It's looking like I'm on track to have a record breaking first and second quarter. Granted, that's not hard given that I'm normally quiet as a church mouse those two quarters, but this year in addition to the bigger Valentine's order that shipped the first week of January (and for which I should be getting a check in the next ten days), I also got a decent size order for another componant of my favorite BIG company that is supposed to ship in about three weeks.
I'm ecstatic I got this new order. It's not for a ton of money but the timing is perfect in that what they want can be completed in the time they want and - this is the part I love the most - they want it shipped the week before I'm supposed to leave for a little Mexico vacation. I'm heading down there with my parents who basically flipped houses with someone so it's only costing me ~$300 for the airfare and that's it. $300 for a little sun, sand, and margaritas. Well, ok, maybe more like $350 after the margaritas are accounted for.
Back to business - when talking to this componant of BIG company the buyer mentioned that they've been really happy with the products of mine they've brought on before and want to know what else I have that they might be interested in. This is exactly what I was hoping for and told her that I'll be showcasing some new stuff in the next month or two so she can take a look and see what we have. I'm hoping - hoping - that this means I'll get another 'outside holiday season' sale from them and then perhaps a bigger holiday sale order.
So I raise my glass of morning juice to what will hopefully be a record breaking first and second quarter and may that hopefully just foreshadow good things to come in third and fourth quarter!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Office Space
There were only 5 things on my To Do list for today. It was deceivingly short though as #1 on that list was "clean & organize office."
About the same time QuickBooks went to hell in a handbasket (basically beginning of Q3) so did my office. The office - which is in our refinished halfbasement - not only holds my desk, printer, and other important "office" stuff, but also 90% of my packaging and my current inventory. Then toss in the washer and dryer and the three bikes that are currently wintering in the basement and it's a mighty crowded space.
Said space was made only worse when things got busy with work. Imagine all of that stuff in one space. Now imagine that a band of crazy monkeys has been allowed to roam free in the space for three to four months. That's a pretty accurate description of what it looked like. Chaos would be a nice word for it. Just to give you an idea, I had a pile of papers that was literally a foot high that needed to be filed. And I was proud of fact that they were actually all in one pile rather then spread throughout the office!
I had earmarked today as the day to get it cleaned and despite the fact the sun was actually out and shining for a few hours today (the first time we've seen the sun in about a month - I only wish I were kidding), I did head into the basement and begin the cleanup, filing, and general reorganization.
It wasn't an easy task by any means but it does feel so good to be done. Everything is filed, all packaging has been reorganized (and I now have a much better idea of what packaging I need to reorder), and all inventory is safetly stashed. You know you're getting old when a clean house/basement/office/etc makes you feel really good. Sad I know...
About the same time QuickBooks went to hell in a handbasket (basically beginning of Q3) so did my office. The office - which is in our refinished halfbasement - not only holds my desk, printer, and other important "office" stuff, but also 90% of my packaging and my current inventory. Then toss in the washer and dryer and the three bikes that are currently wintering in the basement and it's a mighty crowded space.
Said space was made only worse when things got busy with work. Imagine all of that stuff in one space. Now imagine that a band of crazy monkeys has been allowed to roam free in the space for three to four months. That's a pretty accurate description of what it looked like. Chaos would be a nice word for it. Just to give you an idea, I had a pile of papers that was literally a foot high that needed to be filed. And I was proud of fact that they were actually all in one pile rather then spread throughout the office!
I had earmarked today as the day to get it cleaned and despite the fact the sun was actually out and shining for a few hours today (the first time we've seen the sun in about a month - I only wish I were kidding), I did head into the basement and begin the cleanup, filing, and general reorganization.
It wasn't an easy task by any means but it does feel so good to be done. Everything is filed, all packaging has been reorganized (and I now have a much better idea of what packaging I need to reorder), and all inventory is safetly stashed. You know you're getting old when a clean house/basement/office/etc makes you feel really good. Sad I know...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Year-End Review
This week has been dedicated to getting my business taxes wrapped up and out the door. I always forget how much time and energy that takes...and I have an accountant do it! It did give me a chance to dig into the numbers a little bit more though and figure out what went right and what went wrong last year. I already had a good idea of where things stood but it was great to see it backed up by some solid figures. In a nutshell, sales increased by 1% and costs were down 27% so we're getting there. Slowly...but getting there.
After a closer look it was evident that sales to boutiques was down about 28% and given that the majority of my marketing budget is dedicated to those sales it really showed me that I need to better reallocate those funds into channels that will net a higher ROI. I have that one BIG customer who has been wonderful and one dropship relationship that panned out far better then I anticipated this year. So my goal is to focus on trying to get another "bigger" (not as big - 13 stores in my state) customer and another dropship relationship.
Since the funds spent on getting boutique business didn't work as I had hoped - though not altogether surprising given the economy - I want to work on cutting expenses by another 27% in 2010. In some instances this will be easy - for example, I'm cutting one of the Fall tradeshows this year and that's a big chunk of my marketing budget, but others are going to be tougher like trying to keep a tighter reign on those random office expenses. Something about OfficeMax just makes me want to spend money!
All in all 1% increase in sales was not what I was hoping for in 2009, but given the state of the economy I also have to realize that simply staying alive in 2009 is a huge coup. My personal opinion is that this is going to be a slow slow slow recovery so I think my key to staying alive in 2010 and beyond is to keep a really tight hold on costs. Cause at the end of the day it's all about cash flow!
After a closer look it was evident that sales to boutiques was down about 28% and given that the majority of my marketing budget is dedicated to those sales it really showed me that I need to better reallocate those funds into channels that will net a higher ROI. I have that one BIG customer who has been wonderful and one dropship relationship that panned out far better then I anticipated this year. So my goal is to focus on trying to get another "bigger" (not as big - 13 stores in my state) customer and another dropship relationship.
Since the funds spent on getting boutique business didn't work as I had hoped - though not altogether surprising given the economy - I want to work on cutting expenses by another 27% in 2010. In some instances this will be easy - for example, I'm cutting one of the Fall tradeshows this year and that's a big chunk of my marketing budget, but others are going to be tougher like trying to keep a tighter reign on those random office expenses. Something about OfficeMax just makes me want to spend money!
All in all 1% increase in sales was not what I was hoping for in 2009, but given the state of the economy I also have to realize that simply staying alive in 2009 is a huge coup. My personal opinion is that this is going to be a slow slow slow recovery so I think my key to staying alive in 2010 and beyond is to keep a really tight hold on costs. Cause at the end of the day it's all about cash flow!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Proof Positive
Today was the proof I needed that QuickBooks is out to get me. Now I know what you're thinking - a computer program does not have the cognative ability to hate/love something and certainly doesn't have the capacity written within its code to plan and execute punishments for people. I'm here to tell you that you're wrong.
QuickBooks obviously reads this blog and knows of my hate/hate relationship with it and how much I despise having to get my books up to order. It knows that I complain about it incessently and it decided enough was enough.
After working like a charm all last week while I got everything updated and ready to go with nary an issue, today it decided to not work at all while I sat impatiently in my accountants office. As minutes - and consequently dollars paid in accountant fees - ticked by, QuickBooks repeatedly refused to open. Not only would it not open, but it wouldn't even let us access the www.intuit.com website which is not a protected website. Nothing...nada...
During this same time I was able to access QuickBooks (but not login) via my Blackberry, via my accountant's iPhone, and my husband was able to access and login via his computer at work when I called him in a panic. But my accountants computer just showed us that infuriating little hourglass. Now that would lead you to believe that it was an internet connection issue but every other website we tried came up within a nanosecond. But QuickBooks gave us nothing...
I'm going to let you know that without access to your books there's not a lot you or your accountant can do with regards to getting your year-end taxes done. Surprisingly accountants aren't so keen on just taking your word that the company made "$XYZ and change."
And just to prove that QuickBooks really had the upperhand the entire time, after I left and drove the 40minutes home I got an email from my accountant to let me know that after I left she had no trouble accessing QuickBooks. ....grrr....
So let me say here in public once and for all that while I do not necessarily enjoy inputting expenses (I actually very much enjoy inputting sales!) I do love the fact that QuickBooks lays everything so neatly out for me at the end of the month/quarter/year and I can so easly determine where my money is going, where it's coming from, and compare current and historical results. Yes QuickBooks, you are not my favorite, but I do really really appreciate all you do for me. So are we good now? We can even be FaceBook friends...
QuickBooks obviously reads this blog and knows of my hate/hate relationship with it and how much I despise having to get my books up to order. It knows that I complain about it incessently and it decided enough was enough.
After working like a charm all last week while I got everything updated and ready to go with nary an issue, today it decided to not work at all while I sat impatiently in my accountants office. As minutes - and consequently dollars paid in accountant fees - ticked by, QuickBooks repeatedly refused to open. Not only would it not open, but it wouldn't even let us access the www.intuit.com website which is not a protected website. Nothing...nada...
During this same time I was able to access QuickBooks (but not login) via my Blackberry, via my accountant's iPhone, and my husband was able to access and login via his computer at work when I called him in a panic. But my accountants computer just showed us that infuriating little hourglass. Now that would lead you to believe that it was an internet connection issue but every other website we tried came up within a nanosecond. But QuickBooks gave us nothing...
I'm going to let you know that without access to your books there's not a lot you or your accountant can do with regards to getting your year-end taxes done. Surprisingly accountants aren't so keen on just taking your word that the company made "$XYZ and change."
And just to prove that QuickBooks really had the upperhand the entire time, after I left and drove the 40minutes home I got an email from my accountant to let me know that after I left she had no trouble accessing QuickBooks. ....grrr....
So let me say here in public once and for all that while I do not necessarily enjoy inputting expenses (I actually very much enjoy inputting sales!) I do love the fact that QuickBooks lays everything so neatly out for me at the end of the month/quarter/year and I can so easly determine where my money is going, where it's coming from, and compare current and historical results. Yes QuickBooks, you are not my favorite, but I do really really appreciate all you do for me. So are we good now? We can even be FaceBook friends...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Budgeting
I budgeted one day to get my QuickBooks in order prior to my tax meeting with the business accountant next week. Keep in mind that I haven't been updating the books since...oh...September...when the business hit it's usual Q3 & Q4 frenzy. I mean I have all the paperwork...in a giant pile on the disaster known as my desk (which has also managed to creep onto our dining room table as well because who really wants to sit in a basement all day working on QuickBooks). So yeah, I budgeted one day. And tomorrow will be Day 3.
The accountant meeting is first thing Monday morning so it's either get everything finished up and reconciled tomorrow or it's going to be a long weekend of accounting fun (gee - reminds me of my first quarter at business school when I'd fly to NYC to visit my now-husband and he'd basically spend all weekend trying to explain accounting 101 to me).
From what I've been able to tell thus far bookable sales last year were up over 2008. Not by much but given the economy I'll take it. I say "bookable" because I'm following a cash accounting method which means I don't actually input the revenue until the check comes in. That means all those BIG holiday orders are technically going to be booked at 2010 revenue (though the BIG 2008 order was booked into this year). Tomorrow is when I get a lot of the expenses in so I'll have a better picture of the lay of the land after that. Too bad I can't just leave it as is right now - all sales and no expenses.
The accountant meeting is first thing Monday morning so it's either get everything finished up and reconciled tomorrow or it's going to be a long weekend of accounting fun (gee - reminds me of my first quarter at business school when I'd fly to NYC to visit my now-husband and he'd basically spend all weekend trying to explain accounting 101 to me).
From what I've been able to tell thus far bookable sales last year were up over 2008. Not by much but given the economy I'll take it. I say "bookable" because I'm following a cash accounting method which means I don't actually input the revenue until the check comes in. That means all those BIG holiday orders are technically going to be booked at 2010 revenue (though the BIG 2008 order was booked into this year). Tomorrow is when I get a lot of the expenses in so I'll have a better picture of the lay of the land after that. Too bad I can't just leave it as is right now - all sales and no expenses.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Blogs Blah
It's been a while - apparently one of my resolutions needs to be to update this blog more often. Sorry about that...I'm running at a real low energy lull right now.
In the meantime, since we're chatting about blogs. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make my company's blog actually something worth reading. I feel like so many company blogs are "yeah - go us!" cheerleading that they really aren't that interesting. And there's really only so much new product info I can do. Does anyone have any ideas or have examples of company blogs they actually enjoy reading? And if not, then those times you go to a company's blog what are you looking for? Recent news? Proof of life?
In the meantime, since we're chatting about blogs. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make my company's blog actually something worth reading. I feel like so many company blogs are "yeah - go us!" cheerleading that they really aren't that interesting. And there's really only so much new product info I can do. Does anyone have any ideas or have examples of company blogs they actually enjoy reading? And if not, then those times you go to a company's blog what are you looking for? Recent news? Proof of life?
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