Launching A Business

Welcome to my Launching a Business Series! Click here to read what it is all about.

This is week 9 & here is what we have discussed so far:

1. Researching your product to see if there is a market for it.
2. How to price your product.
3. Finding time to work from home with small children.
4. The different venues to sell your products: retail, wholesale, consignment, etc.
5. Making & selling your product.
6. Exposing your business to local media.
7. Selling on the Internet.
8. Money

This is the last week for this series. Hope it has helped you in some way! :)

10 tips for Launching A Business:
1. Take advantage of free or inexpensive advertising, especially in this current economy. Giveaways are a cheap way to promote your business & quite popular in the blog world right now. You can write off the product on your taxes as well. Here @ The Gift Closet I offer 7 ways to promote your business, several of which are free! Email me if you are interested.
2. Make your customers happy. Provide great customer service & people will spread the word about your business...for you. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising! Be kind & keep your word.
3. Network! Need I say more? Twitter, Facebook, chat rooms, you get the picture.
4. Find a Mentor. It's always helpful to find someone in the industry to get advice from. Finding someone in another state or region who won't feel like you are in competition with is best.
5. Email customers once a month with new products &/or specials. Reminding them of your presence will hopefully make them think of you next time they need something!
6. Know your competition. You can get great ideas from your competitors. Don't copy them, but staying abreast of the current products out there will keep your ideas fresh as well.
7. Persistence is key in sales.
8. Bartering products for advertising or other services can save you money(I'm open to that by the way ~wink, wink ~).
9. You have to believe in what you are selling to be able to sell it. If you aren't confident in your product, your customers will see that.
10. Love what you do! That will show through as well.

Hope you have enjoyed this series & be sure to check me out at Mom Blog Mania!



Click here to enter to win one of my Scrabble Pendants over @ Jolly Mom!

Tuesday's Tip - Money!

Congrats to #9 Collegesahm! Thanks to random.org for the drawing and thanks to Pleated Poppy for the giveaway! She is the winner of the posy pins from the Mamalicious Monday giveaway yesterday! :)

Welcome to my Launching a Business Series! Click here to read what it is all about.

This is week 8 & here is what we have discussed so far:

1. Researching your product to see if there is a market for it.
2. How to price your product.
3. Finding time to work from home with small children.
4. The different venues to sell your products: retail, wholesale, consignment, etc.
5. Making & selling your product.
6. Exposing your business to local media.
7. Selling on the Internet.

This week I want to talk a little about money! The downside to owning your own business, especially if you try to cut costs & run it alone in the beginning, is that you are everything! The CEO, accountant, sales, marketing, receptionist...well, you get the picture! And that can be stressful. Most people are not good at all of those things at the same time. So, when your business takes off, and if you can afford it, you certainly should have at least 1 person to help you out. Otherwise, it can be very stressful!

When starting or running a business in this current economy, you need to learn to run it as frugally as possible. You don't want to dump a bunch of money into something that isn't going to fly. I do have an accountant that helps me with taxes, tax questions, etc. And if you develop a relationship with bank mangers they can be very helpful as well. Here are a few tips for starting and running your business on the "frugal" side! If you are trying to run a business in this current economy, I think it's safe to say we all need to be as conservative as possible with our money right now.

1. Don't invest a lot up front. Start with the basics. Get a feel for the market and see if your product is going to sell before you invest a lot in your business.

2. Evaluate each product, or your business as a whole, after 6 months-1 year. If you don't see it improving, sales increasing, an interest in your product, or if it's not worth the time you are investing, it may be time to quit, or take a break. I know they say it takes several years to show a profit, but that's on paper for tax purposes...you should be making some kind of money in the 1st year!

3. The 60/40 rule. This is a good rule to follow. Set aside 40 percent of your gross income as profit. 60% goes back into the business. In other words, if you have $100 in your business account, $60 should be to re-invest in supplies, and materials needed to make your products, things needed to make your products & run your business. 40% is your paycheck. You can invest a little more of your paycheck if you choose, but be sure when you look at your account balance, realize not all of that is profit. It is really nice to be able to pay cash for your materials, and not go into debt.

4. Take advantage of tax-write-offs! There are a lot of great benefits to working from home and a lot of things you can write off as a result of working from home. Be sure you save all receipts & document everything. It's a lot to keep up with, but worth it. I started a folder and broke it down into these categories below. About once a month I would make sure I had all categories updated, so at tax time, all I had to do was total each category. Check with your accountant if you have any questions.
Here are a few:
-Mileage driven to & from shows, purchasing supplies, business lunches, etc.
-Telephone Bill-a percentage can be written off
-Supplies - envelopes, ink cartiridges, etc.
-Accountant Fees - if you pay someone to do your taxes, you can write off their fee
-Products Given Away - That's right! All those products you give away to drive traffic & attention to your site, you can write it off!
-Stamps, Postage, etc. - Any fees incurred for shipping those products you give away, samples, etc. As long as you pay for the shipping, and not the customer, you can write it off.
-Furniture for office-Bought a new chair for your computer desk? A new desk? A new memo board? Write it off!
-Monthly Internet & Email Expenses
-Advertising Costs - If you network and promote your business wisely, you should not have a lot of out-of-pocket advertising costs. But if you do, write them off! ;)
-Homeowners Association Fees- Here in Georgia ( again check with your local accountant if you are in another state) you can write off your homeowners association fees if you work from home.
-Other Home Fees - Again, check with your local accountant, but this is the way it works in GA. I can't see why it would be different in another state.
Let's say you own a 2500 sq ft home & your office occupies 250 sq ft. That's 10% of your home that is used for an office. So, you can write off 10% of your total utilities for the year. Utilities would include electricity, water, & trash. You can also write off any home repairs, yard maintenance, painting, etc.

I hope these tips help you and please let me know if you have any questions or tips to share. Thanks so much!!

Would you like to be featured @ The Gift Closet? Email me or leave a comment here! Have a blessed day! :)

Tuesday's Tip - Selling on the Internet

The winner of yesterday's Mamalicious Monday contest is #1 Krystyn. Congrats!!! ;)

Welcome to the 7th week of my "Launching A Business" series! Click here to learn more about it.

The things we have discussed so far:
1. Researching your product to see if there is a market for it.
2. How to price your product.
3. Finding time to work from home with small children.
4. The different venues to sell your products: retail, wholesale, consignment, etc.
5. Making & selling your product.
6. Exposing your business to local media.

This week I want to talk about the different ways to sell your product on the Internet. Again, if you have suggestions you want to make in addition to this, please feel free to leave a comment and share!

1. Website
Of course, the most common way would be to have a website. That is probably going to be the easiest way for customers to shop & purchase products from you. There are some great affordable web hosts out there. Ask around, or take a look at some of your favorite sites to see who their host is. I believe I paid around $10 per month for a very basic site and I used a company called Verve Hosting. Unless you know someone willing to cut you a deal on designing your site, or can do it yourself, that is where it is going to cost you the bucks....the designing of the site.

2. Blog
Another way you can sell your products, and not invest a ton of money into designing a whole website, would be to sell through your blog. You can set up paypal for people to order off your blog, or have them email you orders. If you don't have a huge budget to start your business, or want to "test the waters" before you invest more money, this would be a great way to do it. There are lots of great blog designers out there, but I use Tracy from Sweet Cheeky Designs. She is great to work with, can do just about anything, and she is fast!

3. Social Networking
Social Networks online can be another great tool to make contacts, and eventually sales. I know tons of people on Facebook. I wish I had the time for it and maybe I just need to carve some out! I know there are a lot of companies on Facebook, and it can be a great way to promote your product. Others would be My Space, Twitter, & other social networks where you can visit chat rooms, etc. Anything you can join to get your company name & products out there is beneficial.

Got business tips you want to share? Please leave a comment here!

Interested in a link exchange? Please email me at heatherldt at bellsouth dot net

Have a blessed day!

Tuesday's Tip - Exposing Your Business to Local Media

The winner of yesterday's Mamalicious Monday contest is #4 Jen E @MomBlogsALot. Winner selected by random. org...congrats!!! ;)

Welcome to the 6th week of my "Launching A Business" series! Click here to learn more about it.

The things we have talked about the last couple of weeks are:
1. Researching your product to see if there is a market for it.
2. How to price your product.
3. Finding time to work from home with small children
4. We talked about the different venues to sell your products: retail, wholesale, consignment, etc.
5. Making & selling your product.

This week I want to offer a few tips on exposing your business, or product, to media. Look for local magazines and newspapers to start with. You may want to look for articles written about local businesses, unique products, etc. What I have done in the past is simply contact the person who wrote the article directly. Introduce yourself, tell them what you make/offer, why it is unique. Ask them if they would be interested in writing a feature on your, your company, or product. The worst thing they can do is say no. A lot of papers/magazines will have the writer's email address or contact info. at the beginning of it, or at the end of the article itself.

I live just South of Atlanta, GA. One time I contacted a writer for the Atlanta-Journal Consitution, (via email) who featured new & interesting products. I asked her if I could send her a sample of my Body Butter, she received it, wrote about it, and the day it came out in the paper, I started receiving orders @ 5:30am that day and for days on end after that. It was great!

I also contacted my local home town newspaper and they came out and took pics of me making my product, and wrote a feature in the paper about my company. Another local magazine actually did a radio interview with me.

So, never take for granted what local media can do for you. You never know how many readers they have.

Another tip, not really media related...is to contact your local Small Business Administration, or look up the local website. They offer lots of great tips and advice for starting a business, including writing a business plan.

Again, if you have questions, or want to offer advice on any of this, please leave a comment here.

Would you like to get your product in front of thousands of readers? I offer multiple ways to do that here @ The Gift Closet. One is, for only $5, you can have your graphic at the bottom of my next Win It Wednesday post! These posts are the most visited on my blog. Email me today for more info. Heatherldt at bellsouth dot net

Tuesday's Tip-Selling Your Product

First, to announce the winner from Mamalicious Monday....#10 colleen_mouse...congrats and thanks to all who played!!! :)

Welcome to the 5th week of my "Launching Your Business" series! Click here to learn more about it.

The things we have talked about the last couple of weeks are:
1. Researching your product to see if there is a market for it.

2. How to price your product.

3. Finding time to work from home with small children

4. Last Tuesday we talked about the different venues to sell your products: retail, wholesale, consignment, etc.

So,now that you have researched the market for your product,priced it, and decided what venues you will choose to sell your product.....

The next step is to start making and selling your product! This is the most exciting part to me....introducing your product/business to the world! Of course, the 1st thing to do it order your supplies and make a few samples. Again, be sure you compare prices on your supplies. Don't just order from the 1st supplier you come across. Look for local suppliers as well so you can save on shipping and time.

So you have ordered your supplies, and made a few samples. I like to start by maybe giving a few samples out to family & friends to get feedback and get the word out.

You will need to take some quality pictures of your products(s) as well. What I do is take some good pics of the product and compose an email to send out introducing your product and a picture.

Tips for your introduction email:
1.Don't overload the email with too many pics.
2. Remember, first impressions are everything, so make sure you are saying everything you need to, have a good picture of the product, and do your spell check!
3. Introduce the product itself, write about the benefits of it, list the price, include a picture, and ask for the order.
3.If you have people that have already tried it and have positive comments, you can share those.
4. Keep it brief, because people won't want to (nor do they have time to, think about how many emails you get per day) read a lengthy email.
5. Wrap it up by telling them how to order. For example, "Email me or call me at..... to place your order today!" Or: "Hop on over to my website at www.....com to order yours today!"

You may or may not get orders with that first email. Chances are you will get at least one. Persistence is key and by sending out monthly emails with specials...you are basically reminding them about your product. It may take a while to catch on, but persistence pays off!

I hope this has helped you in Launching Your Business and if you have any subjects you want me to write about, please email me or leave a comment here! Thank you for reading and supporting The Gift Closet!!!

Tuesday's Tip - Selling Methods

Before moving onto the 4th week of my "Launching Your Business" Series...I need to announce a couple of winners! (Click here to learn more about "Launching Your Business").

The winner of the Valentine Treat Toppers from Knapp Scraps is #35 Jessica!
The winner of the Love My Baby Necklace from Love My Baby Jewelry is #6 Lisa w/ Human Touch Designs!
Congrats to the winners!

Click here to hop on over to The Downs Gang Blog to win a Gift Certificate to The Gift Closet!

Today I want to talk a little about different methods for selling your "wares".

With the Bath & Body company I owned a few years ago, I pursued all types of venues.

A friend and mentor in the business once told me that your wholesale orders will pay the cost of running your business, and your retail orders are what will bring most of your profit. I found that to be very true!

Wholesale:
In trying to determine whether or not you will be able to wholesale, you will need to have first come up with your cost...in other words, what it takes for you to actually make the product. (Click here for the "Pricing Your Product" post).
In order to garner a decent profit, you usually need to be able to at least double your cost when selling it. For example, let's just say it costs you $1 to make your product. You could wholesale it for $2 or more. But the kicker is...the owner that is purchasing your product at your wholesale price, needs to be able to then double that price so they can make a profit. So, if they pay you $2 for it, they need to be able to sell it for $4. Make sense? If you don't think they will be able to in turn double your wholesale price, and not have it be sky-high, then wholesale may not be for you.

How do you find wholesale accounts? Well, it's takes lots of time, energy, and money! I personally, started by going to local businesses. Usually your local community will be the most willing to help you get started, especially the local smaller stores. The bigger chains are going to be harder to break into, cuz you'll have to go to corporate to contact a buyer. I also was able to garner wholesale accounts through local media. I'll talk more about how to break into local media later, as well as cold calling & contacting businesses.
I had wholesale accounts in 13 states when I sold my company. A quick way to garner wholesale accounts is to go to market in Atlanta, Dallas, or your closest one. Last I checked it cost about $2,000 to go, but I don't know what it would cost now. That decision would depend on how much you are willing to invest in your company. I, personally, was not willing to invest that much time away from home and money.

Retail:
Retail sales are probably what most of you are used to. Selling your product on your website, etsy, at local shows, etc.

Local Craft Shows:Again, this is something I started locally. I searched newspapers for local art, craft, hand-made shows, etc. I tried to participate in as many as I could afford. Again, this was something I would re-evaluate after several shows to see if it was profitable enough considering the time I was putting into it. A lot of times you will need tables, tents, chairs, etc.

Home Shows:I also tried doing some home shows. You know, sort of like Mary Kay, etc. A friend hosted a party, I came up with a "Hostess Benefit" plan, tried to book other parties, etc. I sold a lot at the party itself, but never really went too far with booking more.

Schools: If you know someone at a school that might be a good contact to have! I would come in after school was out, set up in the breakroom, and sell products there as well. I would try to have a show at a school maybe twice a year.

Word-Of-Mouth: Studies have proven over & over that word-of-mouth, is by far, the most effective way to market & sell your product. People are going to listen to what their friends recommend. So come up with creative ways to spread the word about your product and be sure to thank those who are sending customers your way!

Internet/Website: I could write all day on the endless opportunities and sites there are to sell your product on. I would recommend trying any and everything you can think of, to see what works for you. Especially with the current economy! I am big on re-evaluating things I am doing to see if they are profitable or not. You can get affordable websites, and *blogs* ;) are a great way to sell your product, and not have to spend loads of money on a fancy website. Of course there is etsy, ebay, and other sites available to sell your wares!

Hiring a Sales Rep: I actually had customers approach me who loved the product so much, they wanted to sell it for me. That was good....but you have to be very careful with this. At 1 point I had about 5-6 reps in other states. That can be very difficult, because not only do you have to be able to make money, but they have to be able to make money, if they are "wholesaling" it, their buyers have to be able to make money as well. You really have to have a high-end product, with a large profit margin. I set up training manuals for them, and paid them commissions, based on their sales. I also would wholesale it to them, but they had to have a tax id# & purchase a certain amount of product. I did run into people just wanting to know my profits, my suppliers, etc. That is not something you want to entrust to anyone, unfortunately. So, while this can be a great way to broaden your business nationally, it can be stressful and you really need a mentor or advisor for this type of selling.

Well, I don't want to get too "wordy" today, so I'll wrap it up for now! Thanks for reading & commenting & for sending questions my way.....keep 'em comin' & best wishes for a profitable week!

Got a Business-Related Question? Email me at heatherldt at bellsouth dot net. ;)

Tuesday's Tip - Pricing Your Product

Welcome to my "Launching Your Business" series. For more info on what this is, please click here.

This week I want to talk a little about how to price your product. First you can start by searching the Internet for the exact competition of your product. For example, let's say you sell Soy Lotion in a 4 oz plastic bottle. Do a search on "4 oz Soy Lotion". Be as specific as you can. After finding at least 3 competitor's prices, I try to price mine somewhere in the middle. You don't necessarily want to be the lowest, because that doesn't always say "quality".

You can also shop competitors at local stores. I usually see what my competitors are pricing theirs at and go somewhere in the middle. I also try to think...what would I pay for this product? You can also ask close friends and family & get their opinions as to what they would pay for something. Chances are they are going to be your fist customers anyway! ;)

Someone once told me my Scrabble Pendants were to cheap. I personally wouldn't pay much more for one than what I sell it for...so I left it at that price. Don't get too greedy and price too high. And don't sell yourself short by pricing it too low.

In order to price your product, you need to figure out exactly how much it costs you to produce it as well. That includes taxes, shipping, etc. Come up with a complete cost per item. Let's say it costs me $2.50 to make something. All my competitors are selling it for $4.00. You have to ask yourself is it really worth $1.50?

This may be a crazy way of doing things, but here is how I kind of figure out if something is going to be worth my time. Let's just say I am making Bubble Bath and it takes me 1 hour to make 15 bottles....start to finish...labeling it and everything. I have figured my cost, what I will sell it for, and come up with a profit of $2.00 per bottle. So, if I can make 15 bottles in one hour at $2.00 profit per bottle...that means I am paying myself $30 per hour. Not too shabby!

I once wanted to make notecards. After looking at the time it would take me & the cost of the product, I could not justify doing it as a business. If it is a passion, and your number one goal is not necessarily making money, then go for it! But if you are looking for a decent profit, then, this is something worth considering.

So, that's just a little help in pricing your product. Next week I will discuss wholesale versus retail. Questions or comments on this post? Please leave a comment here or email me.

Interested in advertising on The Gift Closet? This blog receives over 10,000 hits per month. I offer 6 ways to promote your business on The Gift Closet! Email me at heatherldt at bellsouth dot net today to receive your Media Kit!

Tuesday's Tip- Launching Your Business

My Dad instilled in me the Entrepreneurial spirit at an early age. As a child I collected news from neighbors, typed it up, then sold it as the "Neighborhood Newspaper". Since then I have been in sales most of my life, selling everything from Lumber to Body Butter. I was the #1 salesperson in the US for Chase Staffing before I left the company to stay home w/ my 1st child. While staying home, I got ancy, started a Soy Bath & Body Company, grew it to a nationwide business, then sold it 2 years later for a profit, again, to focus on the 2nd baby.

I say all that not to "toot my own horn", but to let you know that I want to use my experience to help those of you who have your own business, are thinking of starting one, or just launched your company or website.

I have had lots of people email or call me asking for "business" advice. By no means do I consider myself an expert, and some things I am going to share may be old news to some of you. Either way, what I would like to announce is that, starting today, my Tuesday's Tips are going to be all about helping you with your business! You'll read about marketing, accounting, networking.....and anything else you want to know, let me know!!

I love to help people, and I look forward to helping anyone I can with their business endeavors!! Hence, my Friday's Features and Giveaways...I am all about promoting you!! I have learned it is better to give than to receive and it gives me much joy to help & serve others!

If you have questions please feel free to leave a comment here or email me at anytime.

I don't want to make this a super long post, so please check back next Tuesday as I look forward to helping you launch and grow your business!