I received an email from one of our advertisers in GIFT SHOP Magazine sharing her success at the Boston Gift Show as an exhibitor. It was interesting timing because I have been discussing the importance of regional trade shows with retailers and vendors over the last few weeks and some retailers have shared their concerns over a decreased number of exhibitors.

I think it's a shame because so many of the local shows have a regional appeal—local vendors with unusual products not found at our national shows (the lack of travel expenses doesn't hurt either). Seems to me it's worth the trip even if a retailer only finds a handful of new products to carry.

I'd love to hear from vendors, retailers or show management companies on their perspective of the role of the regional gift show.

I recently wrote a piece that outlines the top 10 trends in stationery. It's going to be featured in a future issue of Paper Clips, a newsletter put out by the National Stationery Show (so keep your eyes open for it!).

Here's a sneak peek at three of the products that are being considered…

I was at a conference about a month ago and met a husband and wife team who had just started working together. The husband had started the company ten years ago, and they had finally decided that the timing was right for the wife to come on board.

They were struggling with some of the typical issues that spouses face when they decide to work together, such as what was the wife's role going to be, would the husband give up control of some aspects and how would this affect their relationship at home. I could totally relate.

Almost two years ago my husband Adrian joined my company and we went through the exact same thing.

Truth is, I have several CEO friends who cautioned me against it. They said that it wasn't worth the risk to work together, but I grew up with parents who worked together (my aunt and uncle work together as well), and it had always been a dream of mine to work with my husband.

So at the nine year mark, we decided that if we were ever going to work together now was the time. He gave a month's notice to his employer of ten years and suddenly we were driving to work together everyday. But what I didn't realize (although I should have, in hindsight, based on the warnings I was given) is that it's difficult at first to develop a smooth working relationship with your spouse. And the rules that apply to your relationship at home don't apply in the workplace (I cook dinner, he does dishes, etc.). After about a month of a really rough transition (yes tears were shed and we both doubted it would work), we actually enjoy working together.

I'm so glad that he's here. Not only does he have a tremendous amount of creativity and passion, but he also brings totally different strengths to the table (and ideas.. I never would have thought to have a blog!).

I'd love to hear from others out there who work with their spouse…

One of the best things I did this year, or perhaps have ever done (with regards to running my business), was to institute a daily sales meeting every morning at 9:15 in our sales department.

Several business advisors over the years have made the suggestion to do this, but I always balked because I thought a) it would take away valuable time from selling, and b) my team would think I was micromanaging them.

Then in December another advisor suggested I hold a daily sales meeting, so starting in January, I finally decided that we were going to take it for a 30-day test drive to see if it would help motivate us or yield any results. At first there was resistance from the team (with the primary complaint being lost selling time), but I held firm and after the first week, not only were members of the team discussing sales strategies, they were also encouraging one another.

It's been three months and now we all look forward to the daily meeting. I bring in examples and stories from other businesses that I find in local papers and magazines, and they do a great job sharing their ideas, stories and sales successes.

We just closed our spring issues and had the best editions ever for both magazines, so I know it's working.

This weekend I got my eyebrows threaded at a cart in my local mall.

If you're not familiar with it, threading is a process where the root of your hair is pulled out with a piece of string (sounds great, right?). I've seen threading done before, a long time ago on a college trip to India, but I've never had it done. The cart looked very professional and since the rate was inexpensive—only $10 for eyebrows—and I actually needed an eyebrow wax any way, I thought it'd be fun to try.

But before I took the plunge, I had to ask… "how does the pain compare to waxing?" I wasn't overly concerned because there was another customer getting her eyebrows waxed and she wasn't screaming out in pain, but I was relieved when they said it would be less painful.

My husband was with me and he was very excited because he thought it would be great to capture the experience with his cell phone camera (what am I going to do, he's a techie).

As I sat back in a slightly reclining chair, eyes closed, I realized what a great business model the cart had. They had absolutely no product costs and the cart was super busy! In my short five minute visit there were five customers. If the cart averaged 10 customers an hour over a seven day period, they'd be grossing $8400 per week with only the cost of staffing and rent!

What a fantastic business idea!

I received a phone call today from a retail reporter at the Business Press, a newspaper based in San Jose, CA. He's doing an article on the increasing trend of super specialty stores. He defined a super specialty store as a store selling a very unusual product in a very niche category. There were two stores in particular in his area that sparked the article idea including an olive oil store (selling only 100% virgin olive oil), and a store that makes and sells edible floral arrangements. He asked me if I thought that specialized stores were a national trend that was growing. I agreed that it's a trend that's growing. The reason is based on what successful cart and kiosk retailers have already discovered.

In order to compete in today's retail marketplace you have to sell something that can't be found at the mass merchandise stores. In many ways the more unique the product, the more successful you will be. Although, there are a few examples that came to mind of specialty stores that were so niche the products they sold didn't appeal to a broad enough range of the US population. For example, up the street from our office in a small strip center, there is a store selling stencils. While I thought it was a neat concept, how many people are actually looking to buy a stencil? And what is the potential for repeat business?

So I suggested to his readers to consider the following before opening a super specialty store:

1. Make sure your product appeals to a broad range of age groups or a large enough base of customers.
2. If you're only selling one item, such as the virgin olive oil, make sure you clearly communicate why your product is different from what's out there already. Even if it's not substantially different you can create a perception that it is through clever packaging, strong visual merchandising, and a great story (perhaps printed on the back of every package) and on signage in the store.
3. If you're not going to compete on price, then make your customers feel like they are getting incredible value through amazing customer service.

Does anyone else have any other ideas? Or has anyone seen any really great super specialty stores?

After two magazines, four websites and eleven years in business, I've decided to jump on the blog bandwagon.

Be patient, I'm just learning!

I hope to bring you ideas for how to succeed with your specialty retail business, whether it be a kiosk or cart in a mall or airport, or a small gift shop in a local shopping center. I've been doing this for several years, through all the ups and downs, and I know what I've learned can help you run a profitable business.

I'm going to be adding tips, ideas and general information on a daily basis, so watch for new categories in the sidebar <—-.

If you'd like to ask me a question, or propose an idea for a post, please stick it in the comments box and I will respond as quickly as I can.

I hope this can become a forum for retailers and wholesalers, where ideas and thoughts can be freely exchanged.

Thanks for reading.