Week 7 Reportback!

Today was a good day, I had more customers coming back to buy even more Beautiful Bracelets as Christmas Gifts, and much of this business was repeat business. Which is gratifying. And I received a phone call from a customer in Cape Town who was ecstatic, having received her Beautiful Bracelets order. So far the feedback from all customers who buy online has been great. The best customer is a happy customer who buys again!

I am toying with the idea of continuing with a weekly summary and feedback report as I did in the first 6 weeks. Perhaps continuing to Week 10. But Week 7 has been the busiest yet, I have been literally "run off my feet" with the Beautiful Bracelets Business. Just when I thought, great, the challenge is over, now I can rest a few days and put my feet up. Not so. The orders in the first 3 days after the Grande Finale exceeded the first 3 weeks of the Money Show Challenge, it has been quite something to keep up! Especially as all the profits are in the hands of Starfish, one would usually re-invest profits especially in a Startup situation. Since I want to keep this R1000 as close to the original idea as possible and just see how far it can go within 6 months, I will invest R4850 of my own money into the business to put it back to a "real life" scenario.

From now on, Beautiful Bracelets needs to secure its own Markets (flea markets) and it turns out, places like  Irene Market apparently have a waiting list of 2 years! Which is why it was wonderful to have the support of people like Corlia who has an existing Antique Jewellery Section and broke her own rules to "host" Beautiful Bracelets for the duration of the Money Show Challenge (It is quite a responsibility to take on other people's products due to high theft levels at these Flea Markets: a shocking thought). We have been accepted onto at least one Christmas Market (although it seems some of them prefer to be branded as "Festive" markets). And another to confirm shortly. Then I have so many other avenues to explore, it is time-consuming, but this is the groundwork needed, and it will be covered. My business coach said he wanted me to double employees and profits in the next 6 weeks. That would be great, especially since this is traditionally a good time of year to be selling "gift" items like Beautiful Bracelets! As I go forward, I will let you know where Beautiful Bracelets may be found and what I am doing to boost sales. One new store where you can find Beautiful Bracelets probably within a day or so, is at The Ballet Box in Tygervalley, Cape Town.

Beautiful Pendants

The other great thing is I managed to secure the domain www.beautifulpendants.co.za which will point to Beautiful Bracelets and we will be launching Beautiful Pendants shortly due to popular demand. At the Grande Finale of the Money Show Challenge, Tracey Webster, CEO of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship actually said to me (live on air): you should branch out into a wider range of products like necklaces/pendants and earrings. Well, one of the new Beautiful Pendants had already been presented to the Starfish Foundation Charity Art Auction and I have had requests from clients who want to buy matching sets. So Beautiful Pendants will be available soon!

Cashflow is EVERYthing

Well, it was great to meet Bruce Whitfield yesterday when I collected the R1000 "Business Startup" cash and touched base briefly with some of the Team from Radio 702.. Cecile, Pearl, Alistair and Tshego, a worthy competitor..

How High Can You Fly With R1000 Startup Capital?

My schedule for Wednesday includes an early morning shopping session to purchase materials for making new bracelet designs which will then be posted on the website, including a few tried-and-tested, much loved versions of the bracelet. I already have a few people (friends) who wish to make purchases. Someone once said to me that you first sell to your family, then your cousins, then your friends, then to strangers... That is a good technique for building a business... ripple effects, making the circle bigger each time.

I really need to get my team of ladies together, the new employees of this startup business, to make the bracelets... this business needs to fly. The best advice for a brand new business with very little start up Capital, is to drive sales, to sell as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Cash flow is everything in a new business and I'm already sensing that I need to build more stock early on in this R1000 Moneyshow  Business Startup Challenge, and to do that I need to multiply the Cash On Hand. Sales, sales, SALES... I call in the business from the North, the South, the East and the West. And if you're reading this, please get onto the website immediately and order your Christmas presents! These bracelets make wonderful stocking fillers!

Bear in mind that for every person in this Business Startup Challenge we each have a whole other life: a "day job"!! Can't drop the ball. But I am firmly convinced that an ideal way to start a new business is actually "moonlighting". What that really means, I think is, you work a full 8-10 hours in one job. Then after hours, you work a full 8 hours again on the Moonlighting Project... Am I getting enough sleep? Maybe after 12 November.