From the bottom of my heart, I have to sincerely thank you all for your support of my little shoppe in northwest Kansas. Established in July 2016, we have somehow managed to become the premiere destination is all of northwest Kansas as THE PLACE to go for all things prenatal, postnatal, baby and maternity.
THANK YOU for your business. YOU really have made a huge impact on our success and even the "smallest" of purchases matter. Your support adds up way more than you might realize and I'm evermore grateful for you.
I'm a numbers gal and I like to share success.
I don't think accomplishments should be kept secret, especially out here in rural America when everyone strives to help their fellow neighbors and because success stems from real people. At Nesting, my success stems directly from my customers who have also become my close acquaintances and friends. We've laughed together about sleep deprivation and cried together about everything from infertility and child loss to a new washing machine ruined from another load of play-doh.
Thank you for sharing your business with me at Nesting, In return, I feel like you deserve to know how your purchase choices have impacted my growth and increased my ability to serve you and your family.
2016
With never-ending support from my husband, I was able to open Nesting in July without any loans. By the end of the year, we were able to claim success as a debt-free small business.
2017
With our first full year in business, growth boomed with 64% growth. You read that right! We sold almost 2.8 times more product, served 387 new customers and increased our average transaction from $54.37 in 2016 to $59.59 in 2017.
Based on sales and the number of times customers shopped or attended events, I'd love to take this opportunity to thank my Top 5 Percenters who helped me set a strong foundation for growth in my super early days of business: Treasure Kersenbrock, Janae Kammer, Danielle Forsberg, Aisha Moss, Megan Horinek, Pamela Weeter, Amanda Griggs, Lauren Cossman, Kezia Urich, Katie Carroll, Carrie Towns, Ashley Stinemetz, Tonya Rudzick, Katrina Myers, Chelsie Bruggeman, Randi Smith, Zita Mead, Erin Walz, Chris & Lacy Rohr, Ronda Myers and Dana Schmid. THANK YOU!
2018
Growth continued as I met my 2018 sales goal by $604! In our second full year of business, we increased sales by almost 13%.
February was our most impressive month to speak of. Our first February in business was in 2017 and it was not a pretty month. It was actually pretty dismal! So for 2018, we decided to shake things up and make a change! We initiated a Customer Loyalty Rewards program which allowed loyal customers to redeem discounts in February. After implementing that program, sales were almost 5 TIMES better in 2018 than the previous February! INCREDIBLE!
In addition, we hosted our first ever Pop-Up Shop in St. Francis, opened a new product line with a Nursing Bra Showcase and Trunk Show, hosted a Mother's Day event with new products from Colby resident Melissa Stramel of Pharmacist Made, initiated a new Baby Registry Rewards Program and developed Facebook promotion videos.
Based on sales and the number of times customers shopped or attended events, I'd love to take this opportunity to thank my Top 5 Percenters who have made a lasting impact at Nesting: Amanda Griggs, Megan Horinek, Brenda Schilde, Cortney Dorn, Treasure Kersenbrock, Erica Carter, Lacy & Christopher Rohr, Jennifer Haag, Kelsey Plummer, Crystal Downing, Sherry Ummel, Chelsie Bruggeman, Kristin Yergey, Oriana Wark, Laura Johnston, Courtney Helin, Kasey Griffith, Nichelle Erskine, Heather Rietcheck, Aubrey Stover, and Amber Spresser. THANK YOU!
2019
What's in store for this new year? Well, I'll continue to do everything I can to better Nesting and my ability to serve young families of northwest Kansas. I'm excited about the potential our little Nursing Nook and Lending Library has as a free resource for local families. In addition, I hope to increase sales by another 10% this year and bring in several new product lines. Customers may have seen a recent thread on Facebook where I asked for feedback regarding a list of most popular baby products of 2018. I'll use advice and suggestions to help spearhead new product lines at Nesting.
I plan to meet my financial goals by promoting our improved Baby Registry Rewards program and hosting lots of events! For example, I'll be giving short presentations at our local prenatal classes this year and starting in February, you can expect a Bra Fit Event every third Thursday of the month.
Here's what we've got on the calendar so far:
Jan. 24 Bra Fit Event
February is Customer Appreciation Month
Feb. 21 Bra Fit Event
Feb. 23 Customer Appreciation Party
Feb. 25 Pop-Up Shop in St. Francis
March 15-17 Better Home & Garden Show
March 21 Bra Fit Event
April 13 Lactation Tasting Event Sponsored by UpSpring
April 18 Bra Fit Event
May 16 Bra Fit Event
Late May Maternity Swimwear, PJs and Nursing Bra Trunk Show Sponsored by Cake Maternity
June 20 Bra Fit Event
Late June Highway 24 Garage Sale and Spring Cleaning Clearance Event
July 18 Bra Fit Event
August 15 Bra Fit Event
September 19 Bra Fit Event
September 28 Wimmydiddle in Scott City
October 1 Baby Wearing Promotions Sponsored by Baby K'tan
Oct. 17 Bra Fit Event
Nov. 21 Bra Fit Event
Nov. 29 Black Friday Promotions
Nov. 30 Small Saturday Promotions
Dec. 19 Bra Fit Event