Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 171
April 3, 2017
America’s unhealthy obsession with productivity is driving its biggest new reading trend
“I probably started reading ultra hardcore about seven or eight years ago,” says Tom Bilyeu, an entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. “Ultra hardcore” means that Bilyeu reads everywhere: While he brushes his teeth, while he gets dressed, in the 30 seconds it takes to cross rooms in his house, he’s reading.
“My big secret is,” says Bilyeu, “I read in all those little transitional moments.” Plus, for the last eight years, he’s optimized his intellectual consumption by listening to audiobooks at three times the normal speed.
Audiobooks are the latest trend in book publishing. They’re part of the podcast boom, and they’re helping US publishers keep losses down as ebook sales from big-name companies continue to slump. What’s been around since the 1980s has a sleek new face, and today who’s listening, where, and why, offers a glimpse into a new reading trend sweeping the US.
Audiobook listening is growing rapidly specifically with 25- to 34-year-olds, thanks to a pernicious “sleep when you’re dead” mindset reflective of the young, aspirational, educated American: We are fearful of mono-tasking, find downtime distasteful, and feel anxious around idleness. Even when picking socks from a drawer, young workers feel better if information’s somehow flowing into their brains. And this is exactly the restless market that book publishers need.
A fast growing format
Audiobooks are booming audibly in the mobile age. In the US, growth of audio is stronger than any other format, according to the Association of American Publishers, which tracks revenue from 1,200 book publishers. And while audiobook unit sales numbers are still small (from January to September 2016, US traditional publishers sold $240 million in audiobooks, compared to $1.8 billion in hardcover books), the format’s growth has meant more and more publishers are putting their money in people’s ears.
“I am very bullish on audio,” Kristen McClean, executive director of business development for market trends company NPD Book. “This is on the top of my list in terms of things I’m watching.”
“What we’re seeing is something that goes beyond the simple ease of downloading,” she says. “I think there is a shift in consumption going on.”
Audiobooks are a way for people who were once big readers to keep up with their youthful curiosity. As they find themselves with less leisure time than they had in college, the gym and the car become opportunities to be stimulated. “I used to read a lot, and probably stopped when I went to law school,” says Jamie Brooks, a lawyer based in New York City. Now she listens to an audiobook a week, on average three hours a day, on the train to work and before bed.
Audiobook listeners tend to be slightly above average in terms of income and education compared to the rest of the US population, according to 2006 data (pdf), the most recent available from the Audio Publishers Association (APA). “We find that our users are well educated, well paid, and successful,” says Beth Anderson, the executive vice president and publisher of Amazon’s Audible, the world’s largest retailer and publisher of digital audiobooks. “A huge number have masters and PhDs. They’re book lovers.”
Restless minds
Audiobooks mean we never have to be idle. They’re a cure to widespread restless mind syndrome, with its daily self-imposed nagging to make progress: Be more effective, says your productivity tracker. Do and learn more, says your to-do list. Optimize your to-do list, says your faddish new notebook.
Mobile technology helps. David Gross, a doctor and longtime audiobook listener based in Washington DC, recalls the trying process of procuring them 20 years ago: “There’d be a paper catalog, you’d call a phone number, they’d mail you the CDs, you’d keep it for a month, you’d mail it back,” he says. Today, downloads take two minutes, and apps make accelerated listening easy.
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America’s unhealthy obsession with productivity is driving its biggest new reading trend
Google Training Ad Placement Computers to Be Offended
Over the years, Google trained computer systems to keep copyrighted content and pornography off its YouTube service. But after seeing ads from Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart appear next to racist, anti-Semitic or terrorist videos, its engineers realized their computer models had a blind spot: They did not understand context.
Now teaching computers to understand what humans can readily grasp may be the key to calming fears among big-spending advertisers that their ads have been appearing alongside videos from extremist groups and other offensive messages.
Google engineers, product managers and policy wonks are trying to train computers to grasp the nuances of what makes certain videos objectionable. Advertisers may tolerate use of a racial epithet in a hip-hop video, for example, but may be horrified to see it used in a video from a racist skinhead group.
That ads bought by well-known companies can occasionally appear next to offensive videos has long been considered a nuisance to YouTube’s business. But the issue has gained urgency in recent weeks, as The Times of London and other outlets have written about brands that inadvertently fund extremists through automated advertising — a byproduct of a system in which YouTube shares a portion of ad sales with the creators of the content those ads appear against.
This glitch in the company’s giant, automated process turned into a public-relations nightmare. Companies like AT&T and Johnson & Johnson said they would pull their ads from YouTube, as well as Google’s display advertising business, until they could get assurances that such placement would not happen again.
Consumers watch more than a billion hours on YouTube every day, making it the dominant video platform on the internet and an obvious beneficiary as advertising money moves online from television. But the recent problems opened Google to criticism that it was not doing enough to look out for advertisers. It is a significant problem for a multi-billion-dollar company that still gets most of its revenue through advertising.
“We take this as seriously as we’ve ever taken a problem,” Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, said in an interview last week. “We’ve been in emergency mode.”
Over the last two weeks, Google has changed what types of videos can carry advertising, barring ads from appearing with hate speech or discriminatory content.
In addition, Google is simplifying how advertisers can exclude specific sites, channels and videos across YouTube and Google’s display network. It is allowing brands to fine-tune the types of content they want to avoid, such as “sexually suggestive” or “sensational/bizarre” videos.
It is also putting in more stringent safety standards by default, so an advertiser must choose to place ads next to more provocative content. Google created an expedited way to alert it when ads appear next to offensive content.
The Silicon Valley giant is trying to reassure companies like Unilever, the world’s second-largest advertiser, with a portfolio of consumer brands like Dove and Ben & Jerry’s. As other brands started fleeing YouTube, Unilever discovered three instances in which its brands appeared on objectionable YouTube channels.
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Medical Student And Vogue Cover Model Raudha Athif Reportedly Dies From Hanging In Dorm Room
The 21-year-old reportedly committed suicide by hanging herself via a scarf she owned. Athif was on the cover of Vogue India last October and was widely known as the “Maldivian Girl With Aqua Blue Eyes.” At the time, she told the magazine that modeling was only a hobby and that she wanted to become a doctor.
Police recovered Athif’s body around midday after her classmates found her lifeless. She was in her Bank Medical College dorm room in Rajshahi City, according to the Daily Star.
Mahmuda Begum, the dorm’s superintendent, described the young model as always looking happy and noted “it is hard to believe she would commit suicide.” She later described her experience of what happened.
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“I was in my chamber. Suddenly, I heard screams of my students,” said Begum. “Rushing to the second floor of this six-story building, I saw some of the students trying to break the door of Athif’s room.”
An autopsy should be able to confirm how Athif died. Currently it’s thought of as a suicide by local police. “We primarily suspect it is a suicide case. However, we can’t come to any conclusion until we get the autopsy report,” said Zillur Rahman, the officer-in-charge of the discovered death.
Our thoughts are with Raudha Athif’s family during this very trying time.
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March 31, 2017
Sephora app update lets users virtually try on makeup at home
The beauty retailer, Sephora updated its Virtual Artist IOS app that allows users to see how different eyeshades would look on them.
The app, which also offers virtual lipstick and eyelash tests, offers a tutorial of step-by-step instructions for eyebrows, contouring and highlighting.
The app uses face scanning technology to scan your face and identify the features, and then you can start trying different lip colors and eye makeup.
Moreover, the update also gives users to try out a new look at home just by using phone instead of paying visit to Sephora store.
If you’re as lipstick-obsessed as I am, you know how tempting it is to try on literally every single lipstick in Sephora. But who has time for that? Well, Sephora just saved the day. Its genius new app allows you to try on every shade the company stocks, all with one easy click.
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Is LuLaRoe a Pyramid Scheme?
A supplementary income may be necessary for your financial health. Perhaps it is even simply desired as a way to reach goals of financial freedom faster in the household. At some point, you may be approached by someone you know or are acquainted with to join them for a”financial opportunity.” One of those opportunities we imagine you have been asked to join is LuLaRoe (LLR). But, is LuLaRoe a pyramid scheme?
What Is a Pyramid Scheme?
A pyramid scheme focuses primarily on recruiting other individuals with the promise of quick, substantial profits and little effort supposedly needed to do so, the Better Business Bureau explains. Those that do not involve selling any products but only recruiting more investors would be similar to a Ponzi scheme.
Pyramid schemes that involve products encourage distributors to recruit sellers under them who pay a certain amount for a start-up kit or initial package. The recruiter will then retain a percentage of those sales along with a percentage of products sold. However, they are encouraged, usually by those who recruited them, to grow their network, often referred to as “downlines,” in order to earn even more money. Thus, your profit is primarily dependent upon how many people you can add on to the scheme rather than the sales of products.
This may sound comparable to a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, which requires you to buy in for a start-up kit or initial items but provides no guarantees. But, the real difference is pyramid schemes are illegal. So, is LuLaRoe a pyramid scheme or an MLM?
Is LuLaRoe a Pyramid Scheme?
LuLaRoe sells women’s clothing, such as t-shirts, dresses, skirts, cover-ups, and more. But, their true bread and butter that made them popular are their leggings, which typically come in unique patterns and colors. Their slogan is “where fashion meets comfort,” as their items are also known for being comfortable yet fashionable.
Women are brought on as sellers to sell these items from the comfort of their own home. In fact, the company was started with the stay-at-home mom in mind. Another factor about the company is that all items are sold strictly through direct sales and not through any brick-and-mortars. When individuals sign up to sell LLR clothing, they must pay in roughly $5,000 for a starter kit, which gives them their first set of inventory as well as a coach or “upline” to help them through the process. Those who have downlines do get extra cash on top of commission from selling clothes.
Many women see much success from selling LuLaRoe clothing, but many still question its validity. LuLaRoe describes itself as an MLM, but several pyramid schemes disguise themselves as MLM’s or direct sales companies too. So, let’s take a look at what characteristics to look out for in pyramid schemes based on information provided by the Federal Trade Commission and see how LuLaRoe compares:
Pyramid schemes issue commissions based on the number of people you recruit, not on product sales to consumers. LuLaRoe distributors do earn money from clothes sold to customers, but they also receive bonus checks and commission for the number of people on their team or downline. You continue to move on to the next level with the more people that you recruit under you.
The FTC mentions that pyramid schemes require you to purchase a lot of inventory. In LLR, you do need to purchase inventory regularly in order to continue to make and increase sales. Your initial investment does also include a starting inventory. Although you do not necessarily have to pay more than $5,000 to get started, it may be advised to do so in order to be more successful. You also only have control on the styles of clothes you want to carry but not on the colors or patterns.
In order to stay on good terms with a company that is a pyramid scheme, you may feel or be obligated to buy items that you do not necessarily need. As a LuLaRoe fashion consultant, you may need to buy extra items like hangers and a nice camera to help with your marketing images, but this is not required to stay in good standing with the company. They do actually also provide you with many marketing tools you will need to get started like images and tips on using social media to grow.
Conclusion
You are likely to lose money with a pyramid scheme, but this can also be true of MLMs. Making money with LLR is not impossible, but you do make more when you recruit people. Because of this, LuLaRoe is likely on the line of being a pyramid scheme, but because much of your profit can also come from directly selling products to consumers, the clothing company may be a valid opportunity. Just know that with any direct sales position, you are directly responsible for your own success.
Before signing up for any MLM “opportunity,” make sure to ask a lot of questions to ensure you are not actually ending up in a pyramid scheme. Determine the claimed primary source of making a profit, see if the products they offer sell well and what the profit margin is, and map out whether or not recruiting is the only way to make money (regardless of what they say).
L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator: Creating the Future of Beauty
CLARK, N.J. — Guive Balooch has seen the future of beauty — and it’s a smartphone.
As global vice president for L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator, a 26-person team that operates like a start-up within one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies, Mr. Balooch partners with academics and entrepreneurs to make products on the forefront of the $438 billion global beauty industry.
“Everything starts with this pillar in my mind of where beauty and technology meet,” Mr. Balooch said while touring the New Jersey facility that houses the incubator’s first lab, founded in 2012. (San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo are home to additional labs.)
Since the incubator opened, Mr. Balooch has overseen the development of five products — a mix of wearables, objects and apps — that further his vision of a future in which cosmetics are connected, customized and designed to meet each consumer’s needs.
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Take his team’s latest invention: the Kérastase Hair Coach Powered by Withings. Introduced in early January at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the sleek silver hairbrush — the product of a three-way partnership of the incubator, the smart technology maker Withings and Kérastase, L’Oréal’s luxury hair-care brand — is described as the world’s first smart brush.
“More than 50 percent of Google searches today in beauty are about hair,” Mr. Balooch explained.
The device aims to banish bad hair days by offering technical insights into the state of the user’s locks, plus personalized advice on how best to care for them.
Scheduled to go on sale this year, the $179 brush contains a conductivity sensor that knows whether hair is wet or dry; an accelerometer and gyroscope to measure the speed and force of brush strokes; a microphone that captures auditory data; and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity to upload all that information to an app, which uses an algorithm to analyze the statistics and detect breakage. And, oh yeah — the bristles feel pretty good, too.
“It was very important for us to make a high-end device that, taking all the technology and sophisticated aspects away, is the best brush you’ll ever see,” said Cédric Hutchings, chief executive of Withings and vice president for digital health at Nokia, which developed the hardware.
Mr. Balooch said the brush uses a combination of synthetic fibers “that mimic $200 to $300 brushes on the market.”
It’s a category he knows well. In 2007, after earning a doctorate in biomaterials from the University of California, San Francisco, and following postdoctoral studies in cell biomechanics at Stanford, he took a job with L’Oréal in Chicago, where he was challenged to “understand the physics of hair,” he said.
“I would take hairs of ethnic descent and I would test relaxers on them, shampoos, conditioners, then I would break the hairs on a machine,” he said.
Mr. Balooch’s work impressed the L’Oréal brass, who in 2008 asked him to join the company’s research and innovation team, and build relationships with start-ups and universities. When the incubator was formed five years ago, he was “the right man for the job,” said Mr. Balooch’s manager, Stephan Habif, senior vice president for L’Oréal’s research and innovation arm in the Americas. “This is L’Oréal — we believe in entrepreneurship.”
That may explain why the incubator is staffed by men and women who share Mr. Balooch’s academia-meets-Silicon Valley background.
“I hand-chose everybody more for their souls than their résumés,” Mr. Balooch explained. “If you put a UX designer, a physicist, a biologist and a micro-engineer all together in a room, the tension between their ideas creates really cool things.”
Makeup Genius, the incubator’s first project, proved him right. Introduced in May 2014, the virtual makeup app relies on augmented reality technology, in which graphics are superimposed onto real-world imagery, to let users try on various shades of L’Oréal cosmetics before buying.
Mr. Balooch said he tried to make the app, which boasts more than 17 million downloads, in-house until perfecting the feature that distinguished Makeup Genius from other such apps (its ability to track facial movements in real time) proved a formidable challenge.
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Senate votes to eliminate Obama-era retirement rule
A resolution eliminating an Obama-era regulation aimed at boosting retirement accounts for low-income workers is headed to President Trump’s desk after a Senate vote on Thursday.
Senators by a 50-49 margin approved the House-passed resolution, which rolls back a rule meant to encourage a state’s “political subdivisions,” like cities and counties, to create retirement plans for private-sector workers whose employers do not offer their own retirement plans.
The Obama rule would have exempted the city-run accounts from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, a law that outlines rules for workplace savings. Supporters argue the move would make it easier for cities to set up the accounts.
Republicans blasted the regulation, which the Employees Benefits Security Administration rolled out late last year as an extension of a broader proposal that allows states to create the retirement plans.
“Under the guise of helping more people save for the future, it undercut a system of private retirement savings that has served millions of Americans very well for decades,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said. “The end result would be more government at the expense of the private sector.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the chairman of the Finance Committee, added that the rule imposed “conflicting and burdensome mandates on private-sector businesses.”
Democrats, arguing the country faces a “retirement crisis,” pressed to keep the rule in place. They have stressed that states need more flexibility to help low-income workers save for retirement.
“For too many working people, saving for retirement isn’t automatic or easy. It seems out of reach, but we can’t let that stand,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) from the Senate floor.
Seven states have taken a steps toward creating programs under the Obama-era rule, and Democrats noted that another 23 states are currently considering the program.
The House passed a separate resolution last month that would also nix the Obama-era provision for state governments. That resolution hasn’t received a vote in the Senate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) accused Republicans of trying to hurt working-class Americans, saying since the beginning of the year they “haven’t put up for a vote … a single piece of original legislation to help working families.”
“For years, the Republican-controlled Congress has done nothing to help the 55 million Americans who don’t have an employer-provided retirement plan,” she said.
GOP lawmakers are using the Congressional Review Act to undo regulations implemented late in Obama’s tenure by a simple majority.
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Peter Thiel And Max Levchin Bet On Freelance Economy
Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Valar Ventures has led a $10 million investment round in Lystable, an app for collaborating with freelancers, Lystable announced this morning.
The round includes earlier investors such as Max Levchin’s fund SciFi VC, Kindred Capital and Goldcrest Capital, as well as new backers Glynn Capital Management and Wilmont Ventures. Thiel and Levchin were co-founders of PayPal.
Lystable, which was founded in London and has an office in San Francisco, enables companies to onboard freelancers, create profiles for them, assign work to them, track invoices and make payments. Freelancers can also use the platform for functions such as checking the status of invoices.
“We are growing rapidly,” says Peter Johnston, founder and CEO, a former designer at Google and alum of the prestigious Techstars accelerator. “Our plan is to hire people to cope with that growth.”
Lystable plans to use the money it raised to introduce a new payments product, ideally by the end of the year, and hire senior executives to help that part of the business scale, says Johnston.
Target clients are companies in the media and tech sector that rely heavily on freelance talent, according to Johnston.
Lystable is SciFi VC’s “first investment focused squarely on the freelance space,” said Eric Scott, partner in SciFi VC, based in San Francisco.
Scott said the firm sees the data Lystable is collecting on freelance talent to be “enormously valuable.” While it is relatively easy for small firms to hire freelancers, it can be trickier for multinationals to find freelancers who work well with their team and fit into their culture, he noted.
“They address a problem no one else does,” he says.
Lystable raised $11 million in Series A financing in June 2016, bringing the total raised to $25 million since its founding in 2014, according to the company.
Lystable says its users include celebrity and style site POPSUGAR, the NY Daily News, Airbnb, ESPN, CNBC, IDEO, and Google.
Using Lystable’s basic platform is free but companies that pay their freelancers through the platform incur a processing fee. Paying through the platform is an alternative to direct bank transfers, which can be costly and, in some cases, impossible–presenting challenges as multinationals tap into an increasingly global talent base, says Johnston.
“The future of work is becoming more international,” says Johnston. “It’s going to be more important to get these freelancers paid, wherever they are on the earth.”
Lystable’s 2016 revenue was in the $1 million-$3 million dollar range, according to Johnston. The company employs 40 people.
There is significant competition in the freelance management space, with platforms such as Work Market and Upwork going after enterprise clients. Some companies, such as the Washington Post, have developed private talent clouds to manage freelancers.
“I think there will always be companies that decide to build vs. buy, but in most cases it’s still going to make sense to buy,” says Scott.
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6 Easy Ways to Conquer Your Makeup Bag, Once and For All
Spring is finally here, which means it’s time to clean your makeup brushes, switch up your skincare routine and of course, update your beauty stash. But if cleaning out your makeup bag gives you as much anxiety as Marie Kondo-ing your closet, don’t panic: we tapped the pros to share the secrets that keep their kits organized on a daily basis.
Below, the brilliant tricks that will save your hands and products from ever being smeared with black eyeliner again.
1. Store creams in a pill box
One of the most Instagrammable components of any makeup artist’s kit? Perfectly-curated palettes of lipsticks and concealers, which cut down on bulky bottles and keep everything in one place. Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes says, “If you’re at the end of a lipstick, scoop that out with the end of a spoon or something and smush it into a pill box to create a little on-the-go makeup palette.”
2. When in doubt, throw it out
“Mascara should be replaced every two to three months, even if you’ve only used it a few times,” says makeup artist Laura Geller. “Now is a great time to throw out the old one and swap in a new one.”
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Don’t remember when you purchased any product? Give it a whiff — if it doesn’t smell right to you, chances are it’s had its day. And “if it’s something you haven’t used in six months, you’re probably not going to use it at all, so get rid of it,” says Hughes. (A good rule of thumb for everything in your wardrobe, though it’s easier said than done.)
And going forward, keep a Sharpie in your makeup bag to date jars or pots from the time you opened them. That tiny icon of a jar with a number inside it on the bottom of all your moisturizers and concealers? That’s how many months the product is good for, which will help keep you honest and your makeup bag tidy.
3. Always keep anti-bacterial wipes on hand
“Straight up Wet Ones are the best — not a makeup wipe,” Hughes says of what she relies on to clean up a makeup mess. “Anything that doesn’t have too much oil, because then you’ll have to clean it again to get rid of the oil.” Throw a few in a sealed plastic bag, or buy a travel-size pack to stash in your bag.
4. Don’t abuse your BeautyBlender
Your beloved BeautyBlender might make your skin look flawless, but the sponge itself is prone to getting icky. So after you wash it right away (right?), make sure to store it in a smart way. “Ialways see my friends with a nasty BeautyBlender in their bag,” says Hughes. “I tell them to keep it in a mesh jewelry bag — something that lets air in, but keeps it concealed from everything else in the makeup bag.”
5. Re-purpose small containers
If you’re struggling with a messy pigment or a crumbled eye shadow, makeup artist Kristofer Buckle recommends buying empty paint dispensers (yes, the ones you used during arts and crafts as a kid) from the craft store and pouring one shade into each compartment. It’ll be easy to take on the go, while also keeping things neat.
For other random items like spoolies or cotton buds, Hughes works with things around her house. “I keep my Q-Tips in metal bandage boxes, or I buy the travel size cotton bud boxes and keep re-using them. Any nice packaging that comes with products — the packaging that Warby Parker glasses come in? I use them to store things,” she says.
6. Beware of broken lids
“The things that actually make your makeup bag muddy are broken lids from eye liner and lip liner pencils, and pencil sharpeners,” Hughes warns. “I keep my pencil sharpener in a tiny Ziploc bag, or a cloth jewelry bag.”
And Buckle’s trick might seem obvious, but it works: “I just buy a pencil cases at a craft store,” he says.
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6 Easy Ways to Conquer Your Makeup Bag, Once and For All
Ebay Entrepreneur Sells Millions In Mens Suits Online And Off
As Oak Park, Mich.-based The Suit Depot approaches the $3 million mark in projected sales, owner Marty Babayov knows he has eBay to thank for much of his success. The once online-only men’s suit retailer leveraged his success on eBay to open a 13,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar store front outside of Detroit that continues to grow.
But he hasn’t given up his eBay roots. The Suit Depot continues to sell new men’s suits online and off, with eBay still generating more than 30% of the company’s annual sales, while serving local clientele through his physical storefront and customers worldwide through his eBay store, Amazon and website.
An Early Start
Many successful entrepreneurs tell tales of selling things at a young age. Babayov is no exception. The owner of The Suit Depot recalls reselling store-bought junk food to classmates back in second grade. At age 13, when his family moved into a home with vintage cast-offs lying around, his older brother started selling it on eBay and Babayov followed his lead. When relatives offered clothing they were done with, he took them and began dabbling in fashion online.
In the hunt for more inventory, Babayov turned to thrift stores, which he would visit on the weekend, stocking up on clothes of all types and sizes to turn around and sell on eBay. “I was a generalist at first,” he says.
From used clothing at thrift stores he moved to new clothes sold at discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. His thinking was that, “If TJ Maxx and Marshall’s can sell it and make a profit, then so can I.” And he did.
Then Babayov expanded his new merchandise acquisition even farther, into department store liquidations. He would buy up last season’s merchandise at a deep discount and sell it on eBay for a profit. During college, he would arrange to buy up store returns and his mother would ship them to him so he could list and sell them from wherever he was.
To be successful as a clothing generalist, Babayov worked hard at improving how fast his merchandise sold. He understood that, “I don’t need to be the cheapest, but I do need to list it best.”
He also saw how being a generalist was putting his business at a disadvantage. “I realized that people wanted to buy from an expert,” he says. While selling everything from women’s clothes to men’s clothes, to shoes, to children’s clothes, to accessories, it would be nearly impossible to position his business as a specialist.
So he opted to become a niche seller specializing in men’s suits. That decision made, he researched four or five major players in men’s clothing who were selling on eBay to see how they approached their business. He wanted to find a way to be a better version of their stores.
So he looked for weaknesses in their listings, to identify how he could improve his odds of getting the sale. What he found, almost across the board, was that other men’s clothing sellers were not using quality images, had bad product descriptions, and rarely included measurements. He knew that by providing this information to eBay shoppers, he could set his business, which he named The Suit Depot, apart.
Does Babayov aspire to own a chain of Suit Depots? No, he says. “I’d rather expand one store than open additional stores,” he explains. “We have a long way to go when it comes to growing our retail store. That alone has the potential to bring in more than 300% of what it is currently doing now.”
“For the coming year, I’ve put an emphasis on manufacturing. I’m very disappointed with the declining quality standards of many of the major brands and lack of innovation when it comes to design. I’ve put out my own suit line and am working on shirts, ties, gloves and other accessories,” which Babayov hopes to start selling wholesales to other boutiques.
With The Suit Depot’s eBay business growing in parallel with his offline venture, expansion is as easy as adding more inventory to his online store.
Marcia Layton Turner writes frequently for and about small business. She is the author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business and many others.
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