The bottom line....

[sparklyscotty]

Hi folks,
Well, after a year of trading I am totally at a loss as to what to do now. I am working as hard as I can and have built up some great contacts and customers. My work is being stocked in shops and galleries around the country. However, I am still waiting for that turnaround point when I start to make money. I have a big overdraft in my business account, and a big debt on my personal credit card because I have used it to subsidise both the business and me while waiting for money to come in. I know most people say that they don't make a profit for the first two years, but I don't think financially I can stick out another year like this. My questions is how do you know what is realistic and what is blind optimism?
I am under a lot of pressure from family to throw in the towel and 'get a real job' but if I do that, I would probably have to file for bankruptcy, as I couldn't possibly repay my debts.
I can check my figures and know that if I get x amount of orders a month I make enough money to pay myself and bills, but of course it only takes a couple of months for orders to be less than that break even point for things to go backwards.
Help!
-Angel-

[Rob]

Angel,

Clearly not an inspiring position to be in but at least you have taken the first and most important two steps which is realising you have a problem and seeking advice.

At this stage your aim is to start questioning everything about your business; question every assumption you have made to see if it true; question everything you do. Sounds obvious but without all the questions you are not going to get all the answers.

Here are some questions to ask of yourself to kick the process off.

1. You say you have ‘great contacts and customers’. Do you really? Are they that great if they are not turning in orders or enough orders? Are there any that you are wasting your time on, time which can be better spent elsewhere generating new and potentially more profitable business?

2. You are stocked in shops and galleries around the country. Have you gone for quantity instead of quality? That is have you targeted the right shops that are more likely to bring you business or have you gone for the ‘gunshot’ approach. Sometimes less is more. Examine which are right for your product and ditch the rest – saves time and you can utilise the stock elsewhere

3. Still considering the shops and galleries have you asked them their views on your product? They may know why it’s not selling. Wrong packaging? Stocked at the back of the shop where no one goes? Just doesn’t fit in what else they are selling? Ask them

4. What marketing are you doing, or are you sitting back in the hope that the product will sell itself? Doesn’t happen this way. Have you explored all the different ways you could market your goods? Spend some time investigating ideas which other use. Could you adapt them?

Picking up on your point about how do you know the difference between what’s realistic and what’s blind optimism, the truth is you won’t. You are too immersed in the business to see either the positives or negatives – indecision sets in and the usual option comes out – do nothing. For this reason you need to seek further advice on a face-to-face basis. Go and see your local Business Link office or better still an Accountant.

Don’t to the Bank at this stage, you will only frighten them into taking drastic action! Only go to the Bank when you have a clear plan in place and then only go if you have to.

In summary you need to start asking very searching questions and get someone independent to help sort out the good from the bad.

Good luck

[Tin]

Hi Angel

Looking solely from an Internet angle your website has no search engine optimisation (seo) on it. I don't know whether you are actively working the Internet for sales but I don't think you'll get far in that market sector without some seo. If you're looking to improve this side of things I might be able to help.
PM me if it's of interest. Being honest, as for traditional marketing it's not my speciality but others here may well be very helpful for you.

Good luck :-)

[Hayles]

Hi Angel

As well as the practical advice already offered, I wanted to add a few(!) things.

You have my sympathy and total understanding! I have a business (shop) that has cost me a fortune to keep going in the last four months or so and I've felt just as you are.

I asked someone on here the same question as you. When do you know that enough's enough? When should you give up and admit defeat? I don't know the answer. I guess it's when you haven't got the drive to keep going. But don't give up yet. Just because you haven't got the drive today, you might have tomorrow! Take some time out away from the office to clear your head. Then think about how you'd feel six months after you give up the business. Do you think you'd be relieved, or, as I decided, gutted that I didn't try harder for a few months more.

Read the marketing threads and ideas on here for ideas and a good motivational book. These gave me the inspiration I needed to give it one more push. That's what I'm doing now. Whether I'm doing the right thing is yet to be seen, but I'm going to carry on giving it my best shot for another six months and then decide.

You've done the hard work (setting it up), so hang in there. You probably only need one or two really good orders to get your chin up!

I'm really waffling now so I'd better go...

Cheer up and believe in yourself

Hayles

[Jayne]

Hi Angel,

I really hope your sales pick up. I had a look at your site at the tiara section, I think they could be displayed much better, maybe on a model. One or two of them were hard to visualise being warn. Maybe you could ask some of the photographers on here for some tips :D

Jayne

[sparklyscotty]

Hi guys,
Thank for your advice and encouragment. As far as the website goes, I finally managed to have someone else run it for me, but it is slow going. Right now I am focussing on loading products, and setting it all up. Next will be a strong push for SEO and addressing any issues like load times, image quality etc.
I think I have decided to stop going to craft fairs... while I make good money, I have to pay out a lot for travel and tables etc, which makes my profit margin similar to trade, where at least I have a much clearer idea of sales and have a six week lead time to do the work.
I am also going to raise some of my prices and cancel some of my lower end items.
The bridal market is certainly lucrative, but difficult to make sales in. I am already advertised on two majoy bride sites, but so far only get about one sale every six months from them despite my monthly newsletter to everyone who visits the sites.
I will probably give it till the end of the year and see what trade re orders I get over the summer season.
Thanks again, will keep you posted!
-Angel-

[fridayteam]

February is never a good time for retail sales and the weather is terrible! Those 2 things make everything seem worse.

Concentrate on pushing the items that do sell quickly and incorporate that into the products that feature on your front page. Perhaps make a tally of your sales so far and find out what is your bread and butter. Remember this can change from month to month.

I will give you a free feature for your site if you like. Do you have a press release? Where in Scotland are you?

[Anonymous]

Angel,

You have had some great advice on this thread... a lot of us out here empathise 100%
Hope things start looking up for you.

I agree with Fridayteam... (would have put a quote in here but can't figure out how to do them!!)

Perhaps a touch of the winter-blues is clouding your success...after all, you're still here! :wink: Keep at it, good luck!

SM