As Mick Jagger sang, “You can’t always get what you want…..But if you try sometimes. You just might find. You get what you need.”
Is your retail image well-defined? Does your customer have a great chance of finding what they are looking for in your shop? And if they don’t get what […]
Have you ever toyed with the idea of adding television to your list of advertising mediums only to fear that your budget will only allow a spot worthy of Cal Worthington ?
Spotrunner has made me reconsider the possibility of adding television to our advertising budget.
New technology has been leveling the playing field for many businesses — […]
South Park San Diego, home of The Zen Merchant, is one of those burgeoning neighborhoods going through the throes of urban revitalization.
South Park has been ripe territory for indie retailers—retailers who are willing to stake out their claim in a place where creativity can flourish and experiments in fancy inspire rejuvenation in a once […]
Naming a business is a lot like choosing a name for your baby. You want something meaningful, yet not too obscure and hard to spell, and not so common that it is unmemorable. Also, with naming a baby you may come up with a score of names before you find the right one.
Luckily, […]
O.k., I’m not sure if we’re procrastinating or lolligagging. Actually, if you could see what’s going on behind the monitor, it’s neither. This is a rather new venture for us. Neither of us really know anything about blogging and even less the new vocabulary that comes with it. What we do […]
For some people the dream of starting their own business is as realistic as building a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield. And if you have an entrepreneurial spirit you may find your plans to open your own shop are met with less than enthusiastic responses. “Don’t you know the failure […]
These business discussions address issues and concerns regarding small indie retailers that currently conduct 100% of their business online and supported by making money on the Internet. This one’s going to be fun (well, they’ll all be fun!) because I’ll be introducing and asking you to introduce lots of different ideas on how to make […]
These posts will be dedicated to discussions regarding small independant business who have retail store fronts as well as having an Internet presence. An Indie Retailer with a web site can be one with a simple web page providing essential information such as location, business hours, and a brief business description or an indpendant retailer can […]
These posts will be dedicated exclusively to issues and interests of stand alone retail small businesses. These small businesses do not have an Internet web site of any kind, whether just a simple static page for information only or one based on ecommerce sales. Discussions will be based on whether or not to choose to […]
We believe there are three methods of conducting business for the independent retailer; Brick & Mortar, Click & Mortar, and Internet based.