YES! Angels and Saints

YES
Is a magical word.
YES
Means someone else believes in you too.
YES
Means your product will be out there for the world to see.


Your first retailer is someone who falls into the Angel/Saint category. They are taking a risk. They are gambling on you. They believe in you. They are trailblazers. They don't care that they are first. In fact, they LIKE being first. I have such a retailer, and I will give them a shameless plug here: Planet Kid www.planetkid.ca
I want to tell you a little about Carolyn and Sara, the proprieters of Planet Kid. For starters, they are sewers in their own right. Which makes them tops in my books. Secondly, they are trailblazing entrepreneurs. Thirdly, they are most keenly interested in supporting local artisans and crafters, and make every effort to stock their store based on that principal, as well as principals of organics and green living. Fourthly - they liked me. And I liked them. And they said YES.
The products they carry are local, quality, and designer represented. S and C don't do business with distributors. They want to be right at the source. And they want to develop a personal relationship with their designers. They don't just sell the product, they sell the story around it. What S and C don't know (but if they read this blog they will) is that a few undercover friends have gone in to their store to see how Smicko'z were doing. And S and C spoke so beautifully of Smicko'z each time, and voiced their support of the product each time, that I was thrilled. The S and C's of this world are few and far between. Find them in your area. Shop in their store. Support what they are doing. Help drive business to them.
And once you have them onboard BE LOYAL. Use whatever network is available to you to drive business to them. Other retailers will follow, because that is what your first retailer does for you. By taking you on, they tacitly invite other retailers to believe in you too. And most retailers out there want to know that your product is selling somewhere else. This is why, your first retailer is your Saint/Angel.