Just had a look at some year end numbers….as in total sales from 2009. I knew it had been a slow, shall we say bad, year, but seeing that final total hurt. It was less than my total sales for 2005….my second full year in business! But my expenses were not down an equal amount, so overall my loss was much bigger, even though I slashed my own salary.
This means some changes will have to be made….in fact the first one already has been made. I had to lay off Amber, which means the store will be closed on Sundays again so I can have at least one day off each week. It also means I’ll probably be closed on most long weekends as well…..though I’m hoping that by the time we get to the months with long weekends, business will have picked up and I’ll have Amber back at least working on them.
The low sales last year also should explain to you why my stock is so low….I was barely meeting expenses each month so there was nothing left to bring in anything new, let alone restock what had sold. I know that not having more inventory contributes to lower sales (it’s a vicious circle that I’m in right now) but there just is no money available to buy anything.
I know 2010 will be a better year…..but I beg your patience as I recover from an exceedingly bad year. I will be bringing in new items as I can as well as restocking the ‘old standbys’, but it will take time.
Shelley