I started this blog about 6 months after I actually opened so I am going to try and catch up to current time in the next few segments. My store is in a small community and everybody knows everybody, so after my Grand opening the next few weeks were very good. I think people continued to talk to each other and the word of mouth spread and everyone had to see it for them selves. I also opened in the beginning of the month and as a regular sales tip in retail, the beginning and end of the month are always busier than the middle. I was very happy with the progress. I still had a few ads in the local papers and just upgraded my open sign to one that lights up. I was very busy restocking inventory and making adjustments.
The store was continuing to change. As money allowed, I made improvements. I had laid out in my business plan to expand instead of taking a wage for myself for first several months. I had to plan my expenses at home and have my husbands support to do this but I know a business that continues to grow can have a better percentage for success.
My next challenge was heating for the winter. I purchased and worked to set up the store in September and opened by October. I had an amount budgeted for fuel oil but I had no previous experience with using or buying it. I was informed that because my tank is outside that I need treated fuel to prevent freezing and the minimum purchase is 150 gal at a time. I was hoping to get buy with 100 gal till next month to allow for more income but I had to have heat so I held off on replacing inventory for a week to order fuel. Then the landlord had the furnace serviced and it was just in time for a cold spell that came. I have been keeping the store at 65 during the day and 60 in the evenings and it seems to be a great temperature with customers in their winter coats. Sometimes if it is really cold I plug in a small space heater for my area. I have made a mental note to budget fuel each month and during the summer months order some every coupe months to fill my tanks for the winter and not be worried about the large expense. I may schedule the opposite of my insurance payment months.
"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere" Frank Clark
As October is ending business is slowing down and I am having extremely slow days. It is busy one day and very few people the next. I know in retail it is best to do an average daily sale instead of looking each day. I have a goal each month and my goal for the next month is to beat the previous months average daily sale. To figure that out, take number of selling days that month and divide that from the monthly sales total. at the end of the month, my sales were lower than I had hoped but all the bills for the month were paid by sales. I was 15 dollars off my goal I had set after the first week.
I was experiencing a lot of financial worry and little triumphs that made the month go by. I knew there would be ups and downs but wasn't prepared for this. I realized I needed to take it one day at a time and on my slow days I research how I an make more sales......
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