A Year in Review Part 2

Some major things I want to share with anyone thinking about starting a business or freshly starting a business.  These are things I have learned in the last year.

1. Never wait until you are financially sound to start a business.  It is just like waiting to have kids, you will never have a point that is perfect to start a family or a business.  Just Research It and Do It.  If you want it bad enough you will find a way to make it happen. I thought I was financially ready but it turns out I was not and I had to find options and do with out things to continue.  The important thing is that I did not give up.

2. When starting a business make sure you have had current health checkups and are in good over all health.  I went a period of time without health care coverage and could not afford a trip to doctor with the uncertainty of my income from starting a business. Plus even more important the stress load is very intense until you set up steps to allow your business to operate with or without you.  My new year resolution is to update all my health care check ups and eat healthy again which is something I have not kept up with.

3. Know your business inside and out.  I have several business ideas that if I had more capital and resources I would pursue but for now they are still in the dream phase.  If I wanted to pursue any of them, I would have to gain some more experience before they could be successful.  Owning a business is not just about the day to day activities.  There is much that goes on behind the scenes.  I have often said that Downtown Chambersburg needs a small shoe store for those who walk to get to places and can not drive to the mall to shop for shoes.   Shoes are a necessity since our feet would blister and become extremely cold during winter without them so it is a guaranteed income but it is more than just ordering shoes and selling them.  You need licenses, an estimate of inventory, permits, marketing plan, displays, and much more.  If you have never worked in a shoe store before how would you know the secrets of the trade.  A college degree in business would be great but if you can not live your business no amount of education will help you.  They do not offer degrees on life experiences.  I am not saying not to go to college because I think it can teach you so much about the business end or marketing department but not everything we do is learned in school and many of our best lessons are learned the hard way in life.  Many businesses fail with in the first year since people have a great idea but lack the knowledge for the behind the scenes work.  Think of it as building a brick wall, without the foundation you have nothing for the bricks to be stable and prevent them from falling.  Build the foundation and the wall will follow.

4.  Use your resources.  You can use any of the resources I have mentioned all year long on this blog like books I have read, websites I have used, and trainings I have completed just check back through my blog for details.  Your community offers many resources to help just ask.  I started with the small business association.  www.sba.gov and went from there.  I also had many resources from local business owners in my community.  All my volunteer work payed off when I needed help.  I firmly believe you get what you give and live my life by "The Golden Rule". 

5.  Have a support team, when you own your own business there are many periods of ups and downs.  While we can survive both and it is the choices we make that determines where we go, it is always great to have someone to talk to during the down moments to get you going again.  It is just as great to share the great news moment too!  I am thankful for my support team.  I would not be where I am today with out them and their sacrifices.

6.The last thing is, Do not allow FEAR to prevent you from doing anything.  I am not saying not to have FEAR but do not let it control you.  You have to push it to the lowest point of your body and push through and do what ever it takes.  Do not give in to the FEAR.  It is easier to give up but the real challenge is to continue.  Do not let Pride get in the way either. 

"Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new" Albert Einstein

A Year in Review Part 1

As September approaches I realize that I have almost been in business for one year already.  I took over the rent and inventory on August 30th last year.  My business did not have a Grand Opening until October 1st but the business was mine for the whole month of September.  I have much to review and write about so my posts for the month of September will all be reflections, things I would change or not change, and just lessons learned.  I will also cover my one year anniversary planning.  I am hoping to get to all of these things because I think it is important to share with other who hope to start a business.  Some of you may have noticed my posts have slowed down the last few months but business has picked up and my time is spent with my customers which is how it should be and growing my business.  Plus it has been summer time and I have spent as much time with the family as possible.  In the next year, I may need to expand in personnel or volunteers to help cover all day to day activities.

One thing I have noticed is you need a great deal of start up money when starting a business but it does not require as much to maintain operations.  I am getting renewal notices for all my licenses and tax filing information. Renewal is cheaper than original filing.   I had to learn new accounting tips last year for tax season and this year, I have kept things sorted differently making it easier come tax season.  I do order items to complete everyday operations but they are not all required up front when you run out of paper you order or go get the paper you need.  Not the trip for envelopes, cards, paper, tape, and etc.  I no longer stress out about the little things since it has become routine.  Filing quarterly taxes has gotten easier.  When I first started it was overwhelming.  I used to pay bills as they came in but now once a month I write checks and pay bills.  These are all just small things you may not think about that change over the course of the first year in business. 

Hindsight being 20/20 I am not sure if I knew then what I know now that I would have continued this journey but I think that is the plan.  If we didn't go into business blinded by the joy and love of what we do when starting a business most businesses would never start.  It is like being pregnant and going through child birth(sorry men but women will totally understand).  If we knew the pain without the joy, would we have kids?  I am not saying I am disappointed or that I am not happy with my own business but it was a journey with experiences and work that I never expected.  I am glad I was blinded by the joy and love because that is what gets you through day to day.  Well that and a strong support system.  I recommend having as many people to help support you mentally during the first years of starting a business.  Many THANKS to my support system, I could not have done this without you and I hope you know who you are!!!!!

Gathering and Using Your Business Data

While I have not been open for a year yet, my business is no longer extremely NEW.  They say a business is still in beginning phases until you have at least 2 years complete.  This is when banks, wholesalers, government, and other services take you seriously.  You have sales records, tax documents, and proof that your business really is doing what you say.  But as I was saying I am no longer extremely new business.  I have been open long enough to start creating those records. 

Ever since my first job when I was taught inventory and placing orders, I have been a numbers and charts person.  It helps that I had some of the greatest business men and women to teach me some of their secrets.  Much of who I am today is thanks to all their lessons in business.  I have a Big Thanks going up to heaven to Bill for teaching me customer service skills, business inventory, merchandising, marketing, bargain shopping, and much much more. 

I have been starting to chart my sales by categories and the month of the year.  I am doing this along with a weekly and monthly inventory.  I also chart my online sales, cash sales, and other services sales according to the month of the year.  As this year has progressed, I have been adding additional categories to help better serve my research.  In fact one of my first improvements was a larger cash register with more categories to help me keep track. 

The next step of sorting my data was better taught to me by my next teacher who was also my boss and a Big Thanks to Gary for my extra knowledge of merchandising, seasonal flow, impulse targets, and many other retail tips.  He helped me realize items that are staples of seasons, holiday shopping goals, sales that are effected by weather conditions and seasons. 

Now I can chart weeks of the year that are the busiest and maybe understand what things going on around me are making that happen.  What weeks are the slowest and what can I do to increase sales during that time.  I also can control my inventory to have more sales by understanding what customers are buying more of and does it change from month to month or year to year.  You also have to keep tract of any loss, this could be do to damaged merchandise, out of date or code, recalls, and miscellaneous reasons. 

These resources will help you make sound business decisions through out the years.   Things may also change from year to year then you need to make averages as well as current data.  Sometimes things change do to an outside force like the economy and you have to adjust to survive the low times.  Make patterns and start doing yearly charts as well as your monthly. 

Public Relations is Constant

Well it has been sometime since I have been able to sit down and add to my blog about the store.  Summer is coming to a close and I am not sure where it went.  First months of owning a business we did not take any real vacation this year.  Lots of reasons, finances went to growing the business, time away meant store was closed, and my husband just started new job as well and has not earned vacation time yet.  Looking forward to making it up next year.  Even though we did not take vacation we enjoyed many summer activities like fairs, picnics, and celebrations.  When you own a business you never know when the opportunity will come to grow your business.  We have been invited to many events from the business and we have talked just having a good time and got several new customers in the process.

This changes the way you do things since you always have to be on your game.  I have tried to show my best all year and have cards handy to hand out to those who have questions.  We also handed out free glow bracelets at our local fireworks courtesy of Suzy's Treasure Chest.  As we talked to each person handing them out we made more new contacts and the kids had a great time with additional surprise.  Win, Win for all involved.  This was small advertisement but I think in building my business it was a tremendous step.  I even handed out 10% off cards.  Using all resources around you is a key to Marketing. 

"Don't Judge each day by the harvest you reap but the seeds that you plant"  Robert Louis Stevenson