“Ask yourself if you are passionate and confident enough about your business to be willing to spend the energy and money it takes to make it financially successful. It’s easy to start a business- it takes time and investment to make a business profitable and sustainable!”

­Kathy Hanson, Backpocket Strategy

WHY HIRE BACKPOCKET?

Do you ever ask yourself these questions?

  1. How do I differentiate my business?
  2. Am I profitable?
  3. How can I grow my business?
  4. Who is my best customer and why?
  5. Where should I focus my energy on a daily basis?
  6. Are my strengths being optimized? Am I spending my time wisely?
  7. In what way do I want to grow my business?  (do I want a higher profit margin?  more locations? more revenue? different product lines?  a different demographic customer?)

Kathy has the experience and the expertise to work with you to grow your business and insure you are working smart, not just hard.

Kathy’s Industry experience

Kathy has experience making an impact with projects in

  • Retail- clothing, home, beauty
  • Manufacturing
  • Printing, publications
  • Service industry- brick and mortar as well as by appointment only businesses ie; caterers, florists, photographers
  • Financial Institution- mortgage, banking

Kathy’s subject matter expertise

Kathy has resolved issues involving:

  • Branding – identify and strengthen brand through editorial, website, social media
  • Pricing- wholesale, retail
  • Strategic Planning, Business Development
  • Profitability
  • PR and Marketing- advertising, media, website, social media
  • Business plans
  • Funding
  • Lease, location
  • Start up costs- capital expenditures
  • Manufacturing- outsourcing, suppliers, supply chain, purchasing, vendors
  • Sales- wholesale, retail, commissioned reps, trade shows
  • Human resources- retention, discrimination, hiring, firing, compensation packages

By hiring Backpocket Strategy, Kathy will save you thousands of dollars and Kathy will increase your traffic and sales. Being proactive about your business decisions allows you to be cost effective because you have the time to think, research and make smart decisions. When you chose to make a change proactively, you are not reacting to a problem or a market issue, you are in control. Being reactive will cost you! Hiring Backpocket Strategy allows you to make sound, smart business decisions every time.

Project Management, Strategic Consulting

When you hire Backpocket Strategy, you get a clear action plan, a timeline and a tailored, customized Toolkit that gives you the solutions and strategies that we work on together throughout the project.
Pricing is by project or on retainer. All work is custom and confidential.

Hire Backpocket Strategy by the project if:
You have identified a problem or issue but have no manpower or bandwidth to address what is causing the issue or how to fix it- short term OR long term. Kathy will hyper focus on this issue and resolve it for you- with long term success in mind.

Hire Backpocket Strategy by the project if:
You have identified an area of growth in your business but you have zero time to allocate to this facet of your business. Kathy will effectively execute a strategy to insure measurable success.

Hire Backpocket Strategy by retainer if:
You are a sole proprietor and you need an objective 3rd party expert to help you with ongoing business decisions such as HR hiring/firing, tradeshow selection, brand decisions, financial matters, life/work balance struggles. Peers, colleagues and spouses are not objective nor do they always have your overall best interests in mind. By hiring Kathy- you get honest, smart answers from someone who knows your business/life big picture and will confidentially give you the best advice for your business as it fits into your life.

Here are a few samples of customized Toolkits Backpocket Strategy has created for clients.
EXAMPLE OF CUSTOM TOOLKIT #1
(existing retail business wanting to expand market and find ways to outsource making product in USA. Needs new pricing structure to determine if outsourcing is profitable)

  1. Pricing Strategy- wholesale, retail, online, etsy, tradeshows
    Includes valuation of cost components

    • labor, raw materials, subcontractors
    • marketing, shipping, travel, display, vendor, commissions, distribution
    • website, legal, administrative

    Includes setting profit margin per item

  2. Online presence strategy- branding, pricing per venue
    Includes product selection to sell via etsy, website
    Includes determining target audience demographics- who will buy?
  3. Overall distribution strategy- retail, wholesale, tradeshows, etsy, online
    Includes determining highest volume potential vs. highest profit potential
    Includes determining target audience demographics- who will buy at each venue?
    Where to sell, exclusivity, contracts, pricing structures
    Includes evaluating costs/margins per tradeshow
  4. Return on Investment and Timeline
    Includes setting overall strategy and goals for generating consistent profits
    Includes setting timeline for product placement, distribution, subcontractors

Timeline: 4-6 weeks from deposit
Other items can be added to toolkit- interns, Facebook branding, website branding, editorial content for all marketing- FB, website, PR, interviews, press kits- for add’l fee

EXAMPLE OF CUSTOM TOOLKIT #2
(existing business wanting to create new website, increase exposure to attract more clients)

  1. Strategy for website content including:
    Strategy for how site will drive site visitor to hire Company A
    by clearing defining the following:Identify owner’s strengths
    Defining owner’s competitive advantage
    Choosing all images for site
    Defining purpose of editorial content for every facet of business- define pages, tabs, home page, contact us page- other events page-
    Choosing images for Photo Gallery
  2. Editorial content for Save the Date website including:
    Home page
    Contact us page
    Events pages
    Photo Gallery
  3. Communication with web designer and providing any/all necessary editorial content for site use.Proposal includes 2 phone consults with website designer- total time – 1 hour
    Proposal includes 4 phone consultations with client- total time 2 hours.
  4. Provide strategies for upcoming magazine article/interview- photos, q/a, editorial content

Timeline: 3-4 weeks from deposit
Other items can be added to toolkit- interns, Facebook branding, website branding, editorial content for all marketing- FB, website, PR, interviews, press kits- for add’l fee

CUSTOM TOOLKIT #3
(existing business is being featured in national publication and owner is not prepared for answering questions about her products and her business to insure increased sales and focused attention on the area of her business she wants to grow)

Backpocket Strategy will provide Company A with suggestions and strategy for all products for magazine shoot and interview to insure readers will feel compelled to visit Company A website and purchase products.

  1. Shoot list – what exactly to shoot and why – this is determined by conversations about what products are most profitable and what you want to promote to the public (i.e.; the reader). Not as in depth as Toolkit.
  2. Interview strategy – what points you must make to reader so you focus on your most profitable products. Clarify where to purchase your products.
    Build your brand. Not as in depth as Toolkit.
    Includes product selection to sell via your website, retail, etsy for magazine.
    Includes determining target audience demographics- who will buy based on this article? Where will the reader most likely go to find your products?
  3. Website update to accommodate increased traffic due to article.
    Includes list of what to feature on website and how to address increased traffic to your site!

Timeline: 3-4 weeks from deposit
Other items can be added to toolkit- interns, Facebook branding, website branding, editorial content for all marketing- FB, website, PR, interviews, press kits- for add’l fee