No seriously - is there anybody there??
These last couple of months have been incredibly hard. I hear it across retail, not just me. It's challenging. I'm plagued with all sorts of doubts - is my website actually invisible?
It's the same on Ebay, where I sell small amounts as a lead into my website. That can usually be relied on for sales, and even Etsy pops up the odd sale now and then. I watch the tumbleweed roll past.....
I wonder what I'm doing wrong, but I'm not Aldi, I can't sell so cheaply. I tried re- doing my website but I don't think that's helped.
I had a sale last month - that went well but I gave a 30% discount so no wonder. I can't afford to do that often.
Events have been better but even they are down on last year. Not on visitor numbers, but on average spend. Times are tough for everyone.
What to do?
Well, I've committed to a lot of quilt shows this year, including Festival of Quilts for the first time ever. I'm hopeful - this could lead to new customers or maybe invitations to sell at pop-up shops and at quilt groups. I will be on the radar of more people. I hope.
After that, I have my usual run of Grosvenor Shows, I do love doing these. I've made some lovely friends there and I meet my regular customers. Hopefully that will keep me going for a while.
Double down on creating
Maybe that's the way forward. New ideas and projects, and content creation. I'm building up my YouTube channel, documenting my small business life and the quilt shows I go to. I got a grant from the local council and I was able to buy a new camera to film my travels - I'm still mastering it!
How can you help?
One of the biggest ways' you can help is by engaging on my social media posts - just clicking like or commenting is a big help and it's free!
I now have a YouTube channel and it's free to become a subscriber, and that is a massive help to me - you might even like my content!
If you've ever bought from me before, maybe you could leave me a review on Google, that helps move me up the rankings.
And if you see me at a quilt show, come and say hello - I love chatting to people. At Festival you might even get to meet Mr Oakapple.
Thank you for reading all the way through this blog of gloom,
Here's hoping things start to pick up a bit!
Ellie