Sell Wholesale To Retailers {How to know if you’re prepared – grab my free checklist!}
If you make your own products and you’re considering scaling your business. I’m here to give you a checklist so YOU can determine if you’re prepared to sell wholesale to retailers.
Making and selling our products usually means making one or two products at at time and selling them to our customers. Maybe in person, on our websites, on Etsy, etc. But it can be hard to scale a handmade business selling one product to one person.
One way to scale a handmade business is to wholesale, where you’re selling MANY products to one person, like a retail store owner.
Adding wholesale as a revenue stream
But how do you know your handmade business is ready to wholesale? Most simply you need really good systems. Your process for making your handmade products should be very efficient. AND you need to know your prices REALLY WELL too, because you’ll want to determine if it makes sense financially.
If your handmade product retails at $30, then it will most likely wholesale anywhere from $15-20. If you don’t know the cost of supplies going into ONE of your products, determining the financial side of wholesale will be hard to figure out. It’s important to understand that not all handmade products are ideal for wholesale – either because the supplies make it cost-prohibitive OR because they labor is too intensive.
However, it makes total sense for many handmade products and makers to sell wholesale. It’s actually a great way to scale a retail business!
Questions to ask yourself
If you’re a maker on a journey to scale, then it’s most likely time to determine if you are truly ready to sell wholesale to retailers and I want to help. My checklist has 20 items on it. 12 that I highly recommend you check off before starting the wholesale journey and another 8 that are optional but worth considering.
For example, in addition to the pricing I mentioned above you’ll want to make a decision about HOW you sell your products to other retailers…
Wholesale VS Consignment – Are you prepared to sell your products at wholesale prices (usually 50% of MSRP) or would you prefer to agree on terms with a retailer, get a higher percentage of the sale but only get paid as your inventory sells?
Another thing to consider is how can you continue to market your business, even if the product leaves your hands and another retailer is selling them…
Promotional Materials – Can you provide the retailer with business cards, flyers, brochures or something else to help promote your business? Will they display them? Can you place stickers or attach a branded label to the product or will these be removed? Don’t waste your time or money on printed materials that won’t be used.
Are you ready to figure this out?…Grab my free checklist!
One more bit of advice!
Other retail business owners are busy too. The last thing you want to do is approach another retailer without being clear on what you offer (products, designs, color choices, etc.) and at what price. Be prepared with product images or samples, your minimum quantities, pricing and more! Grab my checklist so you can be as prepared and professional as possible. This will get you FAR!
Want to learn more?
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- Visit the Shopkeeper’s Academy to learn more about our group memberships and 1:1 coaching.
- Listen to the Savvy Shopkeeper Retail Podcast.
I share some of the most helpful information and tips for retail business owners on the Savvy Shopkeeper Retail Podcast. I know you’re busy so episodes are short and sweet at around 20 minutes. Want to work less, profit more, and grow? Listen on any of these platforms:
