/biz/ - Business & Finance

[Anonymous No.16963768]

Hows your business going? I'm going into my 3rd year and I'm finally about to break even when it comes to all my costs and outgoings but I still haven't been able to pay myself salary yet though.

[Anonymous No.16964013]

>>16963768

Throw some rough numbers out there. Are you in something that's capital intensive or are you grinding to understand your market more and find your own lane to work in?

[Anonymous No.16964156]

>>16964013
I am in Australia.
I had some custom made some new construction products in China which I then imported over here to try and sell. I literally have no competitors but it's nobody really designs project often where my product could be immediately applied and used. It's a type of shaped plywood used for substrates in construction fitouts and furniture.

The reason why they don't design for them anymore is because they know it's extremely expensive because it all needsto be made by hand at $70 an hour craftsmen. Which is exactly the reason why I had these made and brought over since what used to cost say... $2,000-$3,000 to have made for a project could just be purchased by me for $500 which cost me $100 to have manufactured overseas.

My stock was about $30,000 to purchase and everything else such as forklift, truck, product testing, marketing etc.. was another $70,000 or so. Warehouse is about $100,000 a year. I'm selling about 5-10 pieces a week on average of difference sizes and normally do a $10k profit custom order every months or two. My margin is astronomical sometimes.

First year I barely sold $60,000 of goods in total with an average margin of about 50%.
After the 2nd year I sold closer to $180,000 with an average margin again of 50%.
A month into the 3rd year now and I'm at about $8k of sales though it's likely because the year just started.

My problem is 2 things really.
1. It's bloody hard to find jobs and to get designers to make projects with your product since they are so used to just avoiding these shapes.
2. My product range is extremely small. I am basically selling 1 product but in 10 sizes. I don't know what I can do to increase my product range without having to target a whole new industry and invest a shitload more money again. I was thinking of having products designed using my own stock and trying to sell it since I know I can jack up the prices insanely but again, whole new market and it;s like starting again.

[Anonymous No.16964222]

>>16964156
Are you a chink?

[Anonymous No.16964244]

>>16964222
I'm white.

[Anonymous No.16964251]

>>16964156
You are doing it wrong. You came up with a product but cant come up with demand. Hopefully you got designer contacts by now, research what is in their demand that you can offer cheaper

[Anonymous No.16964288]

>>16964244
Then I offer you good luck! Ask Jesus for help. Prayer helps.

[Anonymous No.16964581]

>>16963768
Im in a similar boat anon
Business in 2nd year, still havent paid myself a salary, demand is so fucking inconsistent.
We will have a busy few weeks and I think finally here we go, then everything just drops off for the next few weeks.
Its so fucking frustrating!

[Anonymous No.16964632]

>>16964251
>Hopefully you got designer contacts by now, research what is in their demand that you can offer cheaper
Yes and no. Mainly contractor contacts but I'm pushing hard to onto designers now.

>>16964581
Where are you from and what are you selling?

[Anonymous No.16964695]

>>16964156
You're sure about those margins? Why not go up to like 1400 to subsidize the issues you are having? You would still have thw best prices. I don't know your market but have you considered that a price of 500 is nearing 'too good to be true' territory from the customer's perspective?

[Anonymous No.16964706]

>>16964632
UK and we own a Pizzeria, family business but it was closed and I wanted to make a go of it.
I think the main problem is I want to avoid using commision taking 3rd party ordering apps. The places that use it (Just Eat) round here all seem to hate it and I dont want some 3rd party controlling over 50% of my income and money.

[Anonymous No.16965594]

>>16964695
I suppose I should correct myself a little bit, it all depends on the size they selected from my product, how it's used and how much savings it provides compared to the alternatives for that use. Most application they need to compare it verses making what I am selling already but by hand. What I sell in stock ranges from $200 per piece in the smallest size up to $390 in the largest.

If I'm selling it to someone making furniture then it will cost them around this price in labor and about another 50% in materials if not more.
If it's for fitouts then it depends again on their application since there is so many alternatives. For 50% of the applications the alternative is to have it replicated in plaster which is where mine costs $500.00 and theirs costs $2,000.00. The other 50% of applications is a mix between the methods for furniture or something very cheap like MDF.

>Why not go up to like 1400 to subsidize the issues you are having?
Because then my products won't be cost effective anymore for most of my other customers and I think I'd lose much more then I can gain. Also another reason is that Australian business owners in construction are 80% boomers and 20% Colored Jews with access to border line slave labor from their Indian cousins who just got off the boat. If the price if you good is not significantly cheaper then what they already do then they won't want to even bother doing it a new way or even TRYING it.

I priced a job where the guy was going to make my exact product by hand over the span of 3 months using 2 of his skilled tradesman working none stop. The cost in labor for these 2 tradesman would be around $25 - $30k EACH for this time period. The material cost would have been around $40-50k. I offered to supply them all for $45,000 and within 1 month. Evene when I explained it would free up his workers to do other tasks to save more money he didn't understand or care.

[Anonymous No.16965864]

>>16965594
So then this is an ERC-20 token then or???