Working From Home as a Retailer | Paper Sisters
The founders of Paper Sisters, Julissa and Mary-Lynn Ras are sharing their tips on working from home as a retailer. Paper Sisters sells one-of-a-kind stationery, books and office supplies and they too were forced to temporarily close their doors due to COVID-19.
Paper Sisters started as a pop-up concept about 4 years ago and in December 2019, the two sisters officially opened their store. Because their pop-up originally started from home, they have a lot of experience and tips that they can share on this topic. Julissa and Mary-Lynn already expected the first months of 2020 to be “quiet months” or “low season” but the virus was something completely different and unexpected so they had to create a new plan.
Editor’s Note: The sisters have now re-opened their store and are adapting to the “new normal” as a retail store but we’ve asked them to share a few tips on working from home and what has worked for them in the past.
Focus on your customers
Both sisters thrive on providing excellent customer service to their shoppers the minute they enter the store so they had to rethink how they would offer the same service online, without having any direct contact with their customers. They decided to create an online catalog and offered delivery services to their customers.
Act Fast
The minute the first case was announced in Aruba, Julissa and Mary-Lynn realized it was something that everyone had to face. Both sisters decided to have a meeting the following day with a group of business-minded people who have different perspectives and to brainstorm on a new action plan.
Adapt and re-structure
Julissa and Mary-Lynn adapted quickly. They knew they had to go online with their store so they created an online catalog and included products that were ideal for “staying home” or for “working from home”. This also included re-structuring their social media strategies by going “live” more often and also adding a variety of content that was more motivational.
Create your own space
Mary-Lynn says it’s important to have your own space when working from home, because you’ll feel more motivated to be productive and creative and you’ll end up working for hours without even noticing. “You feel more liberated in a personalized space, because you’re the one creating it for yourself” says Mary-Lynn. Each sister has their designated working area at home that they have customized. Mary-Lynn likes to have lots of plants in her working area for example. The sisters also emphasize that it’s important to also work in an organized matter, being organized is very important for productivity!
When asked about the future of Paper Sisters, both said that a webshop is in the works. There is a lot of uncertainty about COVID-19 and how long this will last so going digital is a must right now for most businesses. The sisters always knew that digital is the future, they just delayed the process a bit because they wanted to focus on a more personalized service in-store.
We encourage small business owners that are currently working from home to try out a few of these tips. You never know, your creativity and productivity might just expand further.
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