Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: The People That Matter The Most
As I get older, I continue to learn tons of new things that help me to hone in my business skills so that I can be a better businessman and, of course, sell more fabric.
For example, as I have mentioned many times before, I went to a social media conference last year and learned the importance of video. Discovering this concept has made all the difference: “80 percent of what we consume on social media in 2020 will be video.” As such, I refocused my energy and attention on doing more videos…. a lot more. It is having a bigger impact than I ever imagined and in fact it is opening up an entirely new world for me.
Furthermore to the idea of always striving to be a better businessman, there are two areas that I plan to expend a lot more of my energy and attention on in the years, months and days ahead.
First and foremost are my customers. It’s pretty obvious that without customers it would be hard to sell fabric. With that being said, I am going to go above and beyond to help my customers be successful and survive for the long haul however I can. The idea is to create more of a partnership than just a buying and selling superficial relationship.
Over the last year, I believe I have already begun this transformative effort by pushing the social media envelope. The individual Facebook Live shop tours that I have been videoing and the Jaftex Facebook live video challenge have helped to garner more exposure than people realize for both individual shops and the industry as a whole.
Let’s discuss my recent trip to The Old Country Store in Intercourse, PA. This shop was the winner of the Jaftex Facebook Live shop tour video challenge. This past week, I awarded them their prize which was comprised of a day and night of fun events with me at their shop. We taped another live video tour featuring new products and the owners even offered a special promo on the video for free freight on online orders. I don’t have exact numbers, but I know that the shop did get many a new online order just because of this special promotion offered on the video. This really works and in this case the shop owner could measure the impact of this one promotion as it was only shared on the video. These sorts of social media ideas really do work and in order for me to help customers help themselves, I am urging them all, yet again, and again, to embrace social media wholeheartedly as it is never too late.
Before you get scared away from doing social media videos, allow me to remind you all that it’s not about an Academy Award winning performance. Rather, it is about the content and exposure. Our fabric people don’t care if your video isn’t top notch, nor do they care if you are having a bad hair day. They want to see your stuff and your shop, plain and simple. If you aren’t doing this yet or not doing it enough, there is no better time than 2019 to step it up and see for yourselves that social media is your friend and for the most part, it is free.
Here is another great example of social media at work. The Old Country Store has these adorable wall clocks that I happened to take a liking to. I bought one for our NY offices and posted some photos of it on my Facebook (see below). To the shop owners’ surprise, they sold about 10+ of these clocks and counting since my visit just a few days ago. I am not making this stuff up people. The evidence is real.
In any case, I want shop owners of the world to know that Scott Fortunoff and the Jaftex team are here to help you be as amazing and successful as you possibly can be.
Secondly, and equally important, are my customers’ customers i.e. consumers. Without consumers, my shop owner customers couldn’t survive. Therefore, I also plan to continue to help to build and grow the base of quilting consumers as best as I can. I have already been pursuing this angle for some time and definitely plan to do a lot more.
Here are a few examples of my efforts to grow the consumer quilter base:
- #SewRevolution: This is my overarching concept that we all need to spread the love of quilting for the sake of this beautiful and timeless art form in order to keep it from extinction. A few ideas here include: Teaching a youngster how to quilt, sharing your fabric with someone who doesn’t have or can’t afford any and giving away your old sewing machine to a new sewer.
- #SewDays: This was an offshoot of the #SewRevolution concept. Karen Montgomery, owner of The Quilt Company quilt shop, and Laurie Harsh of FabShop news teamed up to encourage shops to participate in a 6 week program of beginner quilt classes based around simple projects. This program is continuing into 2019 and I will certainly be sharing more about it. I encourage both shop owners and consumers to get involved with this if you haven’t already done so.
- Scott Sewing Machine Giveaway: This was my own effort over the last two years to give away sewing machines to people who either lost their machine through a natural disaster or are suffering through some sort of tragedy or hardship in their lives. Quilting does definitely have therapeutic qualities and that is another strong reason to be promoting it.
- #ScottSentMe: This was a contest whereby I challenged consumers to visit as many shops as possible in a 3 month period. In this case, the shops win by getting more and new visitors and the consumers win by getting out of their comfort zones and seeing what other shops have to offer.
- More inside scoop videos. On my @jaftexpresident Facebook page I have been posting more and more behind the scene videos which allows consumers to learn more about the industry and see things that they normally wouldn’t get to see i.e. our offices, our warehouse, our team and double and rolling fabric to name a few.
In closing, I want to be sure that you all know that you are going to be hearing a lot more from me on these subjects. The sooner you embrace these concepts and me, the sooner you will reap the benefits and see what I am talking about first hand. My head is in this for the long haul and I am going to do all I can to help our industry thrive. In addition, I am going to make sure that we all try to have some fun while doing this. With that, I welcome you to continue on this magical fabric journey with me, Scott Fortunoff, and my Jaftex Family!
Have a great week and happy December!
xxoo
Scott
25 Comments
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Ann Marie Kesler,
So glad you are here with me enjoying the fabric-tainment. I am glad to be your fabric step son…LOL.
Amazing that you are sharing your skills with others. Keep it up!
Thanks and have a great week and holiday.
Regards,
Scott
Sarah Bond
Making quilts makes me happy and keeps me out of trouble. Teaching other people about making quilts is joyous. I learn as much as I teach each time I teach. You are a hoot, my friend. Keep it up. We all help each other!
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Sarah Bond,
You keep teaching and spreading the #sewrevolution. Thank you and happy holidays.
Scott
Denise
I think you are spot-on about the impact and importance of social media. Although they didn’t win your Facebook live video challenge, I just love watching the Facebook live broadcast from Quilting in the Valley in LaSalle IL every Wednesday night. I love seeing all the new fabric and other items along with hearing about classes and trips they’re doing. They are 6 hours away from me (and I live in a large metro area with many LQS nearby) but I still feel like they’re my favorite shop. That would not happen without social media. Thanks for your hard work and encouragement to keep this art form alive!!
Scott Fortunoff
Morning Denise,
That is the beauty of social media in a nutshell. For all of us fabric lovers, it’s like watching another sitcom or netflix movie. Happy holidays and have a great week.
Scott
Judy, USMC
I am a testament that social media works. As a semi-fossil I’m on FB and not IG. Saw something about your visit to The Old Country Store in Intercourse, PA. Watched a re-run of the video and placed an order. And now they are on my road trip bucket list. I, like many others, am a promo-driven consumer and happily share info by sharing on FB too. IT DOES WORK!
The first four words … “As I get older ….” remind me to wish you a Happy Birthday today.
Scott Fortunoff
Hey Judy,
Right on! Go social media go! Thanks for following and glad you are able to share an example of how social media worked. Have a great week and happy holidays.
Scott
Pat Semeraro
Been to that store. Nice article.
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Pat,
Yes, it is a great story. Thanks.
Scott
Jackie Mowday
It was great meeting you last Thursday at the event at Shady Maple sponsored by the Old Country Store. I saw your post on Facebook about giving to a military family whose parent is deployed and that is fantastic. When my children were little my husband was deployed to Korea for a year. A lot of these young wives are married to enlisted men and they do not make a lot of money and can’t afford nice fabrics so what you are doing is a blessing. Happy early birthday!!!!
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Jackie,
Glad you were able to come out for the event.
Thanks to your husband for his service.
Thanks for the bday wishes too. Have a great week and happy holidays.
Scott
Denise Salyers
Hi Scott,
Thank you for the challenges both to the shop owners and the consumers! I have moved many times over the last 15 year’s and where ever I went, quilt stores and quilt guilds were the first things I looked for to help settle into a new location with no family around. It helped tremendously and I have made friends all over the country. Of all the quilt stores I have visited during your latest challenge, I have to give a shout out to two ‘new to me shop’s. The first one is Quilting in the Valley in LaSalle IN??, a shop I have only seen on Facebook. The shop owner was not as comfortable in her earlier posts but as time went by, her confidence grew and grew. She is very genuine and every week she shows new lines of fabric, notions, patterns, ideas, samples. Periodically, she will show discounted kits. I have ordered several times and have be at been disappointed. One of the shops I visited was The Christmas Goose in Las Vegas, NV. They have a very keen sense for merchandising! They package 12 fat quarters of twula pink and kaffe fabrics so attractively that I almost missed my plane because I couldn’t decide which package(s) to purchase. Every quilt store has a personality. I find myself shopping with a new eye and open mindset.
As I am approaching retirement, I am working with our local 4H club members, teaching sewing and quilting. Tomorrow is our annual service day and we will be sewing a Quilt of Valor, as well as many fleece blankets and baby blankets. I will send you pictures.
Scott Fortunoff
Good Morning Denise,
Thanks for reporting back about those two shops that you visited for the scottsentme challenger. That’s great news.
Also, thanks for spreading the quilting love.
Have a great day and happy holidays.
Scott
Karen
Thanks for all you do to grow the quilting community and bringing us fabulous fabric. I have watched you from the sidelines and so glad I found you a couple of years ago. Wishing you much success and Happy Hanukkah
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Karen Marcus,
Thanks for the compliments and good wishes. Glad to have you on the fabric journey with me.
Regards,
scott
Pam
Scott – I really appreciate your blog posts and video tours of the quilt shops. People that do not have the passion for the art of quilting do not know what they are missing! It is truly my therapy as I lost my husband of 35 years and son unexpectedly in the past 2 years. Quilting calmed my soul as I created quilts filled with love for my family and friends. I like that you are encouraging the shops to reach out to the consumer as we need them and they need us! I love your clock! Thanks for all you do for those impacted by natural disasters. Have a great holiday and Happy Birthday a day early!
Scott Fortunoff
What nice comments! Thanks Pam.
Happy Holidays!
Scott
Joanne Hubbard
This is a really good post, Scott! I continue to be amazed at the impact of social media in the quilting world. I loved “the FB Live shop tours, as they provided me the opportunity to “visit” shops all over the country. I made some purchases and I made travel plans. Because of the tours, I found a couple of shops that I never knew about and stopped at them during my Thanksgiving travels. Of course I bought something at each of those shops as well. 🙂
I am thrilled to see how you and the entire Jaftex Family is committed to all aspects of the industry. I firmly believe that your presence in the social media world has not only helped shop owners, but it has introduced many consumers to a whole new side of quilting that they never really understood. You rock!
Scott Fortunoff
Right on Joanne. This is what it is all about and this is the game plan. Thanks for playing.
have a great week.
Scott
Suzan Hirsch
Hi Scott,
We can all help shops and consumers by sharing the posted videos to our own facebook friends and groups. We can quickly multiply the views and get business for the shops and consumers can see beautiful fabric they need for their stash. It’s a win win for everyone.
Spread the love!
Scott Fortunoff
Good Day Suzan,
Together we can move mountains. Right on Suzan.
have a great week.
Scott
Kara Benavides
I have been enjoying getting my (finally retired) mother beyond her comfort zone and back into sewing. Yesterday was spent at her house helping with bowl cozies. I brought her gifts of scrap fabric so she can practice sewing different stitches with her sewing machine. Tomorrow, my friend is coming over to learn how to use my$100 sewing machine. Then I will help her get started on a quilt and send her home with the machine, fabric, and scrap fabric. Her budget is tight with 4 girls, plus 2 boys not hers, plus a family of 4 living in the basement, plus another 2 upstairs. So we have started helping each other keep our sanity. Instead of music lessons for the girls, I am giving free sewing lessons, fabric included. And scraps are a major part of that. Donating scraps to new quilters may be an, as yet untapped, resource.
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Kara,
Love to hear that you are doing your part to push the #sewrevolution envelope. Thank you.
As you may or may not have seen, when we recently cleaned out our samples I did send those to many people.
Have a great week.
Scott
Dagmar Morgan
Hi Scott,
This is my first time getting a blog notification from you, and just reading through this makes me glad I joined.
As one of the people who bought the clock after seeing it on your page, I’m testimony to the power of visual social media! Seriously, I do believe that that is where marketing efforts should be directed- and most of it is free!
I love your statements about creating a partnership with your customers. I will open my new shop in about 2 months, and look forward to partnering with you. Let’s talk more about that during our call this afternoon.
Dagmar
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Dagmar,
Glad you made it here and got a notice. Thanks for confirming the concept that social media works. I look forward to speaking with you this afternoon.
Regards,
Scott