Mona on The Go

Right now people are looking for exotic and different destinations, on shoe string budgets.

Everything in the known world is crashing around their ears, with the stock market in the biggest bear market, for a very long time, with the ‘r’ word floating around. No-one can afford to be rash in their investments or spending. Every cent spent must count, as extra cash is in short supply.

There is however, one exotic destination that has something very special and still in everyone’s reach. It has some of the last untouched wilderness areas in the world. People still live in custom villages, the way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. A place where you can breathe the fresh air and see the brightest stars in the tropical night sky. That place is Vanuatu, in the South Pacific.

The charity, YouMe Support Foundation in partnership with winaresort.com is raffling a boutique resort in the capital of the island nation, Port Vila, only three hours by plane from Sydney, Australia.

Funds from the raffle provide non-repayable education grants for geographically and financially underprivileged children. A return airfare and one week’s accommodation is included in the 1st prize.

Later this year someone will become the proud new owner of Seachange Lodge. With it goes a tax-free income. Retirement waiting on a South Pacific island.

The raffle will assist children who cannot help themselves. “Unless we get outside help, our students will never have a chance to go to high school,” Mr Harris Apos, the Banks Area Secretary in Vanuatu said. “They will never have the opportunity to live their dreams of being a school teacher, doctor, mechanic, carpenter, or nurse. They simply have to stay in the village on the remote island.”

The Prime Minister Mr Lini, admitted, “The government does little to assist these people,” when he visited the area recently. “Sometimes all that is needed is only $US500 to bring a classroom into use.”

One exercise book is shared between several pupils and pencils broken into three pieces to give them something to write with. Qualified teachers are in the minority and often it is the recently graduated primary students who assist the younger ones. Many parents cannot read or write.

In 2006, the nation of Vanuatu, made famous by A Michener’s ‘Tales of the South Pacific’, (and the film ‘South Pacific’) was voted the Happiest Country on Earth, by the British New Economics Foundation’s (NEF), Happy Planet Index.

“The Index was based on life expectancy and environmental footprint, to rank the countries”, according to Adrienne Wilson, writing for Gadling.com on July 15th 2006.

Yet the local schools are without resources of any kind. Most of the children will never leave their villages.

“We really appreciate our guests, who since 2004 have helped us to send desperately needed school supplies to these isolated areas,” said Richard Tendys, the current owner of Seachange Lodge. “For those of us who use the benefits of the 21st century without a thought, it is good to invest in some children who hardly know the technology, that can help them, even exists.”

Vanuatu has never become commercialized like some of its South Pacific neighbours and so has maintained it own unique blend as an exotic travel destination.

Setting up your own business is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of things which you have to take care of before you can actually open shop. If you want to venture into clothing retail or wholesale, you have to keep in mind certain considerations. For one, you need to decide whether you would want to sell men’s or women’s clothing. You also have to decide whether you would want to offer fashionable clothing or simple tees. If you go for the former, you have to be aware that your clothing supplies should be of the latest trend. This way, you will not lose your customers to other stores which sell chic apparel.

 

It is possible for you not to spend much if you want to stock your clothing boutique with trendy designer clothes. The main reason for this is the emergence of fashion wholesale suppliers. If you are looking for stylish yet affordable clothes, opt for Hong Kong fashion apparel or Japan & Korea fashion clothing. There are a lot of clothing suppliers which sell this style of garments. One of these is CausewayMall, which is a clothing wholesale manufacturer from Hong Kong. This company is a wholesale online shopping mall, allowing you to shop for its wholesale Korea style fashion clothes over the Internet. Compared to the traditional way of buying clothing supplies, shopping online is more convenient. This is due to the fact that you can do your ordering even in your own home.

 

If your boutique is located in the United Kingdom, you can still shop for wholesale women clothing at CausewayMall. This Korea fashion online store markets its products internationally, exporting wholesale women’s apparel to wholesalers and retailers from all over the world. When you order clothing supplies in bulk, you will get to shop for clothing wholesale at discounted prices. The economic cost of CausewayMall’s wholesale fashion cloth allows you to save huge amount of cash. You should not let this opportunity pass if you want to earn big returns.

 

You can buy cheap ladies wholesale clothing at CausewayMall.com and still get the best out of your money. Not all affordable garments are made from weak fabrics. What is more, the designs and styles of its cheap junior wholesale clothing or wholesale women clothing are not outdated. The fabrics of the clothes that are sold at CausewayMall are good. Most importantly, its styles are charming and unique. When it comes to your selections, you have thousands of options to choose from. You can take a pick from wholesale dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, jackets, and accessories.

 

The online customer service of Causeway Mall caters to the needs of its clients every Monday to Friday. You can also contact their customer service through MSN or Skype, which makes you save much of the phone fee. If you have any questions regarding the available products of the store, you can just log on to this supplier’s website to inquire. With the online services of this Hong Kong clothing wholesaler, shopping is never easier.

 

Boutiques everywhere are gearing up for all of that Black Friday and Christmas shopping traffic.  If you’re not ready, then your sales could suffer.  Use these tips to make sure that you are ready for the busy season.

1.  You are going to need some extra help.  If you can manage to keep a big crowd happy, then you will turn a lot of curious first time shoppers into long-term customers.   You should probably hire some seasonal help.

2.  Stock enough inventory to get through the busy season.  If you’re having trouble securing credit to get what you need, consider having online sales and pass out rain tickets to customers looking for something that you ran out of.

3.  Keep your clothing racks stocked.  Don’t let things run too low without consolidating them.  It gives the impression that you are not restocking for some reason, like you’re not going to carry that product anymore because you weren’t happy with it.  Have employees restock the shelves and garment racks about every hour or as you notice them running low.

4.  Keep the store tidy.  No one wants to dig through a pile of clothes or sift through giant stacks looking for their size.  Keep stacks folded nice and stacked in order from the biggest size on the bottom to the largest size on the top.

5.  Clearly display what you have for sale.  Using mannequins is a great idea.  It shows customers what you have to offer and they can see it from far away.  They can see what the garments look like when worn and also which accessories you recommend wearing with the garments.  This is especially helpful in a boutique where the clothing is often custom made and people shopping may not realize what it would look like on.  If they couldn’t figure it out, they would have to try it on.  If the store is crowded or if they’re tired of shopping, they’re not going to bother.  Mannequins also help to keep people from unfolding piles of clothes to check out certain garments.

6.  Avoid shoplifting problems this holiday season by positioning your clothing racks so that your employees can easily keep an eye on them.  Don’t pack them so full that you can’t see through to the other side.  Keep circular racks near the register and don’t put a garment rack too near a wall or other fixture.  Use spotlighting and consistent customer service to keep shoplifters from getting comfortable.

7.  Get into the holiday spirit and keep a happy attitude.  Customers will feed off of your mood, so be careful about showing how busy you are on the outside.  Be patient, helpful and available to customers.  Use these tips and your boutique Christmas could be your best yet.