If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.
Anita Roddick
Founder of the Body Shop
It's easy to continue looking in the same, usual places when I start thinking about how I'm going to increase sales. List more items on Etsy, look for wholesale accounts in local boutiques, and pursue craft fairs are the obvious go-to choices. While these continue to be areas of growth, looking for unique opportunities that target different customers is key to real expansion.
So for 2014 I want to look for some new and different ways to promote my business and gain more sales. Fortunately, I stumbled into a new opportunity just by attending the Wink business networking meetings. If this isn't proof that joining a networking group is valuable, then I don't know what is!
I met a fellow Wink member who is a financial advisor for a non-profit company. Her team puts on events for potential clients. These events may include wine tastings, informational seminars, etc. To make it more interesting and valuable for the people who attend, they often invite other local businesses to join and set up booths displaying their products and/or services.
This is a great opportunity for a few reasons:
- I will be the only jewelry seller at the event.
- I meet new customers who may have never heard of Etsy or attend craft fairs.
- Not a large time commitment as compared to craft fairs that are usually all day events.
- People attending are local to the area which may lead to other opportunities.
- These types of events are smaller and more intimate than craft fairs and farmer's markets, giving me a plenty of time to talk to people and really get to know them. It's much more personal.
- Easy to meet and collaborate with other vendors that are there. Could lead to other opportunities.
So, this will be a great stepping stone into new areas of growth. I look forward to reporting back as I become more involved in this venture.
What unique areas of growth are you looking into? I always welcome comments and feel this is the best way we can all share and learn from each other!
