Your Own Pottery Business
Here are some hints about a sure way to succeed.
There are hundreds of thousands of small shops, medium sized retailers and individual entrepreneurs that buy things every day. And there are millions of retail buyers.
These retail buyers and owners of businesses and the buyers that they employ are just like you. They want to see, touch and feel a product. They want to check its quality. They want to be sure that they are buying something real. They want to deal with real people.
You become the real person in the importing supply chain. You show them what they can buy and you earn a percentage on their purchases.
Simply stated, you can do things that can't be done on the internet alone. You know what the people in your area buy. You know who the possible buyers are. You know how to approach them.
Just fill the needs of buyers.
Here are some examples:
Inns, restaurants, motels, hotels, rest areas and other tourist areas have gift shops or sell something at the checkout counter. They are always looking for something unique. Show them products.
Shopping malls are loaded with shop owners who are always looking for something new. And not only are the malls filled with shops, many have the small seasonal free standing sales points. Help them add something new.
Home and Garden Shops are places that you can sell almost anything. Get something new and interesting on their shelves.
Trade shows, fairs and flea markets are great sales points. If you wish, you can have your own booth. But better yet, find people there who need products to sell. And then help them get the products. Let them sell for you.
Athletic organizations, churches, clubs, school activities and more are always in need of money. Show them products that they can use to raise funds.
Dentists offices, aroma therapy clinics, fitness clubs, health counselors. Show them salt lamps and the benefits.
Keep adding to the list. Museum shops, gas stations, home party makers, home furnishing stores, hospital gift shops, people selling cosmetics, people selling vitamins, people selling on the internet.
Just suppose that you had 10 people from this list making you a profit of $100 per month. That would mean $12,000 per year to you. And if you do it right, you can have 10 people making you a profit of $1,000 per month and more.
You don't need a warehouse, you don't need inventory and you don't have to put out cash. You just show them products that they can buy and have them order. They pay. The products can be delivered directly to them or you can take delivery and deliver.
Of course, you can have your own inventory in your basement or warehouse. The business is yours to run. But you don't have to.
Well, that is really up to you and what you think will sell in your area.
But we do have a lot of experience and offer some suggestions to get you started.
Amber Jewelry - Raw amber bracelet and necklaces and silver and amber earrings, bracelets and rings sell very well. They turn over fast and have good markups. Earrings are always a great little gift. Raw amber is always attractive. See here.
Salt Lamps - Polish salt lamps are beautiful. The salt in them comes from salt deposit that is found in only one mine in the world. And they are hand carved. They are pieces of art. There is a big market for these lamps. See here.
Watering Balls - This is a simple little product that sells very well. In our experience, people are surprised when they see the product. And because the cost is low, they are quick to buy it. See here.
Poured Candles - This is a great product for repeat sales. People just buy and buy poured candles. And not only can you introduce people to the regular product line, you can have custom candles made for companies with their logos imprinted such things as candles poured in coffee cups. See here.
Polish Pottery - This is a very popular product. Start with a tea set and watch people buy. See here.
First let us look at the buying process.
More than 2/3 of the people find products on the internet and then buy off line.
And those that see a product off line, often look to the internet for more information.
In all cases the buying decision comes down to how much do they trust you.
Price is important, but reliability, service and trust are up front.
So you make money by creating trust and providing reliable service.
That you can turn into cash.
People want to see, touch and feel. That is why 2/3 of them buy off line after doing their research. So give them something to see touch and feel.
Show them samples of Polish pottery. And then let them order from a catalog that has all the pieces.
Show them amber and silver jewelry. Sell them what you have on hand and replace it with new pieces.
Get a sample pack of watering balls and show them to retailers. Take orders from the retailers. Order extra from your profits so that you can sell from inventory.
Get a sample pack of salt lamps and do the same.
Then look at linen, Christmas ornaments and so on. You can see sample packs in each of the categories in this page.
No. But to be effective you have to have personal knowledge of the product. You have to see it, touch it and use it to be able to describe it. And customers want to see samples before they buy.
As you get a little experience, you might find that you want to keep a little inventory on hand. If you are selling amber, you can have a lot of inventory in a shoe box. A closet will hold a lot of watering balls, poured candles and salt lamps.
You need a business card, a web site, a sample pack and a book with printed catalogs and price lists.
Your web site is like a yellow pages listing. You list your web site and email address on your business card. On your business card you list "My OnLine Store http://www.yourwebsitestore . People will use the address on that business card to first check if you are real and second to order from you. You can get a free online store at this link. This store will also serve as your catalog. And it will make you look real.
You can get sample packs at in each of the category links in the navigation bar at the left.
You can print the pictures of products that you are selling by printing the respective web pages in your on line store. As for Polish pottery, you can get a larger illustrated catalog at this link.
You are in business and you take all the risks associated with being in business. Please discuss that with your advisors. As for losing money with your sample packages, the up front cost of the package is low. Honestly if you cannot afford an investment in samples, you should not be going into business.
This program is designed to minimize your risk. You can always sell the samples, and you should be able to do that at a profit. Or you can sell them on eBay. And you can probably do that at a profit.
You might even sell your sample package to your first customer and reorder more.
1) Review the list of possible customers in your area. Here is a list again.
Inns, restaurants, motels, hotels, rest areas and other tourist areas have gift shops or sell something at the checkout counter. They are always looking for something unique. Show them products.
Shopping malls are loaded with shop owners who are always looking for something new. And not only are the malls filled with shops, many have the small seasonal free standing sales points or kiosks. Help them add something new.
Home and Garden Shops are places that you can sell almost anything. Get something new and interesting on their shelves.
Trade shows, fairs and flea markets are great sales points. If you wish, you can have your own booth. But better yet, find people there who need products to sell. And then help them get the products. Let them sell for you.
Athletic organizations, churches, clubs, school activities and more are always in need of money. Show them products that they can use to raise funds.
Dentists offices, aroma therapy clinics, fitness clubs, health counselors. Show them salt lamps and the benefits.
Keep adding to the list. Museum shops, gas stations, home party makers, home furnishing stores, hospital gift shops, people selling cosmetics, people selling vitamins, people selling on the internet.
2) From this list make a list of companies or people around you to whom you might show products.
3) Pick a product or two that you think might sell the best. And then order a sample pack.
4) Set up your on line store.
5) Order your business cards.
If this is your first venture into business, pick one product line. Focus and get organized.
We recommend either amber jewelry, salt lamps or the watering balls as a first choice. The individual pieces are low cost so they sell well and have very wide appeal. If you decide not to continue, they make great gifts and sell well on eBay. So you minimize your risk.
Once again lets look at why I recommend these products.
There is a large market.
The entry costs are low.
If you decide to leave the business you can sell them easily on eBay, use them as gifts, or sell them at discounted prices to local shops.
Most any garden shop will buy the watering balls.
The jewelry will sell well to individuals as well as shops. And it will get you referrals.
The shipping costs on jewelry and water balls is low so you can make higher profits.
You get more than a sample package. We don't want to throw you out to the wolves without some training. So to help you we give you more.
First we send you a sales and marketing plan for each product. You get all the background on the product and information about that products unique selling points.
You get sales tips and methodology that will help you sell.
You get a training package that shows you how to set up your business to increase your sales.
You get a cookbook set of steps to follow.
And most important of all, you get backup and assistance. We are not interested in just selling sample packages. We want you to get at least 10 customers who make you a minimum of $100 profit per month per customer. And we want you to get a couple that make you a lot more. So we will be working to get you the best products at the best price backed up by the best service.
And by the way, if you don't like the sample package when you see it, just tell us within 5 days of the time that you receive it. We will refund the cost of the samples once we receive them in the same shape that we sent them. (Shipping and handling is not refunded.)
Now let us assume that you have decided on what product you want to sell and to whom. Your next step is to set up your on line store.
You start with a basic web site like the one at this link that you customize to your own needs. Note that that is the exact same way that we started when we opened up this store. We started small and added information as we grew and we continue to do that every day.
You can sell any products that you want in that web site.
You can sell the products that are listed in this web site.
Your total investment in the project is the cost of setting up your web site plus any sample packs that you buy.
If you would like more information, send us email at this address. Click here. %%StoreFooter%%