I believe everyone can relate to not feeling like you have enough money to support yourself. Your day to day needs and those of others that you may care for – pets and humans alike – are always just to say being met or maybe not at all. Having to make the difficult decision to by a used book, or a cup of coffee and wondering if that decision will set you back for the month. Thank goodness for free options like the library or points programs, coupons and buy one get one free option at the store. However, sometimes this isn’t possible. The other day my phone company called to get me an offer on my cell phone plan; switch to our parent company and you can get your plan decreased by $10/month! It seemed too good to be true, and it wasn’t until… well it was. I didn’t have to pay for two months, just the $25 + tax, but with the activation fee, it practically was paying for two months service. In the end, because I couldn’t pay for two months, since I live off barely anything, I had to turn it down.
As most of you know, I couldn’t afford the hosting and domain fees for my website. The main reason was for the very same thing that prevented me from getting a cheaper phone plan, the hidden or additional fees that are required for you to have the service. When did this happen? Has it always been this way? These are rhetorical questions, some of you may have the answers to them and feel free to comment below if you do. My point is, these costs are what prevent small businesses like mine or individuals like myself from gaining the opportunities needed to help themselves. Today I want to talk about being on a low income and trying to run a business.
Three years ago, when I was looking into starting my own business, I went to the Small Business Centre here in London for advice. The gentleman that I spoke to said to me “Oh at the most you will have to pay $100 to start the kind of business that you want to. Very low cost.” I kept explaining to him that I was on ODSP and looking for a job and couldn’t afford to spare $100 in order to start my business. He didn’t seem to get it. Lucky for me, I had quite a bit of supplies already, the kindness of my community, friends and my Granny, so I was able to start working on making jewellery in order to sell. I did alright my first year. However, this past year has been a struggle. Between being in my web design course, and not working any more, I can’t afford to save of the till nor the table rental for local craft fairs in the city. And as I said, I can’t afford the domain and hosting fees either. What is a birl to do? Well, I am planning on opening an Etsy store. It is in fact the lowest cost on the market, or at least from the sites I have looked at.
Most sites require you to pay the lump sum yearly. While this may seem like the best option, again, most of us just don’t have $100+ to spare. And then the hidden costs that I found from sites like HostGator and GoDaddy make the cost more like $20-30 instead of the $2-10 that they advertise. However, with Etsy, I can post any number of items I want, at 26cents (subject to change depending on your country) plus 5% consignment fee on each item sold. They are a business, nevertheless, unlike the other businesses I mentioned, this seems like a low risk. If I don’t sell anything after a certain amount of time, the item goes down and I start again. I am not getting a sponsorship or anything from Etsy, I wanted to let others know that there are other possibilities out there.
For some, even Etsy isn’t an option. Selling directly to your customers on marketplace sites (Facebook has one) or even through a Facebook store (like I had) can be free options, if you have an account. People like convenience and unfortunately, there are still risks to this option (for me it didn’t work). Though, you might, depending on your products and how much people really want what you are selling, this could work for you. Having a part time job might help off set the costs that I mentioned above, but for some, working isn’t a choice either. It can be a challenge to be low income and trying to run a business. You worry about things like the little fees that occur when launching a website, or how are you going to get the materials to make that one big project that could help you out a lot. My father – who owns a business too and has for over 30 years now – told me it takes 5 years to get off the ground. My closing thoughts are I guess I must be patient, something that I have trouble with at times. It will get there, and your endeavours will too. I am here for anyone who wants to chat about the challenges of starting a business. It can be really rewarding when you find what works for you. If you are a crafter, sales are our friend and second-hand stores too. Bakers, and crafters too, consignment is an idea worth looking into. However, make sure that you get the deal that you make works out in your favour. No sense in doing all the work when the other person is getting all the rewards. Ask others in your community for help. I have traded my goods for things that others have purchased for me. And again, make sure that the deal is fair.
That is all for me for now! Until next time folks!