It is the end of a busy year with a lot to plan for 2012, I have been working full-time in my other job for almost all of 2011 which has slowed down Retrorocket.
As of January 2012 I am working part-time in my Corporate job and part-time Retrorocket, with a view to working full-time in Retrorocket as much as I can in 2012.
This is a summary of what has changed with Retrorocket in 2011.
Stock
Now have 340 items in shop, with a major focus in 2012 of uploading many more items, vintage cookbooks continue to be very popular (apart from the vintage Christies and 1970s kitchenalia these are my favourite too):
free pickup, free book and events
Free local pickup of all items is still available in Perth (by arrangement)
I am now sending a random free uncorrected proof with any book purchased (while stocks last and postage permitting)
Retrorocket is reconsidering having a stall at the local market when the weather cools (40 degrees Celsius in Perth atm!).
See local events for directions and more information on Balga Friday Market
Site navigation / troubleshooting
The shop is still on a subdomain http://cart.retrorocket.com.au
As this is now a secure subdomain ie. https:// I am currently focusing on re-implementing a cronjob for the inventory
Small business development
During 2011 I attended the excellent two-day Bizfit extend course which included free mentoring and a Business Pulse check.
Unfortunately the Bizfit courses have now ended but the Curtin Growth program continues (cost is $12,000) as do the free SBDC workshops to help your business.
I also attended the excellent Let’s Go! (Let’s Get Online) facilitated by ECU and funded by AusIndustry
Another link to Let’s Go featuring the excellent facilitators
My advice in terms of building your business is attending as many relevant business courses as you can throughout the year. As Retrorocket is primarily an online business I have focused on learning as much as I can about how to succeed online, the SBDC and your Community newspaper are the best first points of contact for free Government funded courses.
Offsite resources
Retrorocket is now listed in EMCS business directory
Enterprise Management Consultancy Services (EMCS) have updated their website and have a listing of NEIS businesses on site.
The page for NEIS businesses is quite hard to navigate to and the businesses are not categorised by type which makes finding what you want difficult.
I may send an email to that effect:)
Additional pages / post
All additional resources like off-site blog posts and articles are now found in one spot
Current goals
- Cronjob for inventory as discussed with Mike Smith from Let’s Go! (duplicate inventory from mysql database and set up cronjob, link on http area of site)
- Upload more stock (ongoing:)
- Enrol in Adobe Lightroom course
- Organise lighting tent and photography area more effectively
- Match site and shop colour scheme
- Alter Retrorocket logo from RetroRocket to Retrorocket
