I can't sleep tonight.
Just a little stressed out about the business and my future plans. It's hard to be rational at 12am in the morning.
See, this is the quiet period of the year, and ESG is not generating the kind of income it should be. Part of that is that I can't get stock as quickly as I'd like - being a small business. Part of that is to do with stocking up on roleplaying games that I'd researched as being a good investment only to get burnt by a local boom in indie games that I couldn't stock at a reasonable price.
*sigh*
It gets a bit stressful when I know that if I had a brick and mortar store, this stock I'm sitting on would be moving. I didn't even want to be sitting on stock, but there you go.
It's not that I'm closing the business down, but I'm not happy with how slowly things are going. It simply is not making enough sales to really justify any more work into the business. Short of a boom in sales - there is little point. I have only a few loyal customers, most people use me as some sort of last resort.
The thing is, I have to work fulltime, come home and try to figure out sales, worry about accounts and then somehow fit a social life and other projects around it all. I'm feeling worn down at the moment and getting that "too much for one man to bear" feeling.
I can't afford to advertise. The business simply doesn't make enough money. I'm not sure how to make the site do anything else - blogging didn't work, nobody uses the forums (NZRAG is already there, so why use two forums...) and if I didn't have business bills to pay, I'd probably send the stock back (except I wouldn't get nearly enough money from that either.)
I feel trapped.
It's a lesson learned, but I can't just give up half-way through, I have to work things through to a point that I can leave it. Growing the business has proven to be too much work for too little return. I would put my prices up to meet Retailers, but that gets rid of my only real drawing point.
And I still get people who try to convince me to give them a discount!
I know that this is a time where things are quiet - but tonight, I just can't sleep and I keep worrying. I'm hoping this new project that I'm working on will help generate for me enough to be able to sort out ESG. But that is very long term thinking. It's not helping me sleep tonight.
I'm not saying ESG is doing badly - far from it - but it isn't performing to the level that it needs to justify a long-term operation. It's a combination of an unresponsive market, too many other businesses nibbling away at potential sales, some bad decisions of my own stock and operations wise and the inability to get stock in sooner than brick and mortar operations that can afford to order direct from overseas.
On a good month, ESG does well enough to stay balanced. But it needs more sales - and nothing is working at the moment.
Wish I could get some sleep...
BTW, this is not a cry for help, it's just I can't sleep and I need to get it out.
Love and Huggles
Conan
Currently Reading: Nothing
Currently Playing: Exalted: Nexus of the Sun
Mood: Tired and can't sleep...
Just a little stressed out about the business and my future plans. It's hard to be rational at 12am in the morning.
See, this is the quiet period of the year, and ESG is not generating the kind of income it should be. Part of that is that I can't get stock as quickly as I'd like - being a small business. Part of that is to do with stocking up on roleplaying games that I'd researched as being a good investment only to get burnt by a local boom in indie games that I couldn't stock at a reasonable price.
*sigh*
It gets a bit stressful when I know that if I had a brick and mortar store, this stock I'm sitting on would be moving. I didn't even want to be sitting on stock, but there you go.
It's not that I'm closing the business down, but I'm not happy with how slowly things are going. It simply is not making enough sales to really justify any more work into the business. Short of a boom in sales - there is little point. I have only a few loyal customers, most people use me as some sort of last resort.
The thing is, I have to work fulltime, come home and try to figure out sales, worry about accounts and then somehow fit a social life and other projects around it all. I'm feeling worn down at the moment and getting that "too much for one man to bear" feeling.
I can't afford to advertise. The business simply doesn't make enough money. I'm not sure how to make the site do anything else - blogging didn't work, nobody uses the forums (NZRAG is already there, so why use two forums...) and if I didn't have business bills to pay, I'd probably send the stock back (except I wouldn't get nearly enough money from that either.)
I feel trapped.
It's a lesson learned, but I can't just give up half-way through, I have to work things through to a point that I can leave it. Growing the business has proven to be too much work for too little return. I would put my prices up to meet Retailers, but that gets rid of my only real drawing point.
And I still get people who try to convince me to give them a discount!
I know that this is a time where things are quiet - but tonight, I just can't sleep and I keep worrying. I'm hoping this new project that I'm working on will help generate for me enough to be able to sort out ESG. But that is very long term thinking. It's not helping me sleep tonight.
I'm not saying ESG is doing badly - far from it - but it isn't performing to the level that it needs to justify a long-term operation. It's a combination of an unresponsive market, too many other businesses nibbling away at potential sales, some bad decisions of my own stock and operations wise and the inability to get stock in sooner than brick and mortar operations that can afford to order direct from overseas.
On a good month, ESG does well enough to stay balanced. But it needs more sales - and nothing is working at the moment.
Wish I could get some sleep...
BTW, this is not a cry for help, it's just I can't sleep and I need to get it out.
Love and Huggles
Conan
Currently Reading: Nothing
Currently Playing: Exalted: Nexus of the Sun
Mood: Tired and can't sleep...
3 comments:
HUGS! - paul
Likewise with the Hugs!
I wish I had the businessy mind that could give you some guidance. But I don't so all I can do is offer the morale boostering. Kia kaha.
Thanks guys,
It's just that time of year, really. As long as I don't panic and actually do something stupid like ordering in mad amounts of new stock, I should be fine. I just need to ride out this quiet period and come August (when the sales start to move up again historically) have a plan in motion to maximise sales at the busy points. :)
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