Hi ,

I love to see how whole industries get turned upside down. It happens more often than you think. As an example, when I was a kid Polaroid cameras were all the rage for instant pictures. Then the digital camera came along and Polaroid almost went out of business. And now they've managed to make instant shots popular again and kids are taking instant shots as an antidote to everything being digital. Strange, huh?

Designer fashion is undergoing a sea change right now, too. In 2019 the resale industry grew 23 times faster than retail. 23 times! The secondhand apparel market is right now a $28B market and by 2024 it will swell to $64B. Sites like The Real Real, Rebag and others are making money - big money. So big that designer fashion brands are starting to collaborate with the resale market and provide copies of vintage pieces directly to them.

What happens when these sea changes occur?

• Some of it is driven by the deep changes in the economy
• Some of it is driven by reactions to the pandemic
• Some of it is driven by changing interests, by people being more "recycle" or "green" oriented and less "buy new" oriented.

If you want to be thought of as a leader in your particular niche then share with your followers and customers the sea changes you see coming (no pun intended). Think about it - what has changed in your niche? What could you offer right now that you see would be welcomed by your ideal customers? What are you doing right now that really isn't working so well?

Social media posts

I get asked all the time about the "best" scheduler for pre-scheduling social media content. There used to be only a few tried and true schedulers, and Hootsuite was one of the original ones. I've been a Hootsuite user since 2013! But the other day I got an email from them telling me that my annual fee was going to increase from $107 a year to a whopping $500+ per year! I don't think so. Hootsuite is great but no one is going to charge me 5 times more from one year to the next - that's a huge increase in my operating costs and outrageously greedy IMHO.

I already have a small account with Later, which is super-good if you are an Instagram user (but you can link other social accounts to it as well). You can use my affiliate link to get 10 free posts on Later (and they have a beginning free plan anyway). If you want to check Later out just click here. It will prompt you to connect your Instagram account and you'll be good to go.

Don't be afraid to change the backend of your business when something gets to be more expensive than it is worth. Oh, and Hootsuite - I put in a support ticket to voice my dismay and in 4 days now they haven't bothered to answer it except to say that they are "so busy they will get with me soon." Seems like at that new price point I should be getting an answer PDQ!

If you have a favorite social media scheduler let me know - I like checking new ones out.

To your sweet success,

Sue Painter