Building a business is all about numbers. Not just money, followers, likes... you got profit margins, product volume, inventory, trending product analytics... it can definitely get overwhelming fast if you're not careful.
As some of you may (or may not) have noticed, I have quietly added a retail product line to the brand. I have slowly begun to market, but I'm not taking an "go hard" approach. With the transition from stand to retail and catering for the season, I'm not trying to overwhelm everyone with the new line. This approach might come back to bite me later, but then again, it might be the perfect approach. I guess we'll find out together.
Over the last few weeks, I have been working diligently on a plan to launch the online store. I have spent countless hours researching the best platforms, quality products, proper ways to market, trending analytics.... honestly, not the most fun stuff, but seriously interesting to see all of those things come together in real time. Diving headfirst into all of this, I have learned quite a bit.
#1: If you are selling online and not seeing results, you're doing it wrong. (Chill out. Don't take it personally, I'm talking about me too...)
This is the number one reason that people give up so easily. It can become disheartening when you put some much time and effort into something to bear very little result. Often, we are overthinking it. Designs, product, all of it. There are a ton of free tools and resources available to help decipher what's hot, what's not, and what is about to take off.
#2: If someone says to you "You're never going to succeed because the market is saturated", it's because they tried and failed and are placing blame on everything and everyone but themselves.
I said what I said. A saturated market is exactly where you want to be. Saturated = demand and where there is demand, there is money to be made. If you aren't making money in a saturated market, it's time to make some changes. Do your homework. You're probably much closer than you think.
#3: Profit margins. This is always a touchy subject. Ideally, the higher the profit margin, the more desirable the business. While this it true in most every case, 100% profit margin is unrealistic, especially if you are cranking out a quality product. I heard a quote from Mark Cuban (arguably one of the best) that really stuck with me. He said, "It's better to have 60% of the watermelon than 100% of the grape." I took this to mean a few different things. The most profound being, it's okay to have the overhead. If you have the volume, you will be just as (if not more) profitable. Use the example of on Etsy seller. Etsy has their fees and monthly subscription to use their platform, but the traffic is insane. I know, me, personally, when I am looking for a specific item, I can go to Etsy, type in "Dapper looking racoon wearing a fedora holding an ice cream cone on a t-shirt" and get results. I may never have found that perfect tee, otherwise. If the first place I look is Etsy for those specific products, so are a lot of other people. You would be surprised at how much traffic you'll see, making the fees and subscription costs worth it. And if you're utilizing a print on demand service, even better. You don't have to deal with physical inventory, gas, trips to the local ship store, packaging... you can design your product, list it, and make money while you sleep. If you're selling your shirt for $20 and it cost you $10 to print and ship, 50 cents to list, and $1 of each sale goes to seller fees, you're making a cool $8.50 per piece you sell. If you did your "what's trending" homework and sell 50 of those bad boys a day, that's $425. Even at 30 that's $255. It may not seem like much, but it adds up quick. Now, imagine having multiple products simultaneously doing the same...
I don't have all the answers, and I am not a bazillionaire. (secretly, I'm trying though) If you want it, go get it. If you have the drive, you're already halfway there. If you're here, reading this blog, stick around. We can work this magic together. There is more than enough to go around.
Feel free to click the gold link at the top of the home page. (wink wink)
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