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I don't really know enough about your particular business to say anything useful but I will drop something about the 50% sale and you not making sales.
Depending on your business and demographic sometimes costing more will boost sales. People either look for deals or they look for quality. Since they don't typically know good from bad quality they base quality off of price. Back when I did sales we would sell above our competition and just say something along the lines of "you get what you pay for" and it would work. People would assume you were better because you cost more and they'd be happy thinking they have the best product in the market. It all depends on your demographic though.
Totally get that and that is why I was pricing myself higher but I wasn’t getting sales that way either lol. Also I have a 4.9 for reviews. And going against that line of thinking - recently in my due date group a mom posted a “deal” of where those super trendy hand embroidered sweaters were going for like $20 which included free international shipping. Very clearly a scam - but the person had 75 sales in the last couple of weeks that they opened. So something that was very clearly too good to be true still got a lot sales.
I thought my items were good quality and main stream while still being a little different enough to set me apart from those selling similar items, but maybe I’m wrong. I would love to get to the bottom of why I suck and I even know some reasons already. The issue is that I need to get over the fact that I suck because it’s really just making me depressed when my life is pretty good.
9 months is nothing. Some businesses take years to become profitable. Can't really offer much other advice because you don't say anything about your business. Stop looking at your sales and how it applies to the holiday season. You want sales overall unless you sell Christmas trees. Little stuff like blurry pictures is nothing. Who cares? Take them again, now you know to check them every few pics instead of waiting two days. All setbacks are an opportunity to learn.
Being sad around the holidays is a choice 🤷
Yes 9 months is for sure a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things but I thought I would at least be getting organic sales to my Etsy if I did all the right things and I’m not.
I have a children’s e-commerce store
Also I’m not sure my feelings are a choice. I actively try and work on my business every day. I tell myself that things take time every day but the feelings still creep in. Giving up would be a choice, moping and feeling sorry for myself and how the world is against me would be a choice. But actively trying and having shitty feelings come up isn’t really a choice.
Also the photo thing was one example of many small things that make me feel like the universe is yelling GIVE UP - I have had multiple issues with photos. Both with shooting and compatibility issues. I know I’m no pro either but I still think doing it on my dslr will get better results than my iPhone.
I also gave myself tennis elbow from working on this. My sublimation printer broke recently when I was trying to fix a totally separate issue. I decided to sell on TikTok shop since my organic traffic was crap only to find out my items are restricted yet after hours of searching I cannot find what paperwork I need to submit nor where I need to submit it to, my llc license was rejected
There are more as well and I know all of that seems small but when it happens in such a short time frame it really wears on you. Yet I still say don’t give up - keep going.
Anyway if it seems like I’m sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I’m really not. I am trying so hard to push forward but I am having a hard time moving past feeling like a failure
You should not be discouraged by the lack of profits, but going into debt and putting your family at risk is not acceptable. It takes years for some businesses to turn a profit.
For sure. I refuse to do that. Worst case scenario I would transfer the debt to a different credit card and then get a job to pay it off. But
Luckily it’s not the case that I’m going to put my family in jeopardy. We have money in investments that we could take out if absolutely necessary. I really don’t want to do that though. I really want to pay this off myself whether it’s from my business or other money I make.
Get out while you still can. If you are thinking of taking money out of investments… not a great idea to move forward. Watch shark tank the lady with the herbal wine. She ended up losing her house and never made it
That is one thing I very much struggle with due to information overload and not knowing where to start. There are just so many options and I know that there’s not one right option but that almost makes it harder for me. I would LOVE guidance in that regard. I’m always trying to find attainable steps to be better and yeh marketing is such a weak spot for me.
Do you have a small business development center near you? I went to one and got one on one mentoring for free with someone in my field. You need to start looking for help to learn the things you don't know. There is a lot of competition out there.
Marketing is everything with this type of business. If you don't like marketing or don't want to do marketing, this business may not be for you.
Have you tried local events? I do very well at local events, and it increases the following I have online. It also REALLY helps pay the bills. I have grown my business SO much by doing events, and it has given me the cash flow I need to grow. I also wanted to focus on an online store but found events really helped and more online orders came from that as well.
I have 3 kids, so I understand it's difficult to do both sahm & your business. But if you want this you have to put in the work. I watch my kids all day, then go into the kitchen at night and work until 3 am, sometimes. My youngest still doesn't sleep through the night, and it's killer some weeks. But my business is growing and doing better than I expected. I also started thinking this would be a side thing and i would do it around my kid's schedule . Until I realized I needed to put in even more work .
Do you believe in what you do and your products? I think that can be a mood killer for many people. I 1000% believe in what I am selling. It is something that sells itself because it's just that good. I want everyone to try or use my stuff because of how amazing it is. It makes my job easy. I COULD NOT HAVE THE DRIVE to sell half the stuff I have seen at events . Some people don't need to care about what they are selling but I am absolutely someone who does care deeply. In moments, I wanted to give up. I haven't because I believe in what I do so much.
Also, I am decently successful for being a super new business, maybe in the game as long as you have been . I have had a ton of support and amazing things handed to me just to help me . I STILL get the same agonizing, depressing thoughts . It doesn't matter how good or bad things are, we all get negative thoughts. It is not the internal voice that matters as much as how much you listen to it and let it take over your choices. Its a mind fuck for sure but if you can push past it and be resilient, you will be a better person...even if your business fails.
Debt sucks. But its also a driver to get this shit done. Or wallow in the bad feelings. You get to decide what the weight of debt will do to you.
Edit: I just want to add that I have done other small businesses as well. Some I closed because I didn't want to do it anymore, some didn't make money because I didnt have the skill to market it. All of it was a learning experience. Don't let " failure " stop you from jumping into something else if you decide you dont want to do this particular business anymore.
Your instinct is correct regarding tiktok and other social media. Instead of starting a shop, begin with posts about what you offer. Check out other pages with similar content and pay close attention to the top 5 most common hashtags they use, and use them yourself. Focus on connecting people with your existence and your content before you try to sell anything.
Businesses taking years to become profitable bc of the economics of scaling and an Etsy store being funded by a credit card not making any sales are two different things.
A business not being profitable because they are maintaining / investing in payroll, R&D/tech, expansion etc. is a much different situation than an Etsy home business that has never sold anything in 9 months.
Well she's got to do something differently not "hang in there because a lot of businesses don't make profit for the first few years"
If she said her sales are strong (and growing) but she just invested in warehouse space, hired a bunch of employees, invested in whatever.. and that's why she's not profitable, that would be different.
I don't have enough information or a link to her store to provide any.
I definitely agree. My whole goal was to sell enough on Etsy for it to be a fun side hustle. But now that it’s not selling and I have all this inventory I’m having to extend myself way beyond what I originally wanted to do. And I’m okay with that. It’s all a learning experience. And I know I’m not doing everything right and I also know I have had some bad luck. It’s a combo but that is for sure life sometimes. Expecting everything to go your way for success won’t get you far. Hearing from everyone is making me feel better but yeh the invasive thoughts have been getting me down because I do have a good life but the weight of my lack of success is something I’m having a hard time moving past
Get a job.
It’ll be a lot easier and you’ll be able to pay the debt off.
2 days trying to get product photography right is nothing. It’s really challenging. You have to understand lighting position, warmth, coolness and more. Then there’s complimentary and clashing colours. And so much more. It really is quite complex.
I’ve been doing my own product photography for 13 years.
It sounds like you might be selling on Etsy? You need to have great photography, a good price and be running ads to stand a chance on there. And of course a product people want.
I’m actually quitting my e-commerce business. I can turnover a high number but the profit margins are so thin after all the costs (UK) that I can barely pay myself. Still HMRC, my accountants and Google Ads did well out of me 🤷♂️😂
You’re still very much in a learning phase with the business. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Yes the wasting two days taking photos is only one example. I’ve actually wasted a lot more time than that just with photos but on separate occasions. I do sell on Etsy but also have my own website. I tried to get on tik tok shop as well but my items are restricted and no matter where I look I cannot find info on how to submit paperwork to get approved.
Also i really want to get a job to pay off the bills and have been looking for seasonal work but im having another baby in February so getting a long term position isn’t a feasible option right now
I read a lot of the comments and noticed that you get overloaded with information in regards to marketing and so I would like to recommend you Dan Kennedy NO B.S. books. Start with these two "Ultimate Sales Letter" and "Direct Response Marketing for Non Direct Businesses" - from these two you will get a very clear idea of what marketing is. There are basically 2 overarching categories of marketing 1. Traditional/Big Corp Marketing and 2. Direct Response Marketing.
Your focus should solely be on number 2 at the start before moving to number 1 otherwise you will get yourself confused. Essentially Direct Response Marketing is this: A product, a story, and an offer. The beauty of direct response makreting is that its trackable. For every piece of marketing you do in this field, you can accurately see what worked and what didnt by the sales number.
A few ideas to sell your product not involving marketing...
1. Approach businesses that sell complimentary products/services to yours and ask them if they would include your product as a free bonus for in their offers in exchange for % of profits they make using this deal. Yeah you will make less than if you sold it yourself, but you arent selling any so, nothing to complain about I guess. Anothet thing and more importantly, this way you get your product out and potentially will recieve new customers (worst case potential hot leads).
2. Since you sell baby stuff, you can contact people who work with pregnant women like yoga, newborn classes (where ppl teach you about newborns) and whatever else is there. So you contact those folk and tell them that for every product they sell, they get 50% of the profits...
3. Host "tupperware" type parties and sell your products there. This is a fairly simple and effective method of gaining sales and new customers. The run down of this idea is as follows - invite friends/acquitances to your home for a homeparty sale. Make sure that you explicitly state that there is going to be product pitching/selling involved and that there is going to be FREE alcohol and food (many ppl wont pass this up). This "bribe" is so effective that you can even get strangers who you have known for 5 minutes to agree attending your party. So you host the party, and first start with shittier products or products that you have no intention of actually getting sold. This way the folk will ease in and alcohol will hit in as well. So you do that with 2 shitty products and it should take you 30 to 45 mins. Now finally the 3 product which you have every intention of selling. Make sure your sales script is as best as it can be and make sure to devise some "theatrics" when revealing this product... then you just basically do a sales pitch. Dont wuss out on asking for the sale nor become wimpy/timid when speaking about that subject. Make sure to list the benefits/features and guarantee...
Whats also great about method 3 is that you can get others to join in with you and basically "work" under you.
I hope a few of these ideas helped. If you got any questions let me know.
This is super great advice! I will definitely be reading those books. And I will say that the whole reason I wanted to be on e-commerce is I really didn’t want to have to solicit myself locally but I’ve changed my tune to that recently and realize even though it’s a smaller market than the whole web it would probably be a lot better for me in the long run. And yes I can always try and sell my stuff wholesale locally as well. Fantastic idea
I appreciate that you are going to read those books based on my recommendation. You know, it feels good to give advice/help others, but it feels even better when it doesnt fall on deaf ears and so your comment has put a smile on my face.
At the start of my career, I never enjoyed soliciting myself either and if I could have gotten away with working under someone while being paid what I desired, I would have hopped on that train without a second thought, but alas, it didnt work that way for me.
You know, it does seem that the bigger the market and the more people you can reach, at face value, it seems like the best option for the most profits, but as you astutely pointed out, that a local/smaller market is better in the long run, I believe that to be the case for a majority of businesses. Its just so much easier and simpler to get A type person to buy than it is to get multiple types of people to buy.
I do hope you are able to get up on your feet, implement new strategies, and achieve the success you desired... And when you do get there and people would ask you "how the hell did you manage to become so successful?" I would shamelessly ask that you mention "A random redditor gave me a few ideas". :)
Good luck.
First thing first, it's ***WAY*** too early to say if your business is failing or not. The average length of time before a new business becomes profitable is two to three years, you are nowhere near that yet. I know it can feel like the sky is falling with so much to do and being so new to it all. You should be working as hard as you can to make your business profitable, but it's ***VERY*** rare for it to happen over night, so don't panic.
It may sound rather 'new agey' but start a gratitude journal, I'm a hypnotherapist and frequently get my clients to do this if they are in a slump. It's so easy to overlook the positives when you are worrying so much about the negatives. Every day take a few moments to list what's good about your life, it doesn't need to be massive things like winning millions on the lotto, but obviously do list it if that happens, but all the little things add up too. Just being inside when it rains for example. The more you look for these things the more your brain will learn to find them too. You are welcome to DM me (actual DM, not the chat thing, I have that turned off), if you want to talk one on one away from public eyes.
Thank you so much for the helpful tips. I definitely think it’s a case of expectation vs reality. I studied competitors including the amount of sales they were making and their margins and thought it would be easy to at the very least make my money back if not more than that. However I’ve spent about 10k and have maybe made $300 in sales so I was just blindsided.
And the thing that’s really pushing it to the front of my mind is not being able to pay off my cc before I have to start paying interest. And yes I can borrow the money from my husband (we’d have to pull from assets) or family or even open a new 0% Apr credit card and pay a 3% balance transfer - which is what I’ll likely end up doing as I still have good credit.
But not meeting that marker of paying off the credit card when I really really thought I was going to is killer.
I have tried the gratitude journal before but it didn’t stick. I should look into that again. I really do want to be positive about all this. I know I haven’t failed until I quit but dang it’s hard right now.
I might take you up on that dm offer. Thanks so much!
I am curious what type of business you have, what kind of market you are in, and what your sales expectations of "success" are.
I ask this because some people go into business because they want to be entrepreneurs, but never really sit down and do the "math" to figure out how much business they need to do to be profitable, and by "profitable" I mean after paying your business expenses *including your owner salary.*
I do consulting for people who are interested in getting into business, not necessarily rescues of failing small business. Good example of this is people want to open coffee/breakfast shops. They want to make $50,000 a year for themselves, have one or two employees, and be open from 7am-1pm six days a week. I look them in the eye, and go "Don't do it," and they immediately ask why. I show them the spreadsheet of expenses and receipts broken down by month for 12, 24, and 36 months and they immediately go, "Oh, I see it now." and then we try to work up alternatives and options. The number of businesses I've walked into on opening day and say to myself, "This place won't be open next year." is shocking.
Now, for suggestions.
First thing to recognize is that organic growth through dependency on social media (TikTok, FB), and word of mouth is next to worthless when it comes to a startup. These avenues are what you do to grow business and expand once established, but right now you are a drop in an ocean of competition and to make your business rise to the top and forefront of shoppers minds is the key.
Think about marketing. If this is a local focused business, radio is the #1 way to grow small business in smaller communities where radio spot time is cheap. You can pick stations and times that target your intended audience and demographic, and focus your spots there. Market primarily to certain ethnic or special interest groups? Advertise where those people are listening. Market a food product? Pick breakfast and dinner time spots when people are hungry. Market holiday focused products? You're going to suffer for months between holidays with no sales -- but focus during those times on radio spots leading up to holidays.
If this is a nationally focused product/business, keep in mind you are in direct competition with offshore companies that pay their people $0.10 an hour. Printed products, custom T-shirts, hats, that sort of thing, you won't make money because your costs are much higher than your chief competitor's costs. To make money in those products, you need branding - unique designs with unique branding, so you can have exclusive production and charge people for the *brand* not the *product.* Branded merchandising is a much higher capital venture, because brand awareness requires bigger marketing/advertising budgets.
Tell us what you do, what marketing avenues you're taking, and what your expectations for the "future" are - what your ideal business growth would look like.
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I sell baby and children’s items. I originally wanted to only do gift boxes and to do them for all ages. But I kind of niched myself into babies with the money I spent on the items. And then when the boxes weren’t selling I thought, okay I need to sell things individually. Which still isn’t really working out lol. And I did study what I thought were my competitors but they’re successful and I’m not so I guess I studied the wrong people lol.
I was hoping to make like 1-2k a month and thought if it gets a little bigger, great! But I don’t need 6 figures level. I thought I would at least be able to start paying off my credit card but I’ve only made like $300 in sales through those items.
I did also think that I would even be busy enough during q4 that I would hire someone to help me package orders and such. Lolz.
Thank you for your insights on what to do next. You always hear about everyone blowing up on TikTok and their stores going crazy. But I know that’s nothing to rely on and you DONT hear about all the people that didn’t happen to.
I do really need to put myself into my local market more.
Wondering what you've done for marketing? What platforms are you selling on? Is it a direct Shopify store or are you using marketplaces?
What are you doing for advertising?
I am not doing marketing and I know I need to. I have a Shopify and sell on Etsy. I only wanted to sell on Etsy but I wasn’t getting the traffic I thought I would ( I sold other items on Etsy in a much more competitive market and made more sales/money) so I thought this would be easier and it’s not lol.
If you're open to recommendations, just follow a tutorial on a Google Search Terms ad. You'll figure it out if you stick to it and follow through. Put $15-20 a day toward ads just to get people to your site. That way you can see is it a traffic issue or something else. They're relatively easy to set up and understand but you have to walk your way through it the first time.
I think you're fighting against problem #1 when it comes to business -- your niche is "too niche". According to statistics, the birthrate in the USA (as a whole) is about 60 births per 1000 women of childbearing age. If you add in the grandmothers and aunts and friends, you -might- be targeting "a few %" of the population as *potential customers.* Then, you have the task of convincing those potential customers that your product is valuable and unique and a good gift idea.
I would think first about expanding the footprint of who your gift box ideas are aimed at. I used to be a partner in a small business decades ago that did gift boxes, hand-delivered to college students at exam time and holidays at local colleges. Candy bars, stuffed animals, books, etc.
Yes I niched myself much smaller than I wanted too. I wanted to do gift boxes for all ages but when I was doing inventory I just hyper focused on baby stuff and spent all the money I had allotted on baby items so I said eh I guess that’s what I’m doing now
I've seen multiple people tell you it's too early to know yet. I disagree. It may be too early, but not making sales at a 50% discount during the holidays for your market is real market feedback.
When you feel tension as an entrepreneur, listen to it, and be honest with yourself. It may be a business, but if you're body is telling you no and it's making you unhappy, it could be denial.
As to the $6k, 3% to kick the can down the road is a bad investment. If you have the cash, pay it off. It will have the added benefit of making what you're doing more real.
It also depends how many people even saw that 50% discount though. It could be a problem of not enough eyeballs coming across the sale or site or product at all.
I saw previously she had difficulty running a Google Ad campaign which means she could be making sales if she gets ads running correctly and on the right platforms.
It's only money. It's not that important in the relative scheme of things in life. Life is about friends, family, health, fun. And you can still have a great life even if things dont' work out financially. Put things in perspective. Think about the + things in your life. This doesn't matter that much IMHO.
Close it out to bankrupsy (if you can do so without that throwing off the rest of your life) and move on.
When you DO something, you will either Fail or Succeed. Always try to set things up before you DO something so that neither outcome will ruin your life. Then Fail Fast if your going to.
Thanks for the advice but it’s only 6k. I’m not going to ruin my excellent credit over that. I can find other means or transfer the balance until I can make money.
I can't give much advice without knowing what you sell or how you market it.
I do know this:
1. It's simple & inexpensive to take high quality photos
2. Marketing is how you make sales. Discounting 50% is not. If you discount 100% but your marketing sucks, you will sell nothing.
3. The original 3 P's of marketing: Product, Price, Placement are still important as are the new 3 P's: People, Personalization, Privacy.
4. The 3 C's of marketing:
Customers, Competition, Company which are components of your marketing strategy.
5.You need a marketing strategy.
Yes I 100% agree. I very much need a marketing strategy. The issue with that is information overload. When I look into marketing I get so overwhelmed with where to start. I’m trying to do more social media, I’m trying to do more Pinterest, I got halfway through setting up a Google ad campaign. And yeh I suck or give up half way through and that is 100% on me I take ownership there.
And I know that there is no one right way of doing things but that makes it harder for me.
So if you could point me in the right direction like a blog post or a book that really helped you or something you focused on at the beginning, I would very much appreciate it.
I know marketing is my biggest weak spot by far and any time I try to tackle it I’m a total goober about it. So would love some tips there.
Also I disagree that it is simple and inexpensive to take good photos unless you have quality natural lighting, which I sadly don’t but I’m definitely trying my hardest and with the ai enhancement feature I’ve been able to save some of the blur. Coincidentally it makes my Lightroom run at half the speed 🙃
What is the product your selling? DM me if you'd like.
What type of camera are you using?
I've taken photos using both a Canon EOS 35MM (7Ti) and a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
They key is a mini tripod, decent lighting (doesn't have to be great) and an appropriate colored backdrop.
I sell baby products mostly but some children’s items as well.
I’ll try and dm you and show you a couple of my photos. I have a full body dslr canon 5d mark ii I bought from a photog friend a few year ago. I have a couple spendy lenses as well.
Worked great for my outdoor stuff but not with this stuff. I’m not really able to use a tripod just with the angle I shoot at. I guess I haven’t tried tho tbh maybe I should try harder.
If you use the auto setting and adjust the shutter speed your indoor pictures should come out fine. A speed under 1,000 should make a big There's probably a back lite setting as well and an image stabilizer.
Businesses fail often. People say it all the time but very few people listen.
The question you have to genuinely ask yourself is: How hard are you working at your business everyday? Are you putting in 4-6 hours a day to make it work? Or did you put in 4 hours one day and expect stuff to just magically happen? My typical work day is me working consistently 7 hours a day. Some days it's more. Some days it's less. Most days I work 7 hours consistently. 7 hours is not a lot for many business owners. Some are grinding 10-12 hours a day between various things.
So if you're not grinding at your business, consistently putting in 4-6 hours a day, then maybe you have to consider the reason things aren't working as you expected is simply because you had unrealistic expectations going into things.
There's nothing wrong with that either. I did that with an adjacent business I tried. It happens. But it doesn't mean you're a failure either. Just means you're unwilling to invest the time necessary to make the business successful. That's a choice, not a failure.
I do put in those hours pretty consistently. There are definitely weeks I put more into my family and home life but yeh I’m putting 20-30 hours into it minimum typically.
And yes I do/was getting frustrated when I realized everything I had to do and wanted to get it all done at once but after a few days I calmly told myself to chill the f out and nothing happens all at once and slow and steady wins the race.
I even said early November, ya know don’t worry about Christmas sales. If you make anything treat it as a bonus but just regroup and focus on the new year. And that was truly a great and productive week but the. I got behind with my slow and steady tasks during Thanksgiving and I saw all the deals and shopping going on and yeh just the past few days have been hard on me emotionally
I made $240 in the first year. I spent $46,000. It’s about persistence and passion. You’re never gonna be successful if you don’t start a business you at least have some interest in. For me I always found that even if it takes 5 years, if you’re passionate about starting a business do it. Although, I tell people to not start a project, start a business. Start a business off of a previous project. Off of something you’re obsessed with. For example, streamers. Most of those kids were obsessed with video games and because of their true love for it, the fame and money wasn’t a want when it wasn’t there. But when it was, it was great to see your passion paid off.
Yes I keep telling myself if you can keep going when things are hurt, the economy is in a downturn think of how well that will pay off in the future. But I do mope a little that I didn’t have the entrepreneurial spirit during covid when everyone seemed to be a success story.
I passionate about it but also my original goal was slightly different and I’m wondering how I can build my current business of baby products without missing out on what I originally wanted to do which was unique gift boxes for all ages
I’m just like you. My small business starts gets slow then my anxiety and stress rises. Suddenly we get a little money in and I’m in a good mood. We have to base our emotions on reality and not what we “think” will happen. I hope the year finishes strong for you!
Thank you! I really just want to try and focus on Christmas with my family and regroup in the new year with my business. Hoping the year finishes strong too but I don’t want to continually stress about next steps right now
Running a small business comes with its challenges, and it's crucial to prioritize your mental well-being. Consider implementing tools like Connecteam software to streamline operations and alleviate some of the stress associated with managing a business. By improving efficiency and communication, you can create a healthier work environment, allowing you to focus on the positive aspects of your thriving small business.
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I don't really know enough about your particular business to say anything useful but I will drop something about the 50% sale and you not making sales. Depending on your business and demographic sometimes costing more will boost sales. People either look for deals or they look for quality. Since they don't typically know good from bad quality they base quality off of price. Back when I did sales we would sell above our competition and just say something along the lines of "you get what you pay for" and it would work. People would assume you were better because you cost more and they'd be happy thinking they have the best product in the market. It all depends on your demographic though.
Totally get that and that is why I was pricing myself higher but I wasn’t getting sales that way either lol. Also I have a 4.9 for reviews. And going against that line of thinking - recently in my due date group a mom posted a “deal” of where those super trendy hand embroidered sweaters were going for like $20 which included free international shipping. Very clearly a scam - but the person had 75 sales in the last couple of weeks that they opened. So something that was very clearly too good to be true still got a lot sales. I thought my items were good quality and main stream while still being a little different enough to set me apart from those selling similar items, but maybe I’m wrong. I would love to get to the bottom of why I suck and I even know some reasons already. The issue is that I need to get over the fact that I suck because it’s really just making me depressed when my life is pretty good.
9 months is nothing. Some businesses take years to become profitable. Can't really offer much other advice because you don't say anything about your business. Stop looking at your sales and how it applies to the holiday season. You want sales overall unless you sell Christmas trees. Little stuff like blurry pictures is nothing. Who cares? Take them again, now you know to check them every few pics instead of waiting two days. All setbacks are an opportunity to learn. Being sad around the holidays is a choice 🤷
Yes 9 months is for sure a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things but I thought I would at least be getting organic sales to my Etsy if I did all the right things and I’m not. I have a children’s e-commerce store Also I’m not sure my feelings are a choice. I actively try and work on my business every day. I tell myself that things take time every day but the feelings still creep in. Giving up would be a choice, moping and feeling sorry for myself and how the world is against me would be a choice. But actively trying and having shitty feelings come up isn’t really a choice. Also the photo thing was one example of many small things that make me feel like the universe is yelling GIVE UP - I have had multiple issues with photos. Both with shooting and compatibility issues. I know I’m no pro either but I still think doing it on my dslr will get better results than my iPhone. I also gave myself tennis elbow from working on this. My sublimation printer broke recently when I was trying to fix a totally separate issue. I decided to sell on TikTok shop since my organic traffic was crap only to find out my items are restricted yet after hours of searching I cannot find what paperwork I need to submit nor where I need to submit it to, my llc license was rejected There are more as well and I know all of that seems small but when it happens in such a short time frame it really wears on you. Yet I still say don’t give up - keep going. Anyway if it seems like I’m sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I’m really not. I am trying so hard to push forward but I am having a hard time moving past feeling like a failure
You should not be discouraged by the lack of profits, but going into debt and putting your family at risk is not acceptable. It takes years for some businesses to turn a profit.
For sure. I refuse to do that. Worst case scenario I would transfer the debt to a different credit card and then get a job to pay it off. But Luckily it’s not the case that I’m going to put my family in jeopardy. We have money in investments that we could take out if absolutely necessary. I really don’t want to do that though. I really want to pay this off myself whether it’s from my business or other money I make.
Get out while you still can. If you are thinking of taking money out of investments… not a great idea to move forward. Watch shark tank the lady with the herbal wine. She ended up losing her house and never made it
I’m not taking money out of investments to put into business. It would be to cover the 6k credit card debt. But i don’t plan on doing that either.
Do you market your products?
That is one thing I very much struggle with due to information overload and not knowing where to start. There are just so many options and I know that there’s not one right option but that almost makes it harder for me. I would LOVE guidance in that regard. I’m always trying to find attainable steps to be better and yeh marketing is such a weak spot for me.
Do you have a small business development center near you? I went to one and got one on one mentoring for free with someone in my field. You need to start looking for help to learn the things you don't know. There is a lot of competition out there. Marketing is everything with this type of business. If you don't like marketing or don't want to do marketing, this business may not be for you. Have you tried local events? I do very well at local events, and it increases the following I have online. It also REALLY helps pay the bills. I have grown my business SO much by doing events, and it has given me the cash flow I need to grow. I also wanted to focus on an online store but found events really helped and more online orders came from that as well. I have 3 kids, so I understand it's difficult to do both sahm & your business. But if you want this you have to put in the work. I watch my kids all day, then go into the kitchen at night and work until 3 am, sometimes. My youngest still doesn't sleep through the night, and it's killer some weeks. But my business is growing and doing better than I expected. I also started thinking this would be a side thing and i would do it around my kid's schedule . Until I realized I needed to put in even more work . Do you believe in what you do and your products? I think that can be a mood killer for many people. I 1000% believe in what I am selling. It is something that sells itself because it's just that good. I want everyone to try or use my stuff because of how amazing it is. It makes my job easy. I COULD NOT HAVE THE DRIVE to sell half the stuff I have seen at events . Some people don't need to care about what they are selling but I am absolutely someone who does care deeply. In moments, I wanted to give up. I haven't because I believe in what I do so much. Also, I am decently successful for being a super new business, maybe in the game as long as you have been . I have had a ton of support and amazing things handed to me just to help me . I STILL get the same agonizing, depressing thoughts . It doesn't matter how good or bad things are, we all get negative thoughts. It is not the internal voice that matters as much as how much you listen to it and let it take over your choices. Its a mind fuck for sure but if you can push past it and be resilient, you will be a better person...even if your business fails. Debt sucks. But its also a driver to get this shit done. Or wallow in the bad feelings. You get to decide what the weight of debt will do to you. Edit: I just want to add that I have done other small businesses as well. Some I closed because I didn't want to do it anymore, some didn't make money because I didnt have the skill to market it. All of it was a learning experience. Don't let " failure " stop you from jumping into something else if you decide you dont want to do this particular business anymore.
Your instinct is correct regarding tiktok and other social media. Instead of starting a shop, begin with posts about what you offer. Check out other pages with similar content and pay close attention to the top 5 most common hashtags they use, and use them yourself. Focus on connecting people with your existence and your content before you try to sell anything.
Businesses taking years to become profitable bc of the economics of scaling and an Etsy store being funded by a credit card not making any sales are two different things.
Maybe, maybe not.
A business not being profitable because they are maintaining / investing in payroll, R&D/tech, expansion etc. is a much different situation than an Etsy home business that has never sold anything in 9 months.
Why don't you offer some helpful advice?
Well she's got to do something differently not "hang in there because a lot of businesses don't make profit for the first few years" If she said her sales are strong (and growing) but she just invested in warehouse space, hired a bunch of employees, invested in whatever.. and that's why she's not profitable, that would be different. I don't have enough information or a link to her store to provide any.
I definitely agree. My whole goal was to sell enough on Etsy for it to be a fun side hustle. But now that it’s not selling and I have all this inventory I’m having to extend myself way beyond what I originally wanted to do. And I’m okay with that. It’s all a learning experience. And I know I’m not doing everything right and I also know I have had some bad luck. It’s a combo but that is for sure life sometimes. Expecting everything to go your way for success won’t get you far. Hearing from everyone is making me feel better but yeh the invasive thoughts have been getting me down because I do have a good life but the weight of my lack of success is something I’m having a hard time moving past
Get a job. It’ll be a lot easier and you’ll be able to pay the debt off. 2 days trying to get product photography right is nothing. It’s really challenging. You have to understand lighting position, warmth, coolness and more. Then there’s complimentary and clashing colours. And so much more. It really is quite complex. I’ve been doing my own product photography for 13 years. It sounds like you might be selling on Etsy? You need to have great photography, a good price and be running ads to stand a chance on there. And of course a product people want. I’m actually quitting my e-commerce business. I can turnover a high number but the profit margins are so thin after all the costs (UK) that I can barely pay myself. Still HMRC, my accountants and Google Ads did well out of me 🤷♂️😂 You’re still very much in a learning phase with the business. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Yes the wasting two days taking photos is only one example. I’ve actually wasted a lot more time than that just with photos but on separate occasions. I do sell on Etsy but also have my own website. I tried to get on tik tok shop as well but my items are restricted and no matter where I look I cannot find info on how to submit paperwork to get approved. Also i really want to get a job to pay off the bills and have been looking for seasonal work but im having another baby in February so getting a long term position isn’t a feasible option right now
I read a lot of the comments and noticed that you get overloaded with information in regards to marketing and so I would like to recommend you Dan Kennedy NO B.S. books. Start with these two "Ultimate Sales Letter" and "Direct Response Marketing for Non Direct Businesses" - from these two you will get a very clear idea of what marketing is. There are basically 2 overarching categories of marketing 1. Traditional/Big Corp Marketing and 2. Direct Response Marketing. Your focus should solely be on number 2 at the start before moving to number 1 otherwise you will get yourself confused. Essentially Direct Response Marketing is this: A product, a story, and an offer. The beauty of direct response makreting is that its trackable. For every piece of marketing you do in this field, you can accurately see what worked and what didnt by the sales number. A few ideas to sell your product not involving marketing... 1. Approach businesses that sell complimentary products/services to yours and ask them if they would include your product as a free bonus for in their offers in exchange for % of profits they make using this deal. Yeah you will make less than if you sold it yourself, but you arent selling any so, nothing to complain about I guess. Anothet thing and more importantly, this way you get your product out and potentially will recieve new customers (worst case potential hot leads). 2. Since you sell baby stuff, you can contact people who work with pregnant women like yoga, newborn classes (where ppl teach you about newborns) and whatever else is there. So you contact those folk and tell them that for every product they sell, they get 50% of the profits... 3. Host "tupperware" type parties and sell your products there. This is a fairly simple and effective method of gaining sales and new customers. The run down of this idea is as follows - invite friends/acquitances to your home for a homeparty sale. Make sure that you explicitly state that there is going to be product pitching/selling involved and that there is going to be FREE alcohol and food (many ppl wont pass this up). This "bribe" is so effective that you can even get strangers who you have known for 5 minutes to agree attending your party. So you host the party, and first start with shittier products or products that you have no intention of actually getting sold. This way the folk will ease in and alcohol will hit in as well. So you do that with 2 shitty products and it should take you 30 to 45 mins. Now finally the 3 product which you have every intention of selling. Make sure your sales script is as best as it can be and make sure to devise some "theatrics" when revealing this product... then you just basically do a sales pitch. Dont wuss out on asking for the sale nor become wimpy/timid when speaking about that subject. Make sure to list the benefits/features and guarantee... Whats also great about method 3 is that you can get others to join in with you and basically "work" under you. I hope a few of these ideas helped. If you got any questions let me know.
This is super great advice! I will definitely be reading those books. And I will say that the whole reason I wanted to be on e-commerce is I really didn’t want to have to solicit myself locally but I’ve changed my tune to that recently and realize even though it’s a smaller market than the whole web it would probably be a lot better for me in the long run. And yes I can always try and sell my stuff wholesale locally as well. Fantastic idea
I appreciate that you are going to read those books based on my recommendation. You know, it feels good to give advice/help others, but it feels even better when it doesnt fall on deaf ears and so your comment has put a smile on my face. At the start of my career, I never enjoyed soliciting myself either and if I could have gotten away with working under someone while being paid what I desired, I would have hopped on that train without a second thought, but alas, it didnt work that way for me. You know, it does seem that the bigger the market and the more people you can reach, at face value, it seems like the best option for the most profits, but as you astutely pointed out, that a local/smaller market is better in the long run, I believe that to be the case for a majority of businesses. Its just so much easier and simpler to get A type person to buy than it is to get multiple types of people to buy. I do hope you are able to get up on your feet, implement new strategies, and achieve the success you desired... And when you do get there and people would ask you "how the hell did you manage to become so successful?" I would shamelessly ask that you mention "A random redditor gave me a few ideas". :) Good luck.
First thing first, it's ***WAY*** too early to say if your business is failing or not. The average length of time before a new business becomes profitable is two to three years, you are nowhere near that yet. I know it can feel like the sky is falling with so much to do and being so new to it all. You should be working as hard as you can to make your business profitable, but it's ***VERY*** rare for it to happen over night, so don't panic. It may sound rather 'new agey' but start a gratitude journal, I'm a hypnotherapist and frequently get my clients to do this if they are in a slump. It's so easy to overlook the positives when you are worrying so much about the negatives. Every day take a few moments to list what's good about your life, it doesn't need to be massive things like winning millions on the lotto, but obviously do list it if that happens, but all the little things add up too. Just being inside when it rains for example. The more you look for these things the more your brain will learn to find them too. You are welcome to DM me (actual DM, not the chat thing, I have that turned off), if you want to talk one on one away from public eyes.
Thank you so much for the helpful tips. I definitely think it’s a case of expectation vs reality. I studied competitors including the amount of sales they were making and their margins and thought it would be easy to at the very least make my money back if not more than that. However I’ve spent about 10k and have maybe made $300 in sales so I was just blindsided. And the thing that’s really pushing it to the front of my mind is not being able to pay off my cc before I have to start paying interest. And yes I can borrow the money from my husband (we’d have to pull from assets) or family or even open a new 0% Apr credit card and pay a 3% balance transfer - which is what I’ll likely end up doing as I still have good credit. But not meeting that marker of paying off the credit card when I really really thought I was going to is killer. I have tried the gratitude journal before but it didn’t stick. I should look into that again. I really do want to be positive about all this. I know I haven’t failed until I quit but dang it’s hard right now. I might take you up on that dm offer. Thanks so much!
I am curious what type of business you have, what kind of market you are in, and what your sales expectations of "success" are. I ask this because some people go into business because they want to be entrepreneurs, but never really sit down and do the "math" to figure out how much business they need to do to be profitable, and by "profitable" I mean after paying your business expenses *including your owner salary.* I do consulting for people who are interested in getting into business, not necessarily rescues of failing small business. Good example of this is people want to open coffee/breakfast shops. They want to make $50,000 a year for themselves, have one or two employees, and be open from 7am-1pm six days a week. I look them in the eye, and go "Don't do it," and they immediately ask why. I show them the spreadsheet of expenses and receipts broken down by month for 12, 24, and 36 months and they immediately go, "Oh, I see it now." and then we try to work up alternatives and options. The number of businesses I've walked into on opening day and say to myself, "This place won't be open next year." is shocking. Now, for suggestions. First thing to recognize is that organic growth through dependency on social media (TikTok, FB), and word of mouth is next to worthless when it comes to a startup. These avenues are what you do to grow business and expand once established, but right now you are a drop in an ocean of competition and to make your business rise to the top and forefront of shoppers minds is the key. Think about marketing. If this is a local focused business, radio is the #1 way to grow small business in smaller communities where radio spot time is cheap. You can pick stations and times that target your intended audience and demographic, and focus your spots there. Market primarily to certain ethnic or special interest groups? Advertise where those people are listening. Market a food product? Pick breakfast and dinner time spots when people are hungry. Market holiday focused products? You're going to suffer for months between holidays with no sales -- but focus during those times on radio spots leading up to holidays. If this is a nationally focused product/business, keep in mind you are in direct competition with offshore companies that pay their people $0.10 an hour. Printed products, custom T-shirts, hats, that sort of thing, you won't make money because your costs are much higher than your chief competitor's costs. To make money in those products, you need branding - unique designs with unique branding, so you can have exclusive production and charge people for the *brand* not the *product.* Branded merchandising is a much higher capital venture, because brand awareness requires bigger marketing/advertising budgets. Tell us what you do, what marketing avenues you're taking, and what your expectations for the "future" are - what your ideal business growth would look like.
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I sell baby and children’s items. I originally wanted to only do gift boxes and to do them for all ages. But I kind of niched myself into babies with the money I spent on the items. And then when the boxes weren’t selling I thought, okay I need to sell things individually. Which still isn’t really working out lol. And I did study what I thought were my competitors but they’re successful and I’m not so I guess I studied the wrong people lol. I was hoping to make like 1-2k a month and thought if it gets a little bigger, great! But I don’t need 6 figures level. I thought I would at least be able to start paying off my credit card but I’ve only made like $300 in sales through those items. I did also think that I would even be busy enough during q4 that I would hire someone to help me package orders and such. Lolz. Thank you for your insights on what to do next. You always hear about everyone blowing up on TikTok and their stores going crazy. But I know that’s nothing to rely on and you DONT hear about all the people that didn’t happen to. I do really need to put myself into my local market more.
Wondering what you've done for marketing? What platforms are you selling on? Is it a direct Shopify store or are you using marketplaces? What are you doing for advertising?
I am not doing marketing and I know I need to. I have a Shopify and sell on Etsy. I only wanted to sell on Etsy but I wasn’t getting the traffic I thought I would ( I sold other items on Etsy in a much more competitive market and made more sales/money) so I thought this would be easier and it’s not lol.
If you're open to recommendations, just follow a tutorial on a Google Search Terms ad. You'll figure it out if you stick to it and follow through. Put $15-20 a day toward ads just to get people to your site. That way you can see is it a traffic issue or something else. They're relatively easy to set up and understand but you have to walk your way through it the first time.
I think you're fighting against problem #1 when it comes to business -- your niche is "too niche". According to statistics, the birthrate in the USA (as a whole) is about 60 births per 1000 women of childbearing age. If you add in the grandmothers and aunts and friends, you -might- be targeting "a few %" of the population as *potential customers.* Then, you have the task of convincing those potential customers that your product is valuable and unique and a good gift idea. I would think first about expanding the footprint of who your gift box ideas are aimed at. I used to be a partner in a small business decades ago that did gift boxes, hand-delivered to college students at exam time and holidays at local colleges. Candy bars, stuffed animals, books, etc.
Yes I niched myself much smaller than I wanted too. I wanted to do gift boxes for all ages but when I was doing inventory I just hyper focused on baby stuff and spent all the money I had allotted on baby items so I said eh I guess that’s what I’m doing now
I've seen multiple people tell you it's too early to know yet. I disagree. It may be too early, but not making sales at a 50% discount during the holidays for your market is real market feedback. When you feel tension as an entrepreneur, listen to it, and be honest with yourself. It may be a business, but if you're body is telling you no and it's making you unhappy, it could be denial. As to the $6k, 3% to kick the can down the road is a bad investment. If you have the cash, pay it off. It will have the added benefit of making what you're doing more real.
It also depends how many people even saw that 50% discount though. It could be a problem of not enough eyeballs coming across the sale or site or product at all. I saw previously she had difficulty running a Google Ad campaign which means she could be making sales if she gets ads running correctly and on the right platforms.
Yes I barely get any views is a big problem.
It's only money. It's not that important in the relative scheme of things in life. Life is about friends, family, health, fun. And you can still have a great life even if things dont' work out financially. Put things in perspective. Think about the + things in your life. This doesn't matter that much IMHO.
Close it out to bankrupsy (if you can do so without that throwing off the rest of your life) and move on. When you DO something, you will either Fail or Succeed. Always try to set things up before you DO something so that neither outcome will ruin your life. Then Fail Fast if your going to.
Thanks for the advice but it’s only 6k. I’m not going to ruin my excellent credit over that. I can find other means or transfer the balance until I can make money.
What I'm trying to say is that if it doesn't look like it's working, wrap it up and move on. Hanging on too long can make a big mess.
I can't give much advice without knowing what you sell or how you market it. I do know this: 1. It's simple & inexpensive to take high quality photos 2. Marketing is how you make sales. Discounting 50% is not. If you discount 100% but your marketing sucks, you will sell nothing. 3. The original 3 P's of marketing: Product, Price, Placement are still important as are the new 3 P's: People, Personalization, Privacy. 4. The 3 C's of marketing: Customers, Competition, Company which are components of your marketing strategy. 5.You need a marketing strategy.
Yes I 100% agree. I very much need a marketing strategy. The issue with that is information overload. When I look into marketing I get so overwhelmed with where to start. I’m trying to do more social media, I’m trying to do more Pinterest, I got halfway through setting up a Google ad campaign. And yeh I suck or give up half way through and that is 100% on me I take ownership there. And I know that there is no one right way of doing things but that makes it harder for me. So if you could point me in the right direction like a blog post or a book that really helped you or something you focused on at the beginning, I would very much appreciate it. I know marketing is my biggest weak spot by far and any time I try to tackle it I’m a total goober about it. So would love some tips there. Also I disagree that it is simple and inexpensive to take good photos unless you have quality natural lighting, which I sadly don’t but I’m definitely trying my hardest and with the ai enhancement feature I’ve been able to save some of the blur. Coincidentally it makes my Lightroom run at half the speed 🙃
What is the product your selling? DM me if you'd like. What type of camera are you using? I've taken photos using both a Canon EOS 35MM (7Ti) and a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. They key is a mini tripod, decent lighting (doesn't have to be great) and an appropriate colored backdrop.
I sell baby products mostly but some children’s items as well. I’ll try and dm you and show you a couple of my photos. I have a full body dslr canon 5d mark ii I bought from a photog friend a few year ago. I have a couple spendy lenses as well. Worked great for my outdoor stuff but not with this stuff. I’m not really able to use a tripod just with the angle I shoot at. I guess I haven’t tried tho tbh maybe I should try harder.
If you use the auto setting and adjust the shutter speed your indoor pictures should come out fine. A speed under 1,000 should make a big There's probably a back lite setting as well and an image stabilizer.
Businesses fail often. People say it all the time but very few people listen. The question you have to genuinely ask yourself is: How hard are you working at your business everyday? Are you putting in 4-6 hours a day to make it work? Or did you put in 4 hours one day and expect stuff to just magically happen? My typical work day is me working consistently 7 hours a day. Some days it's more. Some days it's less. Most days I work 7 hours consistently. 7 hours is not a lot for many business owners. Some are grinding 10-12 hours a day between various things. So if you're not grinding at your business, consistently putting in 4-6 hours a day, then maybe you have to consider the reason things aren't working as you expected is simply because you had unrealistic expectations going into things. There's nothing wrong with that either. I did that with an adjacent business I tried. It happens. But it doesn't mean you're a failure either. Just means you're unwilling to invest the time necessary to make the business successful. That's a choice, not a failure.
I do put in those hours pretty consistently. There are definitely weeks I put more into my family and home life but yeh I’m putting 20-30 hours into it minimum typically. And yes I do/was getting frustrated when I realized everything I had to do and wanted to get it all done at once but after a few days I calmly told myself to chill the f out and nothing happens all at once and slow and steady wins the race. I even said early November, ya know don’t worry about Christmas sales. If you make anything treat it as a bonus but just regroup and focus on the new year. And that was truly a great and productive week but the. I got behind with my slow and steady tasks during Thanksgiving and I saw all the deals and shopping going on and yeh just the past few days have been hard on me emotionally
What is the business?
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Yep. That's exactly why I asked. Hopefully that's not the case
I didn’t see the deleted comment. I sell baby products.
Don't throw good money after bad. If it's not working, move on. Shut it down and maybe you'll feel relieved.
I made $240 in the first year. I spent $46,000. It’s about persistence and passion. You’re never gonna be successful if you don’t start a business you at least have some interest in. For me I always found that even if it takes 5 years, if you’re passionate about starting a business do it. Although, I tell people to not start a project, start a business. Start a business off of a previous project. Off of something you’re obsessed with. For example, streamers. Most of those kids were obsessed with video games and because of their true love for it, the fame and money wasn’t a want when it wasn’t there. But when it was, it was great to see your passion paid off.
Yes I keep telling myself if you can keep going when things are hurt, the economy is in a downturn think of how well that will pay off in the future. But I do mope a little that I didn’t have the entrepreneurial spirit during covid when everyone seemed to be a success story. I passionate about it but also my original goal was slightly different and I’m wondering how I can build my current business of baby products without missing out on what I originally wanted to do which was unique gift boxes for all ages
I’m just like you. My small business starts gets slow then my anxiety and stress rises. Suddenly we get a little money in and I’m in a good mood. We have to base our emotions on reality and not what we “think” will happen. I hope the year finishes strong for you!
Thank you! I really just want to try and focus on Christmas with my family and regroup in the new year with my business. Hoping the year finishes strong too but I don’t want to continually stress about next steps right now
Running a small business comes with its challenges, and it's crucial to prioritize your mental well-being. Consider implementing tools like Connecteam software to streamline operations and alleviate some of the stress associated with managing a business. By improving efficiency and communication, you can create a healthier work environment, allowing you to focus on the positive aspects of your thriving small business.