Running your own business can be one of the most amazing experiences around, getting to be your own boss and doing things your own way. Conversely, running your own business can also be incredibly stressful if you are running that business out of your own home and storing large amounts of inventory on your property.
Let’s have a look at what you can do to run a successful business without constantly feeling the need to run home and check on the merchandise.
Buying Wholesale
When running your own goods business, i.e. selling purchased goods such as wholesale jewellery, assist with lowering your spending costs to improve the profits by buying in bulk.
Generally, when purchasing in bulk you receive a discounted rate which you can then sell the product at a higher price in your store to make a profit.
Whilst this is a smart business practice, this also likely means that at any given time you will have large numbers of products, which would most likely be stored at your residence especially if to lower costs you are running the business from your own home or purely online.
Even if you are running the business from a company location you are still likely to end up with your products at home to have maximum use of your space. Whilst this is smart in many ways, it also creates the issue of the safety and organisation of your products.
Organising Your Inventory
When running a business all proprietors should utilise inventory management systems that best fit them.
This could be a self-created and updated spreadsheet or a clear and simple inventory list that you update each time new stock arrives or stock is sold and moved on.
In the end, this system is only useful if you are recording details about your inventory such as item name, location, description, purchased cost, and marketable cost.
No two businesses are the same and will therefore not store inventory the same way, however, the overall notion is the same with each business needing to ensure they can meet their customers' needs quickly and efficiently so the business can continue to grow. This means ensuring you always have enough stock on hand, which in turn can lead to the storage problem of where to put it all.
Storing Your Inventory
The first step and one that you may think is obvious is to label everything.
While you may be sitting there thinking, “Well of course I would label everything” many others are sitting there going “I don’t need to label anything, I know where I am putting everything.”
Whilst this may feel true as your business continues to grow, and stock continues to come in it becomes a lot more challenging to remember where you put that last pink necklace or the box of earrings.
Once you have labelled everything following a few simple storage techniques will help with maximising your space such as:
Shelving
Having floor-to-ceiling shelving can allow you to store heavier merchandise on the floor or bottom shelf. This is both for your safety and to prevent the shelving from getting too heavy and collapsing creating a whole new problem for you. You can then store the lighter items on the higher shelves as this will remove clutter in your storage space and be safer to remove from higher shelves to prevent lifting injuries.
Popular Items
Storing the most popular items at the front can assist you with the highest level of efficiency possible. You have quick access to these items and can get them where they need to go in the fastest possible time, rather than having to move everything out to obtain them and then put it all back.
First In, First Out Method
When obtaining new stock, even if you think it is going to be very popular, ensure you are keeping the older products to the front to sell them first. This should be adhered to even if your products are not perishable as you want to ensure your products are continually moving and not just turning over the newest stock.
Storage Containers
For the smaller easier-to-lose items, get yourself some storage containers, clearly label them, and place these items in them. This again assists with keeping your inventory tidy and also reduces tripping hazards and lowers the likelihood of stock being misplaced.
Protect Your Inventory
Now that you have worked so hard to organise and store your inventory, you are going to want to keep it safe and secure without the fear of losing anything by accident or even the more adverse issue of having something stolen. A few simple techniques can assist with drastically reducing the possibility of this including:
Conducting Regular Inventory Checks
This comes back to the inventory management system you have set for yourself and ensuring you are listing all new and leaving stock. This will make conducting an inventory check much simpler and more efficient for you. Completing inventory checks is something that you should be doing frequently but if you have adhered to the above then it should be reasonably quick and easy to tick off that everything is accounted for and where it should be.
Invest In A Home Security System
Whilst completing inventory checks is a great way to monitor your stock, there is nothing more secure than investing in a security system. This could be as extreme as putting in a full alarm system that you activate each time you leave the premises. This however isn’t possible for everyone’s budget, and instead going online and purchasing a simple camera that is pointed at your stock and streams directly to your phone is an excellent way to ensure peace of mind and check visually on your stock at any given time.
Running a business should be an exciting time for you and not something that ends up causing you unlimited stress to the point where you think it's easier to just stay home to ensure your stock is secure. Looking into the above steps can support streamlining your business and give you the peace of mind you deserve as an already busy business owner.
Running your own business can be one of the most amazing experiences around, getting to be your own boss and doing things your own way. Conversely, running your own business can also be incredibly stressful if you are running that business out of your own home and storing large amounts of inventory on your property. Let’s have a look at what you can do to run a successful business without constantly feeling the need to run home and check on the merchandise.
Buying Wholesale
When running your own goods business, i.e., selling purchased goods such as wholesale jewellery, assist with lowering your spending costs to improve the profits by buying in bulk. Generally, when purchasing in bulk you receive a discounted rate which you can then sell the product at a higher price in your store to make a profit. Whilst this is a smart business practice, this also likely means that at any given time you will have large numbers of products, which would most likely be stored at your residence especially if to lower costs you are running the business from your own home or purely online. Even if you are running the business from a company location you are still likely to end up with your products at home to have maximum use of your space. Whilst this is smart in many ways, it also creates the issue of the safety and organisation of your products.
Organising Your Inventory
When running a business all proprietors should utilise inventory management systems that best fit them. This could be a self-created and updated spreadsheet or a clear and simple inventory list that you update each time new stock arrives or stock is sold and moved on. In the end, this system is only useful if you are recording details about your inventory such as item name, location, description, purchased cost, and marketable cost. No two businesses are the same and will therefore not organise their inventory the same way, however, the overall notion is the same with each business needing to ensure they can meet their customers' needs quickly and efficiently so the business can continue to grow. This means ensuring you always have enough stock on hand, which in turn can lead to the storage problem of where to put it all.
Storing Your Inventory
The first step and one that you may think is obvious is to label everything. While you may be sitting there thinking, “Well of course I would label everything” many others are sitting there going “I don’t need to label anything, I know where I am putting everything.” Whilst this may feel true as your business continues to grow, and stock continues to come in it becomes a lot more challenging to remember where you put that last pink necklace or the box of earrings. Once you have labelled everything following a few simple storage techniques will help with maximising your space such as:
Shelving to store inventory
Having floor-to-ceiling shelving can allow you to store heavier merchandise on the floor or bottom shelf. This is both for your safety and to prevent the shelving from getting too heavy and collapsing creating a whole new problem for you. You can then store the lighter items on the higher shelves as this will remove clutter in your storage space and be safer to remove from higher shelves to prevent lifting injuries.
Popular Items
Storing the most popular items at the front can assist you with the highest level of efficiency possible. You have quick access to these items and can get them where they need to go in the fastest possible time, rather than having to move everything out to obtain them and then put it all back.
First In, First Out Method
When obtaining new stock, even if you think it is going to be very popular, ensure you are keeping the older products to the front to sell them first. This should be adhered to even if your products are not perishable as you want to ensure your products are continually moving and not just turning over the newest stock.
Storage Containers to store inventory
For the smaller easier-to-lose items, get yourself some storage containers, clearly label them, and place these items in them. This again assists with keeping your inventory tidy and also reduces tripping hazards and lowers the likelihood of stock being misplaced.
Protect Your Inventory
Now that you have worked so hard to organise and store your inventory, you are going to want to keep it safe and secure without the fear of losing anything by accident or even the more adverse issue of having something stolen.
A few simple techniques can assist with drastically reducing the possibility of this including:
Conducting Regular Inventory Checks
This comes back to the inventory management system you have set for yourself and ensuring you are listing all new and leaving stock. This will make conducting an inventory check much simpler and more efficient for you. Completing inventory checks is something that you should be doing frequently but if you have adhered to the above then it should be reasonably quick and easy to tick off that everything is accounted for and where it should be.
Invest In A Home Security System
Whilst completing inventory checks is a great way to monitor your stock, there is nothing more secure than investing in a security system. This could be as extreme as putting in a full alarm system that you activate each time you leave the premises. This however isn’t possible for everyone’s budget, and instead going online and purchasing a simple camera that is pointed at your stock and streams directly to your phone is an excellent way to ensure peace of mind and check visually on your stock at any given time.
Conclusion: How to protect and store inventory at home
Running a business should be an exciting time for you and not something that ends up causing you unlimited stress to the point where you think it's easier to just stay home to ensure your stock is secure.
Looking into the above steps to store inventory at home can support streamlining your business and give you the peace of mind you deserve as an already busy business owner.
Further reading: How to work from home with kids, without losing your mind.
