So, for those of you who are wondering...my open house went alright. The weather was perfect (only a few small drops of rain on Saturday). And I had some people stop by...one in particular who I might get together with this fall and have some scrapbooking/stamping evenings with (inviting other ladies too - this alone may make the open house worth it). As far as sales go, they weren't great, but that's alright. It was mainly an advertising weekend (advertising that I'm here and that I sell scrapbooking supplies) but that goes a long way (let's hope!). So here I am today, looking at numbers and profit and seeing the deadline for my minimum sales approaching quickly and wondering how big an order I make on faith that I will sell some of it (and getting a huge headache quite rapidly). The start of these home businesses are TOUGH!!! I thought people would be flocking to me with all of their scrapbooking needs as soon as I started up! Just kidding...I didn't really think that, but I did hope that doors would open a bit easier than me having to push and push and hope for the best. You know? Anyone out there (Rachael, Kelsie, Marsha) have any advice for a struggling business owner over here? I'm open to any tips/encouragement/words of wisdom that you may have!
3 comments:
Well advice...not sure I have any but here is my experience. Things have been okay for my first 2 quarters but certainly not going as fast and I thought it would. I think exposure is key. You have to let people know that you are out there and in a non-pushy sort of way. I think your open house is a great idea. Do it again in September when more people are around and I bet it will be even bigger.
The other great thing that my director suggested is to do a draw box at a local coffee shop/resturant. Offer a 10 gift certificate or something like that once a month. If you want I can send you the form we use...obviously you'd need to change it to be for scrapbooking but it works great. Because not only do you get a new customer with the draw people can indicate on the form if they want to be contacted for more info...so you can get lots of clients.
As for inventory that's a choice that you and Nathan have to make. I personally have inventory and find that it helps my business a lot. But its totally personal perferance.
And remember its something you love doing and if you share that love with others you will get customers. Genuine is the key but I know thats not a problem for you.
Sorry for the long comment...those are my thoughts. I hope it goes great for you.
PS...I wish we lived closer together so I could be a regular client :) I will be thinking of you! Take care!
Niki, As one of the few customers that did stop by your open house...Thanks for having one! I love the stuff I picked up. As for "spreading the word" for your business, I think you should advertise like crazy. There are a lot of free advertising tools that you could use. Let people know that your out there. Patti
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