It was a unique experience as you are immersed  in a room filled with people JUST LIKE YOU.

On my table were business women, photographers working in e-commerce, web designers, social media experts, mobile web designers and even people who had just started at technology companies.

Girl geek meetings are not just for us to let our inner feminist out (men do come too along with their girl geeks) but to understand and provide support, stories and mentoring to each other in a typically male dominated industry.

Denise Jacobs was our first speaker and told a story about her rise to becoming a public speaker, writing a technical book and basically becoming a web diva of extraordinary proportions.

She reminded us to stop beating ourselves up for being female and thinking we can’t progress in this world. She indicated that actually, most of the barriers we feel are self generated and no one will stop us…however male dominated we think the technology industry is.

Us girls of a geek nature also need to shout about what we do. If we are too understated (I suffer from this affliction) and don’t say ‘ Hey, I can do that’ we will never get where we want to be.

We know more than we think we do

Want to feel inspired? Pop over to youtube: http://youtu.be/FTTj7DWABes

Second up was Karen Strunks from the 4am project – She detailed about using social media to promote her photography at 4am from a insomniacs walk about to a global photography project showing our world at this unique time.

This is Karen’s video (shot by me as I was sitting there): http://youtu.be/v1B18U_KgiY and see our world at 4am on flickr!

Our final speaker was Rachel McCollin taking about mobile web and how she got into the industry from working with the environmental agency.

Her video is here:  http://youtu.be/ZzWFCSV365o

So all in all it has inspired me to become more active again, on this blog (and meeting with my fellow girl geeks will give me more content to write again) and also is public speaking. Hey I may even offer to speak at a girl geek event.

IN OTHER NEWS >>>>> (shameless self promotion segment)

A new eBay design offering is hitting the web-o-sphere. A smart phone optimised solution for the SME market with dynamic navigation to die for. Full details will be in the new Tamebay Tools and services guide coming out on the 31st of Jan.

Want a sneak peek of new clients taking advantage of this?

Check out: http://stores.ebay.de/outdoorsportshop24 (still updating hislisting templates), http://stores.ebay.de/HHV-MUSIC (still updating his listing templates) and http://stores.ebay.at/123boerse (who has actually updated his item templates!!)

With a set up fee of 1500 Euros (plus monthly subscription based on volume) this is an ideal solution for eBay sellers.

More info to come of course but if you want to get in touch about this product please contact us via info@widshop.com.

‘You’re so far away?’

I know..

‘Japan is the third largest economy, they can afford it’

Really?

‘Then why?!!?’

Why do we do anything? I could not put my reasons into words, however many times I was asked. I can even now only describe it as a ‘pull of humanity’

I felt the need to help, so I did.

I saved for 6 months to be able to join the volunteer effort, I thank those who donated to my cause but 90% of the funds came from my own pocket. I knew this would be the case so I planned a rough date in November to fly over.

My friend Sheila was key in my effort, without her I would have been stuck as there are no guides to HOW you volunteer.  She is very active in the relief effort, housing volunteers and volunteering herself with various Christian and smaller volunteer groups.

I came to find that the small groups in Ishinomaki are making a big difference to lives.They don’t get the praise, donations and media hype they deserve. They are the hidden diamonds.

I travelled down with a Christian group called Kurume Bible Fellowship (KBF), a Christian group who have gone to Ishinomaki almost every weekend since the disaster. On this trip they were distributing heaters for the coming winter, and working with Samaritans Purse on construction projects.

We left from Hibarigaoka at 10pm the Friday night and arrived in Ishinomaki for about 7am.

As you approach Ishinomaki you see the gradual increase in devastation, like driving into a apocalypse fantasy game on the PS3.

The whole bus was quiet, a few gasps as we passed piles of rusty cars and steel building supports bent over sideways by the force of the water. We stopped at a shrine to pay respects for a short time and to take in the landscape from outside the bus.

This was my reason.

We then had breakfast and delivered some heaters

(image owned by KBF Tohoku Relief Team)

The winters in Japan are harsh and Japanese houses do not have central heating. Heaters are essential for living in the region, and with little money and struggling industry local people are faced with choices. Food or buy a heater?

After this I was dropped off at my destination…the It’s Not Just Mud  madhouse.

Part 2 coming soon!

*If you want to volunteer from the UK and need advice just comment below and I will give it gladly.

I have had a very busy e-commerce 2011. The economy has taken a bashing but online things are still hotting up! The world is our oyster online with the expansion of social commerce and like many sellers looking out to Europe and beyond is the key to success.

This year as been the year for international expansion for my sellers and myself. Most of my eBay clients are moving into France, Germany and the USA as a minimum. Most are going much further.

To stay ahead of the game as always, I am looking into the Asian markets. Strong currency in these countries suddenly makes buying stuff from Europe side cheap and boy is it TRENDY!

While I was in Japan (business and volunteering) I saw that the union jack was EVERYWHERE on clothing, accessories in shops and on the people walking past. It was very surreal.

Language is no longer a barrier. Improvements in translation engines have made things easier.

For a year or two I have bought from Rakuten and Yahoo Auctions Japan (though a shopping service) and each time it gets a bit easier. For instance Japanese sellers are more interested in international trade, probably due to economic conditions in their own countries and better support networks.

So as my clients are expanding in to Europe, Australia and America in the next few years, I will get ready for the expansion east by building relationships, language skills, cultural/business skills and finding sensible solutions.

Oh yeah, and prepare for Widshops…oh yes….eBay design mark deux….

and a picture from my volunteering in Ishinomaki!

Fixing a shrine gate in Onasaki

Onasaki – Rebuilding houses, reflooring, clearing out garbage and putting a shrine gate back up.

Place was completely flooded – government is not restoring electricity and water.

On the way in we passed the shrine at Okawa Elementary School, the team had worked on the clearance of the area so stopped to pay resepect and see the progress – it was completely destroyed, killing 75 of 108 students and 10 of 13 teachers and staff. The teachers and students were evacuating from the school and were swept away by the tsunami while crossing a nearby river bridge.

You could see the part of the bridge ripped out by the tsunami still in the river.

Social and mobile have changed how I shop. I am normally one of the first on the shopping cart bandwagon as I shop ALL THE TIME and it is one of my favourite pastimes.

Mobile Commerce and the wrath of the eBay iphone app

This revelation has killed my bank balance, eBay has infected my life even more than before – in bed, on the train and even waiting for food as a restaurant the iphone sneaks its way out and I can check eBay. It has some needs, like being able to search a sellers items or more ‘ebay shop’ functionality but it does relieve me of quite a few pounds. I also only shop on amazon via mobile now.

However, if there is no app I am probably not going to buy from you on my mobile. Even the ‘mobile friendly’ versions of e-stores annoy me (but normally I don’t check because they are not the norm yet) and I quite often, switch back to the full site if I can. These smartphone friendly versions have a long way to go before they reach ‘app’ status.

Evils of social commerce

You have to have a facebook page now, if you don’t I forget you exist. Sorry.

Recently we (as in createyourtemplate – disclaimer, I’m pluggin’) designed a facebook page for one of our eBay clients passion4italianfashion and instigated an idea of a weekly competition which involved tagging to get maximum exposure. The account started with around 41 likes and has now grown to over 850 likes with around 80 entries to their competition each week. This page will continue to grow and create brand awareness, keep them in-touch with their customers and grow sales.

Another interesting facebook marketing campaign was spearheaded by a friends company. I love Illamasqua makeup and they did a ‘social sacrifice‘ campaign which in effect you killed all your pictures and you had a set of professional pictures to replace them with Illamasqua makeup-y goodness. As a subscriber to their facebook page I get to know when they are doing promotions as it is an expensive brand so I wait for deals

So, as for shopping habits I have fallen right into mobile and social commerce like a stone. However, quite a few of the people (small/medium businesses) I speak too still don’t think it is anything to worry about or use to their advantage. The managing directors who use sites like Facebook, Groupon or have a smart phone always see differently. They see how they and their families spend money and want a slice of it!

So, get a website, make it social and make it mobile (with an app if you can). Don’t forget the power of social marketing if your demographic fits.

On a side note, I am volunteering in Japan (Ishinomaki) next month and staying with a friend who connects the international kimono community through her facebook page. She has kept us all updated about the real situation and stories from the first shake to her last trip.

Say?nara! Ganbatte!

Well, take a look: iokei.com and help me with my MISSION!

Well, I have finally done it. A way to chart my fundraising progress, blog about the trip and thank everyone who donates. Sometimes you wonder what happens to money you donate to disaster relief funds, I know I do. However , this is a rare opportunity to directly donate money so I, a human who can individually chart the experience can volunteer to help with the mass clean up needed in Japan.

The trip will cost roughly £1200 and I am fundraising 50% of this cost and fronting the other 50% myself. Any extra donated to the cause will be used to directly benefit the people in evacuation centres that I meet and help on this trip.

Yes, Japan is a major power in the world but this disaster was more powerful. It will take years and volunteers are declining as time goes on. The media has forgotten the plight of the people in affected areas as it so often does when other news takes over.

So please help me on my journey and make a difference to real people in this very real situation. Maybe you are thinking of doing this yourself? Please let me know.

I plan to go to Japan late November, in the quiet period at work. I am using my own holiday leave for this trip, if your stuck for a trip away how about joining me?

Donate if you can

Please state if you want to be anonymous.

*paypal button fixed!

Full service sites to complete with eBay and Amazon…that is fighting talk!

So my wish list for Rakuten UK is (looking at the current Rakuten site) :

1. Fully disclosed shipping for each item, forcing sellers to declare the weight so there are no hidden surprises.

2. Choice of shipping service.

3. Better multi-variation listings and keeping the ‘bundle’ style listings you can see on the site at the moment. (5 items in a deal and you get to choose options)

4. Same rules for everyone, big or small.

5. Local support (for local people)

6. Kimono section – OK, this is never going to happen but hey I said this was a ‘wish’ list.

If you have never shopped on Rakuten, you should give it a try. It might be scary at first but buy something small and light. Its worth it to see the comedy translations. My favourite was ‘I have yen pants’ when looking at shoes….

I buy every month now and I have already planned my July spend on Rakuten!

ChannelAdvisor, a software and services solution provider that enables online retailers to sell more across e-commerce channels, hosts the sell-out event annually. As a sponsor, createyourtemplate will ensure that its message is heard by hundreds of online retail leaders and decision-makers.

We like this event, great food, great people and interesting facts and trends about the obsession we like to call e-commerce! Dang they are having a proper party this year too so I will be out in my kimono! OK, well I will continue the blurb CA sent though so we sponsors could promote the event without having to actually think about what we needed to say, you’d be surprised how busy we get….personalised bits are in italics

Each year Catalyst brings together some of the most innovative minds in the industry—executives, analysts, leading solution providers and other thought-leaders—to discuss current and upcoming trends, exchange best practices and learn about new products and innovations.

This year’s conference theme and programme focus—Accelerate Your E-Commerce—is all about helping attendees boost their online sales.

As a silver sponsor, createyourtemplate will be rocking a stall with sweet sweet eBay design and sugary treats, giving you energy for your invaluable opportunity to connect with a powerful and influential e-commerce community that is growing at an exponential rate and get you searching for solutions to maximise your online business. We are full of information, come and speak to us!

“We are elated by the calibre of the Catalyst EU sponsors this year,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor. “The Catalyst Conference is unique in that we limit sponsorships to ensure quality over quantity. As a result, attendees have the opportunity to interface with relevant industry brands, while sponsors receive the visibility and prominence that enables them to cultivate and strengthen business relationships.”
To register for Catalyst EU today, or for further details, visit: http://www.channeladvisor.com/catalyst/eu/.

However, its sold out so you have to go on a waiting list. Be quicker next time, e-commerce is fast paced you can’t dawdle you know.

See you in London!

A friend of mine sent a link through from a Chinese seller of seemingly fabulous looking shoes and this was the link: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Show-Story-Shop

Oh dear, I thought – I am supposed to be saving money…oh well just one pair….

So I took at look at the size 7′s. I have wide feet as a general rule so always look for measurements on width and got a bit of a shock..

All of the shoes have a width of 7cm, regardless of being a size 3 or a size 7.5.

Unfortunately in the UK, length is the only standard for shoe size but these dimensions are crazy, but being a scientist I need to make sure this wasn’t just MY assumption. So upon going shopping I decided to visit Next and measure the width of a ‘normal’ size 7 shoe.

It was 9cm.

So upon getting home I started to madly measure shoe widths and yes, the smallest shoe width for a size 7 was just over 8cm for my rocket dog wedges.

Now, if this seller (and sellers similar) wanted to clean up with their cut price fancy shoes they really need to think about the product and sizing. These shoes are too narrow for the western market after a size 4 and they are limiting themselves to people with very narrow feet. My sister is one such person, however at a size 6, 7cm width is still too narrow to be able to feel comfortable or not stretch the shoes.

For comparison Japanese Zori at 23.5cm long (UK size 4) are about 8cm wide, smallest I have seen have been 7.5cm wide. Japanese kimono zori are suppose to be smaller as it is ‘iki’ or fashionable.

The moral of the story is to check your product is fit for your target market. No marketing strategy or SEO techniques will gloss over that one. If it looks like a shoe, it doesn’t mean it will function like a shoe for you. Another one is always read the description, I would have been red mad if I had brought a pair and missed the width sizing.

Many e-commerce retailers and suppliers try to get you to like them (with free stuff/competitions) and follow them on twitter (or create a trend) in order to get more exposure but this is basically empty marketing as if they don’t ‘win’ they don’t bother again or buy your service/products as they liked 20 other pages that day.

Successful brands/e-commerce retailers create a real community. Something you want to be part of that is above and beyond the offers and freebies.

It’s not e-commerce but with kimono de jack we are hell bent on getting more people interested in kimono, kitsuke (kimono dressing) and join in our events. Kimono lovers are sporadic and spread the world over but facebook and twitter bring them together and give them a place, excuse and company for their passion.

So if you are a retailer, how do you create a community? – Your aim is to get people to spend money but you need to give the love back. People love information, stories, discounts, insider information and to feel exclusive. Get people involved in any way you know how, its your business, your area, you have the 411! Be creative and innovative.

Need examples?

If your an e-commerce third party provide white papers on the industry on your facebook page, or organise e-commerce events for all and not just your customers.

If you are a retailer, impart your knowledge, exclusive reviews etc as you are an expert.

Most e-tailers are the bees knees in an area, so you can impart that knowledge to help buyers make better choices as well as building your profile.

Some e-tailers however (as a client once said ‘we just sell boxes, what’s in those boxes can vary’) shift boxes with no specialism. Social media and creating a community probably won’t work with you unless some consistency is found

So we (a group of 5 kimono dressers and photographers) will offer 3 types of kimono dressing on the day, however we are offering specialist dress up Geisha, Samurai and Wedding/Formal as a booked only venture so we can manage what we need to task on the days and the time needed.

Ideally, we would like to offer Geisha Cosplay/Henshin for people that turn up but the equipment and time needed is manic. One half of the group believes choice is best, the other believe we should keep it simples. So pre booking more complicated kitsuke (kimono dressing) is the half way house.

Everyone wants choice, but sometimes you just can not hold all the stock and options needed. However, restricting what you sell offer can impede your growth as a business, especially if your competitor stocks the whole range of something.

Customers are impatient, so making them wait on pre-orders/special orders increases the chance of charge backs! Grrrrr…is the word.

Personally I would use seasonality when thinking of stock a little more and maybe get in a few different pieces to suit the season/trend in order to grow and complete.

So for our first event we will be using forums and facebook to get advanced bookings for the event on the more complicated dress ups by providing a photo book portfolio and price list prior to the event.

I will let you know how online promotion works for an offline event