Hello and a bit of advice please

[glamgoodies]

Hi All,

My name is Teresa, I'm in Kent and I've just found this wonderful site.:)
I've been running my own business as a part time venture for about 15 months now and as I lost my job last week I'm wondering whether to bite the bullet and try and do it full time.
I make soaps, bath bombs and other bath products and although I do well at seasonal times ie Christmas, Mothers day, Valentines etc I'm not sure how well I'd do as a year round venture. I sell at craft fairs and farmers markets and do ok there but it's a scary thought being in just one place. :eek:
Has anybody started a retail business lately? Are things as gloomy as they're being painted in the media?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
kind regards
Teresa

[scudulike]

Hi Teresa, and welcome to UKBF - thought i'd reply as no one else has ;)

I'm not in retail, but there are lots of online retailers on this forum - I'm sure a few of them will jump in shortly with some great advice

[glamgoodies]

Hiya, Thanks for the reply I was beginning to feel a bit lonely :D
I'm sure others will put their two pennorth in, there seems to be a lot of experienced people here
kind regards
Teresa

[paultnl]

Are you thinking of getting a shop?

[Sandra Cook]

Hi Teresa

I am new here too. I joined 2 days ago and have found it really good so far.

Keep putting out info and get involved with blogs of others too. It all helps.:)

Good Luck!!

P.S. perhaps try to team up with others who sell products that compliment yours......

[which]

Hi,
I think the media paints a gloomy picture because its a me 2 jump on the band wagon kinda thing! By the sound of things you have a very marketable offering,that sounds like u should look at the birthday/thank you market. By this I mean its very likely that your not asking for lots of £s for the products but have something that makes the buyer look original in picking yuor stuff as a gift.

[glamgoodies]

Hi Pual,

i'm thinking about it but not sure if it's the way to go at the moment with the credit crunch and everything. As I make smelly products (nice ones that is) I would've thought a shop would make more sense but my price per item is obviously quite small so would it be viable???
kind regards
Teresa

[glamgoodies]

Hello Sandra,
Thanks for your welcome and I think your business and blog ideas were great, you can pick up so much info here can't you:)

[glamgoodies]

Hi Teresa

I am new here too. I joined 2 days ago and have found it really good so far.

Keep putting out info and get involved with blogs of others too. It all helps.:)

Good Luck!!

P.S. perhaps try to team up with others who sell products that compliment yours......
I think you could be right, the businesses that are struggling seem to be the ones that may have struggled anyway. From what I've seen people are still willing to treat themselves, it's the larger items they're holding expert....Am I talking myself into it here :-))

[Monica_ChilliApple]

Hi Teresa,

Welcome to the forum.

May I know where are you located in Kent?

Also an advise for you, you can also set up a website with an online shop which can help promote your product & this way the product can also be in global reach.

Hope you agree.

Thanks,
Monica

[glamgoodies]

Hi Monica,
Thanks for your reply
I'm in Medway. I do have a website but unfortunately no one knows it's there so I'm trying to update it a bit:-((

kind regards
Teresa

[HostOrca]

Hi Teresa, and welcome to the forum.

Instead of getting a shop, which can be quite expensive, why not go around your local shops, and see if you can have them sell your products on a "Sell-Or-Return" basis. For example, you take your products into the shop (preferably in a nice display box, or something like that), then you pop in every now and again, to check how they are selling, top up stock etc., if the shop keeper has sold anything, he/she gives you the agreed amount for it.

This way you can sell in a number of outlets, and your only expense is the cost to produce the goods, and the shopkeeper has something new to sell without having to pay for the products or less they sell.

Make sure that you leave the shopkeeper a list of what you have given him, with the cost of each item, and the terms (and keep a copy for yourself).

[glamgoodies]

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for that, it's something I sort of considered in the past. Maybe now's the time to do something about it:D

[BusinessIdeas]

Hi Teresa, welcome to the forums. Sales in most retail markets are up and down at the moment, so in my opinion it wouldn't be a good time to invest lots of time or money. If you can expand your venues without spending too much money, then maybe that is the way to go, best of luck - Gina :)

[glamgoodies]

Thanks Gina, that's a good point
regards
Teresa

[Monica_ChilliApple]

Hi Teresa,

If you need any help or advise on your website upgrades, please feel free to drop me a line. I might help you since I also belong to the same (Web design) industry.

Happy to help if you want. & yes, I'm at Medway Innovation Centre, quite close hmmm.....

Thanks,
Monica
ChilliApple Ltd.

[PaddyPawsPetServices]

Hello Glam Goodies from another Kent business!

[glamgoodies]

Hi Monica,
Thanks for that I may well be in touch once I've gone through my product range
kind regards
Teresa

[glamgoodies]

Hi Paddypaws,
Hope things look up for you, have you tried doing a leaflet drop in more affluent areas like Hempstead etc to try and boost trade, or see if you could put a poster up in popular dog walking areas like Riverside or Capstone country parks advertising your service? (a great name by the way)
kind regards
Teresa

[OCP]

Hi Teresa,

Pretty new here myself also, although i am starting to spend more and more time on forums lately...

Do you have a website? If not then this may help although its not the be all and end all of everything.

You have a niche product and i feel you could do really well, why not contact other companies who have websites offering gifts and see if they want to resell your product. A lot of good looking sites with huge traffic going to them are small companies who are allways looking for good stock they can sell as there own.Could you offer dropshipping for them?

As a start why not come up with a wedding range and contact wedding planning sites offering a range for there customers.

just a thought

Ian

[glamgoodies]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your reply, you've come up with a couple of ideas that I hadn't thought of so thank you for that, I might go and see what I can find now:)
kind regards
Teresa

[OCP]

your welcome, good luck with it !

[Monica_ChilliApple]

Hi Teresa,

For sure, anytime.....I'm just a PM away.

Thanks,
Monica
ChilliApple Ltd.