Little Independent launched 12 weeks ago on June 1st. Our initial focus has been on generating awareness of our services and increasing the number of stores and sale items that can be found on the site. I am so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. Right now there are 40 independent, brick and mortar stores using the site.
I’m the founder of Little Independent but I also co-own my own retail store, Roscoe Village Bikes. The bike business is very seasonal and things have been so hectic over the last 12 weeks I’ve had little time to reflect on how we got to where we are and how we intend to get to where we want to be.
The big goal is world domination. Or, less ominously, one day I would like all the stores that could benefit from our services to be aware of them and using them. I would like all shoppers who would enjoy shopping on our site to be doing so and raving about how much they love what we do. Starting by reaching out to stores and shoppers here in Chicago, we’re continuously working towards this goal.
If I had a crystal ball, it would be very foggy in there. I just don’t know what the future looks like for Little Independent. I know where I want to be, (world domination,) but I don’t know exactly how we will get there. I don’t want Little Independent’s growth to stagnate for lack of resources.
Revenue can come in either through listing sales or recruiting companies to sponsor our initiative by advertising to the storeowners and shoppers that are visiting our site. I think there are some brands out there that could see a benefit in affiliating themselves with us, but we have just begun to think about what we would propose.
Another way our website could acquire more resources would be through reaching out to investors. We’ve bootstrapped so far, but an infusion of capital may be just the thing to kick-start the site to world domination status. When I had the idea for Little Independent, I figured we would make money, not raise it. While we continue to work on growing the business, I'm also weighing the pros and cons of trying to raise money. Little Independent will one day make enough to sustain itself and profit (world domination,) but it’s not there yet and one day the bootstrap well may run dry.
The good news is that there is help everywhere. The community of retailers and entrepreneurs in Chicago are always willing to share advice and encouragement. There’s an old expression, “A closed mouth don’t get fed.” I’m grateful that I’ve generally found that if you ask for help, you will receive it in one way or another. So, the crystal ball remains foggy, but I’m confident that we’re moving in the right direction.
Thanks for reading my musings and if you have any ideas to help Little Independent achieve world domination, please let me know.
Lesley Tweedie, Founder
Twitter: @LitInd
