Spring refresh, back to school and other thoughts on business.
/The Etsy shop sale is winding down. Please check out by midnight Saturday to save. I will hold price onlarge items with a deposit. Message me to secure your favorite piece!
Thanks for al the love I the last two weeks! I have been packing, shipping and delivering some great items! Spring is such a great time to spruce up your home. We just repainted our bathroom and I picked up an incredible shower curtain by Sin in Linen so set off the warm grey we chose. More painting to come and hopefully some new flooring before I get to work on my couch restoration. Hereβs a peek at the bathroom. Our home was built in 2004 with 70s era blueprints so we have new home luxuries with smaller rooms like an older home. I do miss not having cool things like tiles and hardwood but as things are aging we can refresh with the details we love.
I have been taking a Small Business class with a division of Kutztown University and am about half way through the session. Learning how to take my business to the next level and our final project is presenting a Pitch to lenders. I am not looking for a loan, but will be a good experience. I am focusing my efforts into reaching a more regional audience of interior designers and Home stagers for other services besides just sales. I am about 5 years into selling and although my numbers are fantastic, it really leaves little in my pocket and the goal was to replace a full time income which I am still very far from. I do not feel it wise to go into debt at this point. I have a great inventory I built up with little personal investment so I feel slow and steady wins the race. I also feel like my own area is not my market and I do hope that after spending time working that market and alternative revenue streams, I am pleasantly surprised by my findings. This business is very volatile. Not only do trends change quickly, you are at the whim of big box knock offs and worse, the crappy economy. Last year has given me PTSD as overall I did well but there were many successive months that I scraped by. The only pay I get is that this business pays my car payment and I had to reach into my pocket to do that last summer. My pocket can not afford that payment. π. So this year, I am going to start going lean and keeping a stash in case that happens again. I will be picky about my buys from this point forward just because it is easy to just keep buying but when things stop selling it is a very stressful place to be. Summer generally is the slow time. Anyway, I plan to offer more custom services so reach out if I can assist in coordinating a restoration for you. I have a few stunners ready for new upholstery now! There is something special about saving a piece and making it your own! The pride you will get of showing off the piece and talking about how you helped create it, that is priceless!
Enjoy your week!!!! Malissa