Opening a small business

[cokebabies]

Local networking / Chamber of Commerce etc. events can be a great and very cheap way of getting your name and reputation out there. This is usually more helpful for business to business instead of business to customer, but knowing other business owners can be a great help.

It can make a big difference, depending on where you live. When I was on Long Island, "in person" was much less important than here in Colorado Springs.

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

I own a small business. Working for others is unacceptable

 

[devilof76]

Didn't really read the thread but from the parts I skimmed: AllisonAmy is selling porn out of The Ween's garage!?

Porn and cake.

 

[The Ween]

Porn and cake.

Porn cakes.......I make those!

 

[devilof76]

All you're missing is handmade jewelry.

 

[firefly2121]

Good luck on your new business.

 

[Jen]

To bring people in you could try something like Groupon...if they have that there. It can bring a lot of new people in and if they like your merchandise hopefully a good percentage of them will be repeat customers.

 

[The Ween]

Local networking / Chamber of Commerce etc. events can be a great and very cheap way of getting your name and reputation out there. This is usually more helpful for business to business instead of business to customer, but knowing other business owners can be a great help.

It can make a big difference, depending on where you live. When I was on Long Island, "in person" was much less important than here in Colorado Springs.

Chamber of Commerce is a joke. I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[FLOSI]

Good luck, Allison!

 

[ProgMatinee]

Good luck. Just some other ideas to play devil's advocate:

Have you tried selling from a consignment shop yet?

Or in the same veign have you tried selling to retailers rather than straight to the public?


Hmm. You may want to see about the consignment option, as it will save you rent, having to be there yourself. If your skill is making the jewelry you don't want to waste your time being a sales clerk (or a manager if you hire someone else).

Once you get bigger, a retail space will be good, but don't let high rent kill your business.

 

[Jen]

Most salons/spas in Seattle also carry different jewelry lines...that could be another way to get your product out.

 

[AllisonAmy]

Good Luck Amy

Thanks, Josh! (and it's Allison. Amy is my middle name. ). I'm not sure I could think of a jewelry business name that no one else has thought of, so I just decided to use my name.

Post a link to your Facebook page.

I know it needs a lot of work, but...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/AllisonAmy-wine-glass-charms-jewelry/305362416149575?ref=ts

Good luck AA! You'll be fine, I'm sure!

'Vision without action is just a dream...'

Thanks, beeshaw!

 

[toylion]

Thanks, Josh! (and it's Allison. Amy is my middle name. ). I'm not sure I could think of a jewelry business name that no one else has thought of, so I just decided to use my name.




I know it needs a lot of work, but...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/AllisonAmy-wine-glass-charms-jewelry/305362416149575?ref=ts




Thanks, beeshaw!

Thanks, I'll post it on my wall.

 

[AllisonAmy]

I don't have a business, and never had one previously. . .in fact, I doubt that I have much of any business sense whatsoever. So, should probably ignore this post.

BUT, if I were in your shoes, I would probably start out by drafting a business plan with some clear strategies and goals/objectives. I would also set some realistic benchmarks, and do some periodic evaluation of my current situation to see how well I was doing in relation to those. Key to that is good data. Data is something that I do know and understand, and I'm confident that being able to collect, organize, and interpret data reflecting the effectiveness of your business (general cost/benefit analyses, relative changes in business following different promotional and advertising strategies, projecting estimated profit/loss accounting for seasonal trends, etc.) could only work to your benefit. Data on your competitors would also be nice. There might be some
publicly available tax information that you could get ahold of that might give you an idea of what kinds of profits you can expect if you were more or less as successful as your peers (assuming they report
everything).

I'm not envious of you Good luck!

That is all very good advice. Thank you!

~~Good luck, have fun, and enjoy it for what it is.

Thanks!

One of the absolute biggest advantages to owning a business vs. working for one is tax deductions. Make sure you talk to a tax adviser, because taking advantage of every tax opportunity is crucial to a small business owner. And even if you think you're deducting everything you can, chances are it's just the tip of the iceberg. So definitely talk to someone to make sure you're getting everything.

I am pretty sure I can get my husband to take care of that, he has his MBA and is the VP of finance for the company he works for.

 

[AllisonAmy]

Didn't really read the thread but from the parts I skimmed: AllisonAmy is selling porn out of The Ween's garage!?

Yes; yes I am.

 

[AllisonAmy]

Best of luck to you Allison. It's great that you are going for your dream. Nothing worse than living with regrets and wishing you had had the courage to just go for it. I wish you success!

Thanks, Jen!

It's all about advertising and social media. The biggest mistake people make is dumping all their funds into a business and then having nothing for advertising. Expecting to thrive, let alone survive on walk-ins and word of mouth is the first step to failure. If people don't know, they won't go. Also, make sure you save enough from the income to reinvest in advertising. I've seen sooooooo many businesses dump every penny the advertising brought in, into product etc., forgetting that they need to keep advertising.

I don't doubt any of this for a second. Thanks, Nam.

Local networking / Chamber of Commerce etc. events can be a great and very cheap way of getting your name and reputation out there. This is usually more helpful for business to business instead of business to customer, but knowing other business owners can be a great help.

It can make a big difference, depending on where you live. When I was on Long Island, "in person" was much less important than here in Colorado Springs.

I have started to build my reputation locally by participating in the local craft fairs & markets for the past seven years. Buying local is a very popular mentality in my area. People are getting to know me and like my product.

 

[AllisonAmy]

I own a small business. Working for others is unacceptable

I don't think I can quite my regular job any time soon.

Porn and cake.

Porn cakes.......I make those!

Ween, you are going to be SO RICH.

 

[AllisonAmy]

Good luck on your new business.

Thank you!

To bring people in you could try something like Groupon...if they have that there. It can bring a lot of new people in and if they like your merchandise hopefully a good percentage of them will be repeat customers.

I will have to look into that.

Good luck, Allison!

Thanks, Flosi!

 

[AllisonAmy]

Good luck. Just some other ideas to play devil's advocate:

Have you tried selling from a consignment shop yet?

Or in the same veign have you tried selling to retailers rather than straight to the public?


Hmm. You may want to see about the consignment option, as it will save you rent, having to be there yourself. If your skill is making the jewelry you don't want to waste your time being a sales clerk (or a manager if you hire someone else).

Once you get bigger, a retail space will be good, but don't let high rent
kill your business.

I have sold in consignment shops for about 6 years. At one point, I was in 6 places. Two have gone out of business. I don't like the 30% to 50% commissions they take and there are other reasons I have become disenchanted with them. I am considering pulling everything I have. I haven't made up my mind on that, though.

Most salons/spas in Seattle also carry different jewelry lines...that could be another way to get your product out.

I wish I could afford to hire a sales & marketing manager. I am definitely not a salesperson and walking into shops to see if they would like to buy my product is certainly something I wish I could get someone to do for me.

One thing I would really like to try is to create a brochure. Kind of like an Avon catalog, only about a fourth of the size and maybe put one out every year. Women LOVE to shop from catalogs. I imagine I would just put earrings in it - something that I could easily make a few dozen of at a time. Necklaces would be too expensive and not worth featuring in print if I only had 3 or 4 available.

 

[The Josh]

Thanks, Josh! (and it's Allison. Amy is my middle name. ). I'm not sure I could think of a jewelry business name that no one else has thought of, so I just decided to use my name.

Oops my bad