Archive for the ‘Family Business’ Category
Friend or Foe Online Booksellers
Posted on: May 12, 2009
Just read an online article from Star Tribune Minnesota
The gist of the article is complaining about the number of people who are perusing the Friends of the Library book sales with scanners in hand to buy their books for resale on the internet. They’re buying too much.
“Resellers have always been among the first in the door at community library sales, where used books donated by readers or withdrawn from library shelves typically sell for 50 cents to $1, with money raised going for library needs.
What’s new is that there are more resellers and a lot of them buy big loads of books, said Margie Schuster, Hennepin County Library staff coordinator for 26 Friends of the Library groups.
“Online sales has just gotten to be a huge, huge business,” Schuster said. “We are working hard trying to help our Friends groups figure out how to handle it.”
In some communities, library volunteers are trying to get a step ahead of resellers.
The Friends of the Edina Library, which typically makes $7,000 to $10,000 on each of its sales, displays high-quality fiction and special books on separate tables with prices set slightly higher”
Now I have to admit I can be sensitive about this sort of slanting on “the scanner monsters” as some booksellers would refer to any book seller who uses an electronic device to help them know what inventory to buy. It would seem that us resellers aren’t wanted at the book sales. However, reading the above paragraphs makes me wonder why there is even a question in the volunteers’ minds over “allowing” us resellers to come to their sale.
I sell books online. I would not complain about either of the writer’s statements I bold typed above if my customers (and ahem, booksellers are customers, too) were the first in my shop to buy huge amounts of books. Hey, my money would be made for the whole day before
11 a.m. from those loyal and big buying customers. I might even have to consider whether I should take the rest of the day off if I had such a run on my books!
This is a problem?! First in the door and buying lots of what you are selling?
I thought we were in a recession and we should be pleased with the mere possibility that we can raise any funds at all in this economy. I know here in NY I can safely say the booksellers fund at least 25% of the proceeds the Friends raise. Would you be willing to lose 25% of your revenue because you just don’t like the booksellers buying from you?
What do you think? I’d love to hear your perspective as both a shopper at the book sales and a reseller. Should the library volunteers sneer at good hard earned money flying into their coffers even if it is from a low life bookseller who wants to take their time, money, energy, and years of knowledge and experience to sell the same book online for more?
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Little Entrepreneurs – Starting them Young and Creating Good Habits for Life
Posted on: October 13, 2008
Guest article:
I’ve been working from home since my youngest daughter was born. It’s been a great adventure and I’m so blessed to be able to stay home with my kids and bring some income to the family budget. I love it.
The key to making this work for our family has been having our daughters work with me in my businesses from the beginning. Now I know, that sounds impossible. And obviously a newborn can’t stick labels on my mailing etc. But as soon as my kids could walk and talk I started training them to be little entrepreneurs and helpers, beginning first with helping me around the house so that I could get the business work done.
Here are a few quick steps you can take with your little ones to start them on the road to success in helping you with your business and even toward helping them get their own home business started when they’re older.
1. While they’re still in your arms, use a sling or a backpack to carry baby with you while you work. Talk about what you’re doing and how they can help you when they’re older. The key at this age is have them WITH you as much as possible and then use nap time to get those things done that might be impossible to do with a young one strapped to you.
2. When your little ones can walk, have them help you with some simple tasks…filling up the dog food, folding washcloths, snapping beans. Always talk about how much help they are to you and how much you’ll love it when they’re ready to do this job all by themselves. Before you know it they’ll be saying, “I can do it mom!”
3. Praise them often for their efforts. They may not put the fork on the right side of the plate but it’s there and it helped. Let them know it! Make simple jobs easy for them. Put items in drawers that they can reach. For instance, a two or three year old can easily set the table with silverware, but it would really help them if they had a placemat to tell them where each piece goes and if the flatware was in a drawer at their level. You can easily make a vinyl placemat a silverware map with a sharpie. Just draw each piece on there and use the placemats at every meal letting your child set the table.
4. Let them work the business with you. In the beginning that might just be having them sit in the high chair or booster seat at the table while you work the computer and they put paperclips in Dixie cups. Or buy some tape and construction paper and have them tape away … it’s cheap and you’re using items that they’ll be using in the future to really help you with your business. As soon as they’re ready, have them put the stickers and postage stamps on your mailings, strap the packing tape on your boxes (it doesn’t have to be perfect!) sort and/or file your papers, etc. Again, the key when they’re young is working with them and encouraging them.
5. Let them work independently when they’re ready. Kids are often ready to take on bigger responsibilities before you think they are. A 10 year old can easily handle the checkbook and just imagine how great it will be for his math skills too – plus the bank checks his work!
Involve your young kids in your business from the beginning. You’ll be amazed at how the investment of time (and maybe some frustration) in the early days will pay off greatly down the road when your children can handle huge parts of your business without you because they’ve been well trained.
About the Author:
Annette Yen and her daughters have worked together in their home-based business from the beginning. You can learn more about them at their website [1] www.kidspartybusiness.com. Find out more tips for raising your kids to be entrepreneurs at [2] www.showkidsthemoney.com.
eBay Nostalgia
Posted on: September 3, 2006
Today I signed up with The Art of Books.com (or AOB for short). This is a bookseller’s Cadillac of databases for inventory management. It allows you to list on several online selling venues and manages post sales tasks. There is definitely a learning curve involved in the beginning of using the program, but well worth the effort. We only started selling on Amazon a few months ago. We have sold children’s books exclusively on eBay for over five years. We have been Powersellers for almost that whole time. eBay has been good for us. I almost felt as if I had betrayed eBay by listing my books elsewhere. However, there is a truism in life that never changes and that is that everything changes. It was time for us to expand our bookselling business. We still highly recommend eBay as a great way to start a family business. eBay is a selling venue that is quite forgiving in listing mistakes. We have trained five of our children in entrepreneurial skills through our use of eBay. Our three oldest children are all self starters and independent. They are optimistic about their futures and plan to succeed without being tied to a j-o-b. In fact, our 13 year old son has started a website/graphics business. He is doing very well with it. The seven year old jumps on the computer to list every day. He types all the needed information, and then is rewarded by being allowed to play one of his computer games. Now, I know I had no idea how to type when I was seven. Did you? My 16 year old could be a librarian. He is very adept at viewing and pulling titles in record time amongst thousands of volumes. I was impressed by his knowledge of books. I like that he likes books! So, as much as it saddens me to leave selling full time on eBay, I have fond memories of the flexibility eBay has afforded us in creating a home business. We have learned lessons about online commerce that we never would have learned if it were not for eBay. We are grateful.
Power Sellers on eBay
Michael & Julie Anna Schultz
Collectors and consultants of fine out of print children’s literature
Owners of Book Jewels for Children
Children\'s Online Bookselling 