How long did it take you to have a steady business? When did you intro new products?

[Guest PassionSunKiss]

I'm not talking about having a multimillion dollar business here - but I'm curious, how long did it take you to go from newbie to having an steady, active business?

If you have more than one product, when did you introduce new products to your business?

I've been making body butters for almost a year and my dream is to have a business of my own. I'm wondering at what pace should I do it at without overwhelming myself or going into debt. I think I'm being impatient with myself because I feel like just plain ole body butter isn't enough to have. Any tips on growing?

[RichardLOZ]

We have been going for about 3 years or so and I wouldn't say that our business is either too steady or too active, although that depends on the month I guess. We do supply a few shops right now as well as do a few markets and parties, with the odd fundraiser thrown in for good measure.

Plan is to grow the business slowly over the next 3 - 5 years so that it can become a FT going concern. Its going to be a balance in growing it as I also work a FT job to pay the bills right now, so for us aty least it is going to have to be slow and steady to get to where we would like to be one of these days.....

[Dana]

"this business" for me is candles....bath and body would be different in terms of steady. I would say bath and body products have a better chance of being steady year round. Dry skin in the harsh winter months can pull you right through the summer months with all the tanning and pool chemicals. Candles are pretty seasonal. Sept. thru Christmas I am swamped and then it drops off to almost nill from March on. This is ok with me because we have so much yard work to do and a cottage to relax at so those months of "quite time" work for me! However, now that I am not working another job outside of candles a steady trickle during the warm months would be welcome.

[coconut]

What you need to do is to write a business plan. There are lots of books and online info on this. It all depends on how much time and cash you have available, and a business plan will help you organize yourself and figure out where you are going. Best of luck to you.

[Kitn]

A plan is a great thing to have, It has taken me a year selling bath and body to make it to where the business pays for itself, I will not be getting rich anytime soon, but I love what I do and am happy with the way things are going.

[Jeana]

Any sales business has its ups and downs. If you do wholesale, for every account that grows or you pick up, another one goes south. You can create a version of steady by really keeping on top of selling yourself and your business. It is a ton of work to keep on top of, especially when you add farmer's markets and websales. It is a good idea to add new products regularly to keep your customer's interest. I found rotating them helps. I pull some things for a while then reintroduce them, that makes people feel like there are fresh products all the time. It keeps it more interesting for me too. When I make the same thing all the time I get bored quickly. Of course all of this is if you will be doing this as a full time business and not just a part time side thing.