Getting things rolling

[deanfourie]

Hi all,

I am starting an online store @ quadscene.co.nz

I am not at all very familiar with running a business. But this is the perfect opportunity as there is no such store operating in my country.

Anyway, all is good I have my front end all up and running and am adding products on a daily basis. My questions are as follows.

1. I am unable to see how I can run at a profit, after import taxes, and the general taxes of running a business and then undercutting other companies or others from importing on their own, I cannot see how I can actually make money!

2. I have no real "money" to get things started which makes things way harder. I have very little to NO stock, what are my options in this situation, or is this just plain impossible.

The store is an online store which sells "quadcopters or multirotors" , which are basicly a helicopter with 4 propellers and I am targeting the commercial aerial photography industry. We will also supply to intermediate level hobbyists.

Since launching the site, (which some say should not have been done, due to lack of stock and incompleteness, I have had alot of interest and support from this who are very keen on the idea of such a store in my country!

Thanks for any advice!

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum Dean.

1. Obviously you have to figure this out. If you can't make money, there's not much of a business. You either have to raise prices or cut costs, maybe a little of both. With costs try to find different suppliers or see if you can pay less if you order more. I'm guessing the taxes can't be changed, but maybe even there you can figure out something to pay less. With prices is there anything you can add to the products to make them more valuable? Is there a service you can add that would let you raise prices?

2. That is difficult. If you can't afford to buy stock it makes it harder to sell. How much stock do you think you'll need? Maybe you could run this online at first where people can pay you and then you pay the supplier. You might even find someone who'll drop ship the items to either you or the customer. It's also possible that onc you get things rolling and suppliers see you're selling, they might let you buy on credit.

Your situation does sound difficult, but difficult isn't impossible. Keep looking at the business idea and figure out how you can make a profit. Raise prices, reduce costs, or both. And look to see what options exist for building stock.