*I was looking over my last blog, and I realized that I had left out a few key parts of the store that I was planning.*
Each month I will be looking to donate money to different organizations in my area. Some thoughts of the types of the places I would like to donate to are: Wounded Warriors, Regional Food Banks, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Beast Cancer Cure Research and other places like the ones mentioned.
I would also like to offer the
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Store Plan
Hello All!
If you are reading this, thank you. I haven't said much about the store and what it will have in it. Until now.
Here is my thoughts of what I would like to have in the store.
I would like to offer video games there. They will include everything from the Atari 2600 consoles/games and early systems like that, all the way up to the latest systems/games, which include Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii & Playstation 3 with the latest additions (Kinect, Move). I will also be going into computer software and hardware. I will be offering an upgrade service on-site, for those that would like to be able to drop off their computers and pick them up at the end of the day. There will also be offering of an on-site LAN/gaming area. But this is not all I will be offering.
For some of the geeks that are not into computer/video gaming I would like to offer a selection for table top gaming. Dice, books, rule books, cards for a variety of different games and board games also. I haven't looked too much into this area, as this was not in my original plan, so if you have any games that you like (mostly board games) please list them in the comment section.
Now I know not everyone is into games. So I will be looking to get comics/manga in the store as well. Also offer a selection of Animes and products associated with them.
There will also be a section for clothing. And not just wizard hats and robes. I'm talking about geek & gaming clothing. Like you would see on TeeLance.com and Jinx.com or other sites like that.
In addition to everything I have stated, I would like to offer products from LuxuryLaneSoap.com and GeekyClean.com There are a few other soap makers out there but I have not spoken to them yet.
Also in my offerings, I would like to have products by Craftsquatch who offers some very unique pillows.
There are a few other products that I have not mentioned here, but they will come when I get closer to the opening. I figured I would give a shout out to some of the companies that I am looking to support and have spoken to as of right now.
I hope you like what I am planning.
If you are reading this, thank you. I haven't said much about the store and what it will have in it. Until now.
Here is my thoughts of what I would like to have in the store.
I would like to offer video games there. They will include everything from the Atari 2600 consoles/games and early systems like that, all the way up to the latest systems/games, which include Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii & Playstation 3 with the latest additions (Kinect, Move). I will also be going into computer software and hardware. I will be offering an upgrade service on-site, for those that would like to be able to drop off their computers and pick them up at the end of the day. There will also be offering of an on-site LAN/gaming area. But this is not all I will be offering.
For some of the geeks that are not into computer/video gaming I would like to offer a selection for table top gaming. Dice, books, rule books, cards for a variety of different games and board games also. I haven't looked too much into this area, as this was not in my original plan, so if you have any games that you like (mostly board games) please list them in the comment section.
Now I know not everyone is into games. So I will be looking to get comics/manga in the store as well. Also offer a selection of Animes and products associated with them.
There will also be a section for clothing. And not just wizard hats and robes. I'm talking about geek & gaming clothing. Like you would see on TeeLance.com and Jinx.com or other sites like that.
In addition to everything I have stated, I would like to offer products from LuxuryLaneSoap.com and GeekyClean.com There are a few other soap makers out there but I have not spoken to them yet.
Also in my offerings, I would like to have products by Craftsquatch who offers some very unique pillows.
There are a few other products that I have not mentioned here, but they will come when I get closer to the opening. I figured I would give a shout out to some of the companies that I am looking to support and have spoken to as of right now.
I hope you like what I am planning.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thinkings
Sitting, waiting for my car to get done at the shop (oil change & tires) and thinking about what is going on with the store.
My thoughts are as follows:
- Money is an issue. Always has been, always will be. This is one of the reasons I am looking to start this store.
- Some of the actual product I will be selling is hard to sell in a web store. I am considering products from sellers that have a decent customer base, and I’m not looking to take away from them, but looking to get things going for myself. Also, the LANs and the upgrade service are impossible to do on the web. Although, now I am thinking about some aspects of this that might not be as impossible (This thought of the web store is based on the fact of web commerce has had the largest growth in sales over the last year.)
- All things associated with a web-based store are money dependent.
- Whereas I feel I have decent support for the idea, most of it is on the web, with some limited support in real life. Real-life support is real, but I don’t feel as the real support is supportive. I feel it could be slightly more.
- Getting the information together for the different aspects of the store (on-line or 'real') together is rather difficult. Mainly, because I’m doing this solo. Without doing something like this before. I have a few people that I can speak with to get answers, but no ‘decent’ answers. When I say decent, I mean I have people that I can speak with, but no one that has any knowledge of running a business of this aspect.
- Am I doing this for the right reasons?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Product Review: 'Jack' Scented Conditioner from LuxuryLaneSoap.com
There was a posting by @KyleeLane on twitter, stating that she wanted to send out samples for her new conditioner that she was testing out. Being someone that uses conditioner, I figured, "Why not?". I'm also a guy that has long hair, and it is hard to find conditioner with a 'guy scent'. So here is my review.
I jumped into the shower, and washed my hair. I then opened the pouch of conditioner that I received in the mail the day before. A bit hard with wet fingers, but teeth work in a pinch. It's also just a sample, so I expect the final packaging will be different. No big deal.
Once I got it opened, I was surrounded with a very masculine smell, the closest thing being that I can think of is an old time barber shop from the 50's. Very clean and manly. It was a surprise too. I didn't smell flowers. Always a plus! So immediately I was liking the conditioner so far.
Reading the instructions, I started from the tips of my hair, and worked my way to my scalp. I got most of the way up, but with the length of my hair and other factors, mainly my hair being damaged, I was running thin on conditioner by the time I got to my scalp. Not an issue, as I know my hair hasn't been taken care of as well as it should have been. I try, but there is not enough male focused products out there that smell good.
I let it sit in my hair for a few minutes as per the directions, and then washed it out. I used warm water, and not cool as stated in the directions, but I was in the shower. I finished up, got out and dried off. After I got out of the bathroom, I could still smell the scent of the conditioner in my hair. It is very nice to not smell like flowers or fruit for once!
I dried off my hair, and got it so I could brush it. As a ran my brush through my hair, I didn't snag it on any knots or tangles. Excellent! Afterward, my hair seemed lighter and somewhat smoother then it had before using my previous conditioner. Still smells good too!
So overall, I LOVE the conditioner! Great smell, works great, handmade, and an awesome person that makes/sells this. Thank you Kylee for letting me try this out! I look forward to buying this from you in the future!
Links:
Luxury Lane Soap
Kylee Lane on twitter
I jumped into the shower, and washed my hair. I then opened the pouch of conditioner that I received in the mail the day before. A bit hard with wet fingers, but teeth work in a pinch. It's also just a sample, so I expect the final packaging will be different. No big deal.
Once I got it opened, I was surrounded with a very masculine smell, the closest thing being that I can think of is an old time barber shop from the 50's. Very clean and manly. It was a surprise too. I didn't smell flowers. Always a plus! So immediately I was liking the conditioner so far.
Reading the instructions, I started from the tips of my hair, and worked my way to my scalp. I got most of the way up, but with the length of my hair and other factors, mainly my hair being damaged, I was running thin on conditioner by the time I got to my scalp. Not an issue, as I know my hair hasn't been taken care of as well as it should have been. I try, but there is not enough male focused products out there that smell good.
I let it sit in my hair for a few minutes as per the directions, and then washed it out. I used warm water, and not cool as stated in the directions, but I was in the shower. I finished up, got out and dried off. After I got out of the bathroom, I could still smell the scent of the conditioner in my hair. It is very nice to not smell like flowers or fruit for once!
I dried off my hair, and got it so I could brush it. As a ran my brush through my hair, I didn't snag it on any knots or tangles. Excellent! Afterward, my hair seemed lighter and somewhat smoother then it had before using my previous conditioner. Still smells good too!
So overall, I LOVE the conditioner! Great smell, works great, handmade, and an awesome person that makes/sells this. Thank you Kylee for letting me try this out! I look forward to buying this from you in the future!
Links:
Luxury Lane Soap
Kylee Lane on twitter
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Some new happenings with the store.
So you don't know much about the person behind the store, and I have reasons for that. I'm not hideous or a complete moron, but I have my reasons. There was a picture of me that I posted of myself, but it has been since taken down. For those that saw it, I'm sure you can agree with the first of the two statements. Even if I'm not your type.
Anyways, One of the factors about me is that I am unemployed. This is partly due to the economy, and partly to do with my personality. The economy is not something I can control, but my personality is. But the one factor in my personality is the need for personal freedom. In which having a boss does not go well. In turn, going with the economy, I am looking to get assistance from as many places as I can.
I had a meeting with the Department of Labor (DoL) yesterday and they have a few programs to help with getting some businesses off the ground when someone is on unemployment. Basically as long as you are accepted into the program, you may work on getting the business together, as long as you meet with people so they can see your progress. Not a bad deal in my opinion.
Let's see, what else is going on with the store? Still trying to make contacts for products, I have a decent list so far, and looking at more companies. Obviously I have not placed an order with any of them, but that will come.
Thanks.
Anyways, One of the factors about me is that I am unemployed. This is partly due to the economy, and partly to do with my personality. The economy is not something I can control, but my personality is. But the one factor in my personality is the need for personal freedom. In which having a boss does not go well. In turn, going with the economy, I am looking to get assistance from as many places as I can.
I had a meeting with the Department of Labor (DoL) yesterday and they have a few programs to help with getting some businesses off the ground when someone is on unemployment. Basically as long as you are accepted into the program, you may work on getting the business together, as long as you meet with people so they can see your progress. Not a bad deal in my opinion.
Let's see, what else is going on with the store? Still trying to make contacts for products, I have a decent list so far, and looking at more companies. Obviously I have not placed an order with any of them, but that will come.
Thanks.
Monday, November 8, 2010
On to Phase 1.5!
Wow. Major step forward with the store last night. I was in talks with bookraiser.com, and they offered to host a project on there for me, to raise funds by having people donate books. I know it sounds a little weird which is what I was thinking too. Basically, in a nutshell, people go to the site to donate books, Bookraiser sells the books, and gives the money raised to the project that brought in the books. I might have that slightly mixed-up, but the site explains it a bit better. The books are reused, people get rid of books they don't want, and the project owner gets money. I think it's a good deal all around.
I think the thing that got me hooked last night, was the fact of they are a newer company, trying to get going. Very much like myself. Now, from what I understand, the owner of the site has been in the new/used book business for a while. But the fund raising part is a new thing. I was comfortable with the setup of the project, no personal information was involved, and I don't feel I was pressured into anything. And honestly, I think people should help out people. This goes back to the community, gets everyone involved and helps everyone out. Good deal all around.
Now, if you are looking to donate books (money accepted too, via PayPal) you can go to the side bar --> and there is a widget linked to my project on the side. Or you can go to the site and see what other projects are available. Or, you can go to the site, and start your own project.
Thank you in advance for your donations!
I think the thing that got me hooked last night, was the fact of they are a newer company, trying to get going. Very much like myself. Now, from what I understand, the owner of the site has been in the new/used book business for a while. But the fund raising part is a new thing. I was comfortable with the setup of the project, no personal information was involved, and I don't feel I was pressured into anything. And honestly, I think people should help out people. This goes back to the community, gets everyone involved and helps everyone out. Good deal all around.
Now, if you are looking to donate books (money accepted too, via PayPal) you can go to the side bar --> and there is a widget linked to my project on the side. Or you can go to the site and see what other projects are available. Or, you can go to the site, and start your own project.
Thank you in advance for your donations!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Err... Sorry about that!
So, uh, yeah...
It looks as though when I was trying to add some advertisements to the blog, the ad blocker was still turned on. So I didn't realize how MANY ads were on the blog. Sorry about that for those that checked out my blog and just saw a ton of ads. It's been fixed now. There are a few advertisements on the blog now, but not anywhere NEAR what had been on there.
Wow. I feel dumb. Technology is a great tool, but always remember that you have to be smarter then the technology that you are using...I have learned my lesson.
It looks as though when I was trying to add some advertisements to the blog, the ad blocker was still turned on. So I didn't realize how MANY ads were on the blog. Sorry about that for those that checked out my blog and just saw a ton of ads. It's been fixed now. There are a few advertisements on the blog now, but not anywhere NEAR what had been on there.
Wow. I feel dumb. Technology is a great tool, but always remember that you have to be smarter then the technology that you are using...I have learned my lesson.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
I want to thank my supporters!
Hello all of you! When I signed on this morning, and checked my followers and my hits, I was very surprised! I picked up 2 followers over night, and broke 200 hits on here. In less than a month! I started this on 42 day (10/10/10) and it's been less then a month since then. Wow. I must be doing SOMETHING right! THANK YOU ALL!
I know I haven't gone much into detail about what exactly the store will be, but I have been honestly been reworking my idea (slightly, no MAJOR changes) as I've gone. And people have seemed to have reacted positively to the general idea of this store. This is a work in progress, so this may still transform (slightly) before the opening.
Now with this all being said, I am not too sure I will be able to secure a traditional loan from a bank or the like. I will try (money is money after all!) to get the loans, but I feel I will get a better return if I turn to all of you. I will be doing fund raising online, and all I ask from you is to pass along the link. That is all. I am not asking for money right now, but if you want to send me money, I'm not going to turn you down. LOL! Just contact me in the comments or something.
I just want to thank you all again for the support and love you have all shown me in less then a month. It REALLY made my day!
I know I haven't gone much into detail about what exactly the store will be, but I have been honestly been reworking my idea (slightly, no MAJOR changes) as I've gone. And people have seemed to have reacted positively to the general idea of this store. This is a work in progress, so this may still transform (slightly) before the opening.
Now with this all being said, I am not too sure I will be able to secure a traditional loan from a bank or the like. I will try (money is money after all!) to get the loans, but I feel I will get a better return if I turn to all of you. I will be doing fund raising online, and all I ask from you is to pass along the link. That is all. I am not asking for money right now, but if you want to send me money, I'm not going to turn you down. LOL! Just contact me in the comments or something.
I just want to thank you all again for the support and love you have all shown me in less then a month. It REALLY made my day!
Monday, November 1, 2010
I don't understand some companies...
So I was looking in the store's twitter feed, and I came across a tweet from UberDorkGirlie (Natali) in which her sister had a rather upsetting encounter at a hobby supply store in her area while shopping there. She blogs about it in her blog here. Now just for a quick overview, her sister when into the store and while in there, went to use the restroom. She walked into the restroom where there was a male employee using the woman's restroom. She came out and spoke to a manager, stating that there was a male employee in there, using the clearly marked WOMAN'S restroom with the stall unlocked. This was mentioned all the way up to corporate headquarters, but no disciplinary action will be taken.
I personally found this to be very disturbing from the view point of a potential customer, and as a soon to be owner of a retail store myself. This is NOT something I would tolerate from one of my employees, and I would personally taken the necessary steps into solving this issue in an appropriate manner. Even if it included the firing of the employee. I know if this ever happened in my store, keeping a customer is more important then keeping an employee.
Your first priority as a business owner is the customer. Not the product. I think we can all think about a mediocre product that we keep going back for due to excellent customer service. If the customer is not happy with the service they receive, they will talk down about the company. I know I have. In my opinion you can change the product if it's not something that is selling. But you can also do something about the staff if they are chasing your customers away. I think one staff is easier to replace then one product line. The customer can also mention it to a lot more people on the internet then they can in the 'real world'. I think this one occurrence was mentioned to 3000+ people... Very bad publicity in my opinion.
I do not understand how the management at this store found there to be no issue with this occurrence. It boggles my mind. I can't believe that this company has kept a customer after this. And whereas I might not be in the area, I do have friends who are crafters that live in the area. Yes, I'm talking about you Liz, aka Natura Pluma Designs! I'm not sure this is something the store would want other customers to know about.
I personally found this to be very disturbing from the view point of a potential customer, and as a soon to be owner of a retail store myself. This is NOT something I would tolerate from one of my employees, and I would personally taken the necessary steps into solving this issue in an appropriate manner. Even if it included the firing of the employee. I know if this ever happened in my store, keeping a customer is more important then keeping an employee.
Your first priority as a business owner is the customer. Not the product. I think we can all think about a mediocre product that we keep going back for due to excellent customer service. If the customer is not happy with the service they receive, they will talk down about the company. I know I have. In my opinion you can change the product if it's not something that is selling. But you can also do something about the staff if they are chasing your customers away. I think one staff is easier to replace then one product line. The customer can also mention it to a lot more people on the internet then they can in the 'real world'. I think this one occurrence was mentioned to 3000+ people... Very bad publicity in my opinion.
I do not understand how the management at this store found there to be no issue with this occurrence. It boggles my mind. I can't believe that this company has kept a customer after this. And whereas I might not be in the area, I do have friends who are crafters that live in the area. Yes, I'm talking about you Liz, aka Natura Pluma Designs! I'm not sure this is something the store would want other customers to know about.
Naked gnome race?!?!
HAHA! I was directed to this video because a close friend of mine was in it. Look for a bear with a gnome on the bridge running on the side of the bridge. (About 2:35 or so) Enjoy!
(I do not own this video, I am just sharing it. If the owner has any issues with my using the video, please contact me.)
(I do not own this video, I am just sharing it. If the owner has any issues with my using the video, please contact me.)
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