I talk a lot about the need for the right “mix” when you promote your product, business, book, whatever it is – engaging in social media is no different. To get a good result you have to find the recipe that’s 100% ALL YOURS. But just like the hard-to-bake souffle, there are some ingredients I’ve seen in of the work of ALL successful social media contributors.   Here are the components I believe you should always use for your  social media recipe…and some of experts who cook it up just right. Feel free to add your favorite folks – let’s get a good list going!

- Content is SO important. But not YOUR content all the time. Go find some interesting info and share it – we like it when you do research for us. If you don’t have a ton of time, add some RSS feeds to your Google homepage. Mashable and Brian Solis always have daily  stuff you can show your readers. I add in weird stuff once in while just to keep it interesting – a little orange peel adds some zest to the recipe don’t you think?

- You gotta have a sense of humor,  especially if you have a ton of content and you post frequently. Copyblogger does a fantastic job of keeping humor in the mix almost all the time and yet it’s one of the most instructional social media sources I know. On the other hand, I love the content in Problogger but if we were talking cereal Copyblogger would be Raisin Bran and Problogger that fiber stuff.

- I love Mari Smith because she’s so approachable. Of course, she’s the Queen of Facebook so we expect that of her. But it’s not a given. I’ll leave unnamed a few social media snotties that  have great content but leave me feeling like I’m sitting at the nerd table in junior high all over again.  (Or if we’re still talking souffles,  eating at that posh French restaurant with the waiters staring disdainfully at my hush puppies .)

- I don’t know if editorial guidelines are needed  but consistency is really important. When you visit your favorite restaurant and order your favorite food, you want it to taste pretty much the same. Maybe there’s chocolate drizzled on it occasionally and perhaps you order cider instead of beer but you really want to know those ingredients you love are mixed together just the way you like ‘em.

All this goes toward one thing – building a unique voice in the social media world. Just like a great recipe it takes time to develop and sorry, not everyone will like it. For me there was a point suddenly when it was easy to stay connected in my social media world and it was an important part (if not ritual) of my day. That was when I found my voice.

I’m always trying to make my own personal souffle better but I’m still totally thrilled when people like it. Thanks for reading!

———————-

You can always read more from Bonnie at Wax Blog.

This article was originally published on Masthead.org for writers looking to have their work published in a magazine. I thought it had some salient tips for those of us trying to get our products featured too.

Instead of editing it- I thought it would be best for you to take what you needed and get on with the pitching!

12 Essentials Tips For Getting Published In Top Magazines

{If you don’t follow this advice, the pitch you just spent 3 hours on
will take all of 3 seconds to end up in the editor’s trash.}

1. Know the magazine’s ins and outs. Before sending a query, read as many issues of the magazine as possible–not just a casual reading of one or two issues. Even women’s magazine prides themselves in the distinct tone or perspective that their magazine offers, so don’t just assume that you can write for a female audience and throw a generic pitch to one of the editors. Take note of regular columns and sections that span several issues, as well as recurring themes/topics. Make sure you’re not pitching an idea for a topic that’s recently been covered. This could be the first indication that you haven’t done your research, and no editor is going to trust you with researching an entire article for their publication if you can’t even flip through their previous issues.

2. Query the right person. Different editors edit different columns and departments, and they don’t always have time to re-route your query to the correct editor. If you are ever unsure about who to send your pitch to, just call the magazine’s main line, request to speak to an editorial assistant, and ask for the correct editor to pitch, and how that editor prefers to receive queries–via fax, email or regular mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). Please use your discretion when doing so, and above all–be respectful.

Don’t request to speak to the editor, it will likely be an extreme annoyance. If you’re going to follow up with a phone call, be polite to the assistant you speak with; he or she is probably the person who read your query first and made recommendations to the editor.

3. Don’t address queries to interns or editorial assistants. While you may think it’s flattery, your pitch will go nowhere. Always address your pitch to the appropriate sections or department editor.

4. Check your grammar and spelling once, twice. And then again. There is no bigger turn-off for an editor than receiving a query with her name misspelled or a query addressed to an editor who hasn’t been with the magazine for two years. The way the editor sees it, if you can’t find out the correct information for the query, it’s questionable that you’ll be able to find out the correct information for the story.

Also be careful about making last-minute changes to one or two sentences in your query letter. You can sometimes mess up the flow or verb-tense agreement of a sentence without realizing it. Be sure to read the whole letter again before sending it.

5. Keep it short and simple. The average time spent reading a query is probably 30 seconds to one minute. Keep your query limited to one page with your central idea easily identifiable. Explain what you want to write about, how you plan to organize it (or what column you suggest it for), who or what your sources might be and some specific examples. Also, skip the decorative stationery. Some people may think it makes your query stand out, but remember that what you really want is for the editor to take your work seriously.

6. Realize that most magazines have a formula. Many writers send queries about ideas that may be great, but just aren’t right for the magazine. The best way to get published is to look at what the magazine already does and put a new spin on it.

7. Don’t waste space by telling your life story. Editors don’t need to know that your mother-in-law’s cousin once filed for Chapter 11 to see that you are interested in writing about financial budgets.

8. Be as specific as possible. Editors get many queries that cover vague ideas. For example, a query may state, “I want to write an article about diabetes.” What about diabetes? Are there any new studies? How will this article be different from the other five articles that we’ve run about diabetes in the past two years?

9. Don’t harass people. Keep in mind that each editor at a consumer publication often receives more than 40 queries every day. It may take anywhere from four to eight weeks for them to contact you. Calling their assistant every week won’t help you–it’s more likely to annoy them! If they’re interested, they’ll get back to you.

10. List where you’ve been published before, but don’t send every clip. Select a few standouts.

11. Start small. It is a lot easier to get an editor to take a chance on you for a short item than for a big feature. And it can be hard for an editor to brainstorm 4-5 ideas for certain columns every issue. Help them out by pitching good, short pieces that can be used for those sections.

12. Don’t get discouraged when you get rejected! Furthermore, don’t get discouraged when you are sent a form rejection letter. There simply isn’t time to comment on every query they receive. And remember, as a writer, you open yourself up to rejection. Accept it and move on.

- Article republished with permission from Masthead.org

For more information on Masthead.org:
How To Contact Magazine Editors Without Expensive Mailing Lists

When you say you need to get some “Press”, most people give you the genius advice to look up the editors, writers, etc. at the front of magazines or the mastheads…

According to Wikipedia: Masthead is a list, usually found on the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine, of the members of the newspaper’s editorial board. If no editorial board exists, the masthead will often feature a list of top news staff members. Some mastheads also include information such as the publication’s founding date, slogan, logo and contact information.

So, you go to the store and buy a bunch of magazines at $4- $7 a pop. Then you think to yourself- Hey, Self, wouldn’t it be great if all this information was listed online somewhere? Well it is.

A long time ago, when I was trying to figure out how to get Press coverage, I ran across:

So what does Mastheads.org DO exactly?

Mastheads.org is a collaborative, community directory project of
750+ magazine staff mastheads (and 1,500+ archived mastheads)
built for professional writers, editors, illustrators, photographers,
designers, advertisers, creative agencies, and media firms.

We have complete magazine staff lists for every department
(editorial, art/photo, advertising, marketing, & business) with phone,
fax, mailing address, and e-mail formats! Plus free live chat support when you need help finding a specific magazine contact.

Popular magazine titles are usually updated within 1-3 months. If you are having trouble getting through to an editor that appears in one of the listings, you can verify their status by contacting the publication direct. Mastheads.org members may also submit a research request through live chat support for further help obtaining a verification or e-mail address.

The masthead listings match print mastheads in the magazine. When they get a tip on a staff change, they update it with a note on the masthead. They are working on building long-lasting relationships with publishers and checking in with a verified staff contact at each publication on a regular basis.

You’ll have hundreds of mastheads at your fingertips, but you’ll still need to become familiar with the topics and subjects that are covered by the magazines and writers who work for or contribute to the magazine.

Yes, the masthead info is technically “free” if you stand at the magazine rack and jot down the names. Or you may already have subscriptions to the magazines you are interested in contributing to and therefore don’t need any other resource.

To join Mastheads.org is $2. a month or $24 a year. A lot cheaper than a magazine and you also have somewhere to turn to get some help if you have questions.

If you would like to see what a sample listing look like….Click Here. At the bottom of each listing will have the contact info that looks something like this (for example):

La Dolce Diva Magazine
2305 Broadway, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10019
main line: (212) 777-5555
fax: 212-777-5556

how to e-mail: firstinitiallastname@LDD.com

I’ll be honest, I have not received any coverage from using this route. However, that is due to my negligence of devoting time and effort. You know how it is..so many projects, so little time.

Still, I thought it was worth passing on to you.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the FTC has released new regulations that directly apply to Bloggers & Social Media.

Basically, they (we) must disclose any type of benefit, payment, free samples, etc. that is received for publishing information about a product or service. We must also disclose if we have a relationship with the company or product we are endorsing.

There’s already been a lot written about this and a lot more to come, I’m sure.

What I want to pass on to you is a tip on a fast, free and easy way for you to comply with these guidelines.

If you don’t want to clutter up your posts with lots of extra paragraphs explaining your “Disclosure”, you can have a simple link at the bottom of your post that looks like this:

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

When readers click on the link, they will be taken to the full disclosure, which looks like this:

DigComm launched CMP.ly which addresses the new FTC guidelines for endorsements and provides a simple and easy method to disclose material connections in the content that you publish.  Cmp.ly disclosures follow a standard naming convention that is easy for readers to understand and can be used for disclosures in print, online, SMS, tweets or other digital communications.

There are 5 disclosure options right now and one in the works for a custom version:

CMP.ly/0 – No conflict, unpaid, my own opinions

CMP.ly/1 – Based upon a review copy

CMP.ly/2 – Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand

CMP.ly/3 – Paid post – cash payment or other compensation

CMP.ly/4 – Employee/shareholder/business relationship

CMP.ly/5 – Custom Disclosure

Below, I’ve listed some links that may interest you for more on the FTC Guidelines:

Ad Group Calls on FTC to Rescind Blogger Rules

FTC: Bloggers, testamonials need better disclosure

Commentary And Analysis: The FTC’s New Blogger And Social Media Advertiser Guides by Indie Beauty Network. Of which, I’m a member – not sure if I needed to disclose that

Bloggers Mugged by Regulators: The FTC wants to police book reviews on Twitter

The FTC Guidelines go in to effect December 1, 2009.

I wonder how this is going to affect affiliates? Maybe it would be a business relationship or a Custom disclosure? What do you think?

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

*originally posted on Wax Blog July 24, 2009

It’s summer and so for that reason I’ll break from my insistence on pragmatic advice and write on a topic you might consider fluff. Yet it’s the biggest mistake I see small business owners make, including me. We have no patience. I think that it’s a given that a requirement for being an entrepreneur is to have a low grade case of ADD, or in my case, ADHD with an emphasis on the H. And in marketing, that will kill you.

I can’t tell you how many times a client tries something and when there are no immediate results says “Well that doesn’t work.” It’s like lifting weights one day and expecting a tricep cut to develop overnight. I’m not suggesting that we all go out and spend a bajillion dollars on advertising during American Idol. But I do think that in order for your PR, social media and marketing tactics to work you have to learn to wait a bit. Here are a few tips to use to figure out if you’re too impatient.

• Are you measuring your campaign results by the number of orders you’re getting off each initiative? In a word, DON’T. Look at your website hits instead, or the traffic in your store. What’s the first step toward buying your product or service? Do they request a brochure? Do they visit the website? Are you adding Twitter followers or Facebook fans like crazy? Measure by those “first steps” in the short term.

• Are you changing your marketing strategy on a weekly or monthly basis? WRONG. You had better have confidence in your strategy (or your consultant) from the start. Nothing works if you don’t believe in it 100% from the beginning. Switching around what you’re doing on a constant basis and you’ll end up running circles.
• Are you relying on only one outreach method? It may work now, but it will stop working eventually. Or you’ll end up trying one thing after another. BLEND your messaging channels. If you’re doing radio, connect it to a twitter promotion.. Trying guerilla marketing? Make sure you’ve got some PR working in conjunction with those “on the ground”techniques.

Particularly in the online world, patience is the key to success. Jay Conrad Levinson, the founder of Guerilla Marketing, believes that patience is the most important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Be confident in your approach. Measure it wisely. And then, like that old farmer in the field, be patient and watch the seeds of your marketing work grow.

Here’s a great post with some more tips on social media and patience – great stuff here!

* You can check out more from Bonnie at  The Wax Blog

Where do you want to sell? Are you planning on selling Wholesale or Retail?

This is where small businesses get screwed up. Most Small Biz owners who sell on Etsy or their own domain think you take the cost of the product, double it and that’s what it sells for. They even may call that their “Retail” price.

They may even go to other retail sites of “competitors” and think they’re “over- priced.”

They may well be, but, let’s look at the larger picture of Retail Reality. If you want to grow your Biz beyond Etsy and your own Domain.com, then  you’ll have to think about that from the start.

Let’s say your product cost you $2.36, plus your general overhead of 15% (.354) =$2.72 cost. So, you sell it on your site for around $5.50.

Wow- you’ve made 100% mark up. In retail math- that’s really a 50% mark up (because your cost makes up 50% of the “retail price”).

Okay, you want to sell wholesale to retailers. Great, you sell it to them for $5.50. Still making your “fabulous mark-up.” All is right with the world..no?

No. The retailer has to make money too. They sell it for $11.50 or even $14.00 or more depending on what the market will bear and the type of shop they are.

$11.50! $14.00! What’s up with that?! Now your product is priced the same as those so-called “over-priced” competitors have on their sites

It’s called retail mark-up. Doubling the cost is called Keystone. Keystone-plus is anything beyond that. And, guess what? They don’t want to see you underselling them by 50% or more online.

The most common thing to do is to Keystone your prices on your website from your sell cost, which will now be $11.50. Now do you see why your “competitors” have such “high” prices.
They aren’t trying to rip anyone off or to make a killing on the internet. More likely, their website serves as a marketing tool and they do most of their business wholesale.

These days buyers and even retailers  expect you to have an online storefront. They’ll expect to have competition, but they’ll not tolerate your underselling them unfairly.

If you ever intend to sell your product to retailers, you’ll have to take this into consideration when pricing your product online. You’re allowed to have sales and special offers, however, this is actually best done through special discount codes given out in Newsletters.

By now, I’m sure you are realizing why you need to think about where you want to sell. If you start off selling twice your cost and have a great online business you can expect more than grumbles when you have to adjust your pricing when you start to sell  wholesale.

I know, you’re asking yourself about the keystone-plus retailers. Don’t worry about them. It’s common practice to have a MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) on your order sheets. If retailers want to mark-up the prices more than you recommend, that’s their decision. By listing the MSRP on the order form, they’re getting clear notification of retail prices they may be seeing at other retailers.

If you want to mark your online prices up a bit more to allow for some higher retail mark-ups, it’s your Biz, do what you think is best.

Here’s the major PLUS to selling wholesale. VOLUME. You’ll have a minimum order of around $150 or more ( whatever you decide- $150 is probably the lowest.) You’ll have product minimums too! 6 or 12 bottles or jars of each scent etc.

Of course, there are pros and cons to both sides of being a wholesaler or selling your own products retail. It’s up to you to decide your business model. Either way, you’re probably in business to turn a profit and the best way to do that is with the knowledge of how pricing works.

And, oh, if you happen to get a sales rep, they’ll expect about 15% of the wholesale price and sometimes a base fee per month for the showroom shelf space. This really impacts your bottom line, so you’ll need to be sure your pricing is correct and allows for all these factors.

Did this article help you? Do you have any questions about product pricing?

I’ve brought marketing meetings to a screeching halt by actually saying that I thought all Mission Statements sounded lofty, generic and well, stupid. Eyes bulged and rolled. Grown men and women, who practically wear their MBA credentials in neon on their magnetized name badges, sputtered and choked. Then, ultimately, my comments were dismissed. I was a designer after all, what did I know.

Even Guy Kawasaki thinks Mission Statements are a bunch of gobbledly-goook. Since he is held in much higher esteem and is a lot more successful than any of the marketing people I knew, I figure myself pretty close to being a genius.

Who’s Guy Kawasaki? I’ll let him tell you himself in his brilliant keynote speech to TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) in 2006.

I learned more in this 40 minute speech  on Art of the Start and 10/20/30 Rule than all the business books I’ve read and seminars attended – combined.

Although I would love to hear what Guy thinks about starting and running a small business in this recession, I think this speech still holds up.

The next time you find yourself in a business vortex of confusion, just ask yourself, WWGKD; What would Guy Kawasaki do?

You just may find the answer.

Look who stopped by and read my post. Okay- so I DM’d him on Twitter. So what.

The dreaded SKU or Stock Keeping Unit. It can make or break you, whether you have too many or too few.

Have you even thought about SKUs? Do you know what they are? Simply, it’s all your stuff added up.

If you have 8 products that come in 8 scents, you have 64 SKUs. Ack! What!? You say? I have 64 products? But I only have 8 products that come in 8 scents. Same thing? NO. When you break out your product offering into actual SKUs is when the realization of how large your line is and how many $$, sweat and frustration it takes to manage them.

There is not a right or wrong way to manage your SKUs. This is just another thing you now have in common with the multi-billion dollar corporations. I can’t tell you how many SKU management meetings I’ve sat through…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It may put you to sleep or overwhelm you, in which case you tune out, then fall asleep.

But SKUs are like birthdays, no matter how you figure them, the number is what it is.

SKUs can be your friends, or at least powerful tools. Being a person who thinks of themselves as right-brained person with left-brain leanings (creative with a grounded business sense), I have long contracted arguments with myself, sometimes out loud, about SKUs.

I spent countless hours developing and merchandising the message content and products in my line. All my fragrances are my “babies” handpicked by me and a circle of friends. Let’s face it, some babies turn  out to be not-so-cute. Some babies don’t venture forth out into the world and bring mommy money. Do I throw these babies out with the scented bath water? Yes and no.

What I do is look at each SKU’s value. They’re not always a dollar value. Here are a few scenarios:

1. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying the Coconut Coffee Lotion and Hand Wash.
2. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying Freesia Rose and Tutti-Frutti scents.
3. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, they buy tons of it, as well as my other Bubble Bath Scents. However, I make 20% instead of my usual 50% Profit Margin for other products.
4. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, they buy it.  Not as much as the Freesia Rose or Tutti-Frutti, but more than Lush Blueberry.
5. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying it only for 4th quarter sales.

Yes, that seemed repetitive, your actual comparison will vary in each scenario, a combination of these scenarios or  your own micro-niche scenarios. I was trying to make it as simple as possible so that you could see the forest and the trees. So lets’ go through the possible solutions.

1. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying the Coconut Coffee Lotion and the Body Wash.

Why do you carry the bubble bath? In order to be a well rounded bath and body line? Sounds legitimate. Do you carry the bubble bath in all your scents? Does it sell in your other scents?

• If you never sell the bubble bath – Drop it.
• If you sell it in just certain scents. Just carry those.
• If it’s random what scents the bubble bath sells in, consider making your body wash a 2 or 3-in-1. Body wash, shampoo and bubble bath. Drop the stand alone bubble bath SKUs.

2. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying Freesia Rose and Tutti-Frutti scents.

• Just have the sample for display. Kidding.
• Drop it and just carry what sells.

3. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, they buy tons of it, as well as my other Bubble Bath Scents. However, I make 20% instead of my usual 50% Profit Margin for other products.

I assume you are only making 20% because you have priced the wholesale cost at what the market will bear or have backed out the price from what an acceptable retail price would be.

Have you? Can the market bear a little bit more? Does your packaging or special ingredient or other  niche aspect warrant a larger mark up? Think about it. 25, 35, 50 cents per item makes a difference to your bottom line. Just do the math.

Reassess your line. Are all items bought, or is this your biggest seller? If this is your biggest seller, it can be considered your loss leader, meaning you take less margin in order to gain sales on other items that you make a larger profit on. It also means that even though you take a smaller margin, it’s still acceptable because you are able to buy the supplies in larger quantities with larger discounts.

The trick is to get the sale on the other items. If your orders are mainly made up of bubble bath, then it is not a loss leader…it’s just a loss. If you can get higher margin on other items and average out your orders to carry all the products, then you can also cost-average and look at your margins that way. But this makes for tricky bookeeping.

You may want to:

• Rethink your wholesale cost.
• Buy your base ingredients or product in larger quantities in order to get a lower cost, this translates to a larger profit margin for you.
• Increase the minimum buy on this or all of your products so that you can purchase your base ingredients in larger quantities.
• Reassess your line and costing, find opportunities to mark up product in order to cost-average.

4. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, they buy it.  Not as much as the Freesia Rose or Tutti-Frutti, but more than Lush Blueberry.

Well, Coconut Coffee still qualifies as a good seller in this scenario. However, why do your customers end up buying more of the Freesia Rose  or Tutti-Frutti? Is the Coffee Coconut a close third place or a distant third?  If it is a close third, keep it, especially if your margin is good on it. If your margin is not good, then would anyone care if you dropped it? Would the other top 2 items bring customers into your booth? Think about it. And what’s up with the Lush Blueberry? Do you need it?

5. My fabulous Coconut Coffee Bubble Bath brings customers into my booth, but they end up buying it only for 4th quarter sales.

Then only offer it 4th quarter. Make a big build up marketing it with a limited time frame and quantity. Publicize it on your website, market signage and postcards, etc. You can decide as you go along what “limited” quantity is. The great thing about this is that you  don’t have to worry about freshness of stock or keeping items in inventory year round.

As you can tell, there will be a lot of circular arguments in this process. However, your brain knows this and will kick-out a circular argument, the more it twirls in your head the more the truth will rise to the top. It’s up to you whether you pay attention.

Thinking that it doesn’t really matter to have a few extra scents or products hanging around is just lying to yourself. It’s costing you shelf space, time, effort and thought. It’s costing you money to special order because you didn’t realize you were out and got an order for 6 bottles.

You want to order new labels and have to count the 12 extra SKUs of the 4 products in the 3 scents you don’t really sell; with a minimum run of 100 labels each, that’s 1200 unnecessary labels. Think of the new items you could be adding- but can’t afford to.

Having too many scents or products may also be diluting your Brand Image or message. You may want to re-evaluate your selection of scents and products according to collections, end uses and target market. By doing this, you may trim some of the fat and find that you’re actually missing something. Guess what? Sometimes the problem is not having too many SKUs, it’s not having the right one!

Is it starting to add up?

* The barcode tattoo picture is the cover of one of my favorite books The Jennifer Government.

One of my Showroom owners sends out newsletters to her vendors and reps. I find this so refreshing and enlightening. By sharing her views and links to blogs she follows and articles of interest, I am exposed to an entirely different viewpoint.

Most of the time, I read the content, take note and get on with my day. Then about a month ago, she sent a link to a blog that I cannot get out of my mind…what I really should say is that it got under my skin.

The reason for the link was  innocent and well-intended. It was sent simply to let us all know that buyers were employing new strategies when purchasing during the July Markets. Okay- good to know.

I clicked on the  link. Very interesting….However, another part of the post offended me as a Small Business owner. When I went on to read more of the blog I got more annoyed.

I know- you wanna read it for yourselves.  Don’t worry-  I’ll give you the link, but please indulge me first.

I kept wondering why I was so defensive to this person’s blog. I’m always interested in the opposite viewpoint. As a designer, I have plenty of experience with criticism. As a Small Biz owner, I’m used to taking compliments and critiques ranging from fabulous to nose-crinkling. So what’s the deal with this chick and this blog? I think it’s the tone. Condescending.

I can’t deny that she has tons of experience and is apparently a well-regarded industry expert on Trade Shows. Just don’t mistake this for an objective expert.

The blogger herself states many times throughout her blog that she is decidedly, full-forcedly (word?) and unapologetically on the “SIDE” of the retailer. And oh- she’s on the board of several Trade Show Organizations.

“Side?” “Side?!” My first reaction was to comment on her blog from a Small Biz perspective. Then I thought about a rant-post on this blog about being on the “Side” of the Wholesaler or Small Biz. Then I thought, geez, why are there any “sides?” , and how can I really take her opinions seriously when she is so obviously biased to promote the Trade Show business and their interests.

Okay, I won’t torture you any more. Here is the note my Showroom owner sent:

“A retail consultant and a woman who has been involved in the gift industry for many years, Cinda Baxter, is blogging about the various summer markets.  I don’t always agree with her comments, however I think her remarks on buyer strategies is worth reading at Always Upward: The Blog. “

I must give kudos to Baxter for fully disclosing that she does sit on the board for several interested parties in the area she covers. No crime in that.

So, let me disclose this: I’m a Small Biz owner. I promote small business. There, I said it. And, yes, hopefully, I will profit from it. Here’s the difference, I am not slamming the other side of the aisle. I know I need the Buyers/Retailers. I know I have to do the best job I can to attract their business and even more to keep it.

So- I think I would rather learn what the Retail Buyers need and try to nurture that relationship. But, I’m not a doormat and I’m trying to run a business too.

I’ve made a chart to compare the 2 “sides.” I don’t pretend to know what actually comprises a busy Retailer’s day. I just took some wild guesses, of which I’m sure a few are correct.

Even with the variances, I think we seem more alike than not. The obvious- in business to make money- is a given.The even more obvious, they sell to the general public and we don’t, doesn’t really make much difference. At one time or another we are each buying or selling.

Of course, I’m making this overly simplistic. There’s a lot more to the game/role-playing dynamic.

Depending on the size of the Wholesaler or Buyer, the scenario and attitude of either party can change. But, I’m talking to you, the Small Business owner. We don’t have so much power to wield. We’re usually dealing with small chains or boutiques that may carry up to a couple hundred lines – in the big-picture scheme of things, they’re considered “small” too.

Back to the Always Upward Blog. Let me shock you all and tell you that I think you should follow Cinda’s blog. I think she has a lot of information. Not all of it good. And certainly not unbiased. But still she has the backing or funds to travel to a multitude of  Trade Shows to give you her “insight”, information and opinions that the general Small Biz public may not otherwise be exposed to.

I decided to learn from her blog and utilize it as another resource.

Let me leave you with this.  Buyers need new product. Small Businesses are usually the pioneers of new product. Small Businesses need buyers. Of course there are other elements in this circle of retail life, like saleability and profitability. So, let’s just say we need each other and build from there.

Or, as they say in The Godfather, keep your friends close and your  “enemies” closer. Kidding.