Did That Really Just Happen?

I love learning new things.  Especially when it comes to the store.  I get excited and energized again and again - even more so when I am able to see the results in one day.  On Friday morning I attended a class put on by Next Move Marketing in Bellevue.  It was about making videos and using them to drive more traffic to your store and to help with your placement on google searches and YouTube. 

Within one hour of that class ending, I had my filmed my first video, optimized it, posted it on YouTube (AbsolutelyHer815:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RZk3WbZfuE).  In the next hour it was being "promoted" on my Facebook page (thanks again to Next  Move Marketing) and on my website (www.absolutelyherstore.com). 

I'll admit that I checked Face Book a lot during the day to see how many saw it and all the other stats on it.  But, I was completely surprised and taken aback by a post on FB 24 hours later.  Next Move Marketing was watching and now when you search in google, Absolutely Her is on the first page when you look for "Women's Clothing Papillion NE".  I am on the first page of Google!  Never been there before - was on page 4 or 5 before.  And when you search "Women's Shopping Papillion NE", I am number four on that first page.  Go ahead..search "Women's Consignment Papillion" or Women's Consignment Omaha"...right up there either at the top or near the top.  AMAZING. 

This isn't a post to brag (though I am so excited), it's a post for you to see what these guys can do to help your business.  They will be hosting more classes, so I dare you to go to one and see the results.  No, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!

www.nextmovemarketing.com or check them on Facebook.  I guarantee you'll be excited and energized as well!

It's About Time!

I have a list of resolutions.  So far So Good.  I've actually kept them past 2 days.  So this is a record.  Actually, I started about a month ago.  The main one was to plan ahead and so I started in December to plan for the year at Absolutely Her.  I've got my sale and major events planned for the next few months along with the window displays.  The first display for the window was going to be a snowman and snowflakes with different winter coats.  That's what I wrote down.  But when I went to actually put it together, it didn't feel right.  So instead it has a theme...Miracles Happen Everyday and the color purple.  Technically I didn't stay with the plan that I had, but the actual goal was to change out the window.  Sometimes our lives don't follow the plan but we reach the goal.  Never knowing what was to happen but learning it was okay the way it turned out.  I've got several different things that I want to do this year.  And I'm hoping my first resolution of planning ahead is going to make the others fall into place.  Taking the burden off of one part of your life can lighten the load on the others as well. 

This blog is the start of the new year's goals as well.  And as I try to figure out where to go and what to write about, I think I should just start at the beginning.  Along the way you'll learn about the store, about consignment and more about me than you ever hoped to know. 

ABSOLUTELY HER has been my "dream" for a very long time.  Even before I knew what exactly it was going to be.  I knew I wanted my own business, but I sure didn't know what it was at the time.  For the longest time my obsession was shopping.  I loved to go to the malls to see what new things were out and what I just had to have.  There were bright and shiny objects tempting me at every turn and I bought them.  Lots of them.  More than I ever needed or ever wanted.  Some were beyond what I should have spent, but back then, I didn't care.  Just hand over the card.  Then a friend of mine introduced me to Goodwill and other thrift store shopping.  I found the same things at the mall for such a small price that I realized I couldn't stand to pay full price for things anymore.  By this time I was in a job that wasn't me but I stayed because I was afraid to leave.  It had been over 20 years.  How do you walk away from that stability?  And that paycheck?

People say that timing is everything and I know that to be true.  I was in the hospital with my mom when a story came on about consignment store shopping.  That's when the lightbulb came on and the idea started to form about what we could do in Papillion.  Convincing my husband was the next step...

Memorable Meetings

I realized this morning that people have been put in my path at Absolutely Her to guide me and open up doors I had seen in my "hallway" of life but just walked past. Last Friday I went to my first breakfast meeting with a group of diverse and fabulous women with the MOWBC (Metro Omaha Women's Center) with one of my Tara Plaza partners ic crime, Linda from Unico Insurance. While I was there, I watched her talk about our Time2Drive Teen Safety Expo happening on August 11th. The energy and passion she portrayed was not only fun to watch, but it was contagious. She has put so much of herself into this event not to sell insurance but to truly educate and keep our community safe. The other fun part of the meeting was being a part of their 4-year anniversary celebration. This group of women helps other women find their dreams and celebrate their success. They gave a startup grant to Beka Doolittle Owner of thepinkstore.com which sells Pink items of all kind. How great is that...women helping women succeed! This is definitely an organization to belong to and be proud of. Then, I met a gentleman who unfortunately lost his wife not too long ago. Helping him I realized how daunting of a task it must be to go through her things and decide what to do. And I also realized there is certainly something I can do to help by going to his house and helping him figure out what to consign now, what to hold on to for the next seasons and what to give to charity. By doing that, not only do we save time and energy, but I also receive a lesson about love and family. AND THEN...we have a "gold rush"! I went to a party hosted by some fantastic friends and took some pieces of "ex" jewelry and walked out with $170. There was a lot of screaming taking place when some of the others learned their $ amounts so we are having an event at the store on Thursday, August 8th...just in time for back to school! How fun is that...bring some friends, have a cocktail and food and make some money!