Shop Just Wish

Friday, April 18, 2014



Just Wish Update - April, 2014
 
So ... our business is growing in leaps and bounds. We're keeping up with the orders, but our lives have become a lot busier in a very short period of time. That's a good thing.  : )
 

As Kathryn mentioned earlier, we're now being featured in a variety of different places all over the web. More and more sites and people are seeing our shop and we continue to make more sales and outperform in every statistic. It's crazy!
 

We've doubled our sales again this month -- and we still have two weeks to go. In less than three weeks this month, we've notched as many unique views and favorites as we did for ALL OF LAST YEAR. Think about that for a moment. Yesterday was our largest single day of sales since inception and today we might very well top that. The orders keep coming in and we're so far beyond our most optimistic projections that we're now in uncharted territory.
 

It became apparent after a few months that we'd cracked a secret code into the world of inner geeks, nerdy types and professional folks that hadn't been exploited much. But now, with so many sales coming in, a few more things seem clear:  (1) that market is vastly bigger than we imagined and (2) a lot of folks who might not meet that description also love our creations and are buying our products.
 
Here's another interesting insight we discussed last night while trying to keep up with all the orders -- it seems that an unusually high number of our customers are buying items for someone other than themselves. The custom phrases people place on the items they give to friends and loved ones are sometimes funny, always creative, occasionally suggestive, and even touching and heartwarming. We love their enthusiasm and excitement as we communicate back and forth while making their custom orders!
 
Coming up next month, we're going to be featured on the front page of 9th&elm, a large national and very popular clothing website, for an entire week. We have stock on hand and have arranged with one of our suppliers to gather more inventory as needed on a next day basis. We will then remain on their website indefinitely afterwards as well. Preparing for that event has led us to push back the launch of our independent website another month so we can focus on getting product out the door and keep our 48 hour turnaround promise. We can do this, but we are going to be VERY busy and consumed with the business for a few weeks while that plays out.
 
Looking at our current sales trend, considering the increase in sales with the national promotion next month and exposure that will generate, then following up with the new website launch ... it's just amazing how successful Just Wish has become in such a short period of time. Our margins are ridiculously generous and it reminds us of an episode on Shark Tank where Kevin O'Leary commented to one of the presenters (who had similar margins) by saying, "... I don't know whether to congratulate you or call the police! ..."
 
We just feel so blessed and fortunate. It is true that hard work, good research, and tenacity pay huge dividends. But it almost seems like some kind of divine intervention has taken place. It may also be true that some of our success, I suppose, is dumb luck in that we seem to be positioned in the market at exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Whatever it is, we feel humbled and grateful.
 
Kathryn is now officially a member of the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW). I am so proud of her! She is really the driving force behind everything that's happening with our company. It's all I can do to manage the accounting and marketing end of this juggernaut she's created. We've also now been recognized as members of the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NVOBA) and that will open even more doors for us. It seems that every day more opportunities present themselves and we now find ourselves in the position of picking and choosing instead of hoping and wondering.
 
We continue to develop new prototypes and will introduce several new lines in the near future for market testing. This is becoming easier as our reach expands and we can more quickly make decisions about what will sell and what won't. On the business side, we have a solid formula for pricing that maximizes profit and keeps the price reasonable and affordable for our customers. We believe in the axiom of "Do one thing, and do it well" ... and we will keep that standard going forward. If it 'aint broke, don't fix it. We have our niche and we are doing well.  : )
 
And now, back to the delicious grind of making profit and growing the business. I'm going to give my gorgeous wife a hug and big kiss and thank my lucky stars for another awesome day that's so good, I just might have to hire someone to help me enjoy it. Thanks to everyone -- we appreciate your support and just know that you've all contributed to our amazing success.

No comments:

Post a Comment