Market Update

These days the only thing that remains strong is the United States Dollar.  The question arises why does the U.S. continue to struggle with this recession, while the USD continues to gain on its ForEx counterparts? Forbes does a great job of answering this question, stating simply that everyone else is just doing so much worse.  Well it shouldn’t be a surprise, the U.S. is the major trading partner of the world, involved with over 13% of all trades. Even more incredible is that the U.S. found a way to produce over 20% of the world GDP, with less than 5% of the world’s work force. Our downfall however, was when we gobbled up over 23% of the world’s debt, which will probably continue to grow. Our Canadian friends produce nearly 2% of the world GDP with less then 0.6% of the world’s work force, and indebted 16 times less than the U.S. (All information was gathered through CIA’s 2008 World Factbook).

So while all this information reiterates that the U.S. is the most economically efficient and skilled nation in the world, the ability of U.S. commerce system to function rests in the hands of business owners like you and me, to creatively come up with new ways to satisfy demands all while trying to make a profit. But in the toughest of economic times, we need to stay focused in order for the rest of the world to succeed.

Your Business

In the words of President Obama, “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” But in order to do so, we must be more focused.

As entrepreneurs, we usually have the same problem. Often times we get caught up in the day-to-day operations, simply trying to make the next sale, pay the bills and make sure everything is in its proper place. However, in the mist of it all, rarely do we sit down and do an overview of our business and analyze where we are, where do we want to go and how do we get there. This is exactly where we need to be focused and disciplined. You can think of numerous companies that lost sight of their core business and began to lose money. These companies began making errors in judgment by looking beyond their core competencies and forgetting their mission statement.  So in these difficult times we must make difficult decisions, with each decision needing careful evaluation which yet again takes away from our day to day operations. In order for our decisions to leave us better off than we were before, we need to consider the following points.

1) Each decision must align with your mission statement (To see an example of a mission statement see our January article). If your mission is to provide the fastest service to brides, would it make sense to bring in a new product that takes nearly twice as long as your current product? Even if the margins are great, make sure that you do not turn away your loyal customers. If they love you for a reason, make sure you don’t take away that reason.

2) Cross sell for success.  After a recent haircut, I’ve observed an interesting fact. My barber has numerous products on the shelf but I’ve never heard him offer any of them. He is a friendly guy and has numerous loyal customers, but he has never said “Hey, I think your hair would be healthier if you used this shampoo.” There is nothing difficult in cross selling; we just need to be intentional. Sometimes the best ways to increase your business and provide more value to your customers is right under your nose. Before you make your decision to totally revamp your product line, look at what you already have.

3) Do not compete with yourself. In the quest to increase sales and meet customers’ ever changing demands, we rashly add products. However, does it make sense to introduce a new product with a lower profit margin if it will take the sales of your high margin products?

4) Rethink your service offering and consider your customer in every decision. In today’s environment, every business needs to understand their customer and be receptive to their needs more than ever. Thus, service to your customer requires deep customer insight that provides more value to their profit chain. And remember the answer isn’t always in discounts.

So if we stay focused on our goals and mission, step away from our day-to-day crises, confront our fears and not quit, we will truly overcome any difficulty.

Tulipia and You

While not every decision is easy to make, choosing Tulipia Bridal usually is an easy one. If we are aligned with your mission and your product lines, we simply continue to enhance your business with a great partnership. As we continue to grow organically, we do so because our products sell themselves. Tulipia Bridal wedding and evening gowns bring high European fashion, using high quality material all at affordable prices. Tulipia Bridal is committed to working closely with retailers in order to understand their needs and concerns, becoming a part of their profit chain.

Providing you the best and most recent European fashion, Tulipia Bridal is proud to release our most recent collection of evening and wedding gowns for the 2009 season. This daring collection is full of vibrancy and detail. As with all Tulipia collections, there’s a little something for everyone. So stay focused, step back from your day-to-day operations and make wise decisions that will let you prosper even in these difficult economic times. After all, the whole world is counting on you.

Release 5 - Staying Focused.pdf (1.31 mb)