Tag: New Year

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Upcoming Events

Holiday event

The holidays are busy but there’s always time for holiday spirit. Check out the below event plus something to look forward to in 2023.

Ho-Ho-Holiday Hang Out

Join Santa (Heidi Kaisand) and her elves this Thursday at 10 a.m. CST for a Ho-Ho-Holiday Hang Out. On top of holiday jingles Beth Montpas will motivate you to close 2022 on a high note and look forward to the New Year. Note the event is free but registration is mandatory.

Save The Date

Registration is live for Creative Retailer LIVE Spring 2023! The event takes place Tuesday, May 2 to Thursday, May 4 in Pawhuska, OK at Pioneer Woman Mercantile.

This unique retailer retreat features Heidi Kaisand and Creative Retailer® staff at Ree Drummond’s restaurant, bakery, and store in the heart of Osage County, Oklahoma. Stay tuned for agenda and lodging details but in the meantime, email events@creativeretailer.com with any questions.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to Creative Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

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Happy Holidays and New Year from AQR!

Happy New Year 2022

A year ago, everyone was eager to put a close to 2020 and move on to 2021. As many of the business changes we made in 2020 still remain today, it’s clear that our idea of “normal” has changed. Yet, you all remained resilient!

Thank You From AQR

As we reflect on the past year, we would like to take the time to thank everyone for being with us every step of the way. You are all strong, successful business owners and we hope we can continue adding value as things seem to change by the day.

We were all eager to get back to in-person quilting events, including Quilt Market, but Covid had other plans. That being said, we’ve enjoyed hosting and learning alongside each and every one of you during our AQR Academy events, and look forward to continuing them in 2022.

What a Year It’s Been

Speaking of 2022, nobody knows what’s in store! What sort of business practices are you prioritizing (that you haven’t previously)? Your website? Social media? Are you using some of the holiday time to familiarize yourself with video? Whatever it may be, we have full confidence you’ll become an expert in no time.

Happy Holidays from AQR and we wish you all a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous year to come.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

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Ringing in the New Year

New Year

Everybody is ready to wish 2020 goodbye, but unfortunately some of last year’s problems are still with us. Check out these ideas for your business as we kick off the New Year.

Safety Matters

Continue to let shoppers know what you’re doing to ensure safety. Consider addressing the topic under your “FAQ” section on your website, and make sure to keep (or create) signage in and around your store. Include a snippet on each of your email blasts, and post reminders on social media as well.

Go back to the basics with good phone etiquette. Thankfully our phones do much more these days and some retailers have offered personal shopping via video. Not all of your customers are going to be tech savvy though so make sure you know product specifics (such as dimensions) and remain helpful throughout the conversation.

Another way to ensure safety is to take the product outside. Don’t bring out random merchandise, but plan your outdoor goods like you would an indoor display.

Other Ideas for the New Year

Fallen out of habit of offering a bag stuffer? Make one and train your floor clerks to say a 15 second pitch as they place one in a customer’s bag. If you don’t know what to put on the bag stuffer, brag about your store. Put every brand, item, service, or offering your business provides. Customers want to know what’s available so don’t take this as the time to be humble.

Hopefully by now you’ve gotten rid of most of your 2020 inventory and are ready to bring in new stock for the New Year. Show off this new merchandise by going Live with an unboxing video that you can later post on your social media platforms.

Inspiration for this post came from “Ring in the Season” by Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender published in the October 2020 issue of American Quilt Retailer.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you.

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Thank You from AQR

New Year

As 2019 draws to a close we took some time to reflect on everything that’s happened in the past year.  Notre Dame burned, the Washington Nationals won their first-ever World Series, and we saw the first image of a Black Hole.

At American Quilt Retailer, we survived two International Quilt Markets, released our 150th issue, hosted educational sessions, and so much more.

Starting a new year, and even a new decade, is a great time to evaluate the direction you want your life, your relationships, and your business to go. What did 2010 look like? Are you happy with where you’ll be in 2020? In the words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Thank You from AQR

Of course, thank you for being a loyal reader. At American Quilt Retailer, we strive to bring together a community so that we can all work smarter, not harder. We can’t help but notice how generous, creative, hard-working, dedicated, and go-getting all of you are and we are honored to be a part of your career development.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2020!

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you.

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Thank You from AQR

As we reflect on the past year, everybody at AQR wants to thank you all for your continued support.

AQR1We’ve had a lot happen; we hired new members, we increased consistency of our blog, and we released our first digital issue. And we’re planning for a lot more to happen in 2018.

And some things stayed the same. We still enjoyed ourselves at the fall Quilt Market (and with our Schoolhouse Series), we still celebrated outstanding quilt shops, and we still learned new techniques to share with our beloved customers.

AQR knows we wouldn’t be where we are today without you, the reader. We take pride in being able to connect a community and encourage small business owners across the nation, so thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. AQR2

We hope as you reflect on 2017 you find yourself content with your successes, and everyone at AQR wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you.