I am officially in business! After nearly two weeks of getting my first batch of purses and handbags (22), I finally put all of them online. I haven’t gotten any emails or purchases yet but know with a little of marketing, the business will start to make me money.

I can’t tell much difference from one bag to the next, besides the colors of the bags.

It took me roughly 5 hours to photograph and upload the photos onto my computer, measure and write the descriptions, post onto Etsy. Right now I have a shitty system. I could have done everything in 3 hours.

Already Thinking of a New System of Operation

The new system will be to measure and write the descriptions, take the photos, and then upload them. I will also have a number system in order to speed up the process. And the big thing for me is to do all of the shoes in one batch process.

The Shipping Issue

Even though I’m excited that I’ve started something and now anxious to get my first sell; I know I will have to figure out a method to ship the orders. My brother has a process of getting free boxes from the post office, but that cuts into the profit on the shipping. There are so many things to worry about, but I know everything will make more sense as I continue to what to improve on in this business experiment.

This business is already helping me to see how much dedication I’m willing to put into my other ventures, especially since the other ventures are my passions, and will also use all of the marketing strategies I find out towards other endeavors.

My Dad Doesn’t Know Shit About the Internet, but Does Know Business

My dad has been in business for himself for more than a decade, he quit his job to sell clothes, shoes, and other accessories. He has had a couple of business partners, most of his businesses have failed, but has learned quite a bit from his setbacks.

I’ve tried in the past to help him learn how to use the computer. I tried to teach him how to type, check email, and even how to use Microsoft word to save his invoices. But none of that made much sense.

However, he knows shoes, purses, handbags, belts, and any other type of garment known to man. He didn’t read any books or anything online, he would go around various Goodwill’s and just buy shoes and garments, and actually started selling these very items by accident. I still feel he should do more analytics, however, knows what would sell and when the best time of the year to post them. The only aspects of the internet he knows how to do are check his various ebay/etsy business accounts to see how everyone is doing (I set up all of the accounts as tabs on his firefox browser).

It Pays to Know What You Are Good At

I respect my dad in his ability to know what he is good at and what he isn’t. He doesn’t know shit about the internet, but knows about his product. He would rather take 50% of the sale and give the other 50% to the online sellers (me included), rather than keep 100% and struggle to get a product online.

How Long is This Going to Go On?

I don’t know how long I will be doing this business experiment. It is no problem for me to actually post the purses/handbags online and market them, but I know there will be a time when I will know that this will be it for me and I will move onto something else and something that will be an easy transition.

What’s the Hardest Part?

The hardest part of the business experiment is coming up with descriptions for the bags. The shit is not fun, actually none of it is fun. I can see why my dad didn’t want to deal with it. But, coming up with descriptions for products you don’t care and know about becomes a chore.

I still can’t believe it took me 2 hours to put up 16 bags. I was listening to podcast, music, but I still felt the time go past. Sure, I could have read a book with that time, ran around the neighborhood, or get some extra hours of sleep, but none of those activities would have made me money (actually, just putting things online doesn’t mean I’m going to make any, either, but it gives me a better chance).

To make this process more effective or less boring, I’m going to either listen to tons of podcast or watch a television show or two. I can’t do this in silence, or else, I will go crazy and slowly resent my choice of starting this endeavor in the first place.

What would the Money Mean?

The money that I make from this business will mean that I can make something out of nothing. That I can truly see the light that will help me develop a more feasible business to help me leave my ‘safe’ ‘9-5’ job. I know I will have to actually work more doing my own thing then attending work, but I know in the long run it will be worth it, especially with the freedom it provides me.

Difference Between Entrepreneurship and Working for Another?

Working for someone else requires the individual to just get out of bed, put on their clothes, and drive/walk/bike themselves to the office. After that they can do their jobs with not much problem.

An entrepreneur is somebody who is working all the damn time. Whether he/she sets up as many systems and automate as many activities and task as possible, they are constantly thinking about how to improve the business.

Those are the two main differences between the two. They are the ones that will hinder people from actually pursuing one over the other. And also, the money situation, not knowing when one will be receiving another paycheck is actually a scary experience to go through. Not being able to pay for bills and shit in general is not a cool feeling. So, the predictability and consistency of a ‘9-5’ is what makes the world go around. But the heartache, determination, the up and down physical, emotional hardship is what creates opportunity and growth to the world.

Which one suits you?