What if things get worse? Prepare for hard times.

With the situation of the current economy, we should take it as a warning sign. I think people are just trying to weather the situation and hope for the best but what if get worse? What if the U.S. government can temporarily make the situation better but in the long run it gets worse. This situation with our economic downturn should remind us of how vulnerable we are. Great civilizations have come and gone sometime no matter what man does you cannot stop fate. I am sure there are many homeless families right now who never imagined they could end up being without.

I have always admired my father who grew up during the great depression... he is a survivor. My mother who grew up without in England during and after WWII... she is a survivor and a great role-model. They both are tough. They both know how to make do, produce what they need and plan ahead.

Take the current economy as a warning sign and prepare for the worse. If the worse does not come, then hey your future will be even brighter! Beware and prepare should stay on our minds. I believe this will make us a more successful country.




Our current flaws which I personally am guilty of too!

1. Max out our credit and live month to month. I have several credit cards which are maxed out. We were late with a payment so many of our interest rates skyrocketed! Happens to most people. Serves the banks right to suffer loses when they set folks up in credit traps. Credit traps are a whole nother blog, too much info for here.
   
   Solution: Get out of debt and save! Educate yourself about money. Cut back and make a budget. One of the best advisers who is easy to follow is Dave Ramsey I am sure there are several others but he is a good place to start, he keeps it simple. Check him out, you won't be sorry. Be careful who you listen to about financial matters and I do not recommend debt consolidation.
   
2. Physically unfit & consuming too much junk food. So if things got really bad... could we survive? What if there was no gasoline and you had to ride a bike or walk where you needed to go, could you do it? Are dependant on medication for things that could be reversed such as in some cases loosing weight to lower blood pressure. Exercise and diet change can reduce diabetes. What if you couldn't get to the doctor or pharmacy? Maybe you should reserve some of your medication for unsure times. Look at the folks stuck in New Orleans after Katrina! Better yet work on prevention: loose weight, stop smoking, exercise, skip the drive through. As Jim Rohn always says, "What if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, why aren't we doing it?" Simple changes in our lives can make a big difference.
   
3. Not producing only consuming. One of the problems of our economy is we have become a country of consumers not producers. Of course we all know everything is made in China. Did you know the U.S. is in financial debt to China, isn't is frightening to be in debt to such a strong communist country? Let's look in our own backyards, on a personal level... other than our work/careers, how often do we truely produce anything? What if you couldn't get what you need from Wal-Marts anymore? Do you know how to make things yourself, grow a garden, or repair things you need?
   
   Solution: I am not recommending you become an automechanic, a farmer or a seamstress but it would not hurt to learn some basics to survive. These are great skills to pass onto your children too. Just think if everyone grew even a small garden how much healthier we would be from the fresh food and exercise of planting it and the money we could save. I recommend learning a new skill whether it is producing artwork, repairing something, cooking or baking, growing things... you get the idea.
   
4. Teaching our children to be survivers and savers. Number 3 touched on this subject... teach your children to produce something. Get them off the computer and away fromt the television. The earlier you start them producing the better. It builds there self confidence and makes for real bonding moments.
   
   Also start kids early saving, investing and giving charity. Children have to learn to save money not just let it burn a hole in their pocket as soon as they get money. Jim Rohn talks about this in depth.
   
5. Not making clear goals for the future. Don't just live day to day going through the motions without having some exciting plans for your future. Set goals makes it much more worthwhile and fulfilling.
   
   I have to credit Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar for this breakthrough in my life. Setting clear goals really makes things happen. You have to put down on paper what you want out of life and set steps to reaching those goals. I recommend you check out their philosophies each is linked to his website. Additionally you can find lectures by them on http://www.youtube.com/.

Designer Hijabs

The other day a lady and her daughters came into our store Middle Eastern Boutique in Richardson, Texas. After looking around for a while and asking a few questions they began to tell me a few items I needed to carry. One happen to be designer scarves for hijabis to wear as headscarves. One of the young ladies was wearing a sample - a scarf with Dior logos all over it. Ok, clearly it was a fake and not even a good one. They proceeded to tell me how I could sell out of these beauties easily. I politely thanked them for the suggestion.

Girls if you do not listen to anything else I say about hijabs listen to this... do not wear designer knockoffs... it is very tacky. At least knockoffs with huge designer logos all over them that aren't obviously the genuine logo. The only reason someone would want to wear a knockoff with a famous designer's name/logo all over it is to look like they have fashion sense and money in which they would clearly do not have either. Anyone who you would want to impress with a designer logo on a scarf could clearly tell the difference instead you would be making a fool out of yourself.


Anyhow cheap scarves displaying a designer's logo have nothing to do with the beauty and high quality of a classic designers like Dior. Dior is all about details, craftsmanship and beauty throughout the product in the texture, color, form, shape without ignoring the functionality of a product. Not only Dior but other designers like Gucci, Ralph Lauren, YSL, and the list goes on. That is why they are so expensive... they are not mass produced in China. To see a great video about the work that goes into a fashion line for a show go to http://www.diorcouture.com/us/dior_us.html and click "Birth of a Creation", I found it very interesting.

Despite the craftsmanship and beauty of a designer piece why is it so important as a Muslim to try to look like you are wearing designer stuff? I would be embarrassed to carry a purse that cost a couple of thousands of dollars when so many people are suffering due to a lack of a few dollars in their pockets and the basic necessities of life including so many children? Would the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) have worried about such nonsense or be impressed with your Hermes scarf? Come on leave this for the people of this world where it is their paradise, it is all fake and doesn't really matter. So I appreciate the art of fashion and the craftsmanship and design which goes into true designer items, but I personally do not feel I could ever spend such extravagance amounts of money on these items. I think it is more important to buy good quality items especially hijabs that emphasize your personal style without much concern of who the designer is. Of course, you can look nice while being modest without putting so much emphasis on extravagance. What do you think matters to the only one we need to impress, Allah (SWA)?

Islamic clothing hagglers.

If you are going to be selling Islamic clothing you need to be prepared. It is a great rewarding way to make a living, I enjoy it but it is stressful if you are not prepared to deal with hagglers. A haggler is someone who wants to pay lower than the listed price and will practically argue with you to get the price as low as possible.

Level 1 Haggler

Shoppers who want just some kind of discount, almost anything satisfies them.
Give me a discount because...

• I am buying more than one
• This is my first time shopping here
• I have sent a lot of customer to your store, you know my friend came by
• I have bought a lot of stuff from you, remember last year I bought a hijab
• I will tell all of my friends about you
• I am getting this as a gift
• Is that the final price? Can you give me a discount?
  

Level 2 Haggler

These are shoppers who have done their homework... they know what the competition charges, what their friends pay and even what it costs in the market overseas!

• I only have $15 so you will sell it to me for that price
• You sold it to my friend for only $15 so it is only fair to sell it to me for that price too
• I can buy it at the other store for $15 so you should only charge that much
• I can get that for $15 in Saudi Arabia why are you charging $50?

Level 3 Haggler

These guys just plain argue. They want to intimidate.

• You are trying to rip me off with those prices?
• You must be making a fortune!
• You charge too much!
• I want it, it is perfect but I am not going to pay that price!
• $15 is enough for it, you will take that price. They will usually repeat this about 3 times in your face.

These are just a few examples. One of our employees said she gets nervous when checking out customers on the register. I realized I do too. Sounds silly but it is stressful when people try to pick a fight over a couple of dollars. Our prices are very reasonable and are compatible with the local competition. Plus we carry high quality and allow people to return items for an exchange, no refunds. I encourage customers to try items on and open packages so they can see the size and feel the fabric. We try hard to make it a pleasurable shopping experience.

Here are some ways to combat haggling.

1. Set your prices a little higher than you normally would. If an item is $10 tell them it is $12 but 'for you' only $10. I typically do not do this because it is not fair to customers who pay full price. I prefer when customer buys several we take a few dollars off. This way we reward customers who buy more. This seems to work for us as the best solution.
2. Let employees run the store. If a employee is ringing up customers on the register and they say they cannot give discounts usually customers are understanding.
3. Offer them a percentage off instead of dollar value discount. Sometimes when I reduce a price by $2 they are not impressed but if I say I will take 10% off they like that better.
4. Keep a nice but inexpensive item near by you can throw in their purchase for free like a hijab cap or hijab pins. Customers love gifts. So even when you've told them no to their offer of a discount, you can make them happy when they leave with a gift.
5. Prepare in your mind a list of quality value points you can bring up to educate your customers as to why your products are the best and worth every penny. The problem is they do not see the value of the item. It is your job to point out the special features.
6. It is a good idea to have the same type of items in the store that are older styles or just not as fancy. Give them a comparison, oh I have this item for only $50 if the $60 one is not in your budget.

All in all we should look at the positive side of haggling. It is far better for a customer to share their opinions about your prices than to just walk out and never enter your store again. Even worse badmouth your store to all of their friends. When they make a personal comment they are fishing for a reaction. Every chance to converse with a shopper should be taken as an opportunity for a potential sale and insha'Allah personal references.

Giving in and allowing the customer a break on the price brings customers back plus gets referrals.

Islamic clothing business

My husband and I moved from Florida in Oct. 2007 to Richardson, Texas to open an Islamic clothing store, Middle Eastern Boutique. It has been an adventure. Isn't it funny how you always have expectations about how a situation is going to be but things never turn out that way? Things usually require a lot more work than you expect but are much more rewarding too. I guess that is why most business owners quit before their business takes off. It is easy to get burned-out when you try so hard.



My husband has worked day and night to establish the store. He designed the entire layout and is structuring the marketing, stock and etc. He begins from 1 a.m. to as late as 4 a.m. each morning at the store to get things done. I am always amazed at his dedication and endurance. It doesn't matter how cold it is outside, how sick he might be or tired he gets up extra early and gets moving.

I never realized it was going to take so much work. However, our business is not just our retail store, we sell online wholesale, http://www.411hijabs.com/, and retail, http://www.middleeasternmall.com/, Islamic clothing also. Honestly the store alone would not be enough to survive right now. My husband planned to have the online business sustain us while we build up clientele in the store. He has done a great job plannig the business and keeping us afloat.

We always kept in mind 'doing things within our ways and means'. We started our business in a 1 bedroom apartment in Ft. Lauderdale. Slow growth so we can perfect each step. That way we make smaller mistakes and build on the successes. It works well. Not as much stress as making a huge loan for capital and having insane business loan payments. Anyhow we are Muslims so we try to avoid dealing with interest. It does seem loans tend to enslave people especially in the form of credit cards and other easy credit. Thank God we have no mortgage loan and car loans! One of our major goals is to eliminate our credit card debt. Just to use credit cards to buy business items and pay the balance monthly so we do not have to pay interest.