Day 4 - Sunday 31st March

Opening Balance: £208.79

First off - HAPPY EASTER!! Hope you've all had a great day! I'm eating some Chocolate as I write this so i'm in the festive spirit! 

Well I've been in the shop all day and its been an OK day. It's only Day 4 and I am well and truly knackered, need an early night tonight I think! But I'm not going to lose momentum there is always going to be highs and lows through this process and its going to be really important to keep up the energy and enthusiasm. 

Everyone really stepped up last night sharing the Facebook posts.Thank You everyone! Its amazing the difference it makes, every share makes more people aware, we had about 12 new likers and some online orders last night that were all greatly appreciated meaning that over the whole day yesterday we reached the minimum target of £153.00 a day! I'm still way off that target today, but I'm determined not to worry I have every faith. I'm sorry that I keep harping on, but please keep spreading the word. 

So an update on the current state of play... 

www.crowdfunder.co.uk tweeted me and are all ready showing support so all fingers crossed my application will be accepted. I mentioned in an earlier blog that if it was accepted then I would have to do a promotional video, the wonderful Limelite in Truro has offered to help out with costumes if I need it. Head out to Truro and have a nosy at their amazing Fancy Dress shop or check out Facebook, www.facebook.com/limelite as they really are fab! 

Folksy Shop is coming along nicely though I do need to keep adding more and more products, just worried that if I have to pay for each listing what happens if no one buys any of it? Anyways must think positively  I'm failing miserably at the Etsy shop... I'll keep trying as I feel really stupid that I haven't cracked it yet, so Challenge accepted!

 

Now that I have Finally worked out how to compress my images - (thank you David) I have managed to make my Truro.com look much smarter, meaning I will be adding more products this evening.

The Big Business Moguls are probably getting annoyed at my endless tweets, but all it takes is for Alex Polizzi or Theo Paphitis to share the blog once and it would be likely to make such a difference, so I will keep harassing them by Twitter just in case. If your on twitter don't forget to join in the #4wks4000

We've had some more potential bookings for the Birthday Parties today, but in my opinion its not certain until the money is in my hand! But again I am hopeful, one lady has promised to book before the 4 weeks is out! YAY!! 

Finally I have another idea on making money, the customer would pay a set amount and receive a certain amount of products each month plus some freebie rewards and treats along the way. This is perfect for those that are regular RelaxAhh purchasers or those that live out of Cornwall. 

For £45.00 you will receive two soaps, a Body Cream or Mousse, and a Hand Cream or Bath Product each month for three months. 

For £80.00 you will receive the above for 6 months

For £150.00 you will receive the above for 12 months. 

You will also receive some treats such as Lip Balms, or Bath Fizzies, and be the first to test out our new products?

So what do you think of that idea? 

That is all from me today, I have a busy evening ahead of sharing, filling up online shops and hopefully at some point catching up on well needed beauty sleep.

Thank You once again for your support. 

Closing Balance: £280.26

Day 3 - Saturday 30th March

Opening Balance: £109.35 

 I wasn't sure entirely what to write today. So I'll start with another Thank You. There has still been amazing support from everyone. Lots of sharing happening. So Yay Thank You! Its hard to explain how much I appreciate it.

I want to show this quote that was written on someones wall after they'd shared my Facebook post;

 "you are obviously very driven and that is to be admired but at some point before, you get too deep into debt, you will have to decide whether this is a dead horse and stop flogging. Then put your efforts into something else. No shame in failing as the only ones that fail are those that try! Good Luck" 

I took that quote because it is a very fair statement and every point in it is true. However that is why there is a four week time scale. I know the business can work with some tweaks, but I understand that the above could be an opinion of lots of other people. I don't believe it will fail, I think that all the support that has been shown is proof of that. And if it does fail, then at least I've done it with my head held high, and haven't gone out without a fight.

I've been in the RelaxAhh Shop all day today, its been fairly busy with the Easter Egg hunts, Seasonal Markets and more - including a Climbing Wall (that I really want a go on!!). Sales from the shop equal £91.44 and we have also had some enquiries for our workshops that will hopefully be booked up in the next few days.

Twitter has almost rivalled Facebook in support today, I'm not fully switched on to how Twitter works, but we are @RelaxAhh and we have a trending tag #4wks4000! I could do with a Twitter tutorial to be honest... Does anyone fancy giving me a lesson?

Once again there is a massive Thank You heading out to Truro.com if you haven't already visited their site you really really should. They have been amazing in understanding how difficult this time of year is for small businesses and they really don't want to see another business fail. I know that seasonal businesses need to account for hard winters, but when a winter is particularly long and difficult you can't help but spend the money you put aside in order to keep afloat.

There has been allot of people advising me about these Crowd Funding schemes. So because of this I have applied to crowdfunder.co.uk its a little bit of a waiting game to see if they will accept my application, but I'm hopeful. If they do I'll have to make a video... that will be interesting... I'm thinking a 1950's style theme - that's seemingly very trendy at the moment. I may be asking for helpful volunteers if all is accepted so please let me know if this something that your interested in, I will obviously credit you where ever I can.

Online sales dropped massively last night with only £8.00, but that's OK ... We can make it pick up again - I have every faith. Keep sharing and spreading the love, I'm certain it will all pay off.

Otherwise today I have been packaging peoples orders ready to send for Tuesday and replenishing stock.

What are peoples opinion on celebrity endorsement? I've been thinking about it and I'd quite like to get some! I've been looking at the various ways to sneak products to them, because often if you send to their agents, the agents end up keeping the gift - one of the perks to being an agent I guess! Wouldn't it be fab though to have some amazing celebrities tweeting or Facebooking about using my products!

The first set of samples went out to a local shop today so I'm hopeful that after the Easter there will be a lovely Wholesale order coming in! *Fingers Crossed*  

There will be another massive online push this evening so I should have more to report tomorrow.

Keep Going Folks - You've all been Fab!! :)

Closing Balance: £208.79

Day 2 - 29/03/2013

Opening Balance - £12.43

Wow is about all I can say! The support that has already been shown has been just immense. I want to give everyone a HUGE Thank you. But also I don't want to sound like I'm giving an Oscar speech so I will just leave it at Thank You.

The Quote of the Day however has to be this one 'I'm not sure how I feel, you've just announced to the world failure!' Err - charming - thank you very much! I think we're all to quiet when it comes to discussing financial situations, and it has made such a difference by admitting my situation and being driven enough to change it.

So what have I done today to ensure that I won't be announcing failure at the end of these four weeks?

Well last night we had a massive £73.43 in online orders, that's all down to amazing support that flared up due to the platform of Facebook mainly driven by some fantastic friends that have been at the helm, sharing and sharing the blog post, my Facebook page, and Facebook status's. If you want to help drive some support why not share this yourself! www.facebook.com/relaxahh

I've updated my truro.com shop. I will keep updating the truro.com shop over the next few days. The support from the site is certainly heartwarming, this alone is message to all small businesses that creating business friendships with other businesses and local community groups can really make a huge difference to the success of your of your business.

We've had the shop open since 10am this morning until 5pm. Its been an Easter Egg Hunt rush but we've picked up a few sales along the way! I had my best selling hat on... still haven't been as many visitors as I'd hoped but it has picked up.

I've sent out my catalogue for wholesale sales to another 6 shops today! Its just a bit of a waiting game but I can hope - My wholesale prices are competitive but I hope beyond that and that the nature and ethos shouts out! We're often driven by lowest prices but quality can win out and I know I can't beat the prices of products that use lots of chemicals to speed up processes, but I most certainly can win out on the quality of my products.

I've been updating the new website as well, starting to feel a little impatient on that score I would quite like that to go live sooner rather than later, but until then the current website is generating some sales.

My next step is to contact some newspapers and radio stations to see if they will run my story. The more publicity the better I say. If anyone knows of anyone within these areas please forward me there details! :) Thank you!


I have also now opened a folksy shop - I haven't yet updated it with lots of products but I'm on it like sonic and will get more products uploaded asap!
http://folksy.com/shops/RelaxAhh


Finally I have applied to DM - Pitch your business, http://www.deborahmeaden.com/21/pitch-your-business. This is a site which gives small businesses the opportunity of pitching for some investment in the hope that this allows the business to grow. I will keep you all updated on how that goes. So far my twitter feeds to Alex Polizzi and Theo Paphitis haven't worked... but I'll keep trying!

So that's today's activity update: So a big thank you to everyone that has helped so far, lets keep the momentum going.

Closing Balance: £109.35

Day One - Thursday 28th March

Opening Balance : £12.43

So It's day one of my four weeks to make £4,000 challenge. Its not an optional challenge... its either that or I shut down my business. I'm not one to give up unless there is no other option so here goes - one last battle, one last chance and four weeks to save a business.

I hope you will join me along the journey as I scramble through the next four weeks in my drastic attempts to change my business's fortunes. I am literally going to try everything - and I will report back what works and what doesn't and hopefully - just maybe - it will give you some ideas for your business or even your personal finances.

So some back ground on my business and I.

I am Kat Jackson, for those that don't know me, a ridiculously determined and stubborn individual from Cornwall. I am 23 and have been running my business for about three years. I opened RelaxAhh the shop this time last year at +Heartlands Cornwall www.heartlandscornwall.co.uk, along side the shop I run various workshops calling upon my training in Drama Therapy and my Training in Youth Work and Charities. Over all I have a successful business model. My problem is very high overheads, and not enough collateral to be able change my circumstances to have lower overheads or during winter months be able to afford the overheads. With a push I know it is possible and once these four weeks are over I will progress into looking at changing those circumstances. I am very lucky to have some friends with fab ideas and great business minds and i'm sure that they will feature heavily over the next four weeks! 

RelaxAhh has a Facebook and a Twitter account along with a website, www.relaxahh.com, although within the next week there will be a MASSIVE change to the website. 

So what I have done today to start this £4,000 - well to start I've started this blog - which I hope will spread  like wild fire. I think its really important to look at how social media works for your Business. Through a mixture of Facebook posts and Twitter feeds I have a fairly large online following which I hope to use to my advantage through the next four weeks. A small reminder to other businesses or people thinking of setting up a business, I have 600 Facebook fans, if every single one of them bought a £3.00 soap from RelaxAhh, I would have £1800.00 - but Facebook likes don't work like that, and it can feel frustrating but not every fan will buy.

I have almost finished the re-design of the website. My current website www.relaxahh.com really doesn't work as well it should do. So a new website that is much more user friendly and much more successful will be uploaded. With the help of a friend and a fellow business person - Tim Hendy currently from Liminal Design  we shall be able to include the new logo and updated branding into the website. Hopefully this will help inform people better in regards to my business ethos and attitudes.

I have also come up trumps today - thank goodness for the power of Facebook. Truro.com is an amazing website which allows Cornish Business to sell products online. If anyone is interested you should definitely have a nosy. Liking their page on Facebook was certainly helpful as they advertised some free stall space.

Its rare that opportunities such as free stalls come along, so I was in there like a shot... so a date for your diaries... RelaxAhh will be at Helston Street Market on April 5th.

I have also spent some time putting together a small catalogue for shops and businesses in the area to be able to buy some products from RelaxAhh at wholesale cost. There's not much to report there, as I sent e-mails with these catalogues attached to three shops I visited in St Ives yesterday - so that's just a waiting game.

So despite the fact that I haven't boosted my current balance today - I have found an opportunity to make some money on the 5th! 

So that's Day One Folks! What do you think? Let me know in the comments. Please NO 'Its not possible' comments though, allot of this journey is going to be powered by some positive thinking and i need an army of positivity behind me!!!

Closing Balance : £12.43