December 6: A Skinned Knee, The Marinara Fiasco & Monetizing the Model
A Skinned Knee
I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of skinning a knee lately, but I did today. I was rushing from my house when I fell face-forward, and yes, it still hurts, and the two band-aids aren’t doing a lot for me.
Why mention this on The Hundred Dollar Business experiment site?
Mainly because I think the reason behind the skinned knee was my lack of sleep. I’m not really a mystic person who assigns cosmic meaning to normal experiences, I just think I’m running on such low energy that apparently walking is starting to be a difficulty. Not a good sign. But wait, it gets better.
The Marinara Fiasco
A few hours later, I managed to spill an entire tub of marinara sauce on my lap as I was driving back to the mall. I still can’t decide which was worse, the knee or the marinara.
Walking inside the mall with 8 ounces of tomato sauce mashed into my skirt was also highly unpleasant. Perhaps the enticing smell of tomato sauce is the reason we did fairly well today?
Anyway, here’s the deal– I have been staying up grossly past midnight, and according to the experiment, that’s off-limits. So I need to change that.
Skinning my knee is a great, painful reminder of how sleep deprivation can also affect my ability to make and execute plans for the business. So, I’ll make this post as short as possible so I can unplug for a bit. 
Sales, Sales, Sales
Someone posted a comment last night about retail holiday sales, which I haven’t had a chance to reply to yet. Anyway, she gave a great suggestion, that instead of worrying about “selling”, that it’s better to create an environment where people feel comfortable to look, pick things up, not feel pressured, and enjoy themselves. That was an awesome concept that really helped today.
Some of the things we are trying include:
1. Pulling the inventory out of the packaging as much as possible,
2. Putting some of the dolls on lower levels so the kids can reach them.
3. Having samples of the Nutty Guys nut trays and Channing’s Bundt Cakes so people will try them… like them… and buy them!
4. Giving the customers some time to browse before approaching them. (If they wandered to the kiosk on their own).
5. Consolidating the products and sorting them, so they are easier to process visually.
And more. I can’t remember the rest.
But I’ll be honest, I’m starting to worry about sales. We’re having sales, and have had them from day one, which is amazing for a five-day-old startup, but I am constantly wondering if it is enough on many levels. For break even. For ROI. For doing as well as we have the potential to do. For making a gazillion dollars, besides.
I guess that’s the plight of every business owner, right? The good thing for us is that for the most part, we don’t have overhead– though each of us has a breakeven figure, whether that is for product, time spent, or remaining portion of the lease. What we have is completely do-able at the pace we’re taking, which is great news. But…
Are We A Lifestyle Idea or A Fundable Idea?
When I was brainstorming the experiment, I remembered reading Brock Blake’s recent post about how there’s a difference between a “fundable” idea and a “lifestyle” idea. The main difference was that a fundable idea would provide a ROI 10-30 times the initial investment, but a lifestyle idea provides income for the owner & some employees, but not much beyond that.
So on one hand, we’re doing really well, as a “lifestyle” idea, and also technically as a fundable idea (with the investment being $100, an ROI of 10-30x shouldn’t be hard to hit). I think The Hundred Dollar Business as a concept is a fundable idea, but running a kiosk is a lifestyle idea. At least, running one kiosk. Thousands of kiosks… could be fundable.
But either way, I want to maximize the opportunities that we have during this month. And what I’ve realized is that even with the improvements we’re making in salesmanship, presentation, etc., there is still a cap to how well the kiosk can really do, so I’m starting to turn my thoughts to other ways of growing business as well. At the same time, I definitely want those new ideas to be a quality effort.
By the way, someone inquired as to how much sales per day we are at. I don’t know if that’s totally appropriate public info, but hey, it’s my blog, right? So far, on a slow day in early December about $150, and on average, $200-$250, and on a great day, $350. Then again, we’ve only been here 5 days, most of them typically sloooooow mall days– Mon, Tues, Wed. Our goal is to get to $1,000/day as soon as possible, however– which is totally reasonable for a mall during the holidays.
How to Monetize the Model?
We’re a business, right? So we want to make profit. As much as possible? Yes and no. For example, we’re trying to determine the best ways to monetize our online presence, as well.
But, I don’t want to cheapen the blog, you readers’ attention, or our concept. Yes, unfortunately, we want to do things the classy way.
We’ve had some great suggestions from you about ways we can monetize the concept more than we are already. Some of them are fairly easy, and we may do them. The winners currently are to:
1. Integrate a shopping cart option on this site so people can order our Nutty Guys holiday trays, Channing’s Bundt Cakes (they’re shippable, y’all!), Kelly’s princess gear, etc.
2. Put affilate links to our vendors’ online stores.
3. Make t-shirts on zazzle.com or cafepress.com or another site.
4. Use AdSense.
5. Write short articles & charge .50 or $1.00 each for them. (This actually sounds fun– I’d like to do something like “The 10 Most Amusing Things That Happened Today”.
(Just as a freebie, today I was handing out bundt cake samples, and one gentleman (mid-fifties? keep in mind that I’m 25.) said, “oh, that looks sweet.” and when I tried to give him one of the samples, he declined, giggling and saying, “I was talking about you.” It pretty much made my day.)
6. Use YouRep to host our pictures, and receive revenue from that traffic.
Anyway, not to run my entire business plan by the entire Internet, but I wanted some feedback from the blogosphere– because I think that there needs to be a meaningful product/service, not just any product or service, and I certainly don’t have free time on my hands to waste.
Do you like these ideas? Would you buy or participate in any of these products/services?
(Would anyone else? Would a lot of anyone else?) And, of course, what are your better ideas?
By the way, tomorrow, courtesy of local video production team, Copper Rain, we are filming a couple of short interview videos to talk more about the ideas behind The Hundred Dollar Business and our experiences so far. They said I couldn’t wear my sweatpants. And here I thought I was the boss.
Thanks for reading. Your comments are fabulous, and I’m answering them as I have time & Internet access! And now, I’m off to sleep!
December 7: Lowest Sales Ever, Best Day Yet
Why So Happy With Low Sales?
Today was the slowest day ever. I know we only sold a few things, but I’m not frazzled by that. The reason is, I realized that the point of The Hundred Dollar Business is not about making sales.On one hand, we want to do as well as possible. But on the other hand, we are really enjoying the experience, and we’ve learned a lot. And there are new opportunities cropping up each day. How wonderful!
And so, after fretting about sales all week, and why we weren’t yet meeting our arbitrary goal of $1000/day, I remembered that sales weren’t on the list of 10 principles to test, and they weren’t anymore a part of our “Make $100 profit for next month’s business” goal either, because at this point, even with slow days we are on track to break even. 
So What Are Our Goals?
Well, here’s the list of what we set out to do:
Limits: A budget of $100, 30 days, and I have to go to sleep by around midnight every night.
Minimum Goal: Set up a well functioning business, pay all business/personal expenses for the month, and make at least $100 back in order to (possibly) start a next Hundred Dollar Business in January.
The 10 Concepts to Test:
Networking
Negotiating
Money Is The Last Thing Needed to Start a Business
Be Smart
Be Focused
Keep it Balanced
“Franchise” the Business
Be Resourceful
Get Around Obstacles
Think Virally
How “The Problem” Is Not The Problem
After remembering what we’re supposed to be doing, I realized that the problem isn’t sales… but that the basic principles were being disregarded, and chaos was taking over.
Morale was starting to drain, precluding us from actually pumping up our sales skills & otherwise capturing great opportunities.
Even the mall security staff are starting to pick on me at night & tell me to go home. Isn’t that a clue that I’m working too hard? How can I “Keep it Balanced” when I’m dropping marinara sauce on myself and skinning knees because I’m so tired?
And “Be Resourceful”– what happened to that? As a matter of fact, we’re not the greatest salespeople. We try hard, and we’re not terrible, but not charmers either. (And I’m talking about myself here). But, instead of using the “Get Around Obstacles” option, I sat back and worried about it.
Until I realized today that three kiosks over, there is a team of the best salespeople I’ve seen so far at this mall. They are peppy, pumped, and sell like crazy all day long– and they enjoy it. Hmm… sounds like a resource to me! I spent a lot of time talking with those guys today, asking them for tips, and I really love their approach.
Free Sales Tips From the T-Mobile Guys
1. Get some “pickup lines” to ask customers, to get their attention.
I should have known this one. Sometime when I go swing dancing, and “have” to ask a guy to dance, I use, “Would you like to ask me to dance?” Kind of lame, but 100% effective because it’s an amusing icebreaker. So we’re going to think of a few clever lines to ask customers…
2. Ask open-ended questions rather than yes/no.
If I say, “Do you want to try a sample of our cake?”, they’ll say yes, take one and walk away or say no, don’t take one and walk away.
But if I say, “Are you more of a chocolate cake kind of person, or strawberry?”, I’m setting the groundwork for an engaging conversation.
(Which reminds me, I had a really interesting conversation tonight with a teenager from Mexico, who kept asking me where I learned Spanish, why I’m not married, and if I would consider marrying him and moving to Puerto Vallarta. I told him I couldn’t leave the mall until January, and I hated to turn him down, but at any rate, I think he’d be a great salesman, because of his amazing conversation skills.)
3. Motivate the Staff with Incentives, Goals, & Competition
But how do you motivate on a low budget? For example, today I wanted to tell Rachelle & Kelly how much I really appreciated their participation with the Hundred Dollar Business.
I thought, “I should get them something. I should do something for them.” But I don’t have any cashflow. I don’t have any timeflow, either!
So I just straight up told them, “Appreciation. That’s all I’ve got. Thank you. Isn’t this an amazing experience?” And then we got all teary (sorry! we’re women!) and morale skyrocketed. So, I’m definitely going to look for more ways to motivate us.
4. Enjoy what you’re doing, or customers will avoid you.
Hmm. Big surprise that the customers haven’t been charmed by my weary, marinara-splattered countenance. It speaks for itself.
5. Shoppers want to buy something.
They’re at the mall, aren’t they? And what are they here for? Exactly– to buy stuff. Which is convenient, because I’m selling stuff. So the battle is half won.
6. No one comes to the mall looking for a cell phone.
That was a great point they made, because I sometimes think, “Our products are fun gifts that people don’t really need… how can that be compelling?” But if these guys can sell 20 phones a week each, to people who aren’t even looking to buy a phone, how can we not be compelling to holiday shoppers who are at the mall specifically looking for gifts?
The Sum-Up
These guys have really internalized the concepts behind sales, and are so confident in their skills, that they consistently outperform. They celebrate, apply good practices, and keep it fun. We’re going to try that approach– and I think increased sales will result naturally.
What’s not to love about a day like that?
December 8: Success, Panic, & Making Someone Cry!
Howdy! Here’s an overview of today. Wow, what a day!
Success
As yesterday was our lowest sales day… today was our highest!!! We did so well– thanks also to Kelly & Rachelle, you both rock.
I think that the sales suggestions and the relaxed-but-conversational approach towards interacting with the customers did a lot for us. Also, Kelly’s cousin came down to appear as our “Sugar Plum Fairy” for the Sweet & Charming princess/dress-ups products, which was really well received by the kids and shoppers.
Panic
When I was planning The Hundred Dollar Business, and working on the deals with our vendors, etc., there was really only one time when I questioned whether or not I should move forward with the project.
It was about ten minutes of panic– I was at the mall, things were looking good, and all of a sudden, the responsibility of it all hit me. Now, it’s not like we’re doing brain surgery here, but there are a lot of things to take care of, obligations to fulfill, vendor accounts & payments to make as we make sales, etc.
At the start of the planning, I’d thrown myself into looking for opportunities and piecing together the concept, but not really considered the actual tasks and day-to-day of the project. So when it hit me last week, the night before we moved in to the kiosk, the main theme of my wavering seemed to be, “Can I/(do I want to) take on these risks?” And after a chat with Kelly, I realized that everything had come together so quickly, concidentally, and seamlessly, that it would work out well. And so we got started.
But today, strangely, I had another bout of worry! Even though we are doing quite well, and learning every day, improving, testing the core business ideas, and really, having a blast– I had a stream of “what ifs” that now, seem kind of amusing:
1. What if our credit card payments don’t process and I have to recoup those amounts to the vendors?
2. What if we don’t make enough sales to meet our breakevens and lease obligations at the end of the month?
3. What if the accounting for the vendors/inventory/payments becomes extremely complicated (it kind of is, anyway), and I botch it, and sink myself with having to recoup those costs as well?
4. What if my products don’t sell?
5. What if any of our vendors back out on product orders?
And yeah, the list continued. Really, it was dizzying to consider all of the ways that we could fail. If any one of those did happen, it would be difficult, and probably largely because it’s hard to recover from a setback/discouragement in a short period of time, especially under stress & constraints.
But then, you have to consider principle-9 “Get Around Obstacles”. Thank goodness we’re testing that one in this experiment! Because then, instead of taking a problem at face value, we can look for ways to get directly to the desired outcome, and then chart a path to that end.
For example, with #1, if that were to happen, instead of declaring myself an idiot for not avoiding credit payments mishaps better, it would be more effective to figure out which payments could still be processed and then set new sales goals or develop new ideas to earn revenues to cover the lost funds.
By the way– the emphasis on finance worries comes from three factors today:
1. We ran out of credit card slips at the kiosk (“imprinter sales slips” for knuckle busters), and they seem impossible to find in a local store. We did purchase some rent/receipt slips, but they’re pretty ghetto. (Maybe because we only spent about $3 on them. ) So that made me re-evaluate how effective/ineffective our credit card processing could potentially be.
2. My “Entrepreneur Lectures” class at BYU focused on cash flow management today, saying that the number one reason businesses tank is due to poor cash flow management, which got me thinking about if/what we were doing to avoid large problems, especially as our cash flow increases and becomes more complex.
3. I had an unexpected charge on my personal bank account which was a wake up call, that made my realize that… this is my job now, and if I want to support myself (which would be… ideal!), that I really need to concentrate on making this project successful financially, in addition to educationally.
There’s no doubt that we’ve learned a lot– but at the end, even though our “minimum” goal is to earn the $100 to reinvest in a new Hundred Dollar Business idea, we also want to be able to show that we took the $100 and, after everything is said and done, created a ROI of at least 10-30 times the original investment, a “fundable idea”.
It’s definitely do-able, though if we lost all the credit card payments, I think I really would cry.
Which leads to…
Making Someone Cry
This story has to be told. It’s sad! It made my heart break. 
So, we are trying this new customer-approach, where we create a comfy environment for the customers to look at our products, shop around, and have a friendly & fun experience with us. (While at the same time, we are prepping them to learn more about our things & want to purchase).
There was the sweetest elderly woman who came to the cart. She looked at some of the books, and then was checking out the princess things. Since I was trying to think of one of those “icebreaker/pick up statements”, I asked,
“So, do you have any grandbabies?”
She turned away, and with great big tears starting up, said, “I did, but they all died.”
Uh………………….. wow, that was a problematic moment! For a second, I just felt really terrible. Obviously, she was torn up about it, and all I could do was… fumble.
Anyway, she kept walking around the kiosk, and then came back over to where I was, and talked a little more about her situation with her grandkids. I felt so bad that I’d made her cry! So, all I could think to do was to give her one of our cakes and a big hug.
I tell you what, I don’t know which approach is better– asking trite salespeople questions like “Can I help you?” but with lower sales, or starting an actual conversation, making someone cry, and having great sales. Hrm.
So I guess the moral of the story is that if you stop by the kiosk and I make you cry, at least we’ll try to compensate you for it.
A Night Off
One last thought– I have most of tonight and tomorrow morning “off”. Which was wonderful, but challenging because I hadn’t yet stopped to take it all in since we started. Kelly, Rachelle, & Amy are filling in at the kiosk, which I really appreciate.
I went with some friends to Los Hermanos, a local Mexican place, and ended up saying, “What’s your return policy?” to the server when I didn’t like my smoothie. (The secret ingredient is avocado… in a fruit drink?) I guess I’ve been working too many hours lately in a retail setting.
This applies to principle 6- Keep It Balanced. It’s so good to take a break! I’m looking forward to Christmas Day (the mall only closes on that day!), and then my vacation in January.
And I’m really happy that while I’m putting a lot of time in, this is a project I really like working on– which I think ultimately is the underlying concept of The Hundred Dollar Business, that through entrepreneurship, no matter what resources you have or don’t have, you can create a place for yourself and the situations you want in life. How cool is that!
