I know, I know, I keep sharing insight about Big Lots.  Trust me, we do a ton of business with traditional furniture stores, both regional and national brands.  But I guess my sentiments towards such an overlooked venue as Big Lots is because they truly gave us our start and have witnessed first hand how our sales have increased in parallel to their enhanced marketing and inventory strategies.

Six years ago, Big Lots was not offering "No Credit Needed" and "Easy Leasing" options on furniture.  The image below is from one of their ads that started on Columbus Day and runs through this weekend.  Needless say, we have delivered a ton of mattresses and associated pieces over the course of this week and will continue through the weekend.  

One key point with respect to Big Lots is that, technically, you don't even need a website to be operational.  Big lots is simply an awesome referral system.  They want not part of the delivery process so they simply hand out your fliers and/or verbally refer your business to customers.  

As I've mentioned in previous correspondence, less than 10% of our work orders are generated online.  So yes, websites are important, but with 90% plus of our work orders being generated over the phone, not having a website is no excuse not to be operational and building your business.  

Don't get me wrong, websites are important for sales and lead generation.  They also help bolster your credibility as people will view your site and then, for security purposes, choose to call you over the phone versus entering credit card information online.  

But especially for those of you just starting, I encourage you not to become bogged down in delays thinking you need to have EVERYTHING in place to get started.  You absolutely do not.  Customers care more about timely, cost effective solutions versus being impressed by "bedazzling" websites (and yes, I just used the word bedazzling for the first time in my life and confirmed online that it is actually a real word!  SMH!).