Start Your Own Baby & Toddler Clothing Resale Business

You may have started by clearing out your children's closets and selling what you found on eBay.

But have you ever considered doing this as a full-time business?

Why not open your own Virtual Baby & Toddler Clothing Resale Business? People love high quality, fashionable clothing, but don't want to pay a lot of money for it.

Babies and toddlers grow like weeds, this we all know, and it can be expensive keeping up with all this rapid growth. You can start a business that helps parents keep up without having to spend a lot of money.

Says Donna Bliss of MyMiracleBaby.com, "There is a tremendous market for children's clothing--particularly babies' because they are outgrown so quickly. The brand names are so pricey and offering them for resale gives parents a chance to dress their angels to the nines without going broke. My customers are so grateful and we can barely keep our 'shelves' stocked.  We coined the phrase 'pre-loved' because the clothing we offer is more than just used or resale--its the best of the best and there's plenty of wear left."

 

 

What is a Clothing Resale Business?
Clothing resale is what you make it. You can sell gently used clothing online or you can open up your own home based store ~ or both. What about baby necessities like strollers, bassinets and cribs? Why not include some unique handmade products to your offerings?

You can take items on consignment from local families, businesses, seamstresses and knitters; you can make bulk purchases from your local thrift store or you can buy up the whole lot at a local garage sale.

Your virtual business can include selling on your website, selling at online auction houses and partnering with other websites to sell your merchandise. Says Sandy of her online resale clothing business at TwiceIsNiceKids.com, "This is a work at home option that only requires a few hours a day -- updating items that are sold and adding new inventory. You can put as little or as much time into it as you want."

Clothing Resale Supplies
If you are operating your resale business online, your supply list will be relatively simple:

Clothing & Items for Sale: Well, of course you'll need to get clothing and baby & toddler-related merchandise to sell.

Whether you purchase or take clothing on consignment, be sure to only take quality merchandise that is not well worn.

If you are operating your business online and people are making purchases based on photos, you don't want them to have any surprises.

Packaging & Boxes to Ship Items: You need to ship those orders. Make sure you have enough packing supplies around for fast shipping times.

Digital Camera: If you want people to buy your items online, you have to show them good quality photos. Clothes are photographed best on models (and they're so cute, too) or on a mannequin.

Clothing Resale Skills & Attributes

Marketing Skills: You need marketing skills to run a business. Many of these are skills you can acquire along the way, but be sure to do your preliminary research.

Organizational Skills: You need to keep good records of your sales and not just for tax purposes. You need to be able to keep track of which buyers have paid, which have received their items, etc. Setting up a spreadsheet or database with all the pertinent information should help keep this under control.

Customer Service Skills: You are selling to people who have never met you. You need to ensure that you customer service is impeccable to ensure good feedback on any online auction houses you use and to have repeat customers.

Clothing Resale Prices: Your prices will vary depending on the quality, brand name and what you paid for the items. Calculate all your expenses and determine what you can sell for in order to maintain a profit. You may want to give volume discounts.

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Start a Ceramics Business

What you will be doing. Crafts are a good way to make money doing something that you are good at and like to do. Pottery used to be localized to fairs and small town festivals. People would create their art while onlookers watched. Pottery has mainstreamed with the invention of places where you can pay a charge and create your own unique piece to take home.

If you like making pottery bowls, vases, plates, and other such items, you can make money at it. The more unique your pieces, the better they will sell. Pottery can be functional or used as a conversation piece. How you specialize in your business is up to you. If you create functional items, be sure that they can withstand harsh detergents, hot and cold foods and drinks, and constant wear and tear. Reliable products are purchased again and again.

How to start. If you are a potter, you already have the equipment needed to get started. What you want to look into is what is selling right now. You can experiment with your designs. Adding new glazes and shapes to everyday items are unique. Taking classes to learn how to create other ceramic creations can expand your business inventory when the time is right.
A digital camera will enhance your website by providing pictures of your artwork. If you want to appeal to the potters themselves, carrying a line of supplies will increase your start up costs depending on the price of the items.

Start up costs. For the serious potter, what will be needed are time and extra supplies to create an inventory to sell. If you don’t have a website already, consider building one. A website is seen by people all over the world. Budget in for the cost of a domain name and website hosting.

Skills needed. Potters should be artistic. The business depends on being able to offer new and unique designs for ceramic artwork. This business requires marketing skills on the part of the business owner to get their name and product out to the public. Use every opportunity at your disposal to talk about your business venture. Networking with other potters locally and on the web will provide tips and helpful information to enhance your knowledge of the business.

Marketing. Purchase a space at craft shows, flea markets, fairs, bazaars, and other venues. Teaching classes to future potters gives you a chance to show how you do what you do and bring business to your website and the product. Offer to hold a few free classes for craft stores in exchange for carrying samples from your line on a trial basis. Once the product takes off, offer to conduct pottery classes at a discounted rate.

With all the assembly line produced products around, people are looking for unique artwork to display. Your pottery can find its way into specialty stores and boutiques as well as craft and home stores.

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Starting a Florist Shop Business

If you love flowers and have innate artistic ability in creating wonderful floral arrangements, you may consider starting a florist shop business. Learn how to start and operate a florist business from home.

by Jenny Fulbright

Flowers are a big part of people’s lives. Their beauty and color allows us to convey our messages perfectly ­ get-well soon for our sick friends and family, congratulatory messages to a newly promoted colleague, condolences to a grieving family, and to express our love to another person. Every occasion is celebrated with flowers.

Or even without an occasion. Recent trends indicate that majority of those who buy flowers buy it for themselves. The American Floral Endowment Consumer Tracking Study conducted in 2000 showed that about 67 percent buy flowers for themselves, and only 33 percent buy it as a gift.  

It is thus no wonder that flowers have become big business. The Society of American Florists estimates that the floriculture industry will sell $19 billion in flowers, plants, and floral supplies for 2001. There are about 26,200 retail florist shops in the United States today making an average of $250,191 in annual sales.  

If you love flowers and have innate artistic ability in creating wonderful floral arrangements, you may consider starting a florist shop.   

Kinds of Service 

The first step to starting a florist business is to determine what kind of service you want to provide. There are three major kinds of a florist business:  

1. Wholesale florist service ­ supplies retailers with fresh-cut flowers and potted plants. They may sell and deliver directly to flower and flower shops or they may sell through wholesale produce and flower markets. Some wholesale florists are growers as well. This kind of business requires extensive knowledge, experience and funding; and thus, is not suitable for start-up entrepreneurs.  

2. Retail florist service -- ranges in size and function from a hospital flower kiosks to large flower shops in the mall serving different customer needs. A flower shop may focus on providing arrangements for weddings, funerals, gifts, and other occasions and deliveries. A business floral service caters to business people where floral designs tend to be more conservative and longer-lasting.  A hospital flower kiosk offer primarily bright and cheerful flowers that need little maintenance as possible. You can also choose to create a niche. There are some online stores that sell roses primarily.  

3. Floral supplier ­ sell the various non-growing components that floral designers use in making arrangements: ribbons, vases, baskets, floral foam, wreath, frames, stands and other supplies. This kind of business requires extensive inventory and an efficient distribution system.  

What You Need 

A florist business goes beyond selling flowers. Rather, what you are selling is a service of providing skillfully-arranged flowers.  To succeed in this business, you would need to have all the elements in the process of providing a service: knowledge, materials and labor.

The key element needed in the florist business is the knowledge and skills in floral design. You must have basic knowledge of flowers and plants. Customers will ask questions and want advice, so an extensive knowledge of soils, plant nutrition, and light and temperature control will be handy. You should also know the proper methods of handling cut flowers. Of course, you must possess creative and artistic flair to come up with innovative flower arrangements.   

It would greatly help if you get some formal education in floriculture. If not, try to gain experience in the business by working in another floral shop before venturing on your own. Experts even recommend that a prospective retail florist must gain at least three years of practical experience before starting their own business.  

Like any other business, you also need to have a solid understanding of business and economics.  The flower business is more than arranging flowers. You need to know how a business runs ­ from buying, selling, record keeping, planning profits, managing costs, marketing and attracting customers. You need to balance the creative side of the florist business with the business management side.   

It is also important that you know how to deal with customers. This is a customer-oriented business and you will be facing the public all the time. A pleasant personality is a must. Repeat business normally accounts for a high percentage of a florist’s sales, so it is imperative that you know how to cultivate customer relationships.   

The materials you will need for florist services include: a store or sales location, a refrigeration system, flowers, plants, floral supplies, and secondary products you want to sell.  

The location of your shop can make or break your florist business. Your shop must be situated in an area conveniently located for your customers. The location you choose must have sufficient drive-by and walk-by traffic. Check your budget, and try to find the best possible location that you can afford.   

Aside from cost, other factors that you must consider in finding the best location for your florist business are: proximity to primary customers, availability of parking facilities, opportunities for future expansion, neighborhood quality, and personal convenience.  

If you plan to use your home as your place of business, your home should be in a well-traveled street in an area nearby retail businesses. Otherwise, you must seek out venues to increase your exposure to your targeted market, perhaps by launching a web site or increasing your marketing and advertising budgets.  

And of course, you need labor to run this business. At the start, you may decide to run your florist business from home, with you doing the entire process of designing, selling, delivering and ordering new supplies.   

Income Potential 

The income of a florist business depends on local need, competition, skills, and oftentimes, the location. Dan Ramsey, in his book “Owning and Managing a Florist Business” estimates that an established florist operating full time from a good location, without employees, can sell about $100,000 to $150,000 in floral services annually. This level of income is usually achieved when you have developed repeat and referral business, have developed a target market, and has in place all your equipment and supplies.   

First year sales can reach as high as $75,000 although you should expect your overhead to eat up most of your profits. The key is, Ramsey advises, “don’t plan on getting rich the first year and you won’t be disappointed.”  

From : www.powerhomebiz.com

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