gift guide that can live on your website or blog so it's easy to find and peruse. 8) Post about what you're buying locally for the holidays.Leading by example is always a powerful thing, plus your fellow small business owners will appreciate the shout out and may feel inspired to do the same. 9) Make your window displays shoppable. Using QR codes or short links, let people shop what they are seeing in your holiday window while they are walking by!10) Offer free shipping on some order amount.Most of us customers expect to pay $100 to $200 for 'free' shipping from a local business. If your margins allow this, offer it and tell everyone.11) Let people pay multiple ways.Many online carts let you use more than just credit card processing for payments. Consider offering Amazon Pay or Paypal... and in general other methods to pay for products. I have a terrible habit of leaving my wallet at work but I know my Paypal password!12) Consider installment payments.If your customers need time to pay, consider breaking the payment into several months of installments, especially if it is a high ticket item.
For Maine Folks
You know QVC? What if there was that but with local businesses in it? We'll be doing just that next weekend! Segments with local business owners showing off products that are for sale online, some with special promo codes for the occasion! So put on your bathrobe, make a cup of something great, and watch on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter as we make some magic! (Just reply back if you want all the streaming links directly, we're still setting them up or I'd just put them in here now.) If you have a local business with a TV monitor or want to have a socially distanced gathering to watch, all the better! :)If you're a business who wants in, we're asking for a $10 (or more if you want!) donation to offset marketing and software costs. Just fill out this form and we'll be in touch: www.anchorspace.com/mdi-shopping-networkJust a reminder if you want to buy local, online, GiftMDI.com is here for you with gift certificates from over 125 local businesses to Mount Desert Island (and surrounding communities). We list all businesses free and businesses get 100% of gift certificate money (we charge customers a $5 handling fee to cover stamp, envelope, and credit card processing costs). If you let us have a stack of gift certificates or cards ahead of time, we will put you on the site free, just fill out this form: https://giftmdi.com/for-businesses/If you are a customer who wants to support local businesses, shop now (and if you do it after our December 17 shipping cutoff, we do have digital gift certificates we can deliver via email!): giftmdi.com/shop
For New York Folks
If you want an online shopping show that features local businesses showing what products they have online for sale, here it is for one day only! Some are even gonna offer special deals for those watching on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter (if you want the streaming links, write me back and I'll put you on the email list; I'm still setting stuff up so I don't have them just yet!)
If your business wants to participate or learn more about participating, fill out our handy-dandy form:
SBDC Working Groups: A Free And New Way To Get Tech Done
We're working with the Canton SBDC to offer 'working groups' where business owners can work in small groups to achieve important goals.
The first two working groups of 2021 are "Setting Up An Email Newsletter" and "Creating A Recurring Revenue Product". We are currently running a "Selling On Facebook And Instagram" working group with seven participants and everyone is getting the accountability, learning from others, and tech support they need to do it right!
These programs are free; you just need to be an active Canton SBDC client to participate. Learn more at
And if you are an economic development non-profit, downtown organization, or other group seeing this and thinking you want me to run these virtual working groups for you, send me an email!PS they made me hold stuff a lot in this photoshoot, makes me wish I would have cleaned my desk more or didin't have a ton of stickers on my monitor!
For All Folks
Anchorspace Virtual Membership
If you ever thought "Wow, it would be fun to talk with Nicole and otherwise virtually work with cool productive people" my coworking space has a virtual membership which gets you into our weekday 8 am checkins (if you have a hard time getting the day started, it's lovely), our Tuesday virtual lunches (where we've dove into workplace ergonomics, structuring online events, and other topics participants have brought in), use of a pro Zoom account (those few times you might need the recording or long meeting feature) and our Slack channel. It's $19 a month but happy to let you try it for a free week and see if it's your thing! :) FMI: anchorspace.com/virtual PS There are 25 of us now but I haven't felt like remaking the collage.I'm on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicoleaouellette is my personal account and @breakingeveninc will be my business account once I get the hang of things you wanna join me there!
I go live on the Breaking Even Facebook page, Youtube Channel, and Twitter accounts every Tuesday at 9:15 AM. This gift guide episode really seemed to strike a chord as I got a lot of feedback about it (everything is archived on the Youtube and Facebook pages).
See them all or subscribe:
or
Other Fun Stuff On The Internet
Free Goal Setting Workshop
Wed. December 16 at 12 PM EST. Email [email protected] for the link!
If you enjoy my twisted sense of humor...
My "Ha" pinterest board is for you: https://www.pinterest.com/breakingeveninc/ha/Also soon I will be @nicoletriestobefunny on TikTok if you want to follow me trying out short comedy segments there!