Ron Burgundy

Have a word with Frank and the team at MBE Sheffield https://www.mbe.co.uk/sheffield It's their forte

Many thanks for all your comments, Forum Hive Mind :-) Especially 999Tigger. I'll check that out and let you all know.

Probably one for people of a "certain age" Dies anyone know where in Sheffield/ Chesterfield you can buy Fuller's Earth cream? Can't seem to find any anywhere other than importing from America!

Having looked up the meaning of Incendium, it wouldn't be my choice for a name to reflect plant/ horticulture/ gardening. I suppose if I were searching the the given criteria, I would look at words like plants/ cultivation/ cultivar/ flora/ floriculture/ agriculture/ groundskeeping, along with the ones already mentioned (bold).

I also recommend Park View Soft Furnishings.

You are welcome to call in to our showroom and discuss shutters. We have several on display, and if you bring your sizes, we can do you a costing there and then

Dan does all our stationery and printing. Recommend

These guys do a great job, imho http://www.compassdistribution.co.uk/ Ask for Alan Fenn

In principle, I try to plan no more than 50% of my available time. This allows for new "urgent to-dos" to be added in, and still achieve deadlines. In practice, this doesn't work all the time, as new "urgent to-dos" dont appreciate my planning and turn up, in any quantity, unannounced! My main rule is to give everything a deadline, no matter how small the task. If I meet it, I win *I invariably do, as I am fairly competitive!*

Hi There's a foodie event on at Abbeydale Picture House on 28th February, and I understand there are still some stall available. I don't have contact details, I've just seen it on social media. Worth giving them a call?

I can recommend Victoria Roberts, if you want to give her a call? [email protected] or 07530996124

It's closed for two weeks, whilst the new owners revamp.

Hi I've used Compass Distribution in the past; very good company to deal with. 0114 3030909, or 07969 757206. Ask for Alan Fenn.

Hi Adelek PM'd you :-) ---------- Post added 13-06-2014 at 10:08 ---------- Thank you for that lovely comment

Hi Not sure whether or not you are still looking, but there is a place at Hillsborough- Wellspring Complementary Health Centre, which rents out rooms; Krysia is the person to talk to (tell her Maxine sent you her way, not Ron!)

Agree with all the above; plus Your window: yes, it would be far better if people could see inside. Some people want to see your offer first without any pressure to buy or engage. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't have things in there. I don't know how it is set out, but could you not display around the sides, and use the window height, so you are creating a "frame" to entice people in? If you do display in the window- keep on top of the maintenance; faded, peeling products covering in dust and dead insects puts anyone off anything, especially in your line of work! As for marketing, the best advice I can give is "ask for everyone, get no-one". Yo may offer something for everyone, but you need to narrow down your offer into clear, defined marekting chunks- hayfever been a prime example, as already said; I'm no expert on health supplements/ food etc, but are there specifics for pregnancy, skin complaints, stress, recovery etc? This are marketing targets, which you can then broaden when peopl start chatting to you. Plus, how easy is it to get to you- where's the parking, what public transport stops near you, who else is near you? For example, I had no idea where you were, until you mentioned Bardwells :-) How about your suppliers? Do they have websites with "where to buy?" on them? Check and give them a call :-) Finally, get yourself out there. It's hard when you run a shop (*knows*) as every time you leave it, is a potential opportunity that customers can't get to you- and hiring someone to cover is not that simple. look for weekend events at which you can show, free networking evenit early morning/ late pm, get yourself a social media presence, put your contact details in your signature on here!; all this stuff is free, slow- burning (there are no quick fixes), and allows you to chat directly with your potential customers. Good Luck

Advertising/ PR- one of the few businesses where you get paid for not guaranteeing any results Good luck with your own approach to this. We've worked on the SocMed side of it for a couple of years now. Am absolutely not an expert, but definitely beginning to see some positive results- especially with Twitter

Recommend Steve's at Greenhill S8, or Pat O'Brian at Banner Cross S11 :-)

Interestingly, we have considered this in the past, and kept away, as the costs seemd to outweight the benefits for our business. However, I do know a few people who use a PR company, and they swear by it- it's an inital outlay as the company spends time (I think upto 3 months in some cases) building your image before you start to see results, but once a story is picked up the momentum seems to kick in, and they are all over the place (PR wise)! I feel that your business dictates the benefits- ours is majority B2C, and they use t'interweb to do their homework and take personal recommendations seriously; B2B is possibly less so, which is where PR could come in. Maybe its worth having a chat with a few companies to see what they can offer? I can PM the name of the one I know from above, if you're interested

We're with these, and have had no problems in over 6yrs trading; plus our payments are processed within 48hrs (exc weekends).

Ours is another avenue of communication. Apparently you should blog at least once a week, and I don't, so it doesn't have many "followers", but we do get responses to it in the showroom so I know it is read http://bespokeblindsandpoles.blogspot.co.uk/ As with many things, do it if you have something to say

CHOCOLATE saucy :hihi:

Dictionary definition: a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity: You probably need a web designer/ graphic designer to give you better ideas, but- to me- luxury is being wrapped (physically or emotionally) in warmth. So- probably photos rather than cartoons pictures, maybe someone in a huge deep bubble bath surrounded by the best looking of your selection? The cupcakes? Not my thing, but maybe someone eating one the more expensive, photogenic ones in a luxury setting? Remember the old Flake advert- that made you want to buy chocolate!

Are you keeping both the cupcakes and the bath products on the same page? That doesn't work for me. I don't eat cupcakes in the bath If you are, I'd split the page into 3- cupcakes// bath products// how to. Keep the bubbles graphic related to the bath products. The bottom pink bar can be a lot shallower, allowing you more room for the other stuff. I also think it needs to feel more luxurious? The colours need to be richer, more "velvetty" (I'm neither an artist of graphic designer, so please feel free to ignore!)

Yes we do. Not shedloads, but all recommendations from other Forum users, which is lovely.