Up at the Mall

Well, here we go again!
As of the 12th of January until Sunday the 18th we've a stall up in the Mall (Howgate) in Falkirk. We have been offered this as last years winner of their local best business idea. So if you've read my blog about the pro and cons of this type of advertising it hasn't always been the best for me! But the good thing i do get from it is a bit of free press in the local paper. So we're back again and for anyone interested we're doing a special offer if you order 15 or more t-shirts for stag or hen night then we'll give you a further 10% discount on the total of you're order if you print out the voucher at the bottom of this post! Happy Shopping! :)

VOUCHER NO LONGER AVAILABLE

remember to print this page of and hand it over when you place your order or you wont get the discount.

finally a picture

right so i've really taken my sweet time here getting a picture of our stall up. i hope you've not been holding your breathe coz its not all that great! but its been my little slice of heaven for 2 weeks.

small business - mall trading final

BEING SELF EMPLOYED
Ok so from this experience I’ve found that;
a) This may not be the most suitable venue for my business. I either need someone up there full time to open and close and call me with any order – but here starts the problem of hiring someone!! Or
b) Get something full time so I can take all my gear up to the mall. Or maybe
c) Find some other way of advertising and promoting my business!
But while I can’t really gather all malls in one group it seems like a lot of people dictating how you are meant to run your business. Surely this takes the fun out of being self employed? I love the flexibility of being able to start and finish when I please, to display my products in a way that suit my tastes.
My experience working in the mall has not been a bad one, the 14 hours days I can do without, but while working on your own like have been in a workshop means no one to talk to for most of your day, this is a good opportunity to network and meet other self employed people or the folks that work for them. The banter is lively, especially since I’ve been in a wee group of kiosks and the mall staff very welcoming and friendly.
As usual this is not for everyone, if you have a product that is a bit easier to sell that customised t-shirts, then this would be the perfect thing for you. Being in the mall is not for me I love my freedom and space, in a way knowing I’m the only that can dictate 99.9% of the rules sits well with me. I have promised my staff we’d not do it again but I know I will, I’ll just have to bribe them to make sure they’re willing to spend the days up there when not much happens.

small business - mall trading cont'd

CONS!
But here’s the stuff you don’t get told:
· you have to be at the stall every hour the mall is open
· you can’t leave your stall unattended
· certain places have a dress code
· you aren’t meant to eat or drink at the stall
· no personal items are to be on display
· you may have to check that your display is acceptable to the mall management
· your time keeping is noted and will be logged
Doing all this is if there is only you in your business is hard! Who watches the stall if you go have lunch, coz you’re not meant to eat at the stall! Who takes orders if you have to go make them up! What happens if you leave early or start late one too many times? Remember they’re makes notes about this.
Now I’ve been quite lucky because I’ve only really been there for 2 weeks at a time I’m not give much grief about it as the mall staff know I’ve got to get my orders made up. But I have seen comments being made to others for packing up early, but nothing to much more. Although I have heard about other places that won’t give you your kiosk cover back until the mall closes. Does that promote flexibility?

small business - running from a mall kiosk

PROS?!

Well we're just finishing week 2 in the Mall. I miss the comfort of the workshop and can’t wait to get back, although the banter up here is great!

I’ve had a stall in the mall twice now and I can’t quite see how they can say they can help you build your business. The incentive for building a business in the mall sounds good but, in reality when you find out the small details that they don’t put in their sales pitch when you first hear it you may change your mind. And from what I’m finding this is pretty standard through most malls, my source for this is the other kiosk traders, as most of them have stalls in at least one other mall.

Here are the highlights from the pitch you get:
flexibility - you are not on a long term fixed lease, all your are committed to is a week at a time unless you agree differently with the management, unlike high st premises which could be as little as 5 years
Reasonable costs - most of the time your rent includes electricity, plus for location you’re not paying usual high st prices for premises. Plus your rates are low if you qualify for small business discount. Rates for 2 weeks with full discount can be as little as £1.99 if you don’t have any other premises.
great visibility - you are in an area you choose with high foot fall, with so many thousands of people passing you every day.

Ok so far this sounds perfect, as a newish business I need a place my products and service can be seen, but I have to watch the cost etc.

dang its hot!

well its our first day up in the Howgate, and I've slipped away to do some embroideries, but holy cow its hot up there! we're next to the food court which has a big glass ceiling so its like a greenhouse!

so i think if our unusually warm weather persists i think I'll have to review my wardrobe, which is a shame coz i kinda feel i have my summer look sorted, but definitely will need to check this again if it gonna stay this hot!

but we're all set up and happy, so hopefully once i work out how to post things from my mobly, I'll pop thru a few pics!

righto better get back to the sauna!