Business review time. Rose-Thorn-Bud time. Not sure who came up with it, but the rose are things going well. The thorn are things going poorly. The bud are things that could be good in the future with some effort and time.
Roses
- The website is working well, meaning the products are listed, the checkout works, & the shirts are shipped.
- Many of the free shirt offers were processed through the website.
- The shirts are good quality. About 20 shirts made and shipped. One had a slight defect, very slight, and CustomCat replaced it immediately.
- The website has been getting traffic! It is much more than I expected, around 450 page views for last 30 days, less unique visitors of course.
- As a Christian business, I recognize there’s a higher mission at work. God’s purpose doesn’t depend on whether I sell shirts or not. The goal of this business is simply to help believers share the Gospel through eye-catching designs. I also understand that these shirts aren’t for everyone—there are many ways to share the Good News, and this is just one of them.
- Followers are growing across the social accounts. However, it’s more of a one-on-one connection. I read their content and make comments, they do the same for mine, we find we having something in common, etc. How will that keep working if I get to 300 followers or more?
Thorns
- Removing free shirt giveaways & removing purchases made by me – there’s only been 1 real sale.
- Seems to be some people that don’t believe I’m really giving away free shirts when I post about it. I don’t get it.
- Trial periods are ending on some apps I’m using, so monthly costs will go up.
- It takes a lot of time to keep posting across the social media sites, even using Zoho Social and JetPack.
- I’ve mentioned before, but now with about 190 separate products (each having many size and color variations), I’m wondering if I’m growing out of my own WordPress site.
Buds
- I should spend more time on the Gallie-Life store. I step up the products and check daily for sales, but I need to look more into growing that store/area.
- Should I find a way to sell locally, in-person? There’s little festivals around. That would require buying the shirts ahead of time, keeping the stock around my house, getting a pop-up tent, tables, etc.
- Should I lower my prices? At mentioned, the website traffic is up, but still no sales. It’s something to consider. The prices seem to align with most other t-shirt sites I’ve found, unless they are having a close out sale. [Update: Prices Lowered.]
- Should I use AI to create the social media posts, re-write the website, etc.? There’s a lot of claims from companies wanting various ranges of fees their AI can do almost everything for you.
- Should I offer a bulk discount? With the print of demand service I selected, each shirt is printed for the specific order. I don’t receive any price breaks on order quantity, not until I’m selling enough it replaces my main household income. However, to help sales, if a customer ordered 20 or 25 shirts, should they get a discount to them? [Update: Bulk discounts offered to churches.]