Whether you have handmade purses right off your sewing machine or you've found a good wholesale source for brand-name purses, you are going to need a plan if you actually want to make money selling purses. While there is no quick path to instant success for selling anything, you can do your best to make your purses accessible and advertised. Taking time now to design an action plan for the real and virtual sales worlds can give you a leg up on the competition and bring in some green.
Instructions
1. Keep good records of expenses and income. The only way you will know if you are making money, or profiting from the sales of your purses, is to keep good records. Use a notebook and a pencil or a computer program such as Excel. Be sure to include the costs of producing or buying the purses so you can compare the costs with how much the purses are selling for.
2. Create a Web presence. While selling your purses online may or may not be your main goal, it is one of the most economical ways to get started. Many websites, such as eBay.com or Etsy.com, charge only a small fee for each item sold. You may also want to create a site to drive traffic to your eBay page by using free services set up by Weebly.com or WordPress.com. Use Twitter and other social sites to make announcements and lead people to your site. While setting yourself up on these sites is a bit of work, once your Web presence is established, these sites can literally help you make money in your sleep.
3. Build up your clientele. Start by selling to friends, family, church members, people you see at PTA meetings---anyone, anywhere. Most business is started by word of mouth. While you don't want to give your purses away, consider offering a discount to people you know can spread the word for you.
4. Advertise as much as you can. Find out how much a billboard in your area costs. Is that in your budget? If not, put up flyers at the mall, on college campuses or even at the local library. Get the word out that you are selling and start having customers come to you instead of you having to seek them out. This may be the perfect time to step up your Web skills and create a personalized website that supports your sales aspects as well. SusiesBags.com certainly sounds more enticing than "find Susie's Bags on eBay."
5. Rent a vendor's booth at the mall. If things are going well online and by selling out of your garage, take your business to the next level. Contact the management of your local mall and find out what it takes to rent and maintain a booth there. If you can handle the policies and have the consistent income coming in to afford the booth, then you are ready to start branching out.
