October has been a pretty slow month so far. I haven’t made as many sales on eBay, and my expenses have been increasing tremendously because of all the repairs going on at my rental property. I even had to give myself an advance on my weekly business payouts to cover the AC replacement. My business account is now down to about $2,200, which is lower than I’m comfortable with. I typically keep around $3,000 in that account, and I need to maintain a minimum balance of $2,000 to avoid bank fees.
I haven’t been sourcing as much lately, and to be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to eBay over the last two weeks. Naturally, sales have suffered because of it. However, things seem to be picking up again. I put some work into the business over the weekend, and it already looks like that effort is starting to pay off.
Interestingly, I also sold some really old inventory that had been sitting around since the beginning of the year. It’s a good reminder of why I need to keep listing consistently. Even if something doesn’t sell immediately, it can still generate revenue months later. The more products I list, the more inventory I have working for me, and those listings can continue generating sales long after the initial work is done. That’s how I see the benefits of consistent listing compounding over time.
Working With Manufacturers
Although I haven’t been listing much on eBay, I have been spending a considerable amount of time contacting manufacturers on Alibaba. I’ve been sending them examples of products I want them to recreate, while also working with other manufacturers to develop different products.
So far, I’ve secured one product that I plan to sell on Amazon and my second eBay account. My goal is to gradually build an entire catalog of products that I can consistently reorder and sell across multiple platforms.
A sample of a second product has already shipped and might actually arrive today. I’ve been receiving emails from UPS requesting approximately $70 in tariff fees, but something about the emails looks suspicious. The tracking number doesn’t seem to match any of the shipments I’m expecting, even though the emails appear to come from a legitimate UPS address. I’m going to call UPS directly to verify the charges before paying anything. The last thing I need is to send $70 to some scam website.
Once the products arrive, I’ll need to test them and determine whether they’re worth selling. If everything works out, I’ll have two products ready to start building this new catalog. It’s still a small start, but I’m making progress toward creating a business that relies less on constantly sourcing individual items and more on products I can replenish through manufacturers.
Finding a Better System
I’m also committed to growing the business on all fronts, including the media side, which I’ve been neglecting. Even these blog updates have become less frequent than I originally intended. Between my corporate job, the rental properties, sourcing, listing, shipping orders, communicating with manufacturers and creating content, I’ve been struggling to consistently give everything the attention it needs.
I’ve been trying to figure out a system that allows me to keep working through the exhaustion and accomplish everything I need to get done. I need to find a way to balance the daily operations that generate revenue today with the projects that will help the business grow in the future. That includes making time for media, developing new products, working with manufacturers and keeping up with the regular sourcing, listing and fulfillment responsibilities.
I may need to start batching certain activities or dedicating specific blocks of time to different parts of the business. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how I want to structure everything, but I know I need a better system if I’m going to keep making progress without constantly falling behind in one area whenever I focus on another.