and then I'm on vacation for the week. I just wanted to share a bit of advice to anyone thinking about opening a scrapbook store. Internalize this and it will save you a LOT of headaches later! The middle of this month is CHA in Chicago - the Summer Show of the Craft and Hobby Association. The other CHA show is in late January. The WORST time you can open a store is just before or just after either of these shows. I have seen it many times - people open their store just before one of these shows and then go to the show to buy a bunch of stuff feeling very smart about their "timing".
Well, think forward a year when you want to have a big birthday celebration and start snooping around for freebies, vendor support, or even scrapbook celebrities to come to your store. Where are all of those people going to be?? CHA!!! Shoot, you can't even get many vendors to answer your emails in the weeks before and the weeks after one of these shows. I tell ScrapBiz members to avoid trying to set up new accounts around this time. The wholesalers are BUSY!
Soooo, as you plan the dates to open your store, if it is anytime near one of the shows, do it WAY before (like a month) or WAY after CHA.
Have fun if you are going to the show! I take a pass on this one and save myself for Memory Trends in the Fall.
2 comments:
EXCELLENT advice, Kim! I never would have thought of the one-year-anniversary angle, though I am quite familiar with the craziness surrounding each show. Kudos to you for sharing this priceless tidbit! ( I blogged it here: http://angiepedersen.typepad.com/blogofme/2005/07/advice_for_open.html)
Thanks, Angie! There are so many things to consider when starting a business in this funky industry that we love! My goal is for everyone to get themselves thorougly educated BEFORE they ever open their doors. Have fun at CHA if you are going!
~Kim
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