Line-of-sight visibility of your store from the road and commuted routes can make the difference.

“You have to be open to doing anything,” says Dan Hamari, co-owner with his wife, Janis, of an EmbroidMe shop in Appleton, Wisc. Hamari just relocated from the back corner to the front end of a local shopping mall. “We moved to get better visibility, and it’s working,” he says. “I’ve already had two new customers come in who saw us while they were tied up in traffic.”

The mall location is ideal in several ways, Hamari says. It draws walk-in customers who don’t expect to find an embroidery shop there. “But everybody knows somebody who is in business, and they spread the word,” he says. The venue also appeals aesthetically to shoppers. “You have to treat your store as a retail establishment in terms of appearance, hours and customer service,” he says. “Shoppers who are exposed to Macy’s and Nordstrom have expectations.”

The larger, 2,000-square-foot space, with 900 square feet dedicated to retail, includes a large window allowing people to look into the workrooms. “We want to show people that we are local, that we do the work here,” Hamari says.

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