Green is beautiful! Green is great! Green is the new black! Green is where it's at!! However, as the saying goes, "Money don't grow on trees," (yeah, don't I know it...) We. Need. Some. Green. Yes, my friends, let me just say that #1 I hate all things financial and #2 I HATE all things financial. That being said, you should know that I spent 17 years in Banking, Lending and other assorted Financial Sales. I hate thinking about money. When it comes down to it, I am a very frugal person. I don't spend much on clothes and "things." I do admit to having a pretty bad food and wine habit, tho. Oh, yeah, and the Victoria's Secret thing, but M is at fault for starting THAT habit! Most of my other things I buy at SalVa(work clothes) or Target(jeans) or VF when I can get out that way. Jess is equally frugal, she is a self proclaimed "Cheap Ass with Class!" We are proud of these things. Therefor, we are working on a shoestring budget for this larger than life project. (Did I mention Jess is getting married in something like 45 days? Timing. Go figure!) We are leaning on friends and family, and personal credit. Yesterday we went to the bank. Knowing what I know, having been there in that other seat, I wasn't that surprised what we were in store for. Knowingly having little in personal assets is a real treat when you are trying to negotiate the value in your Start-Up Business venture. Why would anyone BORROW the money if they have the 85% collateral to back up the loan? No comment. I know the answers and the frustration. Thank the gods for other resources. We know where we can get the funding. It really isn't a huge sum. We just wanted to do it more "on our own" without commitments to "investors", and the possibility of interference in the day-to-day operation of things that can come from that type of relationship. Be aware that I am getting involved in every conceivable Small Business and Women in Business type of group I can to listen for financial perks and grants etc. ( I will gladly pass these along)
Regardless of the fact "It's not easy being (in the) Green," We are still moving right along. I have our Start-up Expenses pretty well figured out. I know exactly what I want to have in place from the beginning and why. I know that in addition to having the rent and utility deposits, Federal, State and City licenses and permits, leasehold improvements and such, we still need a decent computer, POS hardware and software geared toward consignment retail, and Merchant Services (ability to take credit and debit cards) in place. Some people would think "we will make do with bookkeeping by hand" No. Way. I want everything to go as smoothly as possible, I want good records at the tappity tap of my finger tips. I am NOT a paperwork kinda gal, so if my software can pull it all together, I will pay for it. What about "Cash Only" for starters? Nuh-uh. Knowing that I use my debit card for EVERYTHING, and have walked out of places that are cash only, I am not doing that in this day and age. I know there are costs involved, but friends, you know as well as I do, if I can use my card, I will inevitably spend a little more. In retail, that's what it's all about. Getting your customer to spend, just a little more. It will benefit us all in the long run. Certain services it doesn't pay to "cheap" out on.
At some point today(ihopeihope) I am going to pull together my list of interested consignors and service offerers, and drop you all a line. Be sure to e-mail me if you haven't already. Spread the word!
Big ol' grateful sloppy kisses...ewww, maybe just a hug??
Gotta run! ~~~Dawn
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Interesting blog post! I agree with the part about the cash. People don't realize how much more you can sell if you take credit/debit cards. You are also right on with the computer system,especially with consignment type sales. Sloppy bookkeeping is a big turn off when I am consigning goods. There are definitely more human errors than computer ones. Good luck with everything, you are on the right track!
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