What IKEA Reminded Me About Creating an Experience People Remember

 

It is my birthday month, so grab whichever gift fits you best. Join the free Irresistible Offer Challenge here. Or shop the birthday sale on Etsy and eBay with coupon code MANDYBIRTHDAY26 on eBay.

Yesterday Jerry and I went to IKEA, which has always been one of my happy places.

I love the Scandinavian designs, the clever storage ideas, the little room displays, the food, and especially the tiny homes they set up inside the store. I always leave with ideas for our house, but lately I pay extra attention to the tiny living spaces because I am always gathering ideas for our tiny cabin.

This trip had a practical purpose.

Jerry’s new job has him working from home a lot more now, so we went to get him a sit/stand desk and set up a home office for him in our bonus room. 

It is funny how a simple errand can turn into something sentimental. I remember when IKEA was a whole family outing for us.

When my youngest was in preschool, I used to take him there during the week. He would play in Småland, the children’s play area, and then we would eat lunch together. I would wander through the rooms, get ideas for organizing the house, and let him look at the toys and the little children’s furniture.

The children’s section always felt a little magical when my kids were small. Tiny kitchens. Tiny appliances. Little tables. Bright dishes. Train sets, Rooms made just for them.

This time, our youngest stayed home to study for an exam. No one needed anything from the toy shop. No one was begging to go to the children’s area. No one was excited about tiny plates or pretend food. We were there buying a desk for Jerry’s home office.

Life moves so quickly sometimes, doesn’t it? One day you are walking through IKEA with a preschooler who wants to play in Småland, and the next you are walking through with your husband, talking about desk height and office chairs while your youngest studies at home.

It was sweet. And a little bittersweet. I still loved being there, though. The rooms were full of people taking pictures and getting ideas. The children’s area had a complete little kitchen set up, and it was full of kids playing. Families were spending the day there the way ours used to.

We ate lunch, of course. I love their meatballs and gravlax and salmon with creamy dill sauce and vegetable medallions. The meatballs are famous for a reason, but the gravlax and salmon are also my favorites. I was disappointed to see how much they have cut back on the Swedish food store. I wanted cloudberry jam, but they only had lingonberry. And they seem to have gotten rid of a lot of the cheeses I used to love. Those foods always remind me of my Norwegian-American family and the tastes I remember from childhood, so that part made me a little sad.

They have also gone all in on self-checkout, which I do not love, although I will say they had plenty of employees helping people and keeping the lines moving. But even with the changes, IKEA still feels like IKEA. And that got me thinking.

IKEA does not just sell furniture

IKEA is not iconic because they sell desks. They are not iconic because they sell shelves. They are not even iconic because they sell Swedish meatballs, although I do think the food is part of the magic. IKEA is iconic because they create an experience.

You do not just walk into a warehouse and buy a desk. You walk through a whole world. You see the tiny apartment and think, “Oh, I could live like that.” You see the organized pantry and think, “Maybe my kitchen could feel calm too.” You see the little children’s kitchen and children are already playing inside the story.

You sit down for lunch. You browse the marketplace. You pick up napkins, candles, storage bins, or a jar of jam you did not technically come for.

It feels like an outing. It feels like a tradition. It feels like possibility. That is why people spend the whole day there. And it made me think about the way we all create experiences for the people who come into our world. Whether you sell products, services, coaching, classes, handmade items, repair supplies, doll parts, books, digital products, or anything else… People remember the experience.

They remember how you made them feel. They remember whether they felt helped, understood, inspired, cared for, or excited. They remember whether buying from you felt flat and transactional… or whether it felt like stepping into a little world they wanted to be part of.

This matters whether you have a business or simply love beautiful things

One of the reasons I have always loved vintage dolls, old houses, handmade things, and home decorating is because they all carry a sense of memory. A doll is not just a doll. A tiny dress is not just fabric. A replacement part is not just a repair supply. A book is not just pages. A little room is not just furniture.

These things hold stories. They remind us of childhood, family, playrooms, holidays, grandmothers, sewing baskets, birthday gifts, and the things we did not realize we would miss until years later. That is part of why customer experience matters so much to me. When someone buys from me, I never want it to feel like a cold transaction. 

I want them to feel like they have found someone who understands why the little thing matters. Why the doll matters. Why the project matters. Why the idea matters. Why the business dream matters. Why the memory matters.

And if you are building a business, I want you to think about that too.

Your offer is not just the “thing” you sell. It is the experience someone believes they are stepping into. It is the finished doll. The repaired keepsake. The organized home. The peaceful workday. The business that finally feels clear. The product that finally gets listed. The customer who finally says yes. The feeling of, “This is what I have been looking for.”

It is my birthday month, so I am celebrating with gifts

May is my birthday month, and this year I wanted to celebrate by giving gifts back to my audience. So I have two birthday gifts happening right now, depending on what you are here for.

If you are here because you are building a business, creating an offer, trying to sell your work, or figuring out how to make your idea more desirable, I would love to invite you to my free Irresistible Offer Challenge.

Inside the challenge, we will talk about how to create something people actually want to buy and how to feel more confident selling it.

Because so often the problem is not that your idea is bad. It is not that you need to be louder. It is not that you need to post all day or chase people around the internet.

Sometimes the real problem is that your offer is not clear enough yet. It does not create that “I want this” feeling. It does not help your person see the experience they are stepping into. And that is what we are going to work on together.

You can join the free Irresistible Offer Challenge here

And if you are here for doll repair, vintage treasures, books, supplies, or my shops, I have a birthday sale for you too.

You can save 10% off any 2 items from my Etsy shop.

And on eBay, you can use coupon code:

MANDYBIRTHDAY26 to save 10% off. If you combine that with volume discounts, you can save up to 30% off.

So if there has been something you have been meaning to come back for — a doll repair supply, a replacement part, a book, a pattern, or one of those little treasures that has been sitting in your cart — this is a lovely time to get it.

You can shop here:

Etsy
eBay

The little things are not so little

I came home from IKEA thinking about desks and tiny kitchens and cloudberry jam. I thought about our children being little. I thought about Jerry’s new home office. I thought about the tiny cabin and all the clever ways I still want to make it feel beautiful and functional.

And I thought about how powerful it is when a place, a product, a shop, or a business becomes more than just a place to buy something.

It becomes part of someone’s life. A memory. A tradition. A solution. A little moment of beauty.

That is what I want to keep creating. In my shops. In my courses. In my emails. In my books. In the way I help people repair what matters to them and build what matters to them.

Thank you for being here in this little world with me. Whether you came for doll repair, business ideas, vintage treasures, creative income, or simply because you enjoy following along… I am so grateful.