Hey there,

Summer brings more than long days and beautiful weather, it brings street fairs and outdoor flea markets! Participating in local fairs is a fabulous way to “get out there” and meet your customers face-to-face and start making connections.

Is there a fair coming up in your neighborhood? Once you’ve signed up, there are a few things you need to consider:

• Create an impressive visual displays & signage that grabs people’s attention
• Give a juicy offer! It doesn’t hurt to give people a deal to try out your product. It could be free samples, 20% off, buy one get one free…etc are a big draw for customers
• Make ayment easy – use services like square to accept credit cards and have enough cash change on hand to last you the day
• Have lots of snacks and water. You need to stay refreshed and energized
• Make sure to bring a comfortable pair of shoes and chair to sit on

…. and of course, enough selection of your awesome product!

Watching people interact with your products, and being on-hand to answer (and ask!) questions, can provide you with invaluable information on the strengths and possible limitations of your product line. Being open to suggestions will help improve not only your selection, but your reputation and sales as well! You will also be surrounded by local artisans and brands who could end up as wonderful collaborators and support systems.

Here’s to getting out there!
xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

p.s. A BIG, warm welcome to all of the new readers who joined our community! You are going to love the resources you will find here to help you make your product retail-ready… Enjoy!

p.s.s. If you live in the Brooklyn area, we will be participating in the 5th Ave Street Fair in collaboration with 2hFlowers.com on Sunday, May 20th 12-6pm. We will be debuting 3 exclusive floral design for Pink Olive along with a sweet deal for everyone who comes by the booth (167 Fifth Avenue Park Slope, NY 11217). See you there!

image: kristiana parn display

Hey there!

Marie Forleo just opened the doors to her legendary B-School program and I have to say, it’s pretty awesome!

I heard from Marie that she doesn’t think she’s offering this program again “live” for a while so if you want to work with her, now is the time.

Check it out before it fills up!

Talk soon,

P.S.  If you’re wondering if B-School is right for you, check out the link below where she addresses virtually EVERY concern or question you have!

Have more questions about Marie’s B-School?

Hey there,

Are you a mom who daydreams of running your own business between baby bottles and burpings? Do you find yourself wishing you had an “alternative career” (alternative to the office or being away from home) that involved a passion of yours? Then "mompreneurs" Meg Mateo Ilasco and Cat Seto’s Mom, Inc. is the book for you.

These ladies show readers how to budget their time, money and energy to ensure each of their babies, both real and business, get the attention they need and deserve. They cover the earlier technical business issues such as estimates, contracts, pricing, sourcing materials, safety regulations and cost with easy to follow charts, equations and examples. Continuing from there, you will learn how to name, market and increase exposure of their newborn business.

“Although your days will be one whirlwind after another, we hope that you’ll soon agree with us that being an entrepreneur mom gives you the best of both worlds.”

If you live in NYC of CA, you are in for a real treat! Come celebrate the release of "Mom, Inc." and meet authors Meg Mateo Ilasco & Cat Seto during their book tour. I will be attending the event on Monday, May 21st at Pink Olive in NYC and look forward to seeing you there! Please RSVP to mominc_events@zoho.com to attend.

xo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

p.s. If you are looking to jump start your online business and want to do it in the comfort of your own home, check out Marie Forleo's training videos. It will knock your socks off...

Happy Wednesday!

When it comes to branding your business, your focus should be on just being you! Sounds simple? It can be if you don’t let yourself get in the way In a market that craves differentiation and uniqueness, just being you is more important now than ever. Being true to yourself and authentic in your vision, approach and product will set you apart because there’s only one of you!

Buyers, and customers, connect with and value authenticity over perfection. Being real and transparent will also come across as accessible and relatable, making you and your brand more appealing across the board. You will be able to touch and engage with more of your ideal customers… just by staying true to yourself and not trying to be something you’re not.

You are imperfectly perfect in your own unique way, so let the real you shine .

“Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken”~  Oscar Wilde

How are you rocking your brand?
I would love to hear from you so head on over the blog and let me know
If you need some more inspiration, check out Angela Jia Kim’s picks for three women who are rocking their brands (which I was honored to be one of those three ladies last year).

xo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

image by Emily McDowell

Hey there,

Are you *really* ready to approach store buyers?

I always stress that it’s not necessarily about how many stores you can get in with, but rather about the quality of the store you can connect with. Did you take the time to check out the store (in-person or online) and see if you’re a good fit for that store? Finding your ideal store that perfectly complements your style is worth so much more than randomly calling a list of stores.

A good relationship goes both ways. Feel empowered to choose the type of stores that you want to do business with but when you call to speak to a buyer, be prepared to share with them why your product will be a good fit.

Take your time before reaching out to anyone. Do your homework. Does the store have a website? Check it out! Have there been articles written about or by the buyer? Read them! The more you know about the store and the buyer, the better you’ll be able to appeal to them on a more personal and well-informed level. You’ll come across better and won’t waste your (or their!) time with stores that won’t be a good fit for you anyway.

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

image: rifle paper & co

Hey there,

Are you a leader?

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~John Quincy Adams

There are many different types of leaders out there and many hats they can wear.  In order for your company to grow, you need to become a great leader.

A leader….
1. inspires
2. teaches
3. delegates

Most importantly, a great leader is nimble and listens to those around them. But where do you start?

In order to create your dream team and company, you need to know what you want that to be! Can you visualize what want your team and company to look like in 3 years?

Here are some questions to noodle over to help you paint this picture in your mind. It will become a great checklist to come back to with every decision you make:

1. Why do you do what you do?
2. What inspires you to create this vision?
3. How do you feel when you are living your passion?
4. What is your work culture like? What type of people do you want to attract?
5. What does your lifestyle look like?

Being able to answer these questions will help create the lifestyle you want for your business.

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

photo image: etsy shop

Are you getting pinned?

Most people know Pinterest (I first talked about it here) as a wonderful form of procrastination, or just a fun inspirational and organizational tool.  What most people don’t know, however, is that it can also be used for many product-based businesses! While pinning your products alone won’t get you far (savvy pinners can sniff-out pure self-promotion with one whiff), creating a compilation of favorite items, mood boards, and other inspirational items alongside your own products can bring in some serious business.

The ratio I like to stick by is 1:9. For every product of your own that you pin, you have to pin 9 other things that inspire you . This way your product becomes a part of your whole story, not just self-promotion.

When used properly, Pinterest is a wonderful tool for sharing inspirations and finds – by both pinning your own and getting re-pinned by all of your followers. It’s also a great way to test what will be popular and what people are saying about each item (check out htt://pinterest.com/source/“insert your domainname.com here”) Here is an example: http://pinterest.com/source/pinkolive.com/

Which images are getting the best reaction from your followers? What are some of your favorite recent pins? For some inspirations, you can check out some of Pink Olive’s favorite Pinterest Picks here every Friday

Happy pinning!

xoxo

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

p.s. Is possible to get found! Were you at the Etsy Success Symposium event last Friday? Get Found here.

“Being a new designer and start up entrepreneur, I was seeking advice, mentorship and consulting from an expert in the retail world. I found what I was looking for with Grace Kang of Retail Recipes. With her years of experience as a retail buyer as well being an entrepreneur herself, she was able to provide me with specific guidance on areas such as pricing my products/service for profit, guidance on transitioning to an e-commerce site, fine tuning my social media strategy, web-site design, creating line sheets and how to approach buyers. Each session I had with Grace left me feeling motivated and inspired to “get to work” so that I would reach my goal! Her industry knowledge and expertise has helped me tremendously to fine tune my business aspirations, my vision and the overall direction I’m heading in.”

Rekha Krishnamurthi
Creative Director, Divine NY & Co.

Rekha is massively getting out there and sharing her vision with the world. She recently attend Oprah’s Lifeclass and Martha Stewart’s Dreamers into Doers 2012 Event. She also won the category of Best Style/Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year at the Stiletto Women in Business Awards in Atlanta, GA last month. Congrats Rekha!

Welcome to Etsy Headquarters in Dumbo, Brooklyn!

Were you at the Etsy Success Symposium?

It was so wonderful to meet with so many aspiring entrepreneurs and artists last Friday. Etsy team did an AMAZING job in pulling it all together with awesome workshops & networking and I was thrilled to be a part of it. I was inspired from the moment I walked in to the building

Here’s to doing what you LOVE each day and getting FOUND. Enjoy this workbook that Etsy put together for the event!

xoxo
grace

Here we go!

Always be in learning mode!

Reach for the stars...

... but don't forget to have some FUN!

Hey there!

With the new season comes a feeling of renewal and starting fresh. Something about the influx of cute baby animals, daffodils and spring-cleaning makes me want to shake off a layer and try something N-E-W.

Beyond cleaning house (both literally and figuratively) this is a great time to try something new! Whether it’s pushing yourself to try a new technique, bust into a new market or just get a new set of eyes to take a look at your business. We all can get stuck in a rut, or find ourselves in a comfortable habit. Someone wise once told me, “Do something that makes you uncomfortable each day… everyday.” Are you?

Get out there, take a class, read a book, talk to a stranger, try a new social media site. Think of all the possibilities you can pull into reach when you experiment! Besides, what have you got to lose but learn something N-E-W?

I would love to hear your NEW ideas and NEW ways to propel your business forward. Please post here and let’s shake things up in April.

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

The Etsy Success Symposium
Grace will be participating in the Etsy Success Symposium Event on Friday, March 29th where she will be one of three experts (along with Tara Gentile and Kate McKean) to give mini-consult sessions to 100+ emerging designers and artists. The theme for this year is “Getting Found.” See you there!   www.etsy.com

Hey there!

There is something about the beautiful warm weather that makes you want to throw open the windows and let the winter out of our homes. It’s a time to refresh and renew, both inside and out!

This annual spring-cleaning can be applied to so much more than our physical dwellings, it’s also a time to spring clean business… especially your email inbox!

I recently learned about this new tool called Find Big Mail and for just $4.95 (the price of one cup of coffee!), it runs a test on your Gmail inbox and shows you which emails are clogging up your inbox.

At the time, my inbox was at 99% capacity (can you believe it?!) so I was sooo relieved to learn about this new tool. After purchasing it, the program found and categorized all my emails by size so I could see what was clogging up my inbox and waiting to be looked at or deleted.

We spend so much time online; keeping your email free of clutter can also open up space in your mind. In just 30 minutes, I was able to clear up 30% of my inbox. I still have more to go but it’s a start!

Celebrate the new season by clearing some clutter from your life and have a happy, reinvigorated Spring!

What are you doing to clean up your clutter in business and at home? I would love to hear your ideas here.

Happy Cleaning!xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor