It's been a big week for Little Independent. We finished our first review of our website and sent the web design company a list of 159 revision requests. Many of the requests are minor changes to wording or to the order of things but some are related to bugs like links that don't seem to go where they should or searches on the site that don't yield any results.
The idea of Little Independent is pretty simple. We set out to create an online marketplace for sale items from independent retail stores. Although the idea is simple, the website itself is somewhat complicated. Store owners will be able to create a store profile and list items that shoppers will be able to purchase through the site. In web-speak, it's a user generated database with an e-commerce component. Or in English- it's complicated.
The tricky thing is, I speak English and not web-speak. I'm a brick and mortar gal. We want to get this site working well before we cut the ribbon and invite the public to take a look. It doesn't have to be perfect but it has to do one thing really well which is be a place for independent store owners to easily list items and for shoppers to be able to find and purchase those items. Like many things in life- easier said than done.
Fortunately, I have a great team to help get it done. I am working with a fantastic consultant who speaks web-speak fluently. I have a twitter savvy volunteer helping with social media. My old friend Valerie Kahan is helping with sales and marketing which in the meantime, (since we don't have our website to show people yet,) is social media, research and spreading the word. My sister-in-law Karin Kuzniar-Tweedie designed our logo and some really great print materials. I contracted with a company in Chicago called Hoply to help create a marketing plan. I have my staff here at Roscoe Village Bikes in Chicago cheering me on. And last, but not least, I have my husband and business partner Alex Tweedie for support.
I've recently met so many people in the independent retail community who are excited about Little Independent. Those new friends along with old friends who have been there for me for years, give me the confidence to know that although it's not easy to get this site launched, it will be well worth it. So, that's the good news. Thanks for reading!
Lesley Tweedie
https://blog.littleindependent.com
https://twitter.com/#!/LitInd
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Independent/171233982920832
www.roscoevillagebikes.com
