#10 - Can I have your card?

It's probably one of the biggest rules in business marketing - have a business card!  It's the most affordable marketing tool - and it's a sign of professionalism.  I can't tell you how many times over the last 5 years I've heard excuses from people without one.  "It's in the car - I forgot it at home - They are being reprinted" and I smile because I've used all of those excuses and more.  At least I'm not the only scattered one, I think:) 

When we moved to our new location, we made a mental note to make new business cards.  For the first month or two, we scratched out the address on our old ones and used them up.  We struggled through the Fall and Winter and whenever the topic of business cards came up, it was usually followed with "well, we don't even know if we are going to be in business next summer". 

This week I made the decision to actually get business cards.  I glanced at the quantities... 500?  1000?  no, 5000 please!  It was my commitment to myself that yes, I did indeed need a business card because I was going to be in business for a long long time and it felt great!

#9 - Our People are our Greatest Asset!

I'm the kind of person who like to shop in relative peace.  I want to be acknowledged but then I don't want to feel pressured by sales staff.  Of course, if I have a question or a need, I expect a sales person to magically appear and assist me. I like someone who is knowledgeable about the product - who can anticipate my needs but who will also leave me alone to try things on while I take my leisurely time. I want sincerity and honesty, I want friendly and polite, and above all I want to be valued and respected.   That's what I look for when I shop - and that's what I strive to offer.  We have always taken pride in our staff.  Over the years we've had some great women who really embodied what we are all about.  We are really excited about our newest team member, Pam.  She's an amazing woman that puts her heart into her job - and she's not afraid to go the extra mile.  I've heard only great feedback from our customers and I'm really excited that she's joined us at Maximum Woman.  Our team is our greatest asset!

#8- Size Matters

When the economy started taking a turn for the worse everyone in the industry struggled to survive and adapt.  A lot of our suppliers cut out larger sizing (4X/5X).  Other suppliers stopped making plus sizes all together.  With fewer and fewer dollars to go around, we put our money into junior plus styles - most of which stopped at a small 3X.  As a woman who wears a 4X myself, I found this painfully disheartening.  Today, I'm happy to say, that we are beginning to recover.  We've started bringing beautiful styles into the store that go up to a 5X and in some cases, a 6X.  And it's only going to get better!  I'm also happy to say that these styles are affordable.  We look to find merchandise that is the right size, for the right price and in the trendiest styles.  Our goal is to carry at least 50% of our inventory up to a 5X by the end of the summer.

#7 - Team Work.

Complicated problems often call for creative solutions.  Having a big, beautiful retail store without inventory was an obstacle that needed to be overcome.  I connected with Stefanie from SexyPlus Clothing in January.  She had an online store featuring trendy, stylish plus size clothing and was located in Toronto.  It was the perfect fit for Maximum Woman.  We like to focus on our dress business during the Spring and Summer and I felt that our merchandise would complement each other. 

We formed an alliance and Stefanie came into the store this past February.  Now the store is brimming with new styles and we are able to offer more to our customers -  beautiful summer dresses, Spring coats, great denim, designer labels like Apple Bottoms and Babyphat and formal wear.

Team work is a beautiful thing!

#6 - Open for Business!

We have been closed on Mondays throughout the Winter and with the new Spring weather I made the decision to reopen.  There is LIFE out there now.  There is a lot of street traffic and people are ready to start feeling fresh and beautiful.  Opening Mondays is one more opportunity to provide great customer service to our customers.

#5 - Putting my best face forward.

"Get off your ass and change those damn mannequins" screams my overbearing friend.  "I knowwwww... I really shoulddddd" I hear myself whining. The truth is, I probably changed them twice all winter.  I just couldn't think of anything that was new or unique enough to justify it.  I would look around the store thinking something was too dark, or we only had one of it, or we'd had it for 6 months and then I'd give up.  On this particular day my friend barked at me like an army Sargent until I changed each and every mannequin.  She shoved old dresses and odds and ends my way and I just obeyed meekly.   A week later when she returned she asked me about 3 of the mannequins that were dressed differently. "Well.. um... we sold those things".  And then the gloating began...

But she was right of course.  What's old to me, can be new to my customers.  So I've started changing my mannequins weekly and I'm amazed by the people coming in, mentioning something they saw in the window.  At the urging of another friend, I've started putting mannequins out in front of the store each day and it is just breathing new life into the business.  People are stopping to look, people driving by are doing u-turns in front of the store and I'm feeling really positive.  It's amazing how one small change can make such an impact.

#4 - X-Weighted: Rina On the Road to Weight Loss Fame!

I've often watched the show X-Weighted and wished I could be a part of it. Perhaps it's a desire to be validated or maybe it's the accountability and motivation - but I like the concept of the show. Unfortunately they shoot in Western Canada so until now I have only been able to watch from the comfort of my home. Yesterday I received an e-mail inviting me to take part in the X-Weighted National Challenge. January 9th is the official weigh in at gyms across Canada. It's a 6 month unsupervised program but I love the opportunity to be a part of the challenge and to have a definitive start date in my head.

I am really excited to get in shape and I'm determined to be so successful that I'll make it on to the program in the end. They always like to showcase success stories, so what better way to promote Maximum Woman then to make it to the end.

I am a firm believer in the adage "success begets success". When you feel great, when you look good, when you do good, when you put positive energy into the universe, it all comes back ten fold. I often tell my business partner that we are too unhealthy and unhappy at this moment to attract the success to our business that we need. This is my next step in my journey towards feeling better and bringing the positive energy back into my business.

#3- Paying the Taxman

When my brother was little, he loved to play hide and seek. When it was his turn to hide, he would just shut his eyes really tight and assume that no one could see him. I apply that same principle to my financial issues. If I don't answer the phone, then the bill collectors don't exist. If I don't open my mail, then I don't have any bills that urgently need paying. And if I don't deal with my taxes, then I don't owe any money. Well, kinda, except when the government decides to freeze my bank account, then it's very real and I am keenly aware.

When you are in business for yourself you have to worry about two kinds of taxes: your personal taxes which you are responsible for deducting and paying, and your business taxes, which you are responsible for collecting from your customers and remitting to the government. It's all very fun.

When you earn income in business, the money is deposited into one account. Keeping the tax collected aside becomes a real challenge when times are tough. It comes down to "do I pay rent, or the government"? "Do I use these last dollars to buy stock to keep my business alive, or do I remit to the government"? It's easy to "borrow" these taxes with the most sincerest intentions of returning them, but weeks and months of poor business pile on top of each other and all of a sudden, it's time to pay the taxman and there is no money in the vault!

The next step on my journey to healing my business is to file LAST YEAR'S tax return - and to file for GST and PST. I am already feeling the weight lifting off of my shoulders!

#2 - Wheeling and Dealing!

I've always been a firm believer in networking. It's important to connect with people for many reasons. It's not simply what they can do for you - and of course, what you can do for them - but it's also an opportunity to share ideas and infuse fresh energy into your business. I was fortunate to connect with the CEO of Swak Designs. It was enlightening to speak with someone else in the industry who was facing the same challenges but who was also pushing through with innovation and hard work. We were immediately drawn to each other's merchandise. As difficult as it is to find stylish plus size winter coats, it's almost impossible to find cute, cocktail dresses up to a 6X. Every Spring and Summer we struggle with that obstacle. Most dress suppliers stop at a size 24 and it's painful to watch our customers forced into something less fashionable because of their dress size.

After our phone conversation, we decided to make a trade. Coats for dresses. I am very happy to say that in the next few days we'll have some wonderful, affordable cocktail dresses arriving at Maximum Woman.

#1 - Filling Up the Wagon.

We used to have a landlord named Steven. He was a very wise, shrewd self-made millionaire of Chinese descent. Every time we went head to head with him on any issue, he won. He was a tiny little man who built his Electronics business by working 18 hours a day, and then carrying huge televisions on his little frame up giant staircases after a hard day's work. He would tell us that story every time it came to discussing our financial woes. As hard as we were having it, apparently he'd had it harder - and persevered.

Cindy and I will often look at each other during rough periods and remind each other of his favourite catch phrase "you can't sell empty wagon". He'd say it as he looked around our store, shaking his head disapprovingly. He was right of course. In order to be successful in business, you need to have something people want. After 4 years in business, we're pretty sure that sexy, sleeveless, skin tight tops in junior plus sizing are NOT what our customers want... but what then? The answer came to me shortly after I began this blog. My daily reflections were interrupted by another self made Chinese man. He was a manufacturer who designed coats and was interested in breaking into the plus size market. I agreed to meet with him and he brought some of the most stylish and trendy plus size coats I'd ever seen. While the sizing wasn't ideal, and the fit would need to be perfected - the potential was immediately evident. He gave us a great deal which we would be able to pass on to our customers, and generous terms, and we agreed to work together this season and in the future.

So we filled up our wagon and we've managed to sell close to 100 coats this month. This marks the first step in my 101 step journey.

On the Brink of Destruction: Situation Critical!

The past 14 months of mind numbing pain and chaos have tested my faith and belief in my business. The Recession or is it a Depression(?) of 2008/2009 has been unrelenting and almost more than my new, young business can handle. I remember starting Maximum Woman, along with my partner Cindy 4 years ago. We were so optimistic, so excited... this was our DREAM! We were going to throw ourselves into a world of entrepreneurship and save plus size women from their worst fears. We were going to bring trendy, stylish plus size clothing into the forefront - we were going to have solutions for problems - dresses for dressless women, boots for wide calves, coats for coatless women, lingerie for women who were bountiful and who still embraced their sensuality. We had a vision and we wanted to do it all.

We learned very quickly that there were going to be obstacles. As a small, independent boutique with no cash flow, no buying power, no marketing budget and a very limited number of suppliers who were not so plus size friendly - we had a quick introduction to the reality of business. It was ok though - certainly not anything that our enthusiasm couldn't overcome. We'd be creative and we'd win our customers over with customer service. We'd go above and beyond and do everything that we could to make things work. We'd find creative ways to market out business - like going on the Dragon's Den last Spring. We'd rely on word of mouth and we'd make sure that that word of mouth was overwhelmingly positive. We'd make our own clothing line overseas and make sure that we had the styles our customers wanted, in the sizes they needed, at the price they were willing to pay. And we'd do all this with a smile on our face.

We spent the first two years of our business overcompensating for everything we wanted to do but couldn't do properly. We'd drive across the city at 11pm to bring someone a dress, we'd express items in overnight at our cost so that our customers could have a top or dress they needed for an event. We'd drive hours away, across the border to pick up shipments that wouldn't be delivered to Canada. We sent personal emails and had in-store parties in an effort to connect with our customers. And our customers were wonderful and supportive and encouraging and patient, and then more patient and more understanding... and eventually confused and then eventually frustrated and disappointed. Why are the sizes cut so small? Why are there no 4 or 5xs? Where is the career wear/ jeans/boots/Babyphat (insert need here), when were the sweaters and coats coming in... was this all we had? And we apologized and explained, and apologized some more... we apologized so much that we couldn't keep up with what apologies we'd already used. We'd be apologizing about the lack of stock and explaining the situation when our customers would chime in "new stock is coming next week"... Uh huh, and make sure and come back... please... come back:)

We turned down the Dragons last Spring for $250,000 because they wanted half of what we saw as a great, growing business. We'd had sales of almost $700,000 in 2008 and we knew the potential was limitless. Unwilling to part with 50% of our company and coming off of a very successful dress season, we decided to go it alone and continue to grow our business as we always had. We opened a new beautiful store in Woodbridge and things were great. When the Recession started in September, we weren't prepared for what that would do to us. We had no contingency plan and although we'd faced many slow periods up until that point, we hadn't foreseen an all out economic shut down. Things spiraled downwards quickly for us as we attempted to save our first store from closing, while growing this new business. By Christmas we were holding on for dear life, resigned to the fact that we'd have to walk away from Woodbridge in order to save our business.

2009 has been an entire year of struggles. We've had to deal with some hard facts. Many of our suppliers have either gone bankrupt over the year, or have had to cut out their plus size division. Other plus size suppliers cut out their larger sizing and were behind with their own production. Even if we had the money, there was nothing to buy.

We've had a particularly slow Fall season and a very slow Christmas season. There are a lot of reasons - from a non-existent marketing budget and zero advertising, to a lack of inventory. Customers have been conditioned this year to shop sales and it's hard to get a fair price on anything that hasn't made it to the Clearance rack. As well, clothing isn't something people are buying at Christmas time. Women are shopping for their families and friends, not for themselves.

We worry about the fate of our business - wrestling with the decision to close our doors, or to push through. So in my final moments I'm asking myself, have I done all I can? Have I exhausted every avenue and given 110%? I know I've spent a lot of time agonizing over this business. I've wallowed in self pity, I've complained to friends and family, and I've stared at the wall in despair but was I proactive? Did I step up like a true Entrepreneur should during trying times? I guess I could do more. No, I KNOW I could do more. And at the end of the day I want to be able to say "I am a strong, resilient woman and I have made it!" So I've started this blog - 101 ways to save Maximum Woman. 101 contributions I can make to put the life back into my business, and the passion back into my life.