Retail For The Rest Of Us: A Podcast For Indie Retailers Who Want To Make Sales, Build Community and Grow Their Shops

44 Ways To Choose Your Own Adventure

• Feel Good Retail • Season 5 • Episode 7

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aka "ideas to grow your biz without hating it" ;) a mid-season interlude

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[0:04] Welcome to Retail for the Rest of Us, a podcast for indie retailers, makers, and shop owners who want to do business differently.
I'm your host, Janine Malone, retail expert, small business cheerleader, and the founder of Feel Good Retail.
On this show, you'll hear insights, strategies, and ideas on how to sustain and scale your shop without sacrificing your sanity.
Each week you'll hear from me and the occasional guest expert in what I hope feels more like voice note from your retail BFF than a business podcast. Additional goodies and support can be found in our show notes and at feelgoodretail.com. Now, let's get into the show.

[0:40] Music.


[0:48] Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Retail for the Rest of Us. I'm your host, Janine Malone, and today I want to talk about choosing your own adventure. As this year has shaped up for me, it's clear that I have been in a very internal moon-wintering phase in the business. I've been.

[1:07] Taking a lot of time to really think about what I believe about retail, what I want this business to look like, what I feel strongly about teaching that I'm not seeing elsewhere, and really allowing that to have time to really percolate. And what's coming up is that so many of the things that I used to feel so strongly about in terms of non-negotiable practices or things that could work for everyone have really softened. And I found myself saying, it depends in pretty much every conversation I've had with retailers who are seeking support, who are looking for guidance, and I've really been doing a lot of kind of custom strategy work for folks so that the way that they're running their business feels really supportive of them and their vision and the things that they really love to do and want to do more of as opposed to just giving them a roadmap. Because it's kind of like when you read financial advice, and it's like, we'll just stop going out to dinner." And you're like.


[2:26] I'm just not gonna do that, though. There has to be a different way because for me, going out to dinner and trying new restaurants and trying new foods and connecting with my friends.

[2:38] Is just what I love to do, and I don't want to deprive myself of one thing in order to have this bigger goal, which is financial stability or whatever. There has to be a different way to a budget, right? And that's kind of how retail is feeling for me right now. We're like, I could certainly tell you best practices or build a roadmap that I have seen work for other folks and kind of like adapt that to be relatively universal. But a lot of you are going to say, like, I don't want it that way. I don't want it that way, Backstreet Boys. And I agree with you.

[3:26] Like I think what's so cool and amazing and inspiring about indie retailers is that like they're all so different and there are really creative and amazing, inspiring, kind, thoughtful people behind each business. I mean, you've even heard them in the interviews that we've done so far this season. Like some folks really want to be in the numbers, others really care about their systems. Some of them have these really big personal goals that they want to pursue. Others are really into like collaborating and organizing.
And like I think when I started Feel Good Retail, I was like so much more interested in the idea of like building an intuitive business where you felt in charge. Like.

[4:09] I don't want to be in charge of your business. I don't. I want to teach you and empower you to understand how to build a strategy that feels unique and supportive. And of course, if you need help along the way, I want to be able to provide what you need, but I just think that.

[4:28] The idea that one person is going to be able to give a one-size-fits-all approach just isn't resonating with me. And it's interesting because throughout this process, I've been kind of like deconstructing my business. I've also been having to like unlearn all of this content that I've consumed about how to grow a service-based business, how to grow an online business.
And that's been really challenging because I think especially during COVID, like I was just consuming so much of that content and I just wanted to help folks and give them like lowest common denominator, like what can we do to get through this really challenging time? And.


[5:11] Like I said, I've just like grown and softened and learned in my own right. So it's a bit of a tangent, but I think it's helpful to give that context. Because today, I just want to offer like a little interlude episode and read some of a note that I have in my phone that is titled.

[5:33] Ways to Grow Your Business Without Hating It. Not the final title. And certainly, like I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with these ideas, but there are things that I've written down that I've offered folks as advice to grow their businesses that I've come up with or thought of, you know, day to day that I've created content around in the past and just like, wanted to remind myself and hopefully, you know, in this little funny little episode remind you like how many different ways there are to invest time and energy into your business and to experiment and play and have fun and be a little bit more flexible in the way that you approach your business. And I know many of you are in a season where sales are slow. Summer can be a real grind, especially like end of July, early August when like people haven't started totally coming back yet, but you're also really starting to think about Q4 and the end of your year and how to hit your goals.


[6:44] So I just thought I would read some of these to you kind of without context. Take what you like, leave the rest. Maybe there's something in here that you're like, I should try that. I hope it's helpful. If not, it's just kind of like a meditation on there isn't just one way to do business. There's no one way. And I think as long as you're focused on what is feeling really supportive to you and the input you're hoping to get from the output. I think everything's worth trying at least once, right? Okay, so here we go. 
1. Reconnect with your vision.
2. Test a referral program. 
3. Learn about and apply SEO.
4. Work with affiliates or influencers or partners to show off your goods.
5. Host a giveaway. Please collect email addresses, not Instagram followers.
6. Analyze your inventory. 7. Play around on TikTok. It's not that serious.
8. Create an eye-catching window display or a great flat lay for a photo. Just to flex that muscle.
9. Hang out on Pinterest. Get a little visual eye candy for a while.
10. Pop up at a market or a friendly shop in another town. 
11. Pitch yourself on a podcast that you love.
12. Watch a movie. A new one or an old fave. 
13. Share a freebie in exchange for email signups. 
14. Write a blog.
15. Host an I-can't-fucking-wait event. 
16. Collaborate with aligned brands.
17. Build a subscribe-worthy newsletter.
18. Align with and support financially the causes that you care about.
19. Create content pillars that go beyond product.
20. Spotlight makers, vendors, customers, and people who inspire you.
21. Talk about your values. 
22. Send post-purchase emails with ideas for how to integrate your products into your customers' real lives.
23. Start a book club. 
24. Send thank you notes. 
25. Segment your email list. 
26. Create a VIP loyalty program.
27, send a win-back email to folks who haven't purchased in a while.
28, craft an intentional promotion.
29, ask for opinions and feedback. 
30, set up a welcome flow to thank new subscribers for being here.
31, experiment with different tunes, different scents, and different merchandising layouts in your shop.
32, send post-purchase emails with ideas on how to integrate your products into your customers' real lives.
33, pay your staff a living wage. 
34, be curious about your customers, talk to them.
35, try to sell like a human.
Think about how you like people to talk to you in a store and talk to your customers like that.
36. Ask the tarot or ask an oracle deck.
37. Pay yourself a living wage. 
38. Share a playlist. 
39. Take a day off. 
40. Call a friend or a fellow retailer or a mentor and tell them how you're feeling.
41. Have a snack.
42. Review your sales reports.
43. Take a look at something that's worked for you in the past and do that again. Make it 5-10% better than last time. 
44. Free write all of the things that are spiraling and bouncing around in your head. The to-dos, the ideas, the tasks, the worries, the anxieties. Then shut it down and come back to that list tomorrow. 

So that's the kind of stuff that's bouncing around in my head.
Making sense of that, figuring out how I want to use it, to be seen. But I thought maybe it could could be helpful to you just for this first little while. Maybe it sparks some ideas. Maybe, it gave you a permission slip. Maybe it was just a nice reminder to think about when your last day off was. Either way, I think you deserve to have a business that you love and I'm so glad that you're building it and I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you and I thank you for being in business. Cheers to feeling good.


[11:35] Thanks for listening to Retail for the Rest of Us. Find additional information and resources related to this episode in the show notes or on our website, feelgoodretail.com.
This show was lovingly produced and edited by Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio.
If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to text it to your business bestie, share it on social media and leave us a rating or review. It really helps the show grow organically and we love making new friends. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being in business and cheers to feeling good.

[12:04] Music.