Jane Cay, Founder of birdsnest: tips for small businesses in 2024
Jane Cay is the founder of birdsnest, a wildly successful regional retail business based in Cooma, NSW. Jane was a pioneer in e-commerce in Australia and has set the pace in terms of customer service, innovation and workplace culture. She was named #1 in top 50 people in ecommerce in 2018. Predominantly an online retailer, birdsnest has recently opened their second store, diversified into accommodation, events and regularly pop up in regional centers. Jane knows what it takes to build big business in the bush. Recently, we chatted to the retail guru and asked her for a few tips on how to navigate current trading conditions.
1. Sales are slow. As a business owner, what should I be focussing on right now?
On the sales front - lighting lots of fires and trying the ‘new thing’. Hard to get a different result if you are doing the same thing. On the cost side - keeping them as low as you can without sacrificing marketing
2. Is there a line item or a KPI that you are particularly scrutinising right now?
Our fixed costs to sales but for others it may be their variable costs to sales. Good to get some benchmarks and see where there might be room to improve
3. Where do you see growing opportunity for regional retail businesses?
In collaborating with other local businesses to provide regional experiences that people will travel for.
4. Hot tip for someone drowning in small biz life right now?
Get enough sleep, it helps shrink the size of the problems and the overwhelm.
5. Is there anything that I should put on the back burner while things are tough?
We have put bigger capital projects on hold so as to hold onto cash in case we need it.
6. If you had one tip for managing staff through uncertain times, what would it be?
Keep talking, be grateful and still crack your daggy jokes. It is hard to be creative if it all feels too serious, for you and them. Trade is tough right now, but geez when you look around the world, it is hard not to feel lucky.
