As promised, I said I would do my story post but kept getting error message in my blog so will plunk it here for now.
Title
Icraft Online Sellers' Bootcamp... Is it worth the Work?
Undeniably Bootcamp is a lot of work. Homework, often done late at night, bleeds into my precious sleep time. But tonight, I couldn’t sleep anyways as I am still doing the happy dance while working two screens and 5 conversations with Tweeps.
Some of you may remember a number of months ago, in a previous Bootcamp, that I grudgingly integrated Twitter in our program. I was not convinced it was good use of my time or my intelligence but as the Bootcamp leader I would never ask anyone anything that I was not prepared to do myself. Some days, so help me, I think it would be a lot easier for me to sell a shopping mall than a piddly pillow.
Around 1300 followers I twittered with a Vancouver interior designer. We tweeted and eventually met for coffee next door to a new home décor store her designer friend was opening. The store designer hired me to make a curtain for her store. (ka ching) She suggested when I would come to deliver the drapes that I could bring some pillows for her to see. Grin grin.
Today, I installed the drapes. Gorgeous! I brought in a tote full of my pillow covers and a huge bundle of inserts. Shyly, I laid them out on a display bed. I nervously fumbled through a ‘sort of’ presentation. It was when I held up my newest African animal pillow that a shopper who had been peaking at us from behind a Christmas tree, came around and interrupted us with
“I want that pillow. (ka ching) A
nd, I know you haven’t done your pricing or anything yet but I want it. Actually I want two of them. (ka ching)
Do you have a matching throw? I want it like that one (she points to my throw)?” (ka ching)
Both the store owner and I said “no problem” at the same time. The three of us laughed. The shopper got her wallet out and asked further…
”Do you do drapes and bedding”. (Ka ching)
Paid actors wouldn’t have been as convincing as this very real shopper. When the store owner finished with the shopper and resumed our meeting, I asked her
“How many would you like?” She said,
“All of them”http://picasaweb.google.com/PillowThrowDecor/Icraft#5406149672677211618