It's ok to take a break, pause, and reset, whether in your personal life, job, or business. The last two years have thrown up an unrealistic picture of how a start-up or tiny business grows, and that's because, under lockdown, I did most of our marketing, selling and comms via social networks rather than direct interaction with our customers.
When I set up Live Well, I was already running a successful boarding cattery. I thrive on social interaction with my customers - face to face contact rather than uploading and posting information to social channels. I've always loved that part of my business, meeting and having a bit of a natter about their holiday plans and pets' needs. I'm happy to give advice and make them feel reassured about leaving their pet with me.
Communicating about our lovely soap and skincare is difficult via social media. Nobody wants to listen to businesses constantly trying to sell something, so I like to mix it up with blogging (Live Well started as a blog) and attending farmers' markets and craft fairs.
When I set up my cattery 15 years ago, a local business person gave me some sage advice. "Grow your business organically - don't pay for expensive advertising, don't try and be everything to everyone - take things slow and let your customers recommend you". I took this advice, and it's worked very well for me - the cattery, licensed by Wiltshire Council, has a five-star rating and is busy most of the year.
What about our soap and skincare shop? Well, that's gradually grown too. I invested in Live Well in early 2020 using funding from my existing business and was able to launch a small collection of soap and skincare plus our e-commerce website. Two years on, we now have a decent turnover and repeat business. Returning customers is essential to the success of both companies.
Having more than one income stream has helped; direct sales of soap and skincare from our lovely cattery customers have increased, and we've also had success through local fairs and shows. We've got a few events booked for the Summer and are looking forward to those - a chance to chat directly with customers and showcase our lovely products.
We've several new products under development and are still very excited about our fledgling business. You don't need a marketing degree to sell a product, nor do you need thousands of followers on social media - you need enthusiasm and a real passion for whatever you sell, and you have to love your customers!
Social media platforms have been great in many ways but have affected me by pulling me away from a sense of connection I feel with face to face interaction. So I'll be focussing less on social media and more on direct contact with customers via our bijou shop and website newsletter.
Thanks for checking in and reading our blog posts; we hope to see you at the Salisbury Craft & Gift Markets over the Summer and the Gift Fair at Hudsons Field, Salisbury 31st July.
Pam x
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