Starting my first small business

[Peasy973]

OP, keep us posted on your progress. I'm sure if you have any questions or need advice/assistance someone wouldn't mind providing some advice.

Good luck.

[Mnseca]

Sorry, everyone, I just don't feel comfortable sharing details in a public forum. It is a local business, and I've gotten a few calls, but no paying work yet. My capital is decreasing swiftly - mostly advertising costs. I've already had to turn down one job because I didn't have enough inventory, but I'm still uncomfortable borrowing money to buy more. I have no overhead at all, so I can continue as long as I want, or until I get sick of it and give up. One thing I am considering is setting up a booth at a community festival. It's not very expensive, and would get a lot of foot traffic, but I'm not sure if it would pay off in the end or not, since my market is very targeted and not the general public.

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Sorry, everyone, I just don't feel comfortable sharing details in a public forum. It is a local business, and I've gotten a few calls, but no paying work yet. My capital is decreasing swiftly - mostly advertising costs. I've already had to turn down one job because I didn't have enough inventory, but I'm still uncomfortable borrowing money to buy more. I have no overhead at all, so I can continue as long as I want, or until I get sick of it and give up. One thing I am considering is setting up a booth at a community festival. It's not very expensive, and would get a lot of foot traffic, but I'm not sure if it would pay off in the end or not, since my market is very targeted and not the general public.

I ran out of red flags long before the end of this post.

From the vague descriptions and around 30 years of varying business ownership/self-employment, I'd say...

1. You are overestimating the demand for this business type.
2. You are overestimating the demand for your business.
3. You are spending a lot on "advertising" without any real idea of how to reach potential customers.

While saying...

1. You are rapidly running out of capital but can keep doing this forever.
2. You don't have enough capital for enough inventory to take a potential job that came your way.

I suggest you either give details so that the (mixed but useful) bag of posters here can give you specific advice, or find someone locally who can do the same. I doubt anyone here is going to steal your ideas or rush over to set up competition across the street.


You seem to be burning your money to send up smoke signals that no one is paying attention to - which means you're like about 90% of people who try to start a business. Some do succeed, though, once they shed false ideas and learn some things they should have known before spending a dime.

[Mnseca]

Originally Posted by Quietude

I ran out of red flags long before the end of this post.

From the vague descriptions and around 30 years of varying business ownership/self-employment, I'd say...

1. You are overestimating the demand for this business type.
2. You are overestimating the demand for your business.
3. You are spending a lot on "advertising" without any real idea of how to reach potential customers.

While saying...

1. You are rapidly running out of capital but can keep doing this forever.
2. You don't have enough capital for enough inventory to take a potential job that came your way.

I suggest you either give details so that the (mixed but useful) bag of posters here can give you specific advice, or find someone locally who can do the same. I doubt anyone here is going to steal your ideas or rush over to set up competition across the street.


You seem to be burning your money to send up smoke signals that no one is paying attention to - which means you're like about 90% of people who try to start a business. Some do succeed, though, once they shed false ideas and learn some things they should have known before spending a dime.

Well, it's a seasonal business and it's not quite the season yet. I do have a very targeted marketing campaign - not smoke signals. I know exactly who and where my customers are, and I am reaching out to them in various ways, from direct mail to ads in popular blogs and websites. It's only been a couple of weeks, and most of the ads haven't even run yet, and only half the mailings have gone out, so I think it's too early to assume no one is interested.

I really do not know what the demand for the business is. It's something new, so there is really no way to know for sure. The response I have gotten has been very positive, but it's one thing for people to think it's a great idea and another for them to actually buy it.

I am putting off buying expensive inventory, because until there is a lot of interest I don't feel comfortable spending that much money. As of right now, I can shut down tomorrow and lose nothing. Once I start spending big bucks, if the orders don't come in I stand to lose whatever I put in. I have a day job, so I'm not going broke.

Sorry if that's not enough info, but I just don't want to lose my anonymity on an internet message board - maybe I'd say more, but citydata has this annoying feature where people can look at all your past posts and figure out where you live and so on, so I tend to not want to put much info out there.

[Quietude]

Okay, sounds a little better put that way. However, most people don't do well with marketing efforts unless they have qualified help or a solid background in what works (as opposed to what they think works, what is easy, what someone tells them is a great approach, etc.) It's easy to spend a lot and get very little for it when the same or less money could be more effective used in other ways.

Understand the anonym thing, too.

Good luck.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Sorry, everyone, I just don't feel comfortable sharing details in a public forum. It is a local business, and I've gotten a few calls, but no paying work yet. My capital is decreasing swiftly - mostly advertising costs. I've already had to turn down one job because I didn't have enough inventory, but I'm still uncomfortable borrowing money to buy more. I have no overhead at all, so I can continue as long as I want, or until I get sick of it and give up. One thing I am considering is setting up a booth at a community festival. It's not very expensive, and would get a lot of foot traffic, but I'm not sure if it would pay off in the end or not, since my market is very targeted and not the general public.

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Well, it's a seasonal business and it's not quite the season yet. I do have a very targeted marketing campaign - not smoke signals. I know exactly who and where my customers are, and I am reaching out to them in various ways, from direct mail to ads in popular blogs and websites. It's only been a couple of weeks, and most of the ads haven't even run yet, and only half the mailings have gone out, so I think it's too early to assume no one is interested.

I really do not know what the demand for the business is. It's something new, so there is really no way to know for sure. The response I have gotten has been very positive, but it's one thing for people to think it's a great idea and another for them to actually buy it.

I am putting off buying expensive inventory, because until there is a lot of interest I don't feel comfortable spending that much money. As of right now, I can shut down tomorrow and lose nothing. Once I start spending big bucks, if the orders don't come in I stand to lose whatever I put in. I have a day job, so I'm not going broke.

Sorry if that's not enough info, but I just don't want to lose my anonymity on an internet message board - maybe I'd say more, but citydata has this annoying feature where people can look at all your past posts and figure out where you live and so on, so I tend to not want to put much info out there.

You have discovered the problem, you can't live on positive responses. If you are buying inventory (as opposed to manufacturing it) perhaps try finding a supplier willing to drop ship, so you only pay when something is sold. Consider the possibility of selling wholesale or on consignment to places that already have steady traffic.