Down to 3 days…
The slatwall is here and it's on the walls. Just barely.
Apparently it was riding around on the truck for 3 days because they had the wrong address
on the bill of lading and no phone number to call me.
I thought we had more than enough slat wall hooks to hang up
all the merchandise - not even close! Faxed off a rush order for another couple hundred
and hope they'll be here soon.
The storefront we rented has a marvelous location, but the
building is 70 years old and in less than perfect condition. The few walls that have studs
behind them don't have studs on 16" centers - or 24" centers. Apparently
wherever the builders felt like putting a stud, they did. Some of the walls are drywall
over plaster, some are plaster over brick. We used every kind of fastener made and still
don't feel entirely comfortable with the way the slatwall is up there! And let's not talk
about the wiring at all…
 Thelma (my charming wife) chose a pair of concrete
flowerpots for the alcove at the entry and planted pansies and decorative cabbages. She
also cleaned the store thoroughly and did a basic window trim so that weekend passersby
would start to see what we'll be doing. Friday night is a big restaurant night downtown
and we'll get a lot of exposure. Tomorrow (Saturday) there will be many Halloween events
so foot traffic should be good.
We're working with the doors open because the days are
delightful, with highs in the mid-70s. Considering that November is almost here it's
absolutely perfect weather.
Some of the merchandise I ordered hasn't yet arrived. We
have no telescopes, for example, and I'd counted on using a big Meade 8" reflector as
"eye candy" in the window. Maybe Monday. Vendors like Kodak, Fuji, PhotoWorld
and Freedom Photo deserve kudos for their promptness in shipping my orders. Some of those
other guys we won't even name…
I'm making a list of the things I just plain forgot to
order. Things like slide trays, 120 film, Ilford film and paper. So we won't have
everything in stock on opening day.
 We've got plenty of frames and albums, and the necessary display
hooks that they help fill up the blank spaces. Gadget bags and blister pack accessories
will get the display area that such profitable items deserve.
Our photofinishing bags and route information and displays
have arrived.
The plumber ran a pressure test on the gas system today, so
the utility people can put in a meter and we'll be able to run the furnace if we need to.
ADVERTISING: "Not advertising is like winking at a
pretty girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but she doesn't." The best
camera store in the world won't make any money unless people know you're there, so this
week we've done the following:
Ad in the Aiken Standard, our local paper.
Direct mailing to all members of the Aiken Downtown
Development Association. We've invited them to a "get acquainted" reception
Friday night, so we'll have all week to shake things down.
Sent a letter to each photography instructor at the local
schools and colleges.
Woodside Plantation is a large (about 900 homes), affluent
development on the south side of town. Their monthly newsletter will run "business
card" ads for $10. I designed a nice ad the size of 4 business cards so for $40 I'm
reaching the target market.
Tomorrow there's a special Halloween event where the kids in
costume will be photographed on a fire truck, Where will they pick up their free photo? At
the new Chris' Camera Center South, of course.
Yellow Pages advertising is a necessary evil. The Bell South
book - the "real" yellow pages - won't come out until July. So although I hate
the alternate books, I took ads in the one that comes out in six weeks. As far as the
Photographic Equipment and Supplies category, we will own it. For my free listing we went
under "Photographers - Passport" and we'll be the only listing in that category.
In that book, I gave our 2nd phone number so we can tell by the incoming line how many
people use it.
Saturday will be a training day with staff. The credit card
terminal has arrived, so we'll try to get that up and running. A lot of stuff still needs
to be priced, and some still needs to be entered in the database. Digital Imaging Center
is not assembled yet, so that will take some time.
Sunday Thelma and I will go in and do some final painting
and cleaning as needed.
Monday at 9:30 am we open. That will be just the beginning.
Opening Day
Our story so far
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