ShopID: LittleLizzyLou

My name is Kate, and my shop is Little Lizzy. I turn 30 in June, and during the day, I work as an Executive Assistant in the Business Development department of a finance company, where I’ve been for the past 7 years. I graduate in June with my Bachelors in Business Administration, with a concentration is E-Commerce. I have been married for 5 and a half years, and we have an adorable puppy, but no kids yet! Little Lizzy started as a single design, created for my sister’s birthday. A few designs later, and I upgraded to a Premium Shop. I’ve been a Top Shopkeeper since January 2006. One of my designs has been featured in Redbook Magazine. Now, I have more than 700 designs, and my shop is continuously growing.

How long have you been a shopkeeper?

I joined CafePress in February 2005, so I’ve been a shopkeeper for a little over 3 years.

If you listed a basic shop or did not list a shop in your bio, do you own a premium shop?

Currently, I own 2 premium shops, and no basic shops at this time.

Why were you inspired to run for CafePressVoice?

I was inspired to run for CafePressVoice, because I want to become more involved in the world of CafePress. The company has become such a huge part of my life, and I want to become even more involved to make the experience even better for everyone involved.

What do you feel the CafePressVoice program is all about?

I feel that the CafePressVoice program is all about giving shopkeepers a real way to have their opinions and voices count for something. It would be very difficult for CafePress to reach out to each and every shopkeeper to hear what they each have to say. CafePressVoice is about representing the entire CafePress community, and being that liaison between the other shopkeepers and CafePress. It’s a huge responsibility!

What do you feel are your qualifications that would make you an effective CPV member?

I feel that I have several qualifications that would make me an effective CPV member. I am well-spoken, and have fairly good writing skills. I am organized, and detail-oriented. One of the biggest things though, is that I am not doing this for me. I am doing this for the good of the community overall. I think that the CPV member has to look out for everyone, and not necessarily focus the attention on their own shops.

How much time are you willing to devote to CafePressVoice responsibilities on a weekly basis?

I plan to devote as much time as necessary to my CafePressVoice responsibilities. Depending on what the projects are, I will need to devote more time some weeks, and less time other weeks. I would have the weight of the rest of the community on my shoulders, and will need to make this a priority.

What, if any, previous experience do you have working in a “committee” setting?

I have served on several different committees over the years at my church. I have also served on the Band Parents Association, in connection with my husband’s marching band, for the past 5 years.

If elected, how do you plan to communicate with shopkeepers in order to understand their concerns and keep shopkeepers informed?

In order to understand concerns, and keep shopkeepers informed, I will communicate in whatever method is necessary. I plan to communicate with shopkeepers through the forums, emails, Facebook, MySpace, blogs, and any other way that a shopkeeper might suggest.

If you are elected, what is the number one thing that you would like to see implemented or changed concerning each committee’s mission:

Shop Management- I would like to see shop management get some more advanced tools for the shops that are larger. Making it easier & more efficient for these larger shops will help a lot of shopkeepers.

Merchandise- The number one thing that I would like to see implemented about merchandise is that we need more items. I do think that adding colors and sizes to existing items are important, but I also think that we need to add brand new products.

Name the top three things that you would like to see changed at CafePress.

The top three things that I would like to see changed at CafePress are:
1. Even more communication between CafePress and the shopkeepers regarding events & chats. I would like to see another CP Connect take place, and some training or classes that shopkeepers could take to become more familiar with the different processes.
2. I would like to see more products become available this year.
3. I think that the Marketplace needs to be restructured so that it’s easier for customers to find what they are looking for. It’s difficult to find designs using the current marketplace.

Name three things that you think CafePress does better than its competitors.

CafePress does a variety of things better than its competitors. I have tested out a couple of the other competitors, and I feel that CafePress is much more user friendly to their shopkeepers, with both the shops and the images. The forums, and interaction that the shopkeepers have with each other seems to be much stronger, and I also feel that the CafePress staff is more accessible to shopkeepers than at the competitors. The CafePress employees I have spoken to over the years, seem to genuinely enjoy getting to know the shopkeepers, and helping us out. Last, I think that CafePress does a great job of making sure that products are ready before they are released, and then revising new products when necessary.

Name three things that the competitors do better than CafePress.

There are a few things that competitors do better than CafePress. Personally, I feel that these things are all merchandise related. There seem to be more shirt styles and colors available with some of the competitors. I think that some of the competitors offer a wider variety of bag styles, which is great. Lastly, some of the competitors offer additional home products, such as baby blankets, and keychains, that might be appealing to our customers.

If you could pick one new product, what would it be?

If I could pick one new product right now, it would be a drawstring backpack. These are so popular, and there is such a huge demand for them. They can be made in a variety of colors, and it would provide CafePress with a great alternative to the tote bags and messenger bags.

Knock our socks off- tell us anything else that you think is important about your campaign.