Latest Posts from The Entreprenette Gazette

Following tradeshow dates is the best way to know when your buyers are buying!  I can pretty much guarantee (99%) that they are following tradeshow dates and they want to see what you have to offer too, even if you are not going to a show. To be successful in your business, and be selling when buyers are buying, you need to be ready to roll out your collection a bit ahead of the tradeshow dates.   You essentially need to get all your new details to them at least 2 weeks prior to ... Continue reading

So you finally decide to take the plunge and get a booth!   It might be a relief for you that you finally pulled the trigger, or it might be a total stresser – like it was for me each and (most) every time – and I did 5 shows a year when I had my handbag line.     Every show I did for about the first 3 years was as scary as the first one for me – in that I was never sure how I wanted to set up my booth, ... Continue reading

    Do you procrastinate?   I have never ever ever ever ever ever…..been a procrastinator ……..until recently.   I have found myself whiling away the time gardening, puttering around my new house, hiking, biking and frankly behaving like an alien has taken over my body and mind.   There is part of me that loves it as it is so FUN, and then there is the “normal” part of me that is horrified that I am wasting even one second of my precious work day while my kids are in school.   Well, I have had to ... Continue reading

How do you get inspired when deciding to create a new collection?  When I had my handbag line I always found the most inspiration in books about vintage handbags – not that I made many vintage inspired bags, but the I was always drawn to the vintage shapes and somehow my mind twisted them into a modern version!  Don't ask me how – it just seems to happen.  Was always one of those, "if I move this here, make this bigger, reshape the strap" it will be cool kinda thing……:O) I ... Continue reading

When thinking about a new product, it is wise to figure out if there is a real NEED prior to spending a lot of time and money developing this latest fab idea.  If you do your research, and really dig around, you'll quickly find through the internet and by looking in stores if your product will be in demand, or just get shelf space for a week before it goes on sale. Another option is to reinvent something you already do well, and make a "new" or "knockoff" version of your ... Continue reading

Stylists have always been rather mysterious and illusive in my opinion.  You often see their names in magazines, in Oscar reports and sometimes in tabloids, or on Celeb driven TV shows like Extra, E! etc…. but getting your product to them is a different story. We all know that getting your products to celebs is usually a sure fire way to get more media exposure but you don't always know if they "really" got it, and liked it, or just received it and passed it on to their BFF, or even ... Continue reading

I know you already know this……but just in case you don't think about it all the time……you want to be sure you are incorporating trends into your line each season.  One thing to keep in mind is that your collection will be on the same shelves and hanging next to everyone else who is following the trends……and you want yours to blend in. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2013 is the year of the snake – specifically the water snake.  Whether or not this influenced designers while creating their spring ... Continue reading

So let's get down to basics.  The whole lynchpin of your business is your target market (TM)…. next to the quality and need for your products of course!  But the bottom line, is that if you don't know who you are selling to, it really doesn't matter how awesome your designs are……if no one is there to buy them, there is no money, which is super disappointing. Let's change that right now! Here are some things to think about to find and market to your exact TM. 1. Figure out where they LIVE.  ... Continue reading