Wow, Saturday was busy! Not that the sales were high, but that lots of people were spending a little at a time! Sales were respectable. But I sure was tired by the time I got home. I didn't get a chance to work on the website at all. I was constantly poping up from the computer! Slower days are fine for working on the computer, but not busy days.

Today has been very busy too, but less sales. More lookers than buyers. That is good also as lookers eventually come back to buy. Sometimes there are so many people in here that its hard to move! I do so look forward to having more room. It will be exciting if that gets full of people! If we could just get our new address so we can let our customers know where we will be!! Some people have been customers since the beginning, and others have been referred to us. Many just stop in and love us. A few thought we left when we moved to this spot. I hope that whatever category you fall in, you will find us when we move. After all, without our customers, we wouldn't exist!

I did get some information in the mail yesterday about marketing. It was good to see that I am headed in the right direction. The article said to use email, facebook, twitter, and blogging. The response rates for email is much higher than for other mediums. Now we do still have to add newspaper ads, tv, and radio for a good mix. For now we are getting more bang for our buck as these mediums are free other than the time I personally put into it. And of course I have to get the website up, if at least to direct people to my facebook, twitter, blog, and capture emails! If you want to follow us we are ADG Gift Shoppe on facebook and http://twitter.com/adggifts .

Monday we look at another property in Broken Arrow. We also will look at more properties in midtown. Tuesday will be a drive to Oklahoma City for a doctor's appointment for Greg. In my spare time I'll be trying to put together the orders we will need for the new store. Every department will be increased and new products added. I have several more wholesalers to check out. I've also been looking into making our own products. Any suggestions on what you would like to see?

So exciting, So frightening!

Wow, I am so excited! Yesterday when i I got back to the store they had cleaned! Janna swept and mopped the floor! I do so appreciate it! Its just little touches like those that can make a difference.

Well I didn't get time to work on the website yesterday. After I drank my hot chocolate I did laundry, then picked up the product and brought it back to the store, and went and got my tire fixed, there wasn't much time left. I did email on the property but have not received a reply. I checked out some other possible properties. I have to get some cards printed up today. If my computer cooperates I will work on the website.

The new product is awesome. We got new large oriental fans that look superb. We also got in some new oriental products. Some we will wait to display until after we move, but if you come in and ask we will show them to you. We are so impressed with the color and quality of these products. When we move we will be carrying a lot more product from this particular wholesaler so look forward to a good expansion of our oriental line.

When we started looking for a new place it seemed like we had so much time. Now we are looking at just a month away and time is going way too fast. I know once we finally secure a place I will be busy non-stop. We all will. I also think I'm coming down with a cold. I really don't have time for that! We will need banners, and advertising, and new product, and displays. That is all before we open! I am sure I am missing some very important items too. Help?

Wednesday was a good day

We had very good sales for a Wednesday! We had more than normal traffic. Now don't think that just because we made sales that we personally make money! No way! The money from our sales still all goes to purchasing more product and paying bills such as rent and phone. Once we move into our new location we will also have to pay utilities, insurance, and buy a lot more product! All I can hope is eventually we will be able to take some money out for ourselves! But for now, we are happy to make enough money to keep going. So Wednesday was a good start to making that happen this week.

Our author did not make it. Not sure why as he didn't call either. He may have forgotten he made the appointment or something else may have come up. Oh well, I'll try to get in contact with him again. Our order also did not come in yesterday but will be here today. I have to go do laundry, so after that I will pick up the order and hope it all fits in the Honda! Greg and Janna will take care of the store, and maybe do some cleaning! Hahahah! I had to have a laugh! I can't count on that unless Janna's OCD kicks in!

I'm so excited about moving though. I hate moving, packing everything up then unpacking, but I just know things will work out well. Good thing I'm optimistic! Still didn't get the website published, but I am on twitter and facebook, so I sure hope to get more traffic here! Hey, I think I can have Greg email our preferred customers! That might help! See you later and have a great day!

Great Seminar

Wow the seminar was great. Got several ideas. It was entertaining and informative. Dennis Creps was our speaker and I had no trouble staying awake in spite of my having to be up early. If you get the chance, go to this seminar if you need to learn anything about marketing.

On another topic, financing. Alan and I went to our bank last week to apply for a loan. Basically we were told we needed a house or property or money in the bank to get a loan. You know, if you have money and don't need it, you can get a loan, but if you don't have money and need it, you can't get a loan! I have a small house we have been building on but its probably not enough to use as collateral. Alan has a great credit score and Greg and I don't. Well, the bank suggested getting credit cards to finance our expansion. This is not my first choice, but it may be our only choice. The other suggestion was to have friends and family invest. I just hate to ask anyone for that kind of money!

Well we haven't heard back from our preferred location yet. Tomorrow I will email him again and see if there is any word. Lets see, tomorrow i go to the store, and we meet with an author of an Oklahoma vampire story. He wants to put his book in the store on consignment! Perfect! I also have to call on the other location we saw, check a couple more locations, look up more product site, work on my website and pick up an order at our mailbox for product we ordered last week! I'm sure there are a couple other things I need to do also, but I'll sleep on it and see what I remember in the morning! More updates to come!

Another day off?

The space we looked at was too large and too expensive for our use right now. We did see another property close by that we will take a look at. I do wish we would hear from our first choice though!

Today is my second day off of the week. I don't know what i will do when I don't have any days off! LOL. Alan and I are going to a marketing seminar being held in town. That's why I'm up so early. Otherwise I would still be snoozing! It should be fun and interesting if I can stay awake!

In my spare time I'm supposed to be making our website and our business plan. I also heard on the radio that someplace is putting resources together for small business start ups. Now where was that? Sigh!

Well, today is my day off, sort of! Greg and I are meeting with Alan and looking at a property in Broken Arrow for a possible storefront. We are in negotiations for our preferred site. This is in a very busy spot and formerly housed a gift shop. It would be nice, but we do have to have a backup or two. I'll let you know how it goes.

Going into business is a breeze, right?

Well, this is my first attempt at a blog. The point of this blog is to share my experiences of starting a business. Let me first catch you up to now!

Seven years ago my husband, Greg, and my friend, Alan, started a small business to buy and sell first day covers and stamps. They called it AG-Global, using the first letters of their names, and hoping the business would go global! I think they bought more than they sold but it was a first step. Then I joined them and we decided to open a booth at the Great American Flea Market in Tulsa, OK. We started with products from a well known home decor catalog, and added products from wholesale stores in Dallas, Tx. The lifesaver product was 3-d laser crystals. These previously could be bought at places like Vegas for $60 or more. We could get them cheap enough to sell for 5-15 dollars. Our little booth did fairly well being open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

After a few months we moved to two booths where we were visible right from the door. Sales increased and our product line became more streamlined. We listened to our customers and started carrying gothic or medieval items, dragons being the most popular. The laser crystals were still a best-seller. People loved them and we soon had over 500 designs. In a few more months we moved to the booth across from us, a window booth right at the door with a store room. Sales again increased and our product line centered on dragons, fairies, skulls, grim reapers, oriental, misters, and lucky bamboo. The laser crystals became a secondary product, still popular but not always the big seller.

This booth was our home for a few years and customers became repeat customers and sought us out. We began looking to get a booth with our own door so we could be open more hours and more days, not bound by the flea market hours. Our opportunity came in April 2009 when we moved into a new room where we could be open five days a week. It was a big step for us. We incorported into an LLC and changed our name to A Darn Good Gift Shoppe LLC. For short we call it ADG Gifts, A for Alan, D for Dorinda, and G for Greg. Isn't that catchy? We are determined to be a darn good store.

Wednesday through Friday in our store were slower, customers did stop by to check us out. We had more room and increased our products, carrying the most dragon items in Tulsa! Sales began to double.

However, we did not get the control of our own fate that we expected. Our contract said we had access seven days a week and extended hours. But, we never got a key and the flea market decided to chain the doors from the inside. We ended up calling to have the door unlocked in the mornings, and making sure someone was there to lock up at the end of the day. We were limited to five days a week instead of seven. Wednesdays we had to close two hours earlier than the other days. Next they tried to tell us what products we could sell, in spite of our contract. Increasing the outdoor vendors took away parking for our customers, and they came less often. Sales dropped, and our hopes began to dim.

Of course, not given to surrender, we have decided to get our own store front. We look forward to our own hours and days, and having our own key! A clean bathroom with toilet paper is so enticing! More space, more products, more vendors, more excitement! Then there is more bills, more expense, more work, more hours, and maybe less sales! Oh my, are we doing the right thing? Can we handle this? What if our regular customers don't follow us? How will we handle all the marketing? Will I ever sleep at night again?