What a week

Thanksgiving style ideas, a new small business section

What a week it has been. How are you doing? The low point for me came at about 5:30am when Wisconsin was declared for Trump, giving him over 270 electoral votes. I burst out in tears. I’m still processing it. But our democracy has spoken and I’m grateful we have the opportunity to vote.

The high point was when my sister and I decided to buy tickets to the Eras Tour for one of the Toronto shows. I’m so excited! Have you been? I can’t wait to feel the positive energy of the Swifties!

To take my mind off the election and think about positive/ normal life things, I want to start sharing some gift ideas and some holiday style ideas. I’ll share more as the weeks go on, but I thought today is as good a time as any to start sharing.

What to Wear for Thanksgiving

Let’s start with what to wear for Thanksgiving since that’s up first! My perfect Thanksgiving vibe is cozy, comfortable, but also put together and thoughtful, since we’re celebrating gratitude. My perfect outfit formula for that is a great pair of jeans and a fabulous sweater and a special bag. From there I add shoes and outerwear, but it kind of depends on the weather and what you’ll be doing. If you’re a family who likes to go for a Thanksgiving walk, you’ll want to wear sneakers or comfortable flats and a fleece or barn jacket. If you’re a family who goes out, you’ll probably want a pair of boots or more elevated flats and a wool or trench coat. If you’re a family who spends a lot of time on the couch with a fire going, maybe Birks or Uggs are the way to go and outerwear isn’t as important.

So let’s get into it!

Get the look:

denim or denim (I have the second pair)

sweater (I have this sweater in a different color and can attest to how soft it is)

boots (I own their version from last year and love them)

coat (I own this one in black and love it)

bag (love all our totes!)

Get the look:

denim

sweater

flats

bag (love the Soirée Bag with this look!)

Get the look:

denim (have these and love them)

sweater or sweater

shoes (have these and love them)

Get the look:

denim

sweater

shoes

bag (love the Mara Bag to add sophistication to a casual look)

Get the look

denim

sweater

shoes

bag

Get the look:

denim

turtleneck (I have this and love it)

coat

sunnies (I have these and love them)

Get the look:

denim (I have these and love them)

jacket or jacket (I love the look of this so much)

loafers - these look the most similar to the ones in the pic

socks¹

ICYMI - Some other good holiday style resources

(Especially if your Thanksgiving is a little dressier)

The Small Business Section

I posted a question box on Instagram last week asking small business owners to share their biggest pain point (anonymously). I had this segment in mind. I’ve been considering getting into consulting on the side because I think it would be a great source of joy for me and to be honest, something I know I’d be good at. And I strongly believe that when we’re working in our zones of genius, the world is a better place. So I’m going to add this section to my Substack. If you have a question or a topic you’d like me to address, please let me know in the comments, email me, or DM me on Instagram.

A question that came up multiple times in the question box I posted last week was this one: how do I get social media to generate sales?

Good question.

Being a small, e-commerce business is hard. It’s so hard to get people to know you exist. There is so much noise out there, so many larger businesses with huge advertising budgets, and our attentions spans are short. Social media can often feel like the only way to reach people.

But I think people are tired of social media feeling like one giant advertisement.

I think if we’re asking how we can use social media to generate sales, we’re asking the wrong question. If we want to increase our sales, I think we need to start by asking what our target customers want/need and how we can fill that gap. No one needs to be told by brand to buy more, right?

So I’m going to talk about a couple brands that I love following because I don’t feel like they are telling me to buy, buy, buy…but I feel like they offer me something valuable, and in turn, I consume their content with joy, which oftentimes leads me to purchase from them. :)

What do they have in common? They are authentically, unapologetically themselves. They are consistent in their message.

Vincent James: I get really good ideas about how to outfit repeat and have a less is more, quality over quantity approach to my closet.

Mirth: I feel inspired and love seeing their travel content.

Baked By Melissa: I love watching her chop vegetables and I love her honest, authentic commentary.

Alice & Wonder: Ali (the founder) makes me feel connected to my city and I love the pulse she has on the current culture. I actually haven’t bought anything from Alice & Wonder in a long time, but I think their Instagram a great example of a social media account that knows their customer and what their customer wants and gives it to them.

So back to the original question. I think if you can reframe the question to, “How can I offer the most value to my customer on social media?” it will help attract the right people to your brand and in turn the right people will want your product.

Some practical things to think about as you move forward:

Be clear on who you are and what your message is.

Be clear on who your customer is and what she/he wants.

Create content that communicates who you are AND what your customer wants.

Was this helpful? Let me know in the comments. More questions? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to keep the conversation going.

xo,

Abby

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