Do you get discouraged with the economy? I do! How does one maintain an upbeat attitude when sales slide south or con artists skim the cream off meager profits? We at Silks by Leslie have experienced both. How have we managed to survive through three years of the worst bear market in recent decades. We opened our shop in May 2007. I had many years experience in the business world in both the public and the private sector. Leslie is endowed with a unique artistic ability and a life long interest and experience in flower arranging. A silk flower shop seemed an ideal opportunity to meld our complementary skills. Bad timing! We had two strikes against us. First a small, and I mean very small, business operates subject to different forces than larger entities. My six years of analyzing and coaching small businesses in the Department of Defense mentor program was virtually useless. We discovered that very soon to our dismay. Second, we opened our business just as the economy took a nose dive. How have we survived? I think there are several reasons.

We committed from the first, to give more than we take. By giving our customers more than they are expecting we have reaped enthusiastic referrals and good will. We attempt to treat our customers as trusted friends. We have contributed to our community by supporting charitable organizations. With a staff of two and a limited budget, we cannot contribute time or money. So we contribute samples of our products for fund raising events. When some recipients failed to recognize or credit our contributions, we simply chalk it up as “bread on the water” and continued to support worthy community efforts to the extent of our ability. We carry and promote local artists at a lower commission rate than most galleries. This supports our artistic community and creates traffic through our shop. When we collaborate with associates we always make sure that they benefit as well as ourselves. This has created a marketing approach tailor-made to our particular business level. Satisfied associates continue to seek ways to work with us and promote our products along with their own.

We have self-educated ourselves to our new business environment. We draw on the knowledge and experience of our associates, keeping in mind the scale of our business. Our ability to benefit from communications technology continues to improve. We lost some resources, both time and money, in the process. Having someone develop a sophisticated web site simply did not work for us. We did not know enough about it and got scammed in a couple of attempts. We had to develop our knowledge base in order to determine our own needs. We found, as a very small business, our best advertising was on free social media sites, and in developing local networks and our reputation for integrity. We found that our products sell better in face to face contacts. So we continue to build our customer base and to nurture it. We have gained a great deal from the N.A.P.L.E.S. programs and membership knowledge-sharing. We are very grateful for that, and continue to grow with that group and others. Many of our lessons have been hard, but we are determined to grow in effectiveness.

We take cautious risks and capitalize on the opportunities created by the adverse economy. We have learned that not everyone holds our values, so we use more caution in developing business liaisons. When we do, we strive to be absolutely loyal to our associates. When opportunities surface we invest to grow. Recently we had the opportunity to acquire additional space at a lower rate. Even though it was more floor space than we thought we needed, the rate was just to good to refuse. Since our new location was only a few blocks away we decided we could move ourselves (sorry Ed!). Bad decision! The month of May was devoted to relocation and a lot of uncompensated labor and, inadvertently, neglected customers. We won't do that again! Fortunately because of our strong customer relationships we were able to recover. However our decision to move was a good one. We have been able to expand our product line to include stems for the “do it yourself-ers.” Since the closing of many small businesses, there is a market for us in that area. We are planning classes for that market segment (stole this idea from Art – Thax friend). We are using our expanded space to create a “bargain basement”, a seasonal room, and a wedding and event room for displaying those products. We have created a cozy corner for shopping buddies to rest and enjoy a cup of coffee or a cool drink. As we continue to serve, learn from our mistakes, and try new approaches, our business rewards us with fun, fulfillment and hope. Stronger revenue streams, enlarged customer base, and expanded market are sure to follow.           Visit us soon at 183 10^th St. So.