This week
I have made some progress with my $100 challenge. I picked my product, which is
a black, bluetooth speaker. I believe it is high quality, and bluetooth
speakers are very popular right now. I think I'll be able to be successful selling
all of the products I purchased. I purchased them on sale for $13 each, and I
believe I will be able to sell them for at least $28 each. That will give me a
$15 profit from each speaker sold. The only negative I am seeing so far is
that the speakers are shipping from China, the shipment was processed a lot
faster than I thought it would be, and they are currently on their way but it
has already been a week, and I would like to begin selling soon. If I run out
of product faster than expected, then it could take me a lot longer to get them
back in stock than if they were shipped in the U.S., and since this project is on
a time limit this could set me back a lot. But I anticipate making $100 at least
with my first batch of product. I really like creating a business plan this
week because it gave me a lot of perspective and helped me focus down my goals.
Specifically it helped me decide that this company is not for the benefit of
me, but for the benefit of my customers, and I will act accordingly when
participating in customer service.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Week 2
Well this week, I have spent a lot of time on Alibaba looking for a product to sell for my $100 challenge. I am trying to find something that is fairly cheap to buy wholesale, but is also popular enough that I will be able to sell a lot without much advertising. But I also don't want to buy something too cheaply made, because I do not want to be a burden to my future customers. So finding a middle ground has been hard. I've been looking a lot at headphones, a power charger (where you can store extra battery life to charge your device from on the go), fitness bands, and car battery chargers, which apparently were a hugely popular item last year! I plan on deciding tonight, and ordering them this weekend, so I can have them soon.
As far as the reading goes, I really like it all, but I disagree with something that was said in "A Visionary Business". I was in B183 2 semesters ago, which was also an entrepreneur class. We read an article, which unfortunately I don't remember the title to, and it discussed the merits of a business plan. There are pros to a business plan: it helps you have a vision, it keeps you focused, and it keeps you on the right path. But the idea that you HAVE to have a business plan in order to have a successful business in flawed. I personally am the type of person, that if I have to sit down and spend a lot of time planning and writing, I would procrastinate it for as long as possible, I would be miserable writing it, and honestly I probably wouldn't look at it often. But I have also ran several successful businesses of my own without one. Its easier for me to write as I go, when I have a conflict I will sit down and figure it out. And if I start right away on my business, I bypass the procrastination, because I'm so excited and I get things done quicker. I can see the benefits for a business plan if you are starting a larger business and need investors and loans, but for my own uses, I don't feel I need one. And in the article previously mentioned there was a surprisingly small percentage of people who used a business plan before launching their now successful businesses.
As far as the reading goes, I really like it all, but I disagree with something that was said in "A Visionary Business". I was in B183 2 semesters ago, which was also an entrepreneur class. We read an article, which unfortunately I don't remember the title to, and it discussed the merits of a business plan. There are pros to a business plan: it helps you have a vision, it keeps you focused, and it keeps you on the right path. But the idea that you HAVE to have a business plan in order to have a successful business in flawed. I personally am the type of person, that if I have to sit down and spend a lot of time planning and writing, I would procrastinate it for as long as possible, I would be miserable writing it, and honestly I probably wouldn't look at it often. But I have also ran several successful businesses of my own without one. Its easier for me to write as I go, when I have a conflict I will sit down and figure it out. And if I start right away on my business, I bypass the procrastination, because I'm so excited and I get things done quicker. I can see the benefits for a business plan if you are starting a larger business and need investors and loans, but for my own uses, I don't feel I need one. And in the article previously mentioned there was a surprisingly small percentage of people who used a business plan before launching their now successful businesses.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Week 1
I think I am really going to enjoy my Entrepreneur class. I got to read "The Start Up of You" this past week, and I loved it! It's all about how to get yourself in the right place to start a business and when its ok to take risks and when its not. So i decided to name my blog after that book, since I want to remember that everyday is "Day One" and never go into that secondary though process that improvement is over. Every day is a new day to start over!
This week I've thought a lot about the $100 challenge. Honestly I'm scared, I'm currently taking six classes, doing a part time internship, and I'm pregnant so I'm always tired and not always feeling my best. I've ran small businesses before, but I don't have time right now! Which is why I like the idea of an Amazon reseller the best. I can buy products (probably from Alibaba), and sell them for a profit on Amazon. This won't take up as much of my time during the week as my other ideas.
I have ran two separate cleaning businesses, and I always really enjoy those. I like cleaning a lot, its something I am really good at, and the costs are pretty low. But right now I don't have the time to do it. But I think that trying a new business will be a good for me, and hopefully fun.
This week I've thought a lot about the $100 challenge. Honestly I'm scared, I'm currently taking six classes, doing a part time internship, and I'm pregnant so I'm always tired and not always feeling my best. I've ran small businesses before, but I don't have time right now! Which is why I like the idea of an Amazon reseller the best. I can buy products (probably from Alibaba), and sell them for a profit on Amazon. This won't take up as much of my time during the week as my other ideas.
I have ran two separate cleaning businesses, and I always really enjoy those. I like cleaning a lot, its something I am really good at, and the costs are pretty low. But right now I don't have the time to do it. But I think that trying a new business will be a good for me, and hopefully fun.
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