Let's Do an About Face

I've touched a little on doing business on the Internet but in the days that I was sitting on a cruise ship I decided that to have a really successful Blog you have to have a passion about what you are writing about.  Well, I've decided to do an about face!  

While Antiques are my passion during the day, crafting is my passion during the night and since I've been crafting longer than selling on the Internet with antiques, that is what I am going to concentrate on.  The history of crafts, what I do, how I came to do it, projects and more.  I will take you through the crafts of the sixties right up to today.  I will raid PINTEREST for photos and display ideas from other people.  I will raid my closet for old stock that I have kept for many a year and I will create new items/projects every single day.  

There are ladies I admire in the crafting world - Wendy Addison is one, a fellow Californian.  Another is Stacey French.  I could rattle off names right now but I will save them for future blogs - these ladies (and gents) inspire me enormously!  At the same time I write on my blog, I will be listing the items on either ETSY (RobinsNestMidwest) or my new site, Michael's Maker Place - that is, if I get all my listings approved!

Crafts have changed during the years and while there are people who have written histories on one particular craft, no one really talks about everything and that is what I will try to do.  So if you didn't think I was writing before just watch me write (and craft) now!

And please, if you are reading this, please drop me a note so that I know that SOMEONE out there is reading my musings.  

Till next time......

Lesson Four - What ARE You Going to Sell and Where

You've decided that you are going to go into business for yourself.  Good for you.  Now comes the hard part - what are you going to sell and where are you going to sell it.  

New items?  Well, there's EBAY and there's Amazon.  Both are the big names on the net and both are expensive.  One you can start small (.35 per listing with about 10% comission), the other you are locked into a hefty rate from the start (minimum monthly payment, listing fee and a final commission).  My advice?  EBAY is probably the more economical solution.  EBAY is where I started and I have to admit I learned an awful lot from the site.  What did I start with?  Believe it or not, stuff that was lying around my apartment.  I loved collecting stuff so I had lots of items to choose from but I started with toys that I had purchased from Toys R Us thinking they would increase like Star Wars toys.  What I sold didn't really have a high value but watching the auction prices go up each day was a wonderful feeling.  My very first sale was Pegasus from the Clash of the Titans movie.  I paid around $10 for the toy (on sale) and the bidding went to $80.  Not a bad profit I thought.  One toy led to another until i was completely sold out.  Then I moved onto other items, vintage hankies, Victorian paper, costume jewelry, frames, porcelain items, penny dolls, the list of smalls I had was endless, or at least I thought so.  

The day finally came when I no longer had anything to sell.  I was still crafting and it was around that time that something called a Beanie Baby started to take the world by storm.  

Little did I know that a company I was doing business with had the hottest collectible on the market.  AND I had a wholesale account.  So guess who was able to buy beanie babies at cost ($3.00 each) and sell them to the highest bidder.  Yep, me.  I ordered by the gross, worked in a law firm by day and sold beanie babies at night.  I thought my fortune was made, that is until the day the market fell out of beanie babies.  Oh well.

In any case, EBAY was a good learning experience for learning what the customer wanted.  Prompt shipping was also something I had to develop as well as good communication.  Both those attributes are tantamount to staying in business.  

Today, EBAY is competing with Amazon and it shows.  Dealers on the site seem to be into everything but collectibles.  You can't sell collectible nor antiques on Amazon and unless you have a wholesale account with someone, you can't really compete with a lot of the people that are dealing on EBAY or Amazon.  There will always be someone who can sell it just a fraction or two cheaper then you can.  They may have money behind them, they may have more workers but one thing I have learned is that unless you can deal with volume sales and low profits, it's best to stay off both EBAY and Amazon.

Vintage items?  Well, yes.  There is always a market for vintage.  The older the better and NOT in quantities of more than one (unless there is a difference in design or the item is extremely scarce).  If you have ready access to a lot of collectible items then Ruby Lane or ETSY are probably your websites of choice.  Both have good reputations but while one is a little better with the press (ETSY) the other is better with word of mouth (Ruby Lane).  

If you choose to sell on Ruby Lane, fees are reasonable with NO listing fees and about a 10% commission.   If you just want to try a site to see if it is for you, then ETSY is the right choice (.20 per listing fee and 10% commission).  I happen  to sell on both venues though I choose my inventory on each site with care.  While one thing might sell well on Ruby Lane it might not sell quite as well on ETSY.  The demographics are quite different.  And while Ruby Lane is strictly Antique and Collectible items only, ETSY allows for handcrafted items as well as Antique/Collectible.  You definitely have a wider variety of listings on ETSY especially if you like to craft items as well.

So, what to sell and where to sell it.  You definitely have to make a choice.  

Till next time...

Lesson Three - Discipline, Discipline, Discipline

Discipline, Discipline, Discipline

Still determined to go into business?  Okay.  Now you have to learn to discipline yourself.  Just because you are now doing business from your home (or maybe you have rented an office) you have to plan your day like a regular work day.  You can decide your hours of course and when you are going to start and maybe even your days off.  You can also decide what you are going to do each day - photograph, list, do some paperwork, do some bookkeeping - but whatever you decide to do each day, you have to commit to spending at least 7 hours a day at work just like a real job!

The hardest part I went through when I first started was sticking to my work room.  I would alternate between "work related" tasks and "personal" tasks until I realized that I wasn't getting enough "business work" done.  Oh, and in those first few months of trying to earn your own salary, you'll probably have panic attacks and will want to throw up every now and then.  It's normal.  It took me about 1 year to get over the highs (and there will be some) and lows (there will be more than you can count) and all the anxiety that comes with being in business for yourself (2 aspirin does work wonders at times).  

Now I mentioned my schedule in Lessons 1 and 2 and how I plan my work week.  Yours might be a little different but you do have to include time for everything that needs to be done.  The list includes......

Answering E-Mails/Telephone Calls - every day, all day!

Bookkeeping - yep, you have to keep your own books.  The main thing is to keep your bank balance in the black, not in the red.

Buying Stock - don't buy on the weekends unless at an antiques show, a flea market or an estate sale.  Shopping antique malls (or other retails shops) is best done on a Tuesday or Friday when dealers have loaded in the "fresh" merchandise into their booth or case.

Income Tax Prepayments - the IRS wants them but if you can't afford to do them at first just remember that you will pay a penalty when you file your return.

Inventory - an absolutely necessity!  Set up your book with the first item you purchase and assign a number.  Your inventory spreadsheet or book will be the most important thing you put together.  It will tell you if you are doing well or failing to make enough money.  It's also the first item the IRS will ask you for should you ever be audited.  They want to see the day you bought an item, the price you paid, what you sold it for and the date you sold.  This book is the most important part of your business!

Keeping up with SEO - Search Engine Optimization.  If you have your own website you are going to have to know the ins and outs about how the Internet looks for your listings.  You will always be hitting the books on this one as Google changes the rules all the time.  

Mailing - unless you have help, you're the one who will be processing orders and taking packages to the Post Office.

 

Make a Business Plan - some people like to see their "plan of action" in writing so they can stick to it.  Me?  I just dove in.  The only thing that really tells me if I am getting ahead is if (a) all the bills are paid and (b) I have inventory to sell.  So far, with me, so good.

Ordering Supplies - the last thing you want to have happen is running out of toner for the printer while you are processing orders. 

Photos - unless you have a spouse to take them for you, you will be the one responsible for shooting, cropping and adding to a listing.  

Repairing, Cleaning, Mending - you don't always buy "perfect items" so you will be the one to make all the changes to make it perfect.  

Receipts, Receipts, Receipts -  keep every piece of paper for every purchase you make.  By the end of the year, my receipts fit into a shopping bag.  At the beginning of your new venture, you might not have so many but as you grow more successful, the contents of your bag will increase appropriately. 

Tax Returns - if you have an accountant - good for you.  If not, get ready to see more pages on your tax return.

Discipline.  It's not just listing items and selling - it's a lot more.  Is it for you?  Only trying it out will give you your answer.

Till the next time.

Selling on the Internet - Lesson Two

Selling on the Internet

Lesson Number Two: A 10 Hour Workday
 (But with All the TV You Can Watch)

One thing about being in business for yourself and working at home is that you can roll out of bed in your pj's, turn on the computer and get to work before even brushing your teeth, bathing or even eating.  My one requirement while I am working is that the TV be on.  I love silence but since I have this stupid "hum" in my unit, I need background noise to drown out the low decibel level thrum.  So the minute the computers are on (yes, I have 2 going at once) the TV begins its daily start up as well.  

Now I have to admit, it's not often I just roll out of bed and begin work - I mean, you have to have some discipline in life, right?  So once all the "morning necessities" are finished, off to work I go.  I usually am in position at the computer around 10am as I am a late sleeper (but I am also a night owl) so I do only sleep around 8 to 9 hours a night depending on what time I get to bed (and how hard I worked that day).  

So once the computer is on, I set up the sites I will be working on, check the e-mail, pull down my photos and start work.  I always start with Ruby Lane first as the site is my bread and butter.  After about 4 or 5 hours there I might switch to Etsy, Ebay or my own web site.  After a few hours on those sites (and a brief stop for lunch) then I can do Facebook or Pinterest or Instagram (I'm still trying to figure that out) or my Blog.  In other words, there is always something to do on a "work" day.  

It's Sunday today and it's a clear bright day outside, the first in many a day so I will also probably try to shoot at least 100 pictures for downloading to the computer.  This way, I keep one step ahead of not running out of pictures of items to sell.  I think picture download is really the most important thing to keep up on - as long as you have pics on your computer, you can just sit down and start listing.  And to stay in business these days you either have to present new inventory to clients each day on your main site or keep "refreshing" old listings often.  Since Ruby Lane has a 1-day wait on getting your photos processed, you have to rely on the photos you listed the day before in order to garner sales.  EBAY still drops listings immediately as does ETSY and of course, your own web site is an immediate drop though it does take time for GOOGLE to pick up on your items.  So, in a nutshell today's lesson is LIST LIST LIST!  Without listings you get no lookers, no sales and therefore no income.  So if you are thinking about doing the Internet for a living - be reminded, it is not a sporadic "hobby", you really have to work at it.  

Watching TV while working may be the bonus in working at home and for yourself but in order to earn that privilege you have to discipline yourself to be in front of the computer a minimum of 7 hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week.  Remember, this is going to be your job for as long as you want it to be. And believe me, you will be very happy not having someone screaming at you to do something you don't want to do!

Till next time.