On regular days of business, Kinder’s Angie Van Norman utilizes technology to keep her small business, Van Norman’s Jewelry and Gifts, competing against bigger markets.
She said she wanted nothing to do with the Internet, but she had to learn in order to do business and attract others from outside Kinder.
At the moment, she is happy she learned and utilized technology, because it is helping her business during these days with COVID-19 issues are hurting small businesses.
“If I’m going to stay in business, I have find innovative ways to keep up,” she said.
Van Norman said she uses Facebook® to display some of the things she has in her store. She can sell items there, send pictures to a person who is asking for a particular item, accept payment for the item over the phone and then ship the item to the buyer with technical advances. She said she has sold a diamond without ever coming face-to-face with the buyer.
She said the other day someone inquired about a birthday gift for their wife. The man was looking for ideas. They sent pictures and he decided what to buy. They wrapped the gift and hand-delivered it to the man. He paid with a credit card, and Van Norman said her cell phone even allows her to accept a payment for an item.
During the first week of the governor’s proclamation, she utilized FaceTime® to even show a potential customer some items she had in the store. She said technology has made the way she does business change in so many ways.
Her phone and I-Pad™ allows her to look at inventory in her store when she is shopping for items for the store.
“My inventory is always live,” she said. Technology allows her to see which items need to be restocked. She described the process as amazing.
During the first week of dealing with COVID-19, she left her number on the door of her business, so customers could contact her for their needs.
“Any kind of way we can figure out to do it, it can be done,” she said. Van Norman has 20 years of business experience, and she also grew up in the hardware business. Her parents owned Kinder Hardware.
As a child watching her parents, she learned how important customer service is to people. She said she uses that tool as a way to fight bigger businesses by providing the best customer service she can. She teaches her employees about the benefits of going that extra mile for the customer.
“I tell my girls the way we can compete is through customer service.”
She believes in shopping locally if the items exist. She encouraged everyone to check local shops before heading out of town for items. Local dollars spent, mean local taxes and growth for the economy. Van Norman strongly believes in this message.
Barbara Savant, executive director for the Kinder Chamber of Commerce, said they work hard to promote small businesses in Kinder. She said they were encouraging the community to shop locally, eat locally, etc. during this time of COVID-19. Local business provides sales tax revenue for the parish. Restaurants are serving customers with drive-thru, pick-up and even home delivery in many places.
Savant said this support is needed for businesses like Van Norman’s in Kinder.
