Tuesday, January 4, 2011

So many questions, so few answers,,,,

Greetings!

The world economy news is so bad it leaves one with so many questions but few answers.  As many of you know I am working on getting my small ceramics and crafts business going.  But now with predictions of gas rising to $4 a gallon by summer and $5 a gallon by next year the big question is what direction do I take my business in?  My plans seem to be changing faster than I can get merchandise made.

At one point I had planned on advertising in Country Sampler, but the cost of advertising has ruled that out.  They have deadlines 6 months prior to the issue coming out.  And they come out every other month.  So basically if I want to have more than a one time ad, which would be preferable, I would be paying for 3 ads before the first one hits the news stand.  That adds up to a lot of money not knowing if the ad will bring me enough business.  Money I do not have right now.  So with that ruled out for at least the time being, on to the next plan.

I wanted to go to a shop in Arthur, IL and rent a booth to sell my wares.  I have sold there before and believe it has potential.  But Arthur is an hour and a half south of me.  At $4 a gallon for gas that would be another expensive proposition and I would have to raise my prices considerably to cover the cost of gas to get there and back.  Raising my prices too much will cost me business.  So now I am questioning if this is a smart direction to go in.  On to the next plan I had.

I had also planned on selling at 3rd Sunday Market in Bloomington, IL.  It would be about a 45 minute drive to get to the market place.  OK, that is better than going to Arthur, but still would be an added expense in gas that I would have to try to recoup in prices on my wares.  Would it be worth it?  Would it hurt my sales?  Some might say, "well that is the cost of doing business."  And while that is true to a certain degree, you can rest assured that no company will ever just chalk it off to a necessary expense and not try to recoup that money.  You have to, or there is no sense in having a business.  Folks are not in business to give their products away.

So now what?  Along with higher prices will come higher shipping fees.  Will people stop buying on places like eBay and Etsy because of the shipping costs?  When and where does it all stop?

I have heard rumors that coffee will be over $30 a can by the year's end.  Naturally, the price of all food is going up and up and the packages are getting smaller.  How long will it be before people can not afford the extra things in life any more?  I know I can't now,,,  but obviously it is going to get much worse.

I don't mean to sound like I am all doom and gloom but I just don't see anything positive coming out of this economy, especially where my business is concerned.  I do not have a big budget to put into getting this business off the ground.  In fact I don't have much of a budget at all.

I have so many questions and so few answers as to what would be the best direction for me to take at this point.  So, here is a temporary game plan.  Stop, think, and regroup!  I am going to go ahead and work on making inventory, as without that, there is no business anyway, LOL.  As I am doing that I will watch the economy and see what it will do.    I can try my hand at online sales only for a while.  I might not get as many but I think it would at least allow me to keep my prices reasonable as the customer pays the shipping.  Then go from there.

If you have any ideas I sure would appreciate hearing them.

I pray the economy does not get as bad as predicted.  Survival for some will be difficult at best if it does.

Until next time,,,,,,, blessings!

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