My sign business had a pretty good day today largely due to a museum that bought 10 signs off me. Unfortunately, the museum was a museum that included the oldest profession and other related topics.
And, as if the museum was not enough, I received a tech support call from a “ranch” in Nevada that also engaged in the oldest profession.
Any lessons to be learned here? None other than the downward spiral of society in general.
I did it yesterday! I supposedly solved all of my web server problems. I have been dealing with VERY slow loading web pages on SignsSeen for almost 6 months. Numerous culprits have been blamed:
What did I do? I added more memory–2 GB to be exact. And, all of that would be great if the site indeed loading more quickly. I did choose to have the server upgraded mid-morning–even though it would cause customer problems. Fortunately, my consultants did confirm the web server effectively resuscitated. And, after the consultants get back from their Indian holiday on October 6th, I am sure my web server will finally achieve its own nirvana.
I have had built my business to be mobile over the past few years, and that mobility allowed it to move to Texas from Ohio with very few snags. But, when I built the mobility in, I did not realize how I was accident-proofing my business. In the past 6 months, both my hard drive and video have gone out on my computer. And, although I (rather my business) purchased a new computer today, these are the things I have done that have prevented the problems from crippling my business.
I may have missed something, but if anyone else has any other thoughts or ideas, let me know.
Well, it has been quite awhile since I did a post. But, since it has, it is convenient that the subjects are tied together…
During September of 2009, I did begin the process of training a backup. It has had its ups and downs, but this is why it has been successful:
What was the driver in hiring a consultant? Beyond the possible burnout, my wife wanted to take a family vacation over Christmas. Prior to this hire, I had always taken my laptop with me. But, on this vacation, I could leave the laptop at home and know that all customers and orders could still be addressed. It was a VERY good feeling!!
I am fortunate to being a business that does not seem to be slowing–online portable sign sales. It is only my theory, but I believe the slowing economy has many small businesses choosing to spend a couple of hundred dollars for a sign. It is REAL money, but with the slow economy, they have an even greater need to stand out from their competition. Very typical customers are pizza shops, small retailers, and businesses that are ran out of homes while serving multiple locations.
And, with business maintaining OR growing, I am in the position of determining if I should stay REAL busy OR should I hire a more permanent part-time person to assist with daily tasks? (I use a couple resources, but only for a few hours per month.) And, this is the quandary I find myself in. Do I take on the overhead with the hope of growing some new market niches? Do I partner with an existing business with complimentary skills? Will the economy turn soon? Do I risk growing a mostly manageable business into something that will raise my overall overhead? (i.e. rental space, employees, various government obligations, etc.)
I have been very blessed to have my business, so I will trust the ONE who gave me the business to make everything else clear….
I have a couple of websites on Ebay. And, I also wanted to have websites to sell products outside of Ebay. I tried one option that allowed me to pay a monthly fee AND a percentage of my final sale. And, beyond financial issues, I never fully used the product. After additional searching, I found Prostores.
A few of the reasons I like ProStores….
If there are any questions about how I use my sites OR if you need some assistance trying to run your own sites, please let me know.
As I have 2 different product lines I sell on line, I also have 2 methods of exploring buying from China.
My main business is in the advertising area. In April, I began the process to get a product developed in China. On this product, I chose to work with one of my suppliers and to have them interface with the Chinese manufacturer for me. What follows are the steps thus far:
I do not yet have my product. And, by the time I do, it would have been at least 6 months from the beginning to the end of the process.
Of course, the second option is contacting the supplier directly. And, the main issue here is the cost and time of shipping a product directly from China to customers. I am exploring the flexibility of the Chinese supplier. And, depending how it turns out, other posts may follow……
I have had a couple of correspondences with a gentlemen on the SCORE website. What follows is a scrubbed version of my recent response to some of his questions:
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…….. I started my business and then looked into opportunities that would allow me to grow. In your case, could this mean you start a side business doing something very similar to your present business? Are you in the “HIS PRODUCT” business or are you in a “personalized gift business”? (Is that a good three word description?)
* Could you set up a variety of “HIS PRODUCT” websites and sell them on ebay? The buyer would be responsible for the marketing and you would fulfill the orders? And, you would make money on the website sale…
* Is there an opportunity to wholesale some of the items you use?
* Are there “green” products you might use that would give you an “in” with certain groups? (i.e. Can the ‘HIS PRODUCT’ be made of something that will biodegrade rather than glass/plastic?)
* Can you donate 5% of proceeds to some charity?
* Can you set up an Ebay store (less than $15/month)? I do this right now KNOWING I will take a loss on some of my auctions, but the goal is to get eyes on my products.
* Can you do something (like the custom design idea) that will allow you to send “HIS PRODUCT” over the internet? Yes, it would resemble a email postcard, BUT you could theme it and maybe get some good use out of it. My recent logic is to develop some FREE tool that will draw people because they want to use the tool, and then offer your “paying” service on the side.
As to some of your specific questions:
1. I would not spend $22 on ‘HIS PRODUCT’ unless I was pretty far in the doghouse, BUT I am a father of 4 kids under 13. I am not your target market. If others will spend, then I encourage you to charge appropriately. BUT, if people are not spending, it would serve you well to do something with your price. Either change the content to justify an increase or decrease–your call. If it is a “soft” market, I would encourage you to look at ways to decrease the price.
2. With Google, make sure you are off the “content” network–the clicks are not of very good quality.
3. You can certainly do the “sexy” side if you want. One negative is the site may get blocked as adult content. AND, I am a conservative guy, so mixing the two would be an issue for me. However, you may want to consider a different site to market those more adult items.
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If you knew the product, the post might be more relevant, but if you are reading this, I hope y0u got something out of it.
Until next post….
As a small business owner, you have your days when just wonder why you continue to do it. Others can go out and work their 8 or 9 hours. They come home after their day, and don’t worry about any of the stuff they left behind. (Of course, they may worry about their job.) But as a business owner, I can’t often take time off. And, when I don’t take time off, I have to deal with things like this:
First, I have already talked about my ebay web store. It has been a great adventure for both my sons and I. We cut the order, and have them shipped often within 24 hours. We really try hard to take care of the customers. However, it seems sometimes you do everything right, and it still goes wrong. Recently, this happened when we received a “neutral” feedback on Ebay. And, a neutral feedback is not so bad. EXCEPT, when you are at 100% feedback, you now no longer are 100%. After fuming a bit, I research the person who left this feedback. My feedback was, “Generic filter…low quality…Filters needs to be cut to fit.”. Feedback he left for others was something like, “High Shipping charges – $9 for Priority !?” Well, he had to know the shipping before he purchased. All of this to say, sometime you do everything right, and a customer who is having a BAD day decides not to contact a seller with a very high rating to try and work it out. They decide, “It will be fun to take them off of their pedestal of being 100%. I will give them a rating so they won’t be.” And, that is his option, and I also have options. (Ebay doesn’t let you give negative or neutral feedback anymore.) So, I have blocked this seller so EVEN if he wanted to buy from me again, he can’t.
Second, I had a rather slow day for orders. And, when I received a call from a customer who wanted me to give them a deal, I said, “Sure.” I was not making a huge profit, but I was still making something. I eventually had another couple of orders, and thought, “It was an okay day.” Then, later that evening, the customer calls and says the order must be canceled. He was having financial problems and couldn’t afford it. Obviously, I refunded his money. However, he will NEVER get that deal again.
Third, I had a customer who purchased from me. From the start, I had concerns about what she was trying to do to me. She went to the credit card company for a full refund when I wouldn’t give her a sizeable refund based on dubious evidence. What follows is the memo that was prepared to try and contest her chargeback claim.: (The customer’s name has been changed.)
1. The sign was received by Ms. Smith on 4/14/08. The signed Bill of Lading (see attached Bills of Lading that were faxed) by both the trucking company and the receiving person at Ms. Smith’s company did not indicate that there was any damage to the box or sign. Generally, when an item is damaged upon arrival, the general practice is to reject delivery so the buyer avoids being charged with receipt of goods. Ms. Smith or her representative accepted delivery. There is an unsigned Bill of Lading (see faxed Bills of Lading) that my company, SignsSeen, received from Ms. Smith on 4/28/08 which indicated damage. I contacted the delivery company who indicated the delivery was “clean” and they only consider the signed Bill of Lading as valid for delivery purposes.
2. The merchandise was shipped to a business, not a consumer address. Ms. Smith works at a Drury Inn and, from her e-mails, seemed somewhat knowledgeable about signs. No doubt the Drury Inn has received deliveries in the past and would know the practice is to reject delivery of damaged goods or understands that an unsigned delivery receipt is not valid.
3. In addition, Ms. Smith waited almost 2 weeks before contacting my company the first time to complain of any damage to the sign. The sign was delivered on 4/14/08 and she contacted my company on 4/26/08. The manufacturer requires notice within 24 hours of receipt by the buyer. It is unusual for a customer to wait that long to complain about damaged goods due to shipping and unreasonable for a customer to expect that anything can be done to rectify the situation after that length of time. There is no proof that the damage that Ms. Smith claims to have occurred due to shipping had actually occurred. Ms. Smith’s handling of the merchandise during this time period after delivery and before contacting me on 4/26/08 could have caused the damage to the sign.
4. Ms. Smith took the sign to a local sign store for customization. Ms. Smith’s local sign shop was upset that I had sold the sign less expensively than they would have sold it to her. They called the manufacturer, Wayne Industries, to complain about this. My sales rep at the manufacturer talked to the local sign company who did the custom vinyl work for Ms. Smith’s sign My sales rep informed me that the local sign company never mentioned any damage to him during the phone call.
5. I have attached some additional information that was excluded from the email thread provided when the complaint was filed. In this previously excluded information, I was very willing to work with Ms. Smith. However, throughout our email thread, Ms. Smith very typically received a same day response from me. And, I waited for up to a week or more in some cases for her response.
6. Ms. Smith is still in possession of the sign.
7. I respectfully request that you reverse the chargeback and find in my favor as there is no evidence to support that the merchandise arrived in a damaged state. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
So, I may lose a few hundred dollars if I lose the chargeback claim. Completing this was good, but it is still stressful having your honesty questioned.
BUT, the good thing that happened was I started a new website two weeks ago. AND, I received my first sale already. Not a large sale, but it confirms I am doing something right. And, although financially it doesn’t balance the negatives financially of the first three items listed, having success so quickly on a new venture is a BIG positive.
You can’t tell what type of customer is going to come your way. Most of them are honest and have realistic expectations. And, when they aren’t, you hope they go to your competition. 😉
Any thoughts?
Visit my new site at: www.archer-trading.com
As a SCORE volunteer, I was recently the question, “How do I put together a business plan for a wholesale distribution company?” And, this was my reply….
Well, as many of us are doing, we are trying to find a way to make a little more money to cover expenses. And, if we are really ambitious, we are taking it to the next level. (i.e. putting together a formal business plan)
If I were you, before I dive in, I would do one of the following:
Additionally, I would:do some searches on business plans. There may be some out there that are “close” to what you want to do. If they are available to be used as templates, then pull one of those down and start. do a search on “wholesale goods”. (or similar search) They will give you projections as to what you make actually make when you sell the items. (If you do the Ebay experiment, you can possibly support the data quoted on the wholesalers website.)
And, if you have further questions, feel free to contact me directly or view what other resources are available on the SCORE.org site.
Walking Down Life's Road With Andy 