Become A Successful Internet Retailer

I met Susie Glennan, of Busy Woman, several years ago. We were both in the same work-at-home mother's group, both starting our businesses, and both looking for ways to stay connected with other women while gaining some much needed support and exposure. Since that time, Susie's business has grown into something very successful. I hope you'll find her interview worth reading as she shares her tips for becoming a successful Internet retailer.

I understand you are an Internet retailer and you sell organizational products. Was there anything particular in your life growing up, or as an adult, that helped lead you down this career path? If so, can you explain?

A little family history... My father is what we call a Type A compulsive. I remember my mom telling me that before they had kids, he used to walk in the door and run his fingers across the door jam to see if there was dust. He mellowed a bit after having children but still has to have everything immaculate. Just make sure you don't step on his white shoes when you meet him.

That doesn't mean he's a stuffed shirt. He's always been the life of the party everywhere he goes. He's the host with the most and all around fun guy! My mom is often the quiet one. This is how I know I take after my dad.

I have a compulsion to organize things and keep them clean but love to talk and have a good time. So while at my friends' homes back in the 80's, I'd have the compulsion to clean and organize their houses. I couldn't just sit and talk while their table was dirty or their dishes weren't put away. One of my friends yelled at me for it. I used to occasionally pick up her kids and take her to work. I was her daycare provider. One day while waiting for her in her living room, my oldest daughter and I started to clean up. After all, she had 3 boys and a baby girl. When she walked out and saw us cleaning, she was so embarrassed she yelled at me that it is HER mess and how dare I clean it. I tried to explain that we all need help and it's just something my daughter and I enjoy doing. Of course that came out all wrong and hurt her feelings. So while taking her to work, she calmed down and understood my feelings about wanting to help a friend working full time while raising four children.

I kept my own home neat and organized. And it wasn't difficult with only two adults around who were rarely home. After I had my third child, I became a bit fanatical about finding a place for everything and made a decision to shut down TV, computer, phones, and whatever else distracted the family for three weeks in a quest to organize the house. I started homeschooling while running a daycare and I just KNEW everything had to be organized.

Within 3 weeks, my three little ones and I had accomplished MY goals and everyone who came into my home was impressed (not what I was going for but happy all the same).

It was about this time that I started sharing with those who asked, how I did it. I started speaking on things like curriculum for homeschoolers (you have to be extremely organized to figure out which products suit your children's needs), how to organize your home for homeschooling, and other organizational topics.

So I guess you could say my compulsion for organization prepared me for my business in time management and organization.

Before starting your own Time Managment business, did you have an internship anywhere? (ie. Work for a particular company for a few years, take college courses, volunteer, etc.) If so, when, where, and how did it help you prepare for your own business?

My internship was living with my father. (wink) In addition to that, I was hired in a print house (small as it was) at the age of eleven. I organized the paper, learned a little about the business, and learned how to keep the books.

All of these things were jobs that required a meticulous mind (something I didn't know I had since I was technically a slob while growing up). I seemed to really enjoy all the rows and columns of the ledger paper. It jazzed me to put all of the papers in the right order in the collator and pull the stacks of neat paper as they came off of the machine.

My mom also trained me in how to organize the bills and such at an early age. I can remember being 19 or so when my older brothers called me because our parents were out of town. The water heater had broken, water flooded the floors, and they had no idea what to do. I guided them via phone, first to the water valve in the front yard to shut off the water, then to the files with the warranty information and who had done the work. With this information they were able to call the company who did the work and have them come out and fix it before mom and dad came home. Most of this was learned behavior but turned into an obsession/compulsion for me.

As I got older and was hired at different venues, I realized that I had a hard time when things were not in order. So I would take it upon myself to organize. This always lead me to a promotion and management at a very young age.

When I graduated from high school I took the regular general education courses, typing, biology, but at the age of twenty-one, I had my first child and my husband and I decided I would stay home to raise our daughter.

The most helpful thing I did outside my natural tendency to organize things was being in direct sales since the age of eighteen. Whatever products I needed, I signed up to sell.

I must share a personal insight that many might not consider. Nothing prepared me for owning my own business in the capacity I am now. When I was a direct sales representative, the corporate office handled many of the arduous tasks. Before I was the President of my own corporation, if there was a problem with production, chances are I didn't hear about it unless the home office shared that there was a delay. It wasn't my job to fly out of the country to fix things. But now it is.

It's a completely different line of work to own your own business than it is to sell products for someone else. I don't think anything can prepare you for what emotions you might have or the pitfalls you go through. It also depends on if you sell products or have a service business. There are so many variables.

Unless you're raised in a family owned business, are you ever really ready for what you're about to embark on? It's like asking a parent if they were ready to be a parent. I guess my real answer is that I was ready to run my own company. I wasn't ready for the unexpected. And just as many are ready to be a parent, they're not necessarily ready for a defiant child, sleepless nights, etc...

Once you decided to become your own boss, how did you find the capital to start your business?

My good looks and great credit! (smile) Seriously, I have the same story someone told me the other day. So it's "still" happening...

Unless you've been in business for three or more years, lending institutions do not want to loan you money! How ironic! Because I have great credit, I was able to get an unsecured loan to start the business. Mind you I was turned down by three institutions for several months and then had a bad experience with the SBA. So I went to my old bank with whom I had several paid in full loans. They took a chance on me. I don't think I've heard many stories otherwise. Side note: My loan had a high interest rate and the bank actually didn't loan me as much as I needed to start with. So I also had to use credit cards. This was the worst thing I ever did. But now we're seriously on track and I'm happy with where we're at.

My husband had to cosign the loan as well. And I'm not sure how many other husband's would do this for their wives if they didn't believe in them and their business.

With capital in hand, what was one of the first things you did to get your business off ground floor and how did it turn out?

The very first thing we did is send out a mailing introducing me as the new owner. Then I started booking as many local and home parties and seminars as I could. That was one of the things the company did in the past but didn't spend time working on right before I purchased the company.

Next I tried to fire up the troops. We had many reps and needed to get them fired up and out there selling again.

I then researched and purchased a database program that would run my company. This is something I think many smaller businesses spend a lot of time on. I feel that if you don't just put out the big bucks right up front to obtain the right program with which to run your company, you're going to be like me and spend years trying to find just the right one. All too often I hear from other business owners about the shortcomings of their program to run their operations. There is a need out there and it's not being met in the small business sector. So I'm working on a program to meet this need.

As far as how it turned out, let's just say that the phones were ringing off of the hook the day I drove up with the inventory in a huge truck and started offloading! We had to put a message on the machine stating that we hadn't even unloaded the product so they should leave their name and number and expect a call within two days. It was amazing!

As your business expanded, and grew, how did you accommodate for the increase in expenses?

It's the old adage, two steps forward, one step back. We make money, so we have to spend more money to accommodate the expansion. In 2004 we moved the company from our home to fulfillment. That didn't work out so in 2005 we moved the home office and the products in fulfillment to our own office/warehouse. This has been awesome!

When you up your sales, you need to expand either physically as it pertains to warehouse or financially putting out more for larger bulk purchases. It's a natural progression unless you're not making enough profit.

We're now looking for a larger warehouse.

Side Note: There is a fine line at one point where you're not quite there but if you could just get the funding things will explode. It's at that time where you have to take a leap of faith or go stagnant. You're either "all in" or "all out".

What was the most difficult thing about starting this particular business venture?

This particular venture requires carrying a lot of inventory and ordering in high volume. So you always have a lot of money invested in inventory. It also requires being detail oriented because we develop many of our own products. The other aspect is the type of fulfillment you have to deal with.

If you only sold a book. And that book was the same size, you'd only need one or two sizes in boxes or padded bags to ship the products in. In our business, we have such an extensive line of products that we need many box sizes and can't just take out the one box and pack it.

If I knew then what I know now has become a popular saying in our home. (wink)

Did you ever have a business blooper? If so, what was it, what happened, how did you resolve it, and what did you learn from it?

Our FIRST shipment from overseas was a blooper. We didn't know to test the products for a few months before sending them out. We had to do a recall on that shipment. I had to get a very quick education in the leather industry in order to assess the issues. To resolve everything we either refunded 50% of the purchase price to the customer or we gave them a full refund. We lost thousands but gained a valuable lesson. So if you see me carrying a new purse, chances are I'm testing it.

I also have women I send products to who test for me in different climates. This is helpful but time consuming as most of them need to be hounded into sending in the report on the product.

What method of advertising have you found works best in regards to not only getting the word out about your business, but helping you turn a profit? Why do you think this works so well?

Word of mouth has been our best avenue. When people use and love a product they tell others who tell others and so on. Also when a customer loves a company, they tell others. I could probably sell widgets and my customers would purchase them from me because of how much I care about them. The second advertising method that works best is having a customer based ezine. If they're your customers, chances are they know you or know of you. So when you write, they listen.

If someone was looking to become more organized, what advice would you offer?

If it's not your natural tendency to be organized, hire a professional organizer. I don't go out and organize people's space anymore. But I do many phone consultations. The biggest thing I've learned is that if you're ready for change, great things can happen for you. If you're not ready for change, then all the consultations in the world won't help.

Could you take one week of your business and mix it up to give us a broad overview of what a typical day would be like as a Time Management Retailer?

A typical day involves:

• Morning prayer
• Working on an article
• Answering emails
• Answering phone messages
• Giving consultations
• Downloading orders and printing them out for the warehouse
• Working on my to-do list

This is in no particular order as it changes each morning according to when we have trainings and other things that take us from the office. For lunch I pick up my daughter from school, feed her and bring her to work with me.

We're always working on new product development so that is sprinkled in between all of the rest.

Visit her at http://www.thebusywoman.com/

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