Well, no posts for god knows how long......
The reason - The seasonal business - quite simply, I have been packing and processing for the last two months - flat out - along with the staff and the rest of the family.
So, has it been a good xmas - well, yes. But, and there is allways a but, its not all roses yet.
With regards to business, we pretty much doubled last years internet business and the shop was down a little. Maybe sounds good and, yes, I am very pleased with how its gone however, with the increased operating costs (new warehouse, more staff, etc, etc) we are still pretty much breaking even on the internet side of things.
What this means is that the aim for 2006 is that we have to once again try and double the orders/turnover, after which we (meaning me and the quieter Zhao Yan and business partner) should be heading into good profit territory. I have mixed fealings about this. On the one hand, I have a few more technical/internet/marketing ideas to put into practice, I know we can introduce a few more good suppliers and I am reasonably confident that the business will grow naturally with the satisfied customers coming back and recommending us to others. On the other hand, I still fear that the big boys will some time find a way of really cornering the internet market (they cannot ignore the online purchasing stats) plus, the market will no doubt become more and more saturated with smaller minnows - I will try and elaborate a little more on this in future posts.
So, other than this brief business update, whats been happening.... Well, xmas... After being on 7 days a week for as long as I can remember, I have had a couple of days off, aside from checking a couple of blogs and forums, have done no work on the computer for a the festive period. I have had a thoroughly good xmas and now have to get back to work with a bang - As of tomorrow (later today now), I have a fair number of new orders to start on, and a lot of ordering in to do - now the suppliers are finally back to work :)
A couple of final things to mention..... Firstly, the best blog that is regularly updated and a genuine wealth of information, Burts Blog has a competition running. Started in December and I am overdue on posting a link about his AIS Competition. Check it out - I am following it with great expectations.
Secondly, I just sincerely wish any readers of this blog a very, very happy and prosperous 2006 with any ventures undertaken. If you have anything up your sleeve that you think may work, or have been pondering for a while, make 2006 the year you try it - it may just work out well - and nothing ventured, nothing gained.... Go on, give it a go.
Cheers all + Happy New Year,
Rich
The reason - The seasonal business - quite simply, I have been packing and processing for the last two months - flat out - along with the staff and the rest of the family.
So, has it been a good xmas - well, yes. But, and there is allways a but, its not all roses yet.
With regards to business, we pretty much doubled last years internet business and the shop was down a little. Maybe sounds good and, yes, I am very pleased with how its gone however, with the increased operating costs (new warehouse, more staff, etc, etc) we are still pretty much breaking even on the internet side of things.
What this means is that the aim for 2006 is that we have to once again try and double the orders/turnover, after which we (meaning me and the quieter Zhao Yan and business partner) should be heading into good profit territory. I have mixed fealings about this. On the one hand, I have a few more technical/internet/marketing ideas to put into practice, I know we can introduce a few more good suppliers and I am reasonably confident that the business will grow naturally with the satisfied customers coming back and recommending us to others. On the other hand, I still fear that the big boys will some time find a way of really cornering the internet market (they cannot ignore the online purchasing stats) plus, the market will no doubt become more and more saturated with smaller minnows - I will try and elaborate a little more on this in future posts.
So, other than this brief business update, whats been happening.... Well, xmas... After being on 7 days a week for as long as I can remember, I have had a couple of days off, aside from checking a couple of blogs and forums, have done no work on the computer for a the festive period. I have had a thoroughly good xmas and now have to get back to work with a bang - As of tomorrow (later today now), I have a fair number of new orders to start on, and a lot of ordering in to do - now the suppliers are finally back to work :)
A couple of final things to mention..... Firstly, the best blog that is regularly updated and a genuine wealth of information, Burts Blog has a competition running. Started in December and I am overdue on posting a link about his AIS Competition. Check it out - I am following it with great expectations.
Secondly, I just sincerely wish any readers of this blog a very, very happy and prosperous 2006 with any ventures undertaken. If you have anything up your sleeve that you think may work, or have been pondering for a while, make 2006 the year you try it - it may just work out well - and nothing ventured, nothing gained.... Go on, give it a go.
Cheers all + Happy New Year,
Rich
posted by richandzhaoyan | 12:00 AM
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