Upsize is a magazine with a single mission: to help Minnesota's small-business owners build bigger and more profitable companies, and to connect CEOs with the people, products and ideas they need to grow.
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Q&A Best of Upsize Bollin: Boy, you know, before I started this line I used to hand-paint on clothing. That's where it got me started thinking, I know how much time I have into this, and I know how retailers have to work; they need their margin, too. When I started this line I had learned so much from that, and from sell- ing. I was always amazed how much people would pay for something that made them feel good and fits good. I try not to think what I would pay. I'm frugal that way; I'm a wholesaler. And then it's years of retail- ing and understanding how people think. A woman will pay more for something if it makes her feel good about it. And then it's putting ourselves at a higher standard and keeping it at a higher standard of quality, fit and comfort. I get excited about making profits. If you make profits you can do more with your brand. My husband tells me, you don't even care about money. That's not why I do this. Upsize: But that's how you keep score in business: making money, making profits. Maybe it's the same as barrel racing, that you want to win. Bollin: It's about always doing better than you did last time. I tell my salespeople, build up your accounts, and each time you go in there try to build them a little bit more. Upsize: Let me ask you a few philosophical questions. Can you describe a tipping point for your company, when something hap- pened that caused things to go much better than before? Bollin: Besides introducing the jeans? Another turning point was we have a showroom in the Denver market. And we had a showroom that was 350 square feet. There's a big market out there that all the buyers come to. It is like, you can write a lot of orders. We couldn't show the line enough, and I made a big decision to move into a huge showroom; I believe it was 2,200 square feet, and it's now expanded to 3,000 square feet. So that's where each of the 10 reps have their own little room. That was a big play; that was a big risk. We pay $3,000 a month to use this room, and we only use it maybe 10 times a year. But if you want to play with the big dogs, you have to show it. You have to show that you have staying power, because they don't want to work with someone who's going to be a flash in the pan. That was a big tipping point, get- ting that large showroom. That was three years ago. When you take a big risk like that, you've got to finish it. LAW How to know if your business is "franchise-able" "While the business should be simple, the system should not. You may attract fran- chisees by your unique concept or name, but to be successful, franchisees need systems that allow them to operate the business and stay ahead of the competition. You need to not only develop a prototype, but also docu- ment the systems, recipes, procedures, marketing techniques, and the like that you will provide to your franchisees, and develop training programs that enable franchisees to replicate your success." Joe Fittante Jr. & Charles Modell Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren jfittante@larkinhoffman.com; 952.896.3256 cmodell@larkinhoffman.com; 952.896.3341 This advice was taken from an article that appeared in Upsize. To see the entire article: CLICK HERE www.upsizemag.com MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS Helping smaller companies stop the fraudsters "According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, more than 40 percent of frauds are uncovered through tips. Organizations should consider implementing a third-party anonymous reporting system for employees to report fraud, in either the form of an external hotline number or an online submission form that employees can use to report suspicions. Many third parties provide this service for a reasonable fee." Jason Olson Eide Bailly LLP 612.253.6554; jwolson@eidebailly.com This expert's advice was taken from an article that ap- peared in Upsize. To see the entire article: CLICK HERE THE GROWTH GUIDE 2012 UPSIZE ONLINE 9