HandmadeLove's Profile

Do it!

If...
It is where you find your energy and passion.
You have the time. Or your sig other is very uunderstanding and supportive.
And are willing to eat PB&J, mac n cheese and bean burritos for two-three years.

I have had an online store now for almost three years (Fair Trade and indie made acessories, jewelry, house wears and clothing.)

We started out with $200 and a blog. Not that we have a store full of inventory right now (well maybe a small one,) but we have built up to thousands of dollars in inventory. And it was more of a hobby in the beginning. We did have a brick and mortar store for 9 months last year but I made the difficut desicion to close it because I was so sick with a pregnancy. But I love and miss that part of it. Online is a wonderful place to start, but it also has it's downsides.

- You can't let the customer touch and feel and fall in love with something quite the same way.
- In my opinion, photographin/editing/posting/descripting product is much more difficult than displaying it n the floor (unless your supppliers provide satisfactory images)
- You have to ship it (post office is my least fav place)
- It takes a lot of advertising or knowing lots of bloggers to get people to visit your store's site.

But...

- You can work from home.
- You can keep working another job easily.
- You can make put as little or as much time in, (your store will suffer of course with less, but there isn't as much riding on it.
- You don't need nearly as much $ to start.

But I'm a believer in those who have a good idea and passion can start a business in a recession and if they ca ride it out then they will be on top when thing seem better and more promising. By that time those who wanted to play it safe will just be getting started.

But visit, visit visit! Go to stores you love, look at displays, layout (for inspiration not stealing ideas). Talk to owners, ask them how they like it. (You don't necessarily need to tell them you want to do it too.)

You could take a few first steps before you dive in fully...

- Choose a name, register your business as a sole proprietor (cheapest) or another form you plan to be
- This will allow you to have a resale ID. This means you can go to shows, and/or contact suppliers for catalogs/wholesale pricing/terms of sale.
- Blog about what you love under your new name. The more readers you obtain the more people who will be excited when you open your store.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

Does anyone know where can I find a rocking chair like that? We are looking for something to rock our soon-to-arrive little one in, and I trying to steer far far away from gliders.