A HouseBeautiful Home Business

How to start a successful interiors, housewares or furniture business from home

Emma Jones

• Publisher: Harriman House
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781908003584
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Automobile Industry
• Index: Business

'A HouseBeautiful Home Business' is for anyone who has a passion, skill or hobby involving interiors and an interest in turning this into a business. You may always have a home project on the go and dream of turning your talent for styling a room, sourcing unusual products or upcycling fabrics and furniture into a successful business.With clear steps, useful links and expert advice, this book is your essential guide to making that happen.

CHAPTER EIGHT. Sell, Sell, Sell!

YOU HAVE YOUR idea. It’s supported by research and a plan pointing you in the right direction. You’ve sorted out all the kit you need to get going. And with the company registered, and admin and finances in shape, it’s time to get into business by making some noise and getting sales!

In this section we’ll look at how you achieve sales by selling offline and online, via platform sites and then via your own site.

Offline sales

Follow these five steps to make offline sales . . .

1. Make a list (check it twice)

Draw on your existing resources, grab your address book and circle the friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances you think might be interested in your products or service. Add to the list with details of local people and businesses.

2. Pitch up

Write to the people on your list and announce your new business venture. Consider this an opportunity to make your pitch, but don’t be too pushy. And remember to address each recipient personally. No one likes a group email!

3. Follow up

Follow up in a few days’ time, either with another email or, better still, a phone call. Take some soundings as to the success of your pitch and react accordingly. If the potential customer or client sounds keen, go for it! Arrange to meet him or her to show your product or explain more about your service.

4. Meet up

Arrange a time and place to meet that’s convenient for your potential customer or client. Be professional, but also likeable. They’re equally important characteristics when making a sale.

If the customer agrees the deal, bring the meeting to a fairly speedy end. Your job is done – for now. It’s time to head home and deliver on the promise you made with your first customer.

5. Make some noise

Once you’ve made your first sale – shout about it! If your new customer or client agrees, include them in a press release or write about them on your website or blog, so other potential customers or clients can see that you’re well and truly in business! (More on this in the marketing chapters later.)

Taking payment

An important point to be considered is how you will take payment. Most people will want to pay by cash or credit/debit card. Think about how you will offer this.

Cash

Accepting cash is fairly straightforward. All you’ll need to do is set up a small float to provide change and some way of recording sales. The float doesn’t have to be enormous – look at the prices you are selling your products for and plan accordingly (round numbers are easiest to deal with). It is a good idea to take along a receipt book so that you can write out receipts for anyone paying cash.

An inventory list will also be invaluable here as this will enable you to keep track of what stock is selling – useful for evaluating sales after the fair and also to keep you on top of what stock is remaining.

Credit and debit card payments

An exciting development in the payment space is the ability for small businesses to accept card payments via their smartphones. At this stage, there are two main providers in the UK, with Foursquare and PayPal set to enter the market soon.

The way these mobile payments work is very simple.

Through Intuit Pay (www.intuit.co.uk/mobile-payment-solutions) you can take debit and credit card payments anywhere. Only two steps are required to get started. Step one is to register, followed by step two which involves downloading the free app and following instructions.

Intuit Pay is currently in pilot mode and only works on Android phones. With it, you can accept in-person payments with the app and associated chip-and-PIN card reader. You can also log in and process card payments instantly online. Funds are guaranteed immediately and deposited to your bank account within a few days. There is no set-up fee to join Intuit Pay and there is a choice of two payment plans:

• pay as you go with a 3% charge on each transaction
• pay a subscription of £10/month and a fee of just 2% per transaction (the best option if you think that you will be making total transactions of over £1,000/month).

Most applications are instantly approved, meaning you can use Intuit Pay on your mobile as soon as you receive the card reader or immediately through the online terminal. However, for some people the application may be pended whilst checks are carried out. This may take a couple of days.

In the case of iZettle (www.izettle.com), you launch the app on your device (either smartphone or tablet) enter the cost of the item, a short description of the item you’re selling and perhaps even take a picture of it. If you are using the app on a tablet device, you can also choose the item you are selling directly from a product gallery where you have already organised the items by adding names, photos and prices. You then just insert the buyer’s debit or credit card in the card reader and tap ‘Pay’. Your customer signs on your device screen to confirm their purchase and that’s it! The system can also send a receipt to his or her email address when the purchase is complete.

The service is available for both businesses and individuals, and consists of a free iOS and Android app and a mini chip-card reader, which costs just £20 (you get £20 of free transactions in return).

• Set-up fee: One-time payment of £20 for mini chip-card reader.
• Transaction fees: For the UK, 2.75% on each transaction.

Beautiful Business: Home Restyler

Name: Katey Korzenietz

Business: Home Restyler

Website: www.homerestyler.co.uk

Social media: @home_restyler | www.facebook.com/home.restyler | www.pinterest.com/homerestyler

Katey Korzenietz’s business Home Restyler was created in April 2010, born out of her life-long passion for home interiors and her fascination with changing and re-styling room layouts and colour schemes.

“I can happily spend hours rearranging furniture and objects around people’s houses, playing with ideas to create new looks. I never get tired of it. I have a natural instinct for styling and am always on the lookout for new ways to create impactful spaces.”

One of the first things Katey did when she set up her business was to send out an email to everyone she knew, explaining what she was doing, who the business was aimed at and the services she was offering.

“Within 24 hours I had my first email requesting further information, which then led on to one of my biggest projects to-date.”

Since then, Katey has looked for other ways to promote the business. Reputation and word of mouth are key.

“Word of mouth is the winner in this game. I have also been fortunate to be asked to write for Devon Life magazine and other local publications (off the back of my blog), which helps build my reputation and trust in the Home Restyler brand. I sometimes attend networking events. And I always have a business card to hand as you never know who you might meet, especially when out socialising!”

As well as running the business, Katey also has a young daughter. She runs her business in a way that suits both of them.

“Until my daughter attends school full time I am happy to keep my client base limited to a maximum of two at any one time. That way, I am focused on delivering on-brief without stretching myself too far. Once I am able to work full time I will focus more on advertising and marketing activities to extend my customer base and will spend time photographing past projects to expand the image library on my online portfolio. In this line of work, customers are keen to see lots of previous work, whether for reassurance or just out of interest to see what I am able to do.”

Although she mostly works alone, Katey has built up a network of reliable co...