Business Reflections

While the fun parts of this business make the tough times worth while the lessons learned here are costly. This evening, I met a man who coordinates business sale transactions. A conversation with someone like this focuses my attention on the monetary value of this business.

It's all fun and games until you have to do the math. Figuring out what's working and what's not takes careful consideration. A sustainable business requires strategic planning to integrate all of the pieces. Taking a moment to reflect on the strategy plan never hurts.

It's been a reflective year so far as I've revisited the 5 year plan I wrote 3.5 years ago to realize one major thing isn't sticking like I expected. When I restarted this business, I set the course for three different sales strategies in order to aim for success. Come to realize, one of these strategies hit a boundary with my core values in the business, so I cannot continue.

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As per the natural progression of the standard business model for a candle company, offering candles to stores for wholesale prices would be a smart thing to try. The energy behind mass production goes against the meaningful nature of "making moments memorable" that I've set out to offer. This means I have to take some time to look at things from another perspective. 

Ah, if it were only just about the bottom line...I live a value-aligned life and I strive to keep it that way. This means that I’m constantly making little shifts and sometimes big leaps or bounds. Good news is that both the online and mobile store sales strategies are working very well together and offer a basis for long-term sustainability. 

What would be a good sales strategy to try other than wholesale? Any ideas?

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