If You Have Done Your Homework, Then...

When In Doubt ~

Stick To The Plan!

“Bonjour, tout le monde!” 

exclaimed Giselle as she struggled with her packages. "Sorry I'm late!"

The studio was empty.

‘Darn-it,’ she thought as she put her packages down on the floor, pulled out her cellphone and checked her calendar.  There it was, “2 pm meeting in the studio – 2^nd Quarter Review.” 

She checked the time, 2:08 pm.  “Honestly, why can’t we just stick to the plan?”

Joe, the recyc-letron, rolled up from the back of the studio, a mop bucket of vinegar and water dangling from his wrench-like hand.

“Buzz, buzz, BEEP – BEEP – BEEP,” he shouted at Giselle as he rolled by.  “Window - Washing  - Detail” blinked in red across the computer screen imbedded in his chest.

“Window washing? I thought we had a 2^nd Quarter Review meeting at 2pm,” she turned to shout after him as he passed by.

No sooner had Joe exited the studio than the robot Managing Mike entered. “Carpet  - Detail,” flashed across his screen, as he maneuvered a large, roaring carpet-cleaning machine before him.

“Mike,” she yelled. “I thought we had a 2^nd Quarter Review meeting at 2pm!”

Managing Mike paused but a second in his carpet-cleaning to indicate the large white-board in the front of Le Tron’s studio, and then he continued with his chores.

Giselle regarded the white-board. It read:

2^ND QUARTER REVIEW

Le Tron’s 2013 On-line Business Goals ~

Let’s Get Growing!

 1.    Start Blogging

      2.   List 100 Products

                     3.     Find Our “Niche Audience”

                 and Market To THEM!

Meeting CANCELLED due to a change of plans!!!!!!

“Cancelled due to a change of plans,” read Giselle aloud!

“Qui, Mon Cheri,” affirmed Madame Le Tron, who looked a bit out-of-place in her bandana and oversized rubber yellow gloves. “I decided to switch our monthly calendar.  We are ‘Spring Cleaning’ today, and we will meet sometime in the future to review our 2^nd Quarter.”

“But why?” inquired Giselle. “Sales have never been stronger, our Blog grows weekly and our “Niche Marketing” is producing solid results. Not to mention, our list of potential prospects and sale opportunities has never looked better.”

“Qui, but I think better when I clean,” said Madame despondently, as she slumped into the row of seats in front of the white-board.

“Madame, what’s wrong?”  Giselle asked with great concern.

Ghoulish Gordon had wheeled in silently, pushing a dust mop, and tapped Giselle on the shoulder.  She almost jumped out of her skin.

“Ugh! I hate when you do that, Gordon!” she stammered.

Ghoulish appeared to shrug and indicated his computer screen.

Giselle reached out and touched the screen, and a Linked-in Conversation appeared in response to Madame’s last Blog. “Wow, good job, Madame.  You have folks talking!”

“Qui,” Madame replied.  “Mais, given the tone of the conversation, I am more confused than I was before. I don’t know which way to go and I doubt that --”

“Doubt what?” said Giselle.

“Well,” replied Madame. “Should we shift gears, as they say, and revisit our ETSY site, re-write our descriptions and start all over again?”

‘Crash! Splash! Buzz, Beep! Bang! Bam!’  All heads turned toward the cacophony of sound. There lay Joe, sprawled on the floor with his mop bucket atop his head.

“When in doubt, stick to the plan,” he intoned weakly.

“That’s it!  You are absolutely right, Joe! Gordon, gather the recyle-trons.  The meeting is back on!” cried out Madame Le Tron.  “The advice in that Linked-in conversation is worth consideration, and consider it we shall, but to continue to succeed, we shall ‘Stick to our plan!’”

“Huzzah!” shouted Giselle.

“Bravo, Madame!” printed out across Ghoulish Gordon’s computer screen.

“Whoopee…,” said Joe weakly.

Madame regarded Joe’s dripping features, as Giselle and Ghoulish Gordon helped him back up upon his wheel.

“Whatever happened to you, Joe?” she asked.

“Excuser moi, Madame," interjected Giselle.  “It is all my  fault.  You see I was running late for our meeting today, and when I arrived, and no one was here, I put my packages down on the floor to check my calendar. I guess Joe tripped over them. I am so sorry, Joe.”

Joe waved his wrench-like arm to indicate to Giselle, ‘Not to worry.’

“And what exactly is in all of these packages, Giselle?”

“Well, I was sure a short dress was appropriate for graduation, but a lot of my friends are wearing long dresses. And, even though I had planned to wear a short dress because I really don’t think I look good in a long dress, I thought I should….”

“Stick to your original plan?” winked Madame Le Tron.

“Beep, beep, buzz-buzz,” echoed Joe.

“Exactly,” giggled Giselle.

Ah, once again, all is well in the Wonderful World Of

Le Tron!

Au Revoir, See you next week at 3 pm Central,

Madame Le Tron

Note: We have been working very hard at Le Tron, and we are seeing some real progress.

Le Tron’s 2013 On-line Business Goals ~ Let’s Get Growing!

      1.)  Start Blogging  - Our blog continues to grow, and people are talking about the  

              topics we have raised. We still need to explore how to get people to post   

              comments to our Blog, create a following and explore Google Adsense.

    2.)  List 100 Products  – We continue to struggle here. We build our   

inventory, and before we can put it on ETSY, we sell it.  Not a bad problem to have. Perhaps we need to strategize a bit more on this and start to look at seasonal sales trends for building inventory!

    3.) Find Our Niche Audience and Market To THEM! – We have found   

         them off-line; now we need to find them on-line. Perhaps we should ask the folks   

         who buy from us where they would suggest we market on-line.

Let’s keep the conversation going!  Ideas, tips or thoughts?  We’d love to have you share them below and help us start getting folks to post comments here!

A Mother's Day Surprise!

Happy Mother’s Day MOM aka. Madame Le Tron!

Just want to take a moment out of your busy life to say, “Thanks Mom for being the best business-partner and friend a daughter could ever have!"

It has been so much fun working with you and all the staff here at Le Tron – “Toys With A Twist!",  even though sometimes this Blog hits a bit too close to home! LOL – I wouldn’t change one thing.

Happy Mother’s Day to you and to all who have been keeping up with all of us, here at the Wonderful World of Le Tron!*

Love You Mama!

Lizzie aka. Giselle

*Note:  Madame Le Tron would not want to let anyone down who is following us, so I have attached Debbie’s Blog at Work Your Art, which we referred to last week!  (With her permission of course!)

Enjoy….

Hi ,

One of the great advantages of promoting your art on Twitter and other social media sites is the fact that you can use any event or popular topic as an excuse to put your art in the spotlight. Whenever a certain topic gets popular, people will start searching for this term to see what other users are saying about it – and that’s your queue right there.

Most popular topics that go viral on the internet are quite unpredictable and usually seem to happen out of the blue, but a great way to predict what will be most talked about is looking at certain special days of the year.

Apart from the obvious ones like Christmas and Valentines day, which you should absolutely leverage as well, there are many more days celebrated throughout the year everywhere in the world. There is a day for just about everyone and everything.

Good luck!

Debbie

W: http://www.workyourart.com

@: debbie@workyourart.com

Facebook | Twitter

Driving Business to You!

Giselle's Prom Photo 2013

 There is a Day for Everything 

and 

Everything Has Its Day…

(Have a safe and memorable Prom Night 2013!)

Tucked behind her computer in her office at Le Tron Studios, Madame thought to herself, ‘Finally I can get some work done on this week’s Blog.’  She did a mental checklist of all she accomplished already today -

                                    X – Finished hemming and pressing Giselle’s Prom dress.

                        X  - Repaired Giselle’s evening bag from the night she went to  

                                  the Lady Gaga Concert.  ‘Why anyone would attempt to stuff  

                                  a “Hoodie” into an evening bag is beyond me.’

                                     X – Plugged the camera in to charge.

 X - Picked up Nate’s boutinere. ‘He was adorable coming over

                                                here, in secret, to find out what color corsage he should get 

                                                Giselle for the Prom.’

                                   

‘It is hard to believe that today is the day, and tonight is the night!  Prom Night,’ mused Madame as she gazed upon the blank Word document on her computer screen.

Madame looked at her watch. ‘20 minutes to go before Nate arrives, hmmm.’ Rising from her desk, Madame crossed the hallway and called up the stairs, “Giselle?”  

“Qui, Madame?”

“20 minutes ‘til your Prom date arrives.”

“Qui, Madame,” replied Giselle.

“How are you coming?” inquired Madame.

“I’m fine, Madame.”

“Tres’ bon.” 

Madame crossed back to her desk and sat down before her computer screen. ‘Finally I can get some work done on this week’s Blog….On second thought…,’ Madame rose and crossed the hallway to the staircase again and called, “If you need me, Giselle, just let me know.”

“Qui, Madame.”

“Is your dress hemmed alright?” queried Madame Le Tron.

“Qui, Madame.”

“Did you see that I repaired your evening bag?”

“Qui. Merci, Madame.”

“D’accord, Giselle,” replied Madame. “Call me if you need me,’’ she added crossing to her computer desk. Stopping halfway, Madame called over her shoulder, “ Did you see Nate’s boutinere on your dressing table?”

“Qui, Madame.  Madame?”

“Qui, Giselle?”

“Don’t you have some work to do?”

“Qui, I’m working on this week’s blog, as we speak,’’ said Madame, as she gazed down at her watch. “ Ten minutes till Nate arrives,” Madame warned, as she seated herself once again in front of her computer screen. “This week’s Blog….”

‘Buzz, bing, whir, buzz-buzz, bing whir,’ in rolled the re-cyletron, Managing Mike, waving a printout, hot-off-the-press.

“What in the world!” exclaimed Madame Le Tron, retrieving the document and reading aloud, “Ten minutes till the boyfriend arrives…. Thank you, Mike. I am well aware of the time, as is, I am sure, Giselle. And by the by, Nate and Giselle are just ‘friends’, so I’m told.”

Managing Mike began to wave his arms and spin his wheel, as red hearts blinked across the computer screen embedded in his chest.

‘Oh honestly!’ thought Madame Le Tron.

‘Creak–creak, beep, beep, creak–creak, beep.’ Ol’ Joe, the oldest of Le Tron’ s robotic staff, entered

the room. Joe was the re-cyletron who, when Giselle was just a petite fille, would carry her up to her own room, whenever she would drift off to sleep on the settee.

“Bonjour, Mon Cher Joseph. What have we here?” asked Madame, retrieving the dust -covered printout from the old robot’s wrench-like hand. She read aloud, “Did Mademoiselle Giselle find the adjustments to her garment adequate for the evening’s festivities? Were the repairs to the evening bag pleasing to the young miss?”

Madame was about to reply, when Ghoulish Gordon came into the office, followed by the flash of a camera going off and the titter of ghost-like laughter.

“Merci, Mon petite phantom. What a considerate little ghost you are. I was just about to fetch the camera for myself. What are all of you doing here?” inquired Madame. “Don’t you have some work to do?”

“Cha-ching, Madame Le Tron -- and miss Giselle’s big night? Not on your life. I’ll wager six to one that….”

“That what, Jack –Pot Johnny?” asked Giselle as she descended the hallway stairs.

“That there will not be a more beautiful young lady at the Prom tonight!” he said.

Managing Mike whirred forward and bowed at the hip joint. ‘May I have this dance?’  was printed across his computer’s screen.

A sniffle could be heard to Madame’s left, escaping from Ghoulish Gordon, as an oil can floated off the

shelf seemingly by itself.

“Merci, Alice, Mon petite phantom .  We don’t want anyone rusting from tears do we now Gordon,” said Madame Letron. “Sometimes it is very nice to have a ghost around.”

“Giselle, today, Mon Cherie, is your day, and tonight will be your night. You will be the belle of the ball. I only wish your parents were here to see you maintenant. They would be so very proud.”

“They are with me always, in my heart and in my mind.  I know they are proud of me and delighted for me because you, Madame, and all you who are here with me now. Merci, Mon Cher Famille.”

 A knock was heard at the door. Ol’ Joe rolled over to Giselle, offering her his wrench-like arm. ‘Mademoiselle, Your Chariot Awaits!’  printed across his computer screen, as he escorted her to the front door.

A camera flashed, and Giselle’s laughed delightedly despite the tears that fell from her eyes.

All is well in the Wonderful World of Le Tron.

Au revoir! See you next Friday at 3pm Central!

          

   Madame Le Tron

Driving Business to YOU!

Today’s Blog was inspired by a recent post from Debbie of ‘I Work Your Art’, on using special days, such as Groundhog Day, or the up and coming Mother’s day, to drive business to your social media sites.

Visit her on http://www.workyourart.com and subscribe to her newsletter. We did, and needless to say, found it inspirational.

Simple how to “Win a sale!” (Part One: A little observation can help.)

Let the games begin….

“It’s your turn, Alice,” prompted Giselle impatiently.

Dice seemed to tumble with invisible force across the game board.

“Snake-eyes!  UGH!  You move two-spaces, go up the ladder, and win, again, ” conceded Giselle, while rolling her big brown eyes with disgruntlement.      

A child-like giggle ensued as the blue pawn moved, seemingly by itself, across the game board.

“Huzzah, mon petite fantome!” cried Madame Le Tron, as she entered the dining room.

“Well, I ‘ve had enough fun for one day,” said Giselle between her gritted teeth, as she wrestled with the game board and the invisible force that held on to the same.

“Alice, let go of the board now!”

Giselle tumbled backward, game board in- hand.

“Very funny, you little ‘impish wonder’,” grunted Giselle.

“Alice, that wasn’t very nice.  Remember, you are a guest here at Le Tron and can be sent back to the other realm at any time,” warned Madame.

Mischievous laughter could be heard fading down the hallway.

“Ghosts!” harrumphed Giselle, getting up off of the floor. “What is she doing here anyway?”

“Helping the re-cycletrons to put shrouds on our new line of ghosts going up on Etsy next week.  And, beating you at Snakes and Ladders,” said Madame teasingly.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” said Giselle sarcastically. “I’d wish she’d act her age instead of acting three.”

“Oh, you mean one hundred and three!  Well, it is true, Giselle. Alice wasn’t born yesterday, nor did she die yesterday, to be perfectly frank,” Madame winked.

“Don’t get me wrong, Madame. I love Alice, but once, just once, I’d like to beat her at something,” offered-up Giselle, a hint of vengeance in her voice.

“Well, you might, if you do your … ‘Research’.”

“Research?”

“Exactly. I’ll wager that every time you play a game with Alice, you lose, qui?”

Giselle nodded her pretty blonde head.

“When Alice and I play Scrabble,” Madame continued,  “I win, upon occasion. ”

“Surprisingly so,” giggled Giselle, “ considering what a great speller you are.” There was that tone of sarcasm of again.

“Very funny, Mademoiselle,” Madame went on, adding a bit of sarcasm of her own. “When Ghoulish Gordon plays a game with our petite fantome, what game do they play?”  

“Slap Jack,” laughed Giselle.

“ I know. Don’t even go there,” quipped Madame Le Tron.

“Slap jack with a ghost, right?”

“Anyway, who wins?”  asked Madame.

“ I have seen both of them win.”

“D’accord,” nodded Madame Le Tron.  “What other games have you seen Alice play?”

“Dominoes with the re-cyletron, Ralph, and Chess with Managing Mike.”

“And, does Alice always win against them?”

“No, not always,” admitted Giselle.

“So, if I we dig a bit deeper, what games other than Snakes and Ladders do you play with Alice?” probed Madame.

“Backgammon,” replied Giselle.

“And who wins?”

“Alice does.”

“And there you have it!”  affirmed Madame Le Tron

“You lost me,” uttered a bewildered Giselle. 

“Well, what does our research tell you?”

“ That I’m lousy at games?” answered Giselle.

“Well, we know that’s not true.  You usually beat me at Scrabble,” replied Madame.

“Spelling….”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Madame admitted, laughing. “So, based on your observations, what do the two games that you play with Alice have in common? Something that the games she plays with others don’t?”

Giselle thought for a moment. “Well, they are played on boards.”

“Scrabble is played on a board,” pointed out Madame.

“With dice.…”

Madame gestured for more with her black-gloved hand. “What else?”

“And, all the games we play were suggested by Alice….”

“Precisely, because Alice is a ghost, and a mischievous one at that! Those of us who have had age-old encounters with Alice have observed her ways and have learned from our observations, as any good researchers would. Alice is good with the die!’’

“Alice cheats!” exclaimed Giselle.

“Let just say, that after one hundred and three years of research and observation, Alice has learned to “play” some games,” restated Madame Le Tron.

“Why, that little ‘impish wonder,’” reiterated Giselle, laughing.

Ah, once again, all is well in the World of Le Tron!

Au Revoir, regardez vous, next Friday at 3pm!

Madame Le Tron

Note:  In a continuing effort to find our “Niche Market”, we are excited to announce that we will be appearing in our first Mystic Arts Fair this May.  To prepare for this event we went “back to the basics” and created an old fashioned to do list to begin our research.

Our product is a line of Dark Fairies a la Le Tron.  This line includes Wall Art and our very popular dolls on a stick, big here in Minnesota.

We’d like to share our “To Do List!” with you!

Google Search Fairies

Etsy Search Faires

Library

Barnes and Noble

Read, read, read

Render Designs

(From here we had a basic design plan, but were looking for the “Twist.”)

Back to Google – discovered a thread to elementals

And we had it!  Elemental Fairies! From here we started down the path of Mystic Arts, Meditation and Healing.

Then we were touched by fate. We were looking to register in a neighborhood art show and notice an ad for a Mystic Arts Fair. We attended that event and “lo and behold” everything fell into place. We found our audience and it felt like home!

As we refine our product line, all of these “stops along the way”, play a significant roll in product design and development, as well as audience building and marketing. We are very anxious to see the results.

We would love to understand how you have used research and observation in product design and “Niche Marketing”.  Please share with us below.