... but hi anyway. I've known about this forum for years but finally decided to join and participate.
I'm from Australia and have been running my textiles business solo for over 5 years. I'm also in a small town so it's quite isolating as I have no business partner to bounce questions off or really anyone in a similar position who I can brainstorm or exchange thoughts, ideas and feedback with.
The result is that I've made a bunch of bad decisions (some good ones too though!), and the whole process has taken a lot longer than it should - or at least, longer than some of my competitors who started around the same time. Yes, I know - run your own race, but it's difficult not to compare. So this year I'll finally reach 7 figures in revenue and it feels like if I just stepped out of my own way, I'd have been there a lot sooner.
I have a good product, in that it is in demand - but I've changed the variation of the product a number of times, and every time this happens, it sets you back before you can move forward again. All the advice out there suggests to find the one thing and just run with it, chopping and changing just delays your progress. I found that's true but not all the time - when I started, knowing nothing, the product was generic and would sell basically only with great marketing. Based on customer feedback over time, I changed the product somewhat and now it's much easier to sell even with very little marketing. Something like 75% of my traffic is organic. But I made many mistakes such as having too many variations of it, with some taking a very long time to sell. I also introduced another range, because back then I thought I had to be everything to everyone. It wasn't as popular as it wasn't unique (so would need to "be sold" rather than have inherent demand) and it tied up a lot of my money on stagnant inventory. If only I'd have put the money towards the best seller instead... Another lesson learned.
I source from India and I've been lucky in that I chose a reputable manufacturer - but it is still India, so there's no such thing as a trouble free run. So while my first order with them was perfect, I've since had issues with consistency of product, variations in quality etc. I've only recently outsourced the managing of the purchasing process to a sourcing agent, but even with them keeping a much closer eye on things, there are still issues. The nature of my product is such that consistency is very important. It's not that the manufacturer can't do it, but that I'm a small and unimportant fish in a big pond, so I just don't get the kind of attention that a big fish would.
Which brings me to the part where I feel like I may not belong here, I hope that's not the case. You see, over years of absorbing advice on what I "should" be doing to run a successful business, I figured that I actually don't want to do (almost) any of the things I'm supposed to be doing.
For example, I don't want staff. I want to run a one-woman show, with outsourcing as needed but no staff. So I have bookkeepers, accountants, sourcing agent and soon, a 3PL. Perhaps one day a VA / marketing / email people as I lack follow through to perform the routine must-do's with any kind of regularity.
I hate social media, so I don't do any of it. My business has only grown since. I don't do reels, influencers, PR, those fake ads which masquerade as editorials... I run an ad or two but I tend to just put one out there and don't obsess over ROAS etc, I just let it run. You could say I employ the Pareto principle when it comes to business. You won't find me compulsively tweaking my Add to Cart button colours to see if it improves my conversion rate.
And now I'm contemplating changing manufacturers (again) to Europe instead. Another mistake? Maybe. The more I see of India, the less I like it. But Australia has a FTA with India so strictly speaking, it makes more sense to source from there. And the product is good - but not as good as I would like. Sometimes I wish I could be one of those people who has no qualms selling crappy Chinese gadgets to the masses, but I'm not. I care about the quality of my product and even small variations from the original are not acceptable to me. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic, but it means I'm forever searching for a better version. I already have a manufacturer in Europe who can make a close to perfect version albeit a lot more expensive - but as many of my customers are in the US, it might make sense to have a European manufacturer. The US market can handle the pricing plus it's much closer to ship.
So as you can see, I probably don't do or don't want to do things the "conventional" way, which is why I feel like I'm getting in my own way a lot. But I have no plans to take over the world with this business, I just need it to give me freedom as I define it. I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.
Anyway, I've already waffled on too much so if you've read this far, thank you. Is there a place where we can have a thread documenting our progress? Would love to start one.
I'm from Australia and have been running my textiles business solo for over 5 years. I'm also in a small town so it's quite isolating as I have no business partner to bounce questions off or really anyone in a similar position who I can brainstorm or exchange thoughts, ideas and feedback with.
The result is that I've made a bunch of bad decisions (some good ones too though!), and the whole process has taken a lot longer than it should - or at least, longer than some of my competitors who started around the same time. Yes, I know - run your own race, but it's difficult not to compare. So this year I'll finally reach 7 figures in revenue and it feels like if I just stepped out of my own way, I'd have been there a lot sooner.
I have a good product, in that it is in demand - but I've changed the variation of the product a number of times, and every time this happens, it sets you back before you can move forward again. All the advice out there suggests to find the one thing and just run with it, chopping and changing just delays your progress. I found that's true but not all the time - when I started, knowing nothing, the product was generic and would sell basically only with great marketing. Based on customer feedback over time, I changed the product somewhat and now it's much easier to sell even with very little marketing. Something like 75% of my traffic is organic. But I made many mistakes such as having too many variations of it, with some taking a very long time to sell. I also introduced another range, because back then I thought I had to be everything to everyone. It wasn't as popular as it wasn't unique (so would need to "be sold" rather than have inherent demand) and it tied up a lot of my money on stagnant inventory. If only I'd have put the money towards the best seller instead... Another lesson learned.
I source from India and I've been lucky in that I chose a reputable manufacturer - but it is still India, so there's no such thing as a trouble free run. So while my first order with them was perfect, I've since had issues with consistency of product, variations in quality etc. I've only recently outsourced the managing of the purchasing process to a sourcing agent, but even with them keeping a much closer eye on things, there are still issues. The nature of my product is such that consistency is very important. It's not that the manufacturer can't do it, but that I'm a small and unimportant fish in a big pond, so I just don't get the kind of attention that a big fish would.
Which brings me to the part where I feel like I may not belong here, I hope that's not the case. You see, over years of absorbing advice on what I "should" be doing to run a successful business, I figured that I actually don't want to do (almost) any of the things I'm supposed to be doing.
For example, I don't want staff. I want to run a one-woman show, with outsourcing as needed but no staff. So I have bookkeepers, accountants, sourcing agent and soon, a 3PL. Perhaps one day a VA / marketing / email people as I lack follow through to perform the routine must-do's with any kind of regularity.
I hate social media, so I don't do any of it. My business has only grown since. I don't do reels, influencers, PR, those fake ads which masquerade as editorials... I run an ad or two but I tend to just put one out there and don't obsess over ROAS etc, I just let it run. You could say I employ the Pareto principle when it comes to business. You won't find me compulsively tweaking my Add to Cart button colours to see if it improves my conversion rate.
And now I'm contemplating changing manufacturers (again) to Europe instead. Another mistake? Maybe. The more I see of India, the less I like it. But Australia has a FTA with India so strictly speaking, it makes more sense to source from there. And the product is good - but not as good as I would like. Sometimes I wish I could be one of those people who has no qualms selling crappy Chinese gadgets to the masses, but I'm not. I care about the quality of my product and even small variations from the original are not acceptable to me. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic, but it means I'm forever searching for a better version. I already have a manufacturer in Europe who can make a close to perfect version albeit a lot more expensive - but as many of my customers are in the US, it might make sense to have a European manufacturer. The US market can handle the pricing plus it's much closer to ship.
So as you can see, I probably don't do or don't want to do things the "conventional" way, which is why I feel like I'm getting in my own way a lot. But I have no plans to take over the world with this business, I just need it to give me freedom as I define it. I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.
Anyway, I've already waffled on too much so if you've read this far, thank you. Is there a place where we can have a thread documenting our progress? Would love to start one.
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