How can I stop my failing small biz from making me depressed all the time?

K

keldastar

New member
Okay I think the 2 things that are really getting to me lately is that
1. I have been running 50% off sales and I feel like if I can’t make sales during this time of the year, then I truly am a failure.
2. I have a 0%apr credit card that goes back to having interest in January and I still have 6k to pay off (I recently put 6k on it that was not made by my business so really had 12k debt)

I am a very blessed person. I’m a sahm and our family is not balling by any means but we aren’t dependent on my business succeeding for bills or groceries.

Things have been going really well in my life outside of my business but I cannot move past how hopeless I feel because I’ve failed to even make 6k after nearly 9 months of putting in so much time and effort.

I try and dwell on the positive - like how my husband is supportive and how I really like having a project to work on anyway so doing this has kept my mind sharp and I’ve learned so much
But i still feel like I’ve encountered SO much bad luck, like spending 2 days trying to take professional looking photos and they looked great on the camera screen but came out blurry in Lightroom - that’s just one example but it’s a LOT of stuff like that. Things that even though I try to have a positive mindset and tell myself - you’ll really only fail if you give up now.
Anyway, I know it’s wild because there’s so much competition but in the most consumer driven, spendiest time of the year I still can’t get it right
And now my only options are take money I didn’t earn to pay off my bills or transfer my balance to ANOTHER 0%apr credit card with a transfer fee. Either way all I see is the finish line ahead in the distance and knowing that I’m not going to get there.
I guess I’m just looking for a sympathetic ear and anything I can do to be more positive! I hate being sad around the holidays!
 
@keldastar I don't really know enough about your particular business to say anything useful but I will drop something about the 50% sale and you not making sales.

Depending on your business and demographic sometimes costing more will boost sales. People either look for deals or they look for quality. Since they don't typically know good from bad quality they base quality off of price. Back when I did sales we would sell above our competition and just say something along the lines of "you get what you pay for" and it would work. People would assume you were better because you cost more and they'd be happy thinking they have the best product in the market. It all depends on your demographic though.
 
@deerlane Totally get that and that is why I was pricing myself higher but I wasn’t getting sales that way either lol. Also I have a 4.9 for reviews. And going against that line of thinking - recently in my due date group a mom posted a “deal” of where those super trendy hand embroidered sweaters were going for like $20 which included free international shipping. Very clearly a scam - but the person had 75 sales in the last couple of weeks that they opened. So something that was very clearly too good to be true still got a lot sales.
I thought my items were good quality and main stream while still being a little different enough to set me apart from those selling similar items, but maybe I’m wrong. I would love to get to the bottom of why I suck and I even know some reasons already. The issue is that I need to get over the fact that I suck because it’s really just making me depressed when my life is pretty good.
 
@keldastar 9 months is nothing. Some businesses take years to become profitable. Can't really offer much other advice because you don't say anything about your business. Stop looking at your sales and how it applies to the holiday season. You want sales overall unless you sell Christmas trees. Little stuff like blurry pictures is nothing. Who cares? Take them again, now you know to check them every few pics instead of waiting two days. All setbacks are an opportunity to learn.

Being sad around the holidays is a choice 🤷
 
@primsroses Yes 9 months is for sure a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things but I thought I would at least be getting organic sales to my Etsy if I did all the right things and I’m not.
I have a children’s e-commerce store
Also I’m not sure my feelings are a choice. I actively try and work on my business every day. I tell myself that things take time every day but the feelings still creep in. Giving up would be a choice, moping and feeling sorry for myself and how the world is against me would be a choice. But actively trying and having shitty feelings come up isn’t really a choice.
Also the photo thing was one example of many small things that make me feel like the universe is yelling GIVE UP - I have had multiple issues with photos. Both with shooting and compatibility issues. I know I’m no pro either but I still think doing it on my dslr will get better results than my iPhone.
I also gave myself tennis elbow from working on this. My sublimation printer broke recently when I was trying to fix a totally separate issue. I decided to sell on TikTok shop since my organic traffic was crap only to find out my items are restricted yet after hours of searching I cannot find what paperwork I need to submit nor where I need to submit it to, my llc license was rejected
There are more as well and I know all of that seems small but when it happens in such a short time frame it really wears on you. Yet I still say don’t give up - keep going.
Anyway if it seems like I’m sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I’m really not. I am trying so hard to push forward but I am having a hard time moving past feeling like a failure
 
@keldastar You should not be discouraged by the lack of profits, but going into debt and putting your family at risk is not acceptable. It takes years for some businesses to turn a profit.
 
@msgltl4e For sure. I refuse to do that. Worst case scenario I would transfer the debt to a different credit card and then get a job to pay it off. But
Luckily it’s not the case that I’m going to put my family in jeopardy. We have money in investments that we could take out if absolutely necessary. I really don’t want to do that though. I really want to pay this off myself whether it’s from my business or other money I make.
 
@keldastar Get out while you still can. If you are thinking of taking money out of investments… not a great idea to move forward. Watch shark tank the lady with the herbal wine. She ended up losing her house and never made it
 
@613jono I’m not taking money out of investments to put into business. It would be to cover the 6k credit card debt. But i don’t plan on doing that either.
 
@primsroses That is one thing I very much struggle with due to information overload and not knowing where to start. There are just so many options and I know that there’s not one right option but that almost makes it harder for me. I would LOVE guidance in that regard. I’m always trying to find attainable steps to be better and yeh marketing is such a weak spot for me.
 
@keldastar Do you have a small business development center near you? I went to one and got one on one mentoring for free with someone in my field. You need to start looking for help to learn the things you don't know. There is a lot of competition out there.

Marketing is everything with this type of business. If you don't like marketing or don't want to do marketing, this business may not be for you.

Have you tried local events? I do very well at local events, and it increases the following I have online. It also REALLY helps pay the bills. I have grown my business SO much by doing events, and it has given me the cash flow I need to grow. I also wanted to focus on an online store but found events really helped and more online orders came from that as well.

I have 3 kids, so I understand it's difficult to do both sahm & your business. But if you want this you have to put in the work. I watch my kids all day, then go into the kitchen at night and work until 3 am, sometimes. My youngest still doesn't sleep through the night, and it's killer some weeks. But my business is growing and doing better than I expected. I also started thinking this would be a side thing and i would do it around my kid's schedule . Until I realized I needed to put in even more work .

Do you believe in what you do and your products? I think that can be a mood killer for many people. I 1000% believe in what I am selling. It is something that sells itself because it's just that good. I want everyone to try or use my stuff because of how amazing it is. It makes my job easy. I COULD NOT HAVE THE DRIVE to sell half the stuff I have seen at events . Some people don't need to care about what they are selling but I am absolutely someone who does care deeply. In moments, I wanted to give up. I haven't because I believe in what I do so much.

Also, I am decently successful for being a super new business, maybe in the game as long as you have been . I have had a ton of support and amazing things handed to me just to help me . I STILL get the same agonizing, depressing thoughts . It doesn't matter how good or bad things are, we all get negative thoughts. It is not the internal voice that matters as much as how much you listen to it and let it take over your choices. Its a mind fuck for sure but if you can push past it and be resilient, you will be a better person...even if your business fails.

Debt sucks. But its also a driver to get this shit done. Or wallow in the bad feelings. You get to decide what the weight of debt will do to you.

Edit: I just want to add that I have done other small businesses as well. Some I closed because I didn't want to do it anymore, some didn't make money because I didnt have the skill to market it. All of it was a learning experience. Don't let " failure " stop you from jumping into something else if you decide you dont want to do this particular business anymore.
 
@keldastar Your instinct is correct regarding tiktok and other social media. Instead of starting a shop, begin with posts about what you offer. Check out other pages with similar content and pay close attention to the top 5 most common hashtags they use, and use them yourself. Focus on connecting people with your existence and your content before you try to sell anything.
 
@primsroses Businesses taking years to become profitable bc of the economics of scaling and an Etsy store being funded by a credit card not making any sales are two different things.
 
@primsroses A business not being profitable because they are maintaining / investing in payroll, R&D/tech, expansion etc. is a much different situation than an Etsy home business that has never sold anything in 9 months.
 
@primsroses Well she's got to do something differently not "hang in there because a lot of businesses don't make profit for the first few years"

If she said her sales are strong (and growing) but she just invested in warehouse space, hired a bunch of employees, invested in whatever.. and that's why she's not profitable, that would be different.

I don't have enough information or a link to her store to provide any.
 
@lizabetta I definitely agree. My whole goal was to sell enough on Etsy for it to be a fun side hustle. But now that it’s not selling and I have all this inventory I’m having to extend myself way beyond what I originally wanted to do. And I’m okay with that. It’s all a learning experience. And I know I’m not doing everything right and I also know I have had some bad luck. It’s a combo but that is for sure life sometimes. Expecting everything to go your way for success won’t get you far. Hearing from everyone is making me feel better but yeh the invasive thoughts have been getting me down because I do have a good life but the weight of my lack of success is something I’m having a hard time moving past
 
@keldastar Get a job.

It’ll be a lot easier and you’ll be able to pay the debt off.

2 days trying to get product photography right is nothing. It’s really challenging. You have to understand lighting position, warmth, coolness and more. Then there’s complimentary and clashing colours. And so much more. It really is quite complex.

I’ve been doing my own product photography for 13 years.

It sounds like you might be selling on Etsy? You need to have great photography, a good price and be running ads to stand a chance on there. And of course a product people want.

I’m actually quitting my e-commerce business. I can turnover a high number but the profit margins are so thin after all the costs (UK) that I can barely pay myself. Still HMRC, my accountants and Google Ads did well out of me 🤷‍♂️😂

You’re still very much in a learning phase with the business. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top