Come back with me to January 2019. At this point, Sky Footwear had been around for about 2 and 1/2 years, and though things were going well, we started itching for more. We didn't know what this would look like for us quite yet, but we knew we had to start brainstorming. Should we stick with Sky Footwear and add a line of shoes, perhaps? Or should we rebrand to give us more flexibility in the future to be able to add whatever items we want? (Obviously you know the end of the story, but at the time it was a BIG mystery!) We actually did explore the shoe option for awhile, including receiving a few samples from different suppliers, but ultimately we didn't want to pigeon hole ourselves into just the footwear industry. Thus we decided to rebrand and expand.
Design Process: From The Ground Up
January 2019
February & March 2019
Deciding what items to expand into with the rebrand was the next hurtle to cross. We explained more about the "why" behind our expansion here, but we knew we wanted to go into items that homeless shelters could actually use, as well as capitalize on the timeline of knowing these would likely be released around Fall 2019 - which spurred us on to heavily consider hats and scarves (and initially gloves, too.)
The first round of hat samples.
We started the sample process during these two months. During this time, we go back and forth with our suppliers a LOT - we try to get a wide variety of samples so we are the most informed when we finally make a decision. We ask the suppliers what their highest quality materials are, what the color options are, and what we can do with each different design. We are mostly testing quality during this first round, rather than getting the perfect style or colors. It takes almost 10 days to receive the samples once shipped, so as soon as we're able to, we have them ship them to us. We received the first sample shipment on March 20.
The first round of scarf samples.
April & May 2019
Once we receive an initial sample order, things typically move a little bit quicker after this because we can pretty quickly see what we like, what we don't like, and the changes that we want made. They send us a thread book with the samples so we can tell them exactly what colors we want to see in the next round of samples. We make changes to the logo patch, deciding that we want it to be a brown leather logo instead of our usual black/white stitched logo. We decide that we want a knit look, with a yarn pom pom on the female styles and no pom pom on the male styles. For the scarves, we wanted them longer and wider, and a couple of other changes.
This is what a thread book looks like.
When we get through all of these decisions, we send very detailed information back to our suppliers and they start to make the changes in accordance to our exact requests. It takes our suppliers a little bit longer for the second round because we are asking for very specific things. We sent them this sample order on April 3, and we received the final samples on May 15. (Yes, that's a long time!)
June - August 2019
Once we receive the second samples, we start to make final decisions (such as: how many different styles we want, the final colors, the hat circumference, etc.) Once we get all of that information over to them, production on a larger scale starts and at that point it just becomes a waiting game.
The hats and scarves officially shipped on July 31, 2019 and we received them about 10 days after that - which gave us about a week to get everything done before the brand relaunch went live on August 13! The process itself is long and frustrating at times. Communication with our suppliers is tough (mostly because of the time difference between here and China). But it is always so worth it to see the final result, and getting to launch our rebrand was an amazing moment where we truly did see our hard work come to fruition.
I saved the best for last here - when we first received this sample we were CRACKING up! We asked for our logo to be on the front of the hat, but we had no idea it would be so large. As you can see in the picture, it stretches out quite a bit once it's on your head, too. Let's just say - the decision to not order this hat wasn't a hard one!
January 2019
Come back with me to January 2019. At this point, Sky Footwear had been around for about 2 and 1/2 years, and though things were going well, we started itching for more. We didn't know what this would look like for us quite yet, but we knew we had to start brainstorming. Should we stick with Sky Footwear and add a line of shoes, perhaps? Or should we rebrand to give us more flexibility in the future to be able to add whatever items we want? (Obviously you know the end of the story, but at the time it was a BIG mystery!) We actually did explore the shoe option for awhile, including receiving a few samples from different suppliers, but ultimately we didn't want to pigeon hole ourselves into just the footwear industry. Thus we decided to rebrand and expand.
February & March 2019
Deciding what items to expand into with the rebrand was the next hurtle to cross. We explained more about the "why" behind our expansion here, but we knew we wanted to go into items that homeless shelters could actually use, as well as capitalize on the timeline of knowing these would likely be released around Fall 2019 - which spurred us on to heavily consider hats and scarves (and initially gloves, too.)
The first round of hat samples.
We started the sample process during these two months. During this time, we go back and forth with our suppliers a LOT - we try to get a wide variety of samples so we are the most informed when we finally make a decision. We ask the suppliers what their highest quality materials are, what the color options are, and what we can do with each different design. We are mostly testing quality during this first round, rather than getting the perfect style or colors. It takes almost 10 days to receive the samples once shipped, so as soon as we're able to, we have them ship them to us. We received the first sample shipment on March 20.
The first round of scarf samples.
April & May 2019
Once we receive an initial sample order, things typically move a little bit quicker after this because we can pretty quickly see what we like, what we don't like, and the changes that we want made. They send us a thread book with the samples so we can tell them exactly what colors we want to see in the next round of samples. We make changes to the logo patch, deciding that we want it to be a brown leather logo instead of our usual black/white stitched logo. We decide that we want a knit look, with a yarn pom pom on the female styles and no pom pom on the male styles. For the scarves, we wanted them longer and wider, and a couple of other changes.
This is what a thread book looks like.
When we get through all of these decisions, we send very detailed information back to our suppliers and they start to make the changes in accordance to our exact requests. It takes our suppliers a little bit longer for the second round because we are asking for very specific things. We sent them this sample order on April 3, and we received the final samples on May 15. (Yes, that's a long time!)
June - August 2019
Once we receive the second samples, we start to make final decisions (such as: how many different styles we want, the final colors, the hat circumference, etc.) Once we get all of that information over to them, production on a larger scale starts and at that point it just becomes a waiting game.
The hats and scarves officially shipped on July 31, 2019 and we received them about 10 days after that - which gave us about a week to get everything done before the brand relaunch went live on August 13! The process itself is long and frustrating at times. Communication with our suppliers is tough (mostly because of the time difference between here and China). But it is always so worth it to see the final result, and getting to launch our rebrand was an amazing moment where we truly did see our hard work come to fruition.
I saved the best for last here - when we first received this sample we were CRACKING up! We asked for our logo to be on the front of the hat, but we had no idea it would be so large. As you can see in the picture, it stretches out quite a bit once it's on your head, too. Let's just say - the decision to not order this hat wasn't a hard one!
11 Responses
Eric Jones
Cool website!
My name’s Eric, and I just found your site – skyoutfitters.com – while surfing the net. You showed up at the top of the search results, so I checked you out. Looks like what you’re doing is pretty cool.
But if you don’t mind me asking – after someone like me stumbles across skyoutfitters.com, what usually happens?
Is your site generating leads for your business?
I’m guessing some, but I also bet you’d like more… studies show that 7 out 10 who land on a site wind up leaving without a trace.
Not good.
Here’s a thought – what if there was an easy way for every visitor to “raise their hand” to get a phone call from you INSTANTLY… the second they hit your site and said, “call me now.”
You can –
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better!
That’s why we built out our new SMS Text With Lead feature… because once you’ve captured the visitor’s phone number, you can automatically start a text message (SMS) conversation.
Think about the possibilities – even if you don’t close a deal then and there, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Wouldn’t that be cool?
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
My name’s Eric and I just came across your website – skyoutfitters.com – in the search results.
Here’s what that means to me…
Your SEO’s working.
You’re getting eyeballs – mine at least.
Your content’s pretty good, wouldn’t change a thing.
BUT…
Eyeballs don’t pay the bills.
CUSTOMERS do.
And studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors to a site like skyoutfitters.com will drop by, take a gander, and then head for the hills without doing anything else.
It’s like they never were even there.
You can fix this.
You can make it super-simple for them to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket… thanks to Talk With Web Visitor.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know immediately – so you can talk to that lead immediately… without delay… BEFORE they head for those hills.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
Now it’s also true that when reaching out to hot leads, you MUST act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better!
That’s what makes our new SMS Text With Lead feature so powerful… you’ve got their phone number, so now you can start a text message (SMS) conversation with them… so even if they don’t take you up on your offer right away, you continue to text them new offers, new content, and new reasons to do business with you.
This could change everything for you and your business.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to learn more about everything Talk With Web Visitor can do and start turing eyeballs into money.
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately!
It even includes International Long Distance Calling.
Paying customers are out there waiting.
Starting connecting today by CLICKING HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
Cool website!
My name’s Eric, and I just found your site – skyoutfitters.com – while surfing the net. You showed up at the top of the search results, so I checked you out. Looks like what you’re doing is pretty cool.
But if you don’t mind me asking – after someone like me stumbles across skyoutfitters.com, what usually happens?
Is your site generating leads for your business?
I’m guessing some, but I also bet you’d like more… studies show that 7 out 10 who land on a site wind up leaving without a trace.
Not good.
Here’s a thought – what if there was an easy way for every visitor to “raise their hand” to get a phone call from you INSTANTLY… the second they hit your site and said, “call me now.”
You can –
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better!
That’s why we built out our new SMS Text With Lead feature… because once you’ve captured the visitor’s phone number, you can automatically start a text message (SMS) conversation.
Think about the possibilities – even if you don’t close a deal then and there, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Wouldn’t that be cool?
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
Hey, this is Eric and I ran across skyoutfitters.com a few minutes ago.
Looks great… but now what?
By that I mean, when someone like me finds your website – either through Search or just bouncing around – what happens next? Do you get a lot of leads from your site, or at least enough to make you happy?
Honestly, most business websites fall a bit short when it comes to generating paying customers. Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment.
Here’s an idea…
How about making it really EASY for every visitor who shows up to get a personal phone call you as soon as they hit your site…
You can –
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
You’ll be amazed – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour or more later could increase your results 100-fold.
It gets even better… once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation.
That way, even if you don’t close a deal right away, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Pretty sweet – AND effective.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Lindsay Johnson
Hi,
I hope you are doing well.
I want to contribute a guest post article to your website that may interest your readers.
It would be of high quality and free of cost. You can choose the topic of the article from the topic ideas that I’ll send you in my next email once you approve this offer.
Please note that I will need you to give me a backlink within the guest post article.
Please let me know if I shall send over some amazing topic ideas?
Regards,
Lindsay Johnson
Eric Jones
Hey there, I just found your site, quick question…
My name’s Eric, I found skyoutfitters.com after doing a quick search – you showed up near the top of the rankings, so whatever you’re doing for SEO, looks like it’s working well.
So here’s my question – what happens AFTER someone lands on your site? Anything?
Research tells us at least 70% of the people who find your site, after a quick once-over, they disappear… forever.
That means that all the work and effort you put into getting them to show up, goes down the tubes.
Why would you want all that good work – and the great site you’ve built – go to waste?
Because the odds are they’ll just skip over calling or even grabbing their phone, leaving you high and dry.
But here’s a thought… what if you could make it super-simple for someone to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket?
You can – thanks to revolutionary new software that can literally make that first call happen NOW.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at your site.
You know, strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
When targeting leads, you HAVE to act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better!
That’s why you should check out our new SMS Text With Lead feature as well… once you’ve captured the phone number of the website visitor, you can automatically kick off a text message (SMS) conversation with them.
Imagine how powerful this could be – even if they don’t take you up on your offer immediately, you can stay in touch with them using text messages to make new offers, provide links to great content, and build your credibility.
Just this alone could be a game changer to make your website even more effective.
Strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to learn more about everything Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business – you’ll be amazed.
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately!
It even includes International Long Distance Calling.
Stop wasting money chasing eyeballs that don’t turn into paying customers.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
Hey there, I just found your site, quick question…
My name’s Eric, I found skyoutfitters.com after doing a quick search – you showed up near the top of the rankings, so whatever you’re doing for SEO, looks like it’s working well.
So here’s my question – what happens AFTER someone lands on your site? Anything?
Research tells us at least 70% of the people who find your site, after a quick once-over, they disappear… forever.
That means that all the work and effort you put into getting them to show up, goes down the tubes.
Why would you want all that good work – and the great site you’ve built – go to waste?
Because the odds are they’ll just skip over calling or even grabbing their phone, leaving you high and dry.
But here’s a thought… what if you could make it super-simple for someone to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket?
You can – thanks to revolutionary new software that can literally make that first call happen NOW.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at your site.
You know, strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
When targeting leads, you HAVE to act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better!
That’s why you should check out our new SMS Text With Lead feature as well… once you’ve captured the phone number of the website visitor, you can automatically kick off a text message (SMS) conversation with them.
Imagine how powerful this could be – even if they don’t take you up on your offer immediately, you can stay in touch with them using text messages to make new offers, provide links to great content, and build your credibility.
Just this alone could be a game changer to make your website even more effective.
Strike when the iron’s hot!
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to learn more about everything Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business – you’ll be amazed.
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately!
It even includes International Long Distance Calling.
Stop wasting money chasing eyeballs that don’t turn into paying customers.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
Hi, Eric here with a quick thought about your website skyoutfitters.com…
I’m on the internet a lot and I look at a lot of business websites.
Like yours, many of them have great content.
But all too often, they come up short when it comes to engaging and connecting with anyone who visits.
I get it – it’s hard. Studies show 7 out of 10 people who land on a site, abandon it in moments without leaving even a trace. You got the eyeball, but nothing else.
Here’s a solution for you…
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. You’ll know immediately they’re interested and you can call them directly to talk with them literally while they’re still on the web looking at your site.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
It could be huge for your business – and because you’ve got that phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately… and contacting someone in that 5 minute window is 100 times more powerful than reaching out 30 minutes or more later.
Plus, with text messaging you can follow up later with new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to keep the conversation going.
Everything I’ve just described is extremely simple to implement, cost-effective, and profitable.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more eyeballs into leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
Hey, this is Eric and I ran across skyoutfitters.com a few minutes ago.
Looks great… but now what?
By that I mean, when someone like me finds your website – either through Search or just bouncing around – what happens next? Do you get a lot of leads from your site, or at least enough to make you happy?
Honestly, most business websites fall a bit short when it comes to generating paying customers. Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment.
Here’s an idea…
How about making it really EASY for every visitor who shows up to get a personal phone call you as soon as they hit your site…
You can –
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.
You’ll be amazed – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour or more later could increase your results 100-fold.
It gets even better… once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation.
That way, even if you don’t close a deal right away, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
Pretty sweet – AND effective.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Eric Jones
My name’s Eric and I just found your site skyoutfitters.com.
It’s got a lot going for it, but here’s an idea to make it even MORE effective.
Talk With Web Visitor – CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com for a live demo now.
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.
And once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… and if they don’t take you up on your offer then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.
The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today!
Eric
PS: Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment. Don’t keep losing them.
Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://www.talkwithwebvisitors.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.
If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://talkwithwebvisitors.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=skyoutfitters.com
Leo Jessica
I selected some superb shoe. I choose ultimet model, color and design.
Keeton Yescott
Author
I'm Keeton - proud Portland (Maine) native living in Indianapolis with my husband and dog. Writing has always been a hobby of mine, so getting to write this blog is one of the highlights of my job. You can almost always find me with a coffee in hand, preferably iced if I had it my way. I'm passionate about fashion & believe that putting on the perfect pair of jeans is an instant mood booster. Some of my favorite things to do are going thrifting, reading murder mystery books, and spending quality time with people I love.