TIPS ON USING JIM SHARP

I get a number of questions every day asking how to find something on Jim Sharp. So I thought I'd take a moment and give you a couple of tips that will help you get more out of this blog.

There are two ways you can look up things of interest to you on Jim Sharp. The first is the Search Box:


You'll find the search box in the upper left hand corner of the blog. You can type any word or phrase you'd like to look up into the box, click Search Blog, and the search will pull up all the blog posts that contain that word or phrase.

The second way to utilize this blog is by searching the Categories section:


You'll find the list of Categories in the right hand sidebar. You'll notice at the bottom of this post that it's labeled How-To. That means this post will show up, along with all the others labeled How-To, if you click on that option in the Categories Section. You can see you have a number of options, and the number of posts in each category is listed. Click around and see what you can find. Let me know if you have other questions about Jim Sharp.

COOL WEBSITE FOR FINDING FLIGHTS

Bonnie Megowan, owner of Bonika Shears, put me on to this site.

farecast.live.com/deals

It's pretty cool! I usually use orbitz.com to book my flights, but one of the features I like best about this site is the "When to Travel" option.

You'll find this box in the right hand side on the site.

Just select the airport closest to you in the "From" box, where you're going to, and click go. You'll be taken to a graph that will show you prices based on different days you may be willing to leave.

In this graph. I'm checking prices from Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles, CA.

You'll also see that you have a "Grid" option as well (my favorite) where you can scroll over different days to leave based on length of stay.

As you scroll up and down the boxes you'll see the different prices light up.

I'm not sure if I'd ever use this site to book a flight, but it's a great tool to see if you're in the ball park on price if you use a travel agent or other online travel site. The one draw back is you can only go out a few weeks to see flight prices.

With the Wolff/ Huff Show coming up in October, and other shows as well, I thought this might be a useful tool. Thanks for the tip Bonnie!

ARE YOU USING FACEBOOK?

Social media is a hot topic these days. How effective is it in generating sales, no one really knows, but there are many good arguments for getting your business involved. One way to start doing this is to create a Facebook Page for your business. This is similar to a Profile Page, but for a business. There are a number of big name companies doing this as another means of advertising.

Why do I suggest you look into it? Most sharpeners have a strong focus on stylists, many of them are young, and most are on Facebook. If you create a page for your business, and put the address on your business card, you will look more progressive to the younger crowd. Will they utalize the page? I don't know, but they might. Is it worth a look? That's up to you. Ask a few of your trusted customers what they would think about you having a Facebook Page. Heck, you may even be able to convince one of them to create one for you for a few sharpening or a shear. See what they say.

I'm including a few links if you're interested in pursuing this. I've looked into it some, but I haven't built a Facebook Page for Wolff yet because I don't think it fits my target market. I do have a Facebook Profile Page though; because I think eventually I'll find a fit there. Here are the links:

Articles about big name companies using Facebook

Facebook's page on how to create Business Pages

Blog post on creating Business Pages on Facebook

Facebook vs. LinkedIn (I'll take about LinkedIn in a future post)

These links and more

Time is a factor in all our businesses. You may have no interest in doing something like this, but remember, it's also important to stay educated when you're in business. Things change fast in this day and age, so it's good to look at new marketing mediums, even if you don't intend to utilize them right now.

Image: networkinginsight.com

GETTING BACK AT IT!

Sorry for the long pause in posts! With all the writing I do I really needed a rest, so I decided to take a month hiatus from blogging so I could recharge my batteries. I've had my nose in a number of books I've read in the past, I've been searching new blogs for fresh content, and I've listened to a number of my favorite books-on-tape during this time. I occasionally do this to keep myself on track. Two of my favorites tape series I just finished listening to are Sell Your Way to the Top, by Zig Ziglar and Selling the Wheel, by Jeff Cox. Both are excellent studies on sales and if you can find them at you local library, I'd suggest you pick them up and listen to them yourself.

With that said, I'd like to ask how long it has been since you've recharged your batteries? As business people, we so often get wrapped up in working that we forget that we need to revisit what we've learned in the past to see if it is still working for us now. If not, we need to set some new goals, learn some new selling techniques, or get some more sharpening training.



One of the things I hear most when I do a show like the one that just took place in Kansas City is, "We love coming to these shows because I not only learn from the seminars, I learn from all the other sharpeners as well." The other nice thing about shows like this, is many of the sharpeners turn them into little mini-vacations and bring their family with them. It's a great way to learn and relax, and the trip can be written off as a bonus. If you're thinking about come to the next show, it's in Anaheim, CA October 17-19. Call Wolff at 800-888-3832 for more info.

Right now, I'm getting ready to fly to Las Vegas for the CosmoProf show. It's one of the biggest business-to-business beauty trade shows in the states, and I go there to catch up with a number of my suppliers from overseas. One thing in particular I'm looking for at this show is packaging for the Wolff Economy shears. I'm looking for something simple, inexpensive, and attractive. Hopefully I'll find what I'm looking for! I'll be running a series of posts about this show, so keep an eye on the blog.

As always, If there's anything I can do to help you, please give me a call. All my contact info is on the right side of this blog. Thanks for being patient with me while I took this much needed rest. I'm looking forward to jumping back in with both feet!

ROOMS FOR THE KANSAS CITY SHOW

Just a quick note. If you haven't booked your room for the Kansas City Show, give me a call. The time limit for the room block is up, so I'll have to give you a special number to call if you want to get the Wolff/Huff Show room rate. See the sidebar for my contact info.

SOME GAS ANSWERS

Back in May I wrote a post asking how sharpeners are dealing with the increase in gas prices.

I received a number of answers, most involved gas surcharges on each invoice. The surcharges varied in price from as low as $1.00 per invoice to as high as $3.00 per invoice. Most of the sharpeners I talked to have explained to their customers that they are doing this as a temporary measure to offset gas prices, and will remove the charge when, or if, gas prices come down. All have said they've had a good response to this method. Other sharpeners are using this as an opportunity to raise their prices. Bonnie Megowan just wrote an article about this in On The Edge.

One suggestion I'd like to share with you came from my good friend, and former student, Louise Radanovich. This is what she wrote:

When I started sharpening gas was right around $2 a gallon. I almost fainted when it hit $3, and predicted that I would go out of business if it ever hit $4. Well, I paid $3.999 today, but am still up & running, in fact, I'm swamped. I'm working 6 days a week and booking into July.

My gradual response to higher fuel prices has 3 aspects:

Raise Prices

Nobody has complained, and one regular client said, "What took you so long?"

Shrink Service Area

I no longer go out to far-flung suburbs for my minimum charge of $25, which is now $30. Unless I get a good $100 I don't go.

Do More Public Venues

I set up once a month at a Nursery, once a month at a Hardware store, several times a season at a Farmer's Market, and at lots of Master Gardener groups, neighborhood "sharpening parties" (complete with hostess gifts), Garden Clubs, etc. Schools are a good source of scissors and paper cutters. I even did a freebie not long ago, a benefit for Pug Rescue that got me 7 new paying customers.

I realize most of your readers/clients do beauty & barber, but I'm telling you there's almost no competition for the homeowner market. There's money to be made in everybody's kitchen, garage, and sewing basket.

The point Louise made about shrinking your service area falls right in line with what I would suggest you should do. I've always been a big proponent for Cluster Selling. Zig Ziglar has written and spoken about this for years. In fact, if you drive by one of your local libraries, stop in and see if they have Ziglar's Sell Your Way to the Top audio series. If they do, get it and listen to it while your driving. He discusses this technique and many others in this course.

Cluster Selling basically involves looking for business where you're at. One of the biggest expenses in the mobile sharpening business is getting there. Why not do as much as you can in one area before you move on to the next? I know that many sharpeners don't think there's any money in sharpening fabric or industrial shears, but as Louise points out, there is. When you visit a town, look for places other sharpeners might be passing by. Depending on where you live, these places could include:

Carpet Manufacturers
Awning Manufacturers
Bedding Manufacturers
Automotive Detailers
Canvas Manufacturers
Craft Shops
Sail Makers
Dry Cleaners
Tailor Shops
Tent Manufacturers
and many more...

E-mail me at Jim@wolffind.com for a free list of 140 Places to Sharpen Shears. While you may not make $200 in a Taylor shop, with very little time invested, you could make an extra $20 to $30 dollars you can put toward your gas fund. This makes your other sharpening more profitable.

I also want to point you back to the post I wrote about MicroSoft Streets and Trips. This program will save you some drive time because it plans your route for you, and shows where the out-of-the-way customers are. It's well worth the investment! One sharpener just called me today and told me he found this program online for just $29 dollars. You can't beat that!

While the price of gas is nothing to sneeze at, I still prefer filling up as opposed to paying rent. I like the flexibility of mobile sharpening, and I think your customers appreciate it too. I'd still like to hear your opinion about this, take a moment and post a comment about how you're coping with gas prices.

PS - Sorry for the lack of posts! I spent the better part of this week camping with my oldest son. Time very well spent!

BRANDING HEAVEN AND HELL

I thought this picture was a good example of how sharpeners need to look at their businesses practices.

Click on the picture for a clearer view.

Which direction are you headed in your business? For more insights from David Armano, visit his blog at http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/

NEW VIDEOS COMING

Wolff has just invested in a brand spankin' new HD Digital Camcorder. So you know what we'll be doing this summer, shooting new equipment videos!

First on the list will be updates for the Twice as Sharp®, Ookami® and Hira-To® Sharpening Systems. Then we will begin work on the Corru-Gator and Twice as Sharp® Rotary Blade Sharpening Attachment.

It is one of Wolff's goals to keep abreast of new technology so we can provide you with the most up-to-date options as we continue into the 21st century. I'll let you know when we start filming and will share some of the process with you here on Jim Sharp.