The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

Last year I conducted a survey where I asked about 50 small creative product businesses a wide variety of questions, ranging from how they managed their costs to what sort of turnover they were producing. One quite startling figure that arose from this research was that a whopping 75% of the business owners I surveyed did not pay themselves from their creative product business! Paying yourself is...

In mid-September, I ran the Resilient Retail online summit, which was all about getting ready for one of the most important sales touchstones of the year - Christmas. The summit featured 10 sessions across 2 days presented by an amazing range of industry experts with backgrounds and experience as diverse as email marketing, PR, wholesaling, and social media. So, with the festive season not far off...

In episode 10 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to get you moving from being a reactive to a proactive creative business owner, and that all starts with setting targets and goals as part of a robust sales plan. A sales plan is the first building block needed for many of the elements that are required to run your business effectively. Even making a simple outline with a few select targets c...

Social Media is an inescapable and vitally important channel through which to reach and connect with your customers. With the right mixture of content and posts, you might see great results in a short space of time but it’s important to remember that Social Media is not a sales strategy, but just one device in your selling toolkit. In episode 9 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I go over the appr...

There’s so much to do once you start your own creative product business! When you’re in charge of doing everything and find yourself juggling so many responsibilities it can be hard to see the big picture, especially when it comes to sales. That’s why in episode 8 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’m diving into the ONLY four ways to grow your sales. From ‘Sales Funnels’ to ‘Super-fans’, we’ll s...

Whether you find yourself bursting with business ideas, think that you've spotted a gap in the market or are simply just tired of the 9 to 5 and are ready for a change, starting a creative product business can seem like the perfect option - but it’s not without its challenges and a steep learning curve. So, in episode 7 of The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I want to give you 5 things you need to kno...

Profit is the engine that drives everything you do, so if you don’t price your creative products correctly you can’t hope to last very long or to build a resilient retail business. Underpricing is a common trend I see afflict budding entrepreneurs and small businesses alike, where various elements, often including a lack of confidence or belief in you and your business, means you start charging le...

Stock management can make or break product businesses. It’s all too easy to fall victim to ‘shiny new stock syndrome’ and bulk buying discounts, where you end up overstocking your business and creating a “stock monster’ that reduces your cash flow to a trickle. In episode 5 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan I cover the four key rules for stock management - having a plan, ordering the right amounts...

If you want to sell more as a creative product business you need to be as passionate as I am about those products at the centre of your business - why else start a business if you’re not going to create fantastic products? I always say “The best sales strategy is a great product strategy” and this involves a number of approaches - from the way you interact and relate to your customer base to revis...

Profit margins are like the foundations of your business so it’s very important you pay close attention to them and that you’re fully aware of how much money you’re making every time you make a sale. In this episode, I go over how to breakdown your costs and how to use those figures to become a more profitable and resilient retailer. We’ll cover the simple calculations (which I've included below)...

Retail isn’t in trouble, boring retail is in trouble. Witnessing the collapse of behemoths like Debenhams can certainly knock your confidence, but don’t be deterred. The challenges we’re seeing facing legacy retailers today are a result of decades of change and are part of a new cycle for the industry. In this episode of The Resilient Retail Plan, we’ll take a look at the birth of the big chains i...

So, why am I here and why am I talking to you about the retail industry? Well, first - a little background. After graduating from Warwick University with a degree in International business back in 2000 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. After numerous, uninteresting interviews with consulting firms, and from previous experience on the shop floor, I knew I wasn’t cut out for a career i...

Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan. A podcast for anyone wanting to start, grow or scale a profitable creative product retail business with me, Catherine Erdly. Mentioned in this episode: Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'