Meeting With A Store Owner - Scared!

[Pennypower]

Monday will be my first meeting with a store owner to try and land my first store account. I'm hoping to get an order of upwards of 50 belts for starters. Anyway, I'm nervous as all hell about a few things.....

#1 - What if I can't make a consistent enough product? I mean, I'm used to selling on Etsy, one of a kind stuff. It's never mattered before that all my stuff looked exactly the same. I'm going to have to find a ways to communicate that to him but somehow it makes me feel like less of a professional.

#2 - Can I even handle an order of 50 belts OMG! I know I can do it, especially since he'll have to pay me a large portion upfront. I can get some better tools to be more efficient. But it's scary to hand over such an expensive and valuable order to someone. The reality is he may not like some of it. I am making prototypes for him to look at, but it still makes me nervous.

#3 - Now I have to get SERIOUS about bookkeeping and business management and all that stuff I completely suck at. It's just overwhelming.

Ugh! I'm scared, but excited. I think I need a glass of wine.

Anyway, any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks friends :-D

Penny

[TXAG]

1 - The best way to combat that is to make your items all unique...that way they don't all have to look exactly alike. (Though it might be hard to do that for 50 belts...that's a lot of belts!)

2 - I've been approached to provide stock for stores (not for leather items, but other ones) and if I cannot fulfill what they are asking for, I will politely tell them this and explain why...the other items I make are very time-consuming and cost-prohibitive to make a lot of to just sit somewhere where it may or may not sell for a long time. I can't afford to do that and neither can the store, so I am honest with them about it upfront.

3 - Yeah, taxes could be a PITA. Keep receipts of all your supplies, tools, etc. Might want to seek out a local CPA that can help you out...Quicken is a good program that can help with that and is fairly easy to use/understand...

Good luck...

Edited January 15, 2014 by TXAG

[JLSleather]

50 belts is a great order! Sue - weeeeet.

I think as a rule, the "consistent" folks look for is quality of the materials, uniform styling (like, don't put 5 holes in this belt, then for no apparent reason put 9 in the next one), and the like. Nobody expects them to be identical, and they won't be (which is good).

As for bookkeeping, it's EASIER on the 'big' orders. A lot less 'in and out' spending for the same money. Are these tooled? I find one big help with such ... have a table used for dyeing / drying. I make 5 (or so), color em, set em off. Oil setting while I do the next 5 (ish). Are they stitched? Organize them by which have white or natural thread, which are black thread, etc. SERious aid to your time if you don't spend half a day changing threads and tensions (for example).

Encouragement? Sounds like you already have some ambition, and you already have a desire to do it right. All you need is to LIKE doing it, and you'll be fine

[bruce johnson]

Go for it! I paid off 90K in medical debt just short of two years expanding way more into wholesale custom work and awards as a side deal. Learn from ,my mistakes. Be reasonable to yourself with lead times. It is no fun to watch the sun come up and pack off to work. Price to be fair to yourself. You have to figure wholesale pricing is less than retail, but bigger numbers of pieces.You still have to do them one at a time. Know your costs - down cold. Don't let the tail wag the dog. If they can get it cheaper, let them. Sellers can always find a cheaper source. Figure out how you are going to handle the situation when his retail customer contact you directly and wants to buy from you - circumnavigating the retailer and trying to buy from you cheaper. Quick thoughts off the top of my head.

[awharnessshop]

Totally agree with Bruce! Be realistic on your product cost, and do yourself and the industry a favor... Don't go too cheap just to get the bid! Anyone can play the price game, and undercut! But I think we can all attest, for quality people will pay!

[SLudlow]

CPAs are very useful! You will almost certainly be asked to do inventory management, which I use Quickbooks for, amongst other things!

It's for sale now for about $100 off on Amazon. Exceptional software. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E6LIEFM/ref=s9_al_bw_g65_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=1T17DYC5MFKEGKKCZXEJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1695895982&pf_rd_i=376886011

[Pennypower]

THanks everyone so much for the great advice! I'm feeling a little better about things today. As soon as I get a chance I"m going to go back over all of your responses and think more about all that you said. I haven't even had 2 free seconds! I've been slaving away in the garage making belts and avoiding thinking about accounting :-P

[TexasJack]

Worst that can happen: You end up in exactly the same position you are now without the store business.

Set realistic goals for delivery dates and amounts. Leave yourself enough time to cover things like broken equipment, late delivery of your supplies, brief illness (a day or 2 with the flu could really slow you down), etc. As others have said, consistency is a very important thing in business. A supplier that meets deadlines is highly respected - far more than one that is sometimes fast and sometimes missed the mark.

Be prepared to speak to what you'll do for special orders, focusing on delivery and how the store will profit.

[Tex Shooter]

Hi Penny, I have been a wholesaler in Texas for years. What you are going through is called a "cold call". I always enjoyed them and was told that I was very unusual in that respect. There is one major pit fall that happens in wholesaling and that is making or carrying a item just because one account ask for it. I did this many times and got burnt most of the time. The main thing in wholesaling is to understand your market. It helps to talk to end users and find out what they like and want. -- Tex

[Pennypower]

Today is the day! My meeting is in an hour and a half. I'll let ya'll know how it goes :-) I'm so excited!

[Pennypower]

Just a little update on how the meeting went. It went very well. He really liked my stuff. However he's concerned about whether or not he can afford my wholesale cost, due to the markup. Handmade leather goods might not fit the pricing of his store. I think he's going to start with a small order and just see if it sells. He's going to let me know.

It's pretty much exactly how I expected it to go. We'll see.

[kwelna]

My only piece of advice is to stick to your guns on your price. Delivering a small order to see if they will sell is an excelllent route. Also, you can offer to swing by weekly\monthly and replenish stock. ( Kind of like they do in the bread isle at a store) Then monitor waht is selling, if one style\color seems to not sell well, pull it and replace it with one that does. The owner is looking for the number of "turns" he can get ( Usually per square foot or per display). This means a bit more work on your end, but it is a value added service that will set you apart.

[Pennypower]

Replenishing stock, something I hadn't thought about :-)

[kwelna]

Alternativly, If you have a good and trusting relationship with the store owner, You can set up a display ( Free of charge) and then replenish as it sells. Basically you are selling on consignment with the owner taking a cut. I will say that this usually tends to end in bad feelings as at some pooint the account becomes "Off". either due to shoplifting, employee theft etc. Then all of a sudden you are replacing items but not getting paid for the missing ones. You need to agree on who is responsible for shortages before you start. This is an alternative, not the best way to go about things, but it can work.

[Pennypower]

The idea of consignment makes me really nervous, but I'm open to it :-)

[TXAG]

Alternativly, If you have a good and trusting relationship with the store owner, You can set up a display ( Free of charge) and then replenish as it sells. Basically you are selling on consignment with the owner taking a cut. I will say that this usually tends to end in bad feelings as at some pooint the account becomes "Off". either due to shoplifting, employee theft etc. Then all of a sudden you are replacing items but not getting paid for the missing ones. You need to agree on who is responsible for shortages before you start. This is an alternative, not the best way to go about things, but it can work.

All those reasons you listed are why I personally will never do consignment. I have way too much stress in my life already without having to worry about my stuff going "missing" because the owner or one of their employees decided they want it or from customers stealing it.

When I've placed my items with retailers before, I insist they buy them outright. I find that they are much more attentive with what happens to their stock that way...and if they aren't, then it's their own loss -- not mine.

[kwelna]

I do agree, it is a less than ideal but a viable alternative to get exposure.....that being said youare probably better off going to craft shows and other such events

[flintlock]

Buy them cheaper? You mean like the $12 Chinese belt I got from Walmart that lasted less than 6 months? Yes, they can get them cheaper.

Go for it! I paid off 90K in medical debt just short of two years expanding way more into wholesale custom work and awards as a side deal. Learn from ,my mistakes. Be reasonable to yourself with lead times. It is no fun to watch the sun come up and pack off to work. Price to be fair to yourself. You have to figure wholesale pricing is less than retail, but bigger numbers of pieces.You still have to do them one at a time. Know your costs - down cold. Don't let the tail wag the dog. If they can get it cheaper, let them. Sellers can always find a cheaper source. Figure out how you are going to handle the situation when his retail customer contact you directly and wants to buy from you - circumnavigating the retailer and trying to buy from you cheaper. Quick thoughts off the top of my head.