Next time the help gets a mani you should go with and get a pedi. Corporate development nail treatments and research - lasts way longer than a corporate pizza bonus or corporate donuts bonus.
Pictures - behind the scenes at Captain's Choice
- Thread starter Captain Pre-Capsize
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She deserves a raise. I'd use 4 labels to get one in the right spot!
FarmerTan - Your nails are no where the precision implements that the hired help has. I suspect the nails aid the label placement in addition to constituting a possible advertising expenses. Not even the First Mate can find a way to cover FarmerTan’s nail treatments on the corporate dime.
Very true point my friend!
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- #65
We are doing our part to keep FedEx busy!
An unusual convergence led to orders being shipped the same day to several trusted retailers. Inside are lather bowls, shaving soaps, shaving creams, aftershaves and more. Typically we toss in a small zip lock bag of samples for free. These the retailer gives away as they fill orders to help encourage return sales.
Retailers have what is called keystone pricing: If a product retails for $20.00 the retailer pays $10.00 - that is keystone pricing. To get that wholesale price the retailer has to purchase a MOQ (minimum order quantity) which varies with the manufacturer. For us it is twenty-four of a product. The cost to the retailer does not end at $10.00 per bottle, however. They have to pay shipping which is usually $1.00 per bottle. They also need to cover overhead which is operating expenses, labor, utilities, etc. This varies but can be another $2.00 per bottle. Now their cost is at $13.00 and how long will it sit there before being sold? After it sells what if they offer free shipping? There is another expense. If they sell via Amazon then Amazon grabs another $3.00 or so. You can see that the profit can quickly get whittled down. The hope of a retailer is that the customer purchases more than one item, that is when it comes together.
That is a little bit of the finance side of the business, now let's take a look at the manufacturer side of things.
From the standpoint of the manufacturer (us) our posture is one of a slow and steady release of new items over time. We do this knowing in advance that most will not find an audience and will be closed out. Here are some recent examples - our shave balms were closed out in all scents. We did this after a number of years of promotion and free samples, just not enough interest to justify the product line. We do have some Bay Rum balm left and when it is gone that will be it.
Another example is our Land Ho scent (fougere) and Island Time (tropical) in all product lines - balm, soap, cream, aftershave. Promoted, free samples and not enough interest so both were closed out. When something is closed out that too is a direct expense to us - left over essential oils, containers, ingredients, etc. that get tossed out. So the starting point is knowing that there will be many failures / unavoidable expenses and accepting it. Unfortunately, a small business feels those expenses more so than a larger company.
There will be successes too, some surprising ones. Our lather bowls, for instance. The First Mate has said more than once, "Hey, let's just sell Bay Rum and lather bowls and call it good!" It took six months to develop our ceramic lather bowl - eight prototypes, a dozen volunteers, etc. Then after a number of years we brought out our copper lather bowl which took an additional six months to get right. Both product lines have been steady sellers. Now we have a line of scuttles which are a natural addition and whose sales have been a pleasant surprise.
Coming up next are a couple of other items we hope to have out after the holidays. The point is that as we hit thirteen years being in business we have a decent selection of items that have proven popular right here. But behind them is the invisible rubble of failed experiments, many many hours of work and discarded materials. This is normal for most small businesses and is something that customers are not aware of. It is also a direct expense to the bottom line.
My experience is that the more we fail the better chance of having something that "sticks" and becomes a seller.
Here is to the next thirteen years!
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Thanks for the education about your decision making process. There is much more behind it than I thought.
And thanks for all you do for the community my friend @Captain Pre-Capsize !
And thanks for all you do for the community my friend @Captain Pre-Capsize !
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Interesting read thx for posting.
Hello Captain, I hope that you are doing well. Lovely operational pics and information. A lot goes into a business, more then people realize. I am sure when the busy seasons kick in, things get a little kind of hectic. As I am sure, Christmas probably puts quite a strain on production. But thats why you have a team of workers, who help keep the ship sailing.
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- #69
Our lather bowls come in a fitted and labeled box. That box is then placed into a shipping box. This has always been necessary for our ceramic bowls to ensure they do arrive safely. It never was necessary for our copper bowls but by default we packed them the same way - until now.
With rising costs a fact of life I took a fresh look at it and have eliminated the fitted box for the copper bowls. Instead, each is now packed in its own cotton bag with drawstring rather than being in a fitted box. We save a bit on the packing and I thought it added a nice nautical flare to it.
What do you think?
With rising costs a fact of life I took a fresh look at it and have eliminated the fitted box for the copper bowls. Instead, each is now packed in its own cotton bag with drawstring rather than being in a fitted box. We save a bit on the packing and I thought it added a nice nautical flare to it.
What do you think?
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As long as they get there in good condition, it doesn't matter. We, or at least I, toss the packaging once it arrives.
I can understand the need for extra packing, when it comes to the ceramic bowls you ship. USPS treats our packages as bowling balls, I can't believe how many of my packages have came to me damaged this year. I can understand the need to save on costs though, hope the copper bowls arrive without issue. I like the bags with string.
I actually prefer the cotton bags.. and knowing they save money too, it's a win/win. Chris Spencer puts his replated razors in a small bag, then puts them in a cardboard shipping box. I keep mine and use them to protect this or that.. extra razor handles, for one. I'll bet they get a second life instead of getting thrown out.
Whatever helps you keep the costs down Cap'n! I really like the idea of the bag.
I'd prefer the bag to the box.
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