On an on-line forum, the other day, I saw a question from a
seller asking about when it would be feasible to go ‘full-time’ with his on-line
business. That isn’t just a single number that can tell you that. Here are only
some of the things you should consider.
Well one thing you must look at is not your sales figures,
but your net profit figures. A person could sell $7500 worth of product a
month, but because of high costs and expenses and a low profit margin they
could be netting only $250/month. Not enough to quit your other jobs or
businesses. Someone else could have $7500 in sales and because of high profit,
low costs and expenses are netting $5000/month. That my friend is a livable
income. If you don't think it is, try living on a SS check that is 1/4 of that
and see how you feel.
Over the years as I have sought every idea possible for
living and surviving on Disability pay, I've seen many folks bemoan the fact
that although they earn $250,000/year they can't make ends meet. Well to begin
with in their head they are thinking I make a 1/4 of a million dollars a year I
should be able to afford ______ (fill in blank). the reality is with an income
that high, they are forgetting the money they send to their Uncle Sam, the
governor and mayor as well as to SS and Medicare, etc. They may only be taking
home $180,000 or $70,000 less than they thought they were making. You must be
clear in your head just exactly how much you are making when deciding if
something has turned into a full-time job/business, and it takes lots of
figuring to come to those numbers. Of course, you also must see an entire
year's selling cycle to see the peaks and troughs of your income during the
years. My best months selling months are January>April. My December sales
are generally in the toilet as I don't sell items that are gift type things. I
sell items that you can make gifts from so they should be bought out further
ahead of Black Friday.
Lots of things to look at and figure out. How efficiently
are you running your business? Are you spending money where you need to? For instance,
I have bought items from people that have a hand scribbled address on the
package, don't bother with a return address and no packing slip. Apparently,
they don't want to invest $40 in a printer. Instead they send out packages that
you have nothing in your hand to help remind you of the seller's name in case
you want to buy more. Same with sellers that won't invest in a scale. Both
items are business expenses and both will allow you to keep shipping expenses
correct and help you promote your business. So, the person netting $500 a month
might be able to change that number to a higher one depending on how he deals
with expenses.
So, before jumping into thinking you can support yourself if
needed on your on-line income, be sure you KNOW what that income is. Of course,
you can also look at your own living expenses to see if you can chop things out
if necessary so that you can live at lower costs as well and figure out how
many months you can live off what is in your savings account. You don’t want to
go full-time with $500 in the bank only to have a major selling slump with no income
coming in for days if not weeks, or due to being dismissed from selling on the
only site that you have and have poured all your energy into. Lots of things to
consider before making the full-time plunge.
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