Inventory Management for the Creative Entrepreneur

Managing your inventory between your online and offline sales doesn’t have to be tough…to get started all you need to do is determine where your items will be sold and then organize your items to execute your sales efficiently.  Let’s take a look at both approaches…

Determine Where to Sell

Do you waiver between making the decision to take the items you have listed online to your offline shows and events?  Here are a couple tips to help you make that decision a little easier:

• Avoid listing any one of a kind (OOAK) item in multiple online stores at once. 
• Avoid taking any OOAK items listed online to your shows unless you’ve set clear expectations with your online customers that your items could possibly be sold at the show you’re attending.  A few ways for you to manage these expectations with customers are for you to (1) deactivate your online items temporarily while you are at the show (2) go into vacation mode or (3) make a shop announcement letting customers know that you are at a show and that there is a possibility that items in your shop may be sold at that time.
• If you sell the type of item that you stock multiples of or that you can easily recreate then bring those items along to your offline shows to maximize possible sales.

Organize Your Inventory

Once you’ve identified where you want to sell your items, another important factor to consider is how you can store your items to maximize your sales efficiency overall, whether you’re filling online orders or heading out to a show.  I wish there was a "one size fits all" solution, but with varying product types, materials, and sizes, shop owners have to get a little inventive with their organization.

Hypothetical Scenario:  You sell one of a kind handmade jewelry on 1000 Markets and Etsy, and you also sell your jewelry in shows.  How would you store and organize your products?  Would you keep everything together or would you separate them out?  To help you find your way, an organization system or storage bins with clear categorization will make your life so much easier!  You can get inventive with your categorization as long as it makes sense to you. 

Possible Solution:  I would keep separate containers for each marketplace - a container for items I sell on 1000 Markets, a container for Etsy items and a container for shows.   Within each of those containers, I would split the jewelry into further categories, such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that are packaged and ready to be shipped for online orders or prepped to be displayed easily for my next show.  You can also have a separate storage container to account for items in process, items ready to photograph, and items ready to list. 

Ultimately, the key is to organize and store your items in a way that will make your life easier in the future!  I’d love to hear your comments.  What do you sell and what methods do you use for organizing your inventory effectively?

Related Articles

• How to Organize Home Business Inventory by eHow.com
• Organizing your Home Inventory Business: From Cluttered to Cozy by Home-Business.com