You have to want to live here....

I belong to a couple of professional bulletin boards.

I'm constantly amazed by what other retailers say.

But two things always stand out: Their costs are consistently lower and their sales are consistently higher.

How is it that I even stay in business?

Of course, as the title of my blog implies, I'm willing to settle for less in order to be my own boss.
But I also think I've been rather canny in the way I've diversified my store and slowly built up my inventory.

Every day I'm reminded why I did that. Something will sell that most stores wouldn't have bothered with. My turnover sucks, frankly, but I let go of that statistic when I realized that, as long as I paid for my inventory within my cash-flow, it didn't really matter. As long as I kept building up slowly, the price was manageable. The rewards come slowly, as well. But I've kept my eye on the ball.

I'm asked all the time, "What's selling really well?"

The answer, as unsatisfying as it sounds, is: "Nothing is selling a lot, but a lot is selling a little."

The result is, that I've got a large enough inventory now that I can employ a savvy buying strategy. Look for deals. They're always there, if you can afford them and if you're willing to wait a little longer for product to sell. That, combined with past buying, gives me a very good margin.

So, the answer, I guess, is that my margin is probably better than most stores. It's a margin that comes from 26 years of building up, of diversifying, of investing in both long and short-term product lines.

I'm not trying to be smug, here. Just trying to explain to myself why, if my costs are consistently higher, and my sales are consistently lower, I still manage to make a decent profit.


Aww.....screw it. It's because my definition of a 'decent profit' is paying the bills and taking home a bit.


As far as the high costs -- mostly rent, which is high. As far as sales -- I see it as mathematical. If I sell 80% of my product to .05% of the total available populous, then my reach is pretty limited.

In fact, without tourism, trying to do what I do wouldn't be possible at all.

It's the one thing I want to say to every new store owner in Central Oregon. Realize you are in a small town -- smaller than it looks, because of the isolation, the demographics, and the transportation and education paucity.

But...no one ever believes it. I must get asked two or three times a day -- "Is this the ONLY comic shop?" Or "Where are all the OTHER card shops?" "Why can't I find a store that carries this -- game, toy, (fill in the blank?)

What can you do?

I just shake my head and keep trying to improve the business.