Success Champions
Taking Your Business Online Trying Times Call for Drastic Measures
By Heather Carr
A “Our business model needed to change desperately, and it needed to happen fast. I was borderline burnt out trying to do it all.”
fter two years on Main Street in small-town Azle TX, we decided to close our storefront this year on March 1st. Overhead just wasn’t making sense anymore. Our business model needed to change desperately, and it needed to happen fast. I was borderline burnt out trying to do it all. In the year prior we rebranded and began trying to ramp up our online sales. We were doing events, trying to stay active in the community and gain influencers on social media. We reached out to Donnie Boivin and a few friends whom we met through networking for some guidance. We began to put some of the things we learned into motion. We were gaining some followers on Social Media by following some simple rules. We chose two platforms to advertise (Facebook and Instagram) and post every day! I started an Etsy store and began listing our products there. Etsy is great for showcasing your products
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and integrating them through your social media channels. Slowly, we started adding more products to our website. We wanted to concentrate on maintaining a certain vibe with product pictures to convey the brand. I also put some products on a group called Range Me. Range Me has buyers for wholesalers and BIG Box stores to buy your products in bulk. A good friend introduced me to an awesome program to use for stock photos in a pinch. Keep posts simple and make sure to post a link for purchasing. We also partnered with a local cafe to serve some of our Teas. And I have decided to reach out to a few other Coffee and Tea shops to see what other opportunities we could use to get our products out to more people. Initially, I had a hard time deciding to close. I loved our little shop, the friendships we made and the people we met. Let’s be honest though, that wasn’t going to pay the bills. So, time to get serious and move on. We were increasing our online presence; it was a slow trickle. Then February rolled around. Christmas and Seasonal sales were fading, and the realization set in. I was going for it! It was time to close. The real magic started to happen here! Once I announced we were closing, people were coming out of the woodwork. We decided to lease a small display space within the Cafe we teamed up with. We could keep our Teas accessible to regular customers and have a place to mix products in bulk. During the process of moving, we
