“I love it, I just love this,” Zipper says, as she unfolds the brochure. “This expresses exactly what Comfort in The Word is. It’s beautiful, it’s perfect.”
Grossman-Rodriguez suggested that Zipper more diligently collect email addresses for her customers and include a follow-up email asking how the customer liked the product, which could yield more testimonials.
So far, Zipper has hired one person to work four hours one day a week, with an eye to increasing to more days as sales volume rises. Even the first couple of times the employee came to pack and ship while Zipper made sales calls, Zipper recorded an increase in sales calls and was impressed with the worker’s attention to quality control.
“Your suggestion was phenomenal,” she tells Harris. “That worked out great. I didn’t die giving up the responsibility of the quilts, I didn’t keel over on the ground.”
With the new brochure in hand, the Comfort in The Word team is excited to start expanding its customer base and ramping up a search for larger accounts. Orders are already flowing in for the new year, says Zipper, who was packing an order for 300 quilts last week. She will be attending a big trade show in the spring, and the quilts will be advertised in eight catalogs.
The team is also working on refreshing www.comfortintheword.com, and Zipper will be applying for a $2,000 Mom and Pop Small Business Grant from Miami-Dade County this year.
In order to combat the problem of sometimes running short of quilts because of the long production and payment cycle, the team is going to see if the manufacturer will agree to smaller, more frequent orders even if it means Comfort in The Word has to pay a little more per quilt.
The last meeting of the makeover also included a review of 2011 financials. The team was disappointed that the year ended with a small loss, after a profitable 2010.
“This year we absolutely must be profitable,” says Harris after the early January meeting. “Making money is very important for several reasons. First, it’s more fun. Second, it allows us to invest in the business with more marketing and resources. It enables us to borrow from banks, and it certainly increases the value of the company.”
“I’m excited about implementing a lot of new things. This will be a good year,” says Zipper. “I just feel it’s a great product and when you love what you do, it’s a great thing.’’
Zipper and Harris are going to continue to meet monthly. And regarding that stack of quilts with very minor imperfections in them, the orphanages and shelters she donates them to will be very happy to receive them.
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