You always spend more than you plan to.
I have an excellent example of this. I need to get some packaging & shipping supplies for all the stuff in With Heart. I’ve shopped around and compared places and settled on a company out of the US. There is a Canadian company I may use later on, but I have to buy everything in such huge quantities… I just really don’t need 500 boxes right now. Where would I keep them?
So I ordered a smaller amount from the US company.
While their prices are competitive, the shipping (for my shipping supplies! Double LOL!) is what’s killing me. I spent about $50 on product, and the shipping is $30. Ouch. But otherwise I would be spending more like $300 just to get what I need.
Another great example of this that I want to have a good variety of items in the store. I’ve got some amazing finds and artists ready to hop on board, the only issue of course is money. I’ve spent most of my start-up inventory funds already, and can’t really add more items until I sell what I’ve got. Or get more money, somehow. I’m not sure whether I should add some more from my personal bank account to get some of these things, or if I should be more responsible and wait til more sales come in. (BTW, have you taken a look at the shop yet??)
I think maybe the happy medium might involve some kind of voting system. I’ll pick a few sample items, post them here on on the website blog (whenever I get that issue sorted out… *sigh*) and let you guys pick which artist I buy next.
What do you think?
Have you seen my new shop yet? With Heart (www.withheartshop.com) is an amazing collection of Original & Interesting Stuff that I have curated myself! Lots of beautiful handmade and hard-to find things for your shopping pleasure. Don’t forget that the holidays are just around the corner!
3 responses to “Building a Business: Lesson #2”
Have you thought about having your artists dropship instead?
While a bit riskier, it would save $$ in the beginning.
Cheers,
Melanie
I have, but a lot of them aren't savvy enough to manage something like that, and I also want control over what goes out. I want to make sure everything is up to my standards and maintains my branding when it goes out.
My recent post Building a Business: Lesson #2
I think that this is something all startups need to deal with, you just have to decide what your "real" budget is.,…how far will you go type thing and don't cross that line no matter what.
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