Or maybe not...

I think I may need to take back my last post. I thought I was still on the right track with my theory Monday evening when I spent a half hour in a Super Target and had the same kind of blah feeling... plus, I left without spending a dime. (That's a whole other topic - the fact that one of the hardest things for a retailer to to is get people in the door - I was in, I was looking for something not too specific, spent 30min plus looking, was passed by many of the store's associates, but left without buying anything. If even less than one percent of the people who walk into a big store like that walk out for the same reasons I did... wow... I stagger to think of the lost business. Had I found the main item I had in my head, I would have also bought a pile of groceries. But when I couldn't really find what I wanted, I didn't bother to buy anything.)

But last night reminded me that yep, Christmas shopping is in full swing. I visited the local Mall... First, I have to say that I went to the mall with my holiday shopping complete. This trip was purely to buy myself a new purse. The place was almost a madhouse. The defining event was when I was at the cashier, and a woman finishing up her purchase to the right of me swung her purse around and whopped me on the back... gave me a nasty glance as if it was my fault for standing there and went on her way.

(heavy sigh)

I'm glad I'm done for the year, glad I am able to do more and more of my own holiday shopping on line (or in my living room - I still like to make lots of gifts!) and am very glad (and thankful) for all the folks who choose to spent some of their gift shopping/making time at my own store.

Has secular Christmas peaked?

It's December 17th - Christmas Eve is a week from today. That means one more week of shopping, presents, wrapping, shipping and all those last minute stressful things that drive us this week of the year. Or is it?

This is my fifth Christmas/Holiday shopping season as a retailer, and it's been the strangest. People seem to be just... well... "blah".

Yesterday was the last day to paint pottery at my shop where we will guarantee the pottery be ready before Christmas. It was also a Saturday. If the past four years serves as any guide, then yesterday should have been the busiest - and I also mean the Craziest... people are usually crazy-stressed by just everything. But that's not the way it was yesterday. Sure, we were busy, but it was an eerie calm kind of busy.

It's not just my store, either. I just got home from a shopping trip where I hit Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and Borders. Three places that I normally shudder to think of heading into this time of year. And yes, they were all busy, but again... eerie calm. And short lines at the register. I had hit both AC Moore and Michael's earlier this week and had the same feeling there, but I figured that was just a weird day. The fact that it's carried through the rest of my shopping spree makes me think that people are acting a little different lately. (we're also experiencing record warm temperatures here in Northern Virginia. I wonder if the fact that it doesn't feel anything like the middle of December has anything to do with it.)

Even though "Christmas" has been around for a long time, the shopping frenzy started in the 20th century. I'm wondering if everyone is not just saying they're tired of it... what if they are? As customers picked up their pottery in my store yesterday, I asked one of my standard holiday questions: "So are you done shopping for the season?" In past years, the responses got were like: "No! Oh my god there's only a week left!" But yesterday, the standard went something more like: "No... eh... I'll get done what I get done. No biggie."

As a retailer, I've had a hard time getting into the mode where I need to start decorating for Christmas in October and playing Christmas music in November and going nuts with sales all through December. Sure, we have lots of Christmas and holiday related pottery to sell... but beyond that, I've never gone to any extreme. Don't get me wrong... I'm just as anxious to sell during this season as the next retailer, but I've never felt I should go to extremes to have to.

Maybe people are finally starting to see that the real value in these holidays is the time one gets to spend with friends and family. As a retailer, I hope that means stronger sales the rest of the year. As a human being, it makes me glad.

I'll be interested to see how overall retail sales numbers look at the end of the year.

When is it time to close up shop?

Last night, I did my monthly ritual of reading Oprah's magazine cover-to-cover. Suze Orman, the well-known personal finance expert, fielded some questions from the wife of a "struggling entrepreneur".

What has been bugging my brain all day was that the woman said her husband had been struggling with his restaurant for eight years. Eight. Years. That's a really long time to be struggling with a (new) business.

Any entrepreneur is and should struggle at the beginning... but when do you start wondering if you're doing the right thing by staying open? When do you know it's not working? The woman writing in didn't give all the details of how much personal money they've put in over the years or how much they were loosing each year other than to mention that they owed several thousand dollars in back taxes. But you have to wonder... have they been going through the motions all these years thinking "next year will be the one to turn around" or does the husband really just enjoy the restaurant business?

In my book I talk a little about new businesses not making it because the new entrepreneur is under-capitalized and can't sustain themselves through the start-up period - so their business doesn't even have a reasonable chance to grow and succeed. This situation seems to be just the opposite. Eight years and no profit... wow. I don't think I'd have the stomach for it! Kudos for those who do! (and Good Luck!)

:)

Continuing the story..

Even though my business, The Pot and Bead, has been open for over four years, the stories in my book, Cute Little Store, end roughly 2 years ago. I'm working on a sequel, but so much is happening all the time that I want to share and get feedback on. Hence, this new Cute Little Blog.

I hope this proves as useful to other small business owners (and people contemplating making that entreprenurial leap) as the book has. The book covers a lot of what happens during and right after opening. My business is now in a "maintenance" phase, but one that still requires my attention, dedication and hard work - it's a phase that I know a lot of other small business owners can appreciate.

Please mark this blog and check back... the holiday season is almost over for the business this year, so there will be lots to discuss soon afterwards!