Is this the end of YarnSoft?

 

This is the post I hoped I’d never have to write.  I am winding down YarnSoft.  There are various reasons, with I guess the main one (and the obvious one) being that I just don’t have the time to devote to the business and my customers.  When I first opened, I was hopeful that I could work mostly in the business and make up the missing dollars with a couple of days part time work.  I did get a job working 2 days a week which gave me a little breathing space but in no way enabled me to pay the bills, both business and personal.

One of the big issues has been my lack of business skills.  When it comes to knowledge of knitting/yarn etc I’m fine.  What I don’t know I’ll find out, either by research or trying a technique until I feel qualified to present it.  My customer service has always been a top priority, but how I’ve managed the accounting side of things has been something of a disaster!

Despite my enthusiasm and planning (or at least what I thought was planning) I’ve managed to get the money side of the business all out of whack.  To be blunt, I’ve talked the talk but not walked the walk if you want to be all reality TV about it.  I did try and for a while I was keeping it almost under control, but then I had a huge computer crash that not only corrupted my main data drive but also my backups.  I know I should have picked myself up and repaired the damage and move on but this, combined with some bills that I was being threatened with legal action if I didn’t pay, caused me to lose faith in myself and the business.

I’ve kept going and for a while I thought I could get over the hurdles but, as my outside working hours increased, the time I could spend on the business declined.  As many of you know, once you stop being fresh and “live” everything else falls apart – namely no new products, no extras, like blogs, social media and newsletters, leads to no new customers.

So I’ve decided to mark all products down to ridiculously low prices so I can move as much out as possible, get my finances back in order (or at least to the point where an accountant won’t need therapy after looking at my books!)

And after that?  Well I’m lucky in that I love my job and the people I work with.  Some of you may be aware that the driving force for me opening my own business was part of my recovery from being bullied in a previous job.  I had to leave my job, sell my house and move 3,000 miles away just to regain my sanity.  I don’t regret any of it, as I am far more aware of what I will and won’t put up with from people and I’m altogether happier in many ways than I have been for a long time.  I still have personal issues I need to work on but although some of them have affected how I’ve run the business, they are mostly issues that I need to address on a daily basis.  Don’t worry I don’t have any substance abuse problems or anything like that!  I just need to tighten up a few aspects of my life and be a bit more pro-active in some areas.

So, will YarnSoft rise from the ashes?  In all honesty, probably not.  I would still love to run a business, but next time I would hope it would be smaller and better targeted.  I feel my market was too broad and I tried to cater for too many tastes.  I would have loved to specialise in something like handspun or knitting for kids but there are already good businesses here and I don’t think I could beat them at their own game, nor would I want to.  I guess that’s one of the problems, I just don’t have the killer instinct.

If I were to give a prospective business owner any of my gathered wisdom, here are a few thoughts – 

1.            Be realistic about what you can/can’t do.  If you are rubbish at accounts, don’t expect to miraculously acquire those skills just because you want to.  Budget for someone else to provide this service.

2.            Don’t for one minute expect a full time wage.  The business must be big enough to support that and after taking all expenses out you may be shocked at how little you have left.

3.            Make sure what you are selling is what the market wants.  I’m only just becoming aware of what my customer wants 2 years into the venture.  I did do marketing research and nailed it to some extent but in the end it wasn’t enough.  You may have to bow to what is selling not necessarily what you want to sell, at least at the beginning.

4.            Use all avenues to get your business noticed.  Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, Madeit to name a few, are now standards in our field for knowledge, product comparisons and being visible.

5.            Consider taking your product on the road, so to speak.  Look at markets, exhibitions and offer your services at fetes etc. 

6.            Last, not least, and probably more important than points 1 – 5, don’t try to be a lone ranger.  Use the small business networks and resources that are there for you.  Many of them are free or low cost so USE THEM!  I didn’t do enough of this and when I did it was during a time of crisis.

To finish, I’d like to thank all of you who have shopped at YarnSoft.  I have loved getting to know you and hope you keep loving knitting and crocheting, as I believe our craft has never been more popular and is finally a grown up sport!