Page 103 - 597 Business Ideas You can Start from Home - doing what you LOVE! (Beginner Internet Marketing Series)

94 Your Idea. Inc.

probably not be reordering untilyou have sold many of those units.
(You will know the lead time your factory needs and try to plan
accordingly.)

Things get more complicated when you are selling many differ­
ent versions or designs or sizes of your product. Like many small
businesses, if you use QuickBooks software for accounting, invoic­
ing, and packing slips, you can add on the QuickBooks inventory
program, called Fishbowl Inventory. It is popular with small- to
medium-sized businesses and versatile enough to suit many indus­
tries. You may need very precise and constant inventory control
if you are dealing with food, perishables, or products that have a
short shelf life or a product with fragrance that fades after a period
of time, for example.

Keeping it "close to the vest" with inventory (supply and demand)
issues, will really help your cash flow. In today's economy, it is more
acceptable to simply fess up and tell the buyer that you don't have
excess inventory on hand, but you will go into production right
away and the order will ship in two to four weeks. This is where
that great relationship with your manufacturer comes in. They need
to be able to immediately go into production. Two to four weeks is
a common lead time right now, as it is understood that small busi­
nesses can't afford to stock excess inventory.

Even if it seems early i n the process, consider i nvesting
the software. Many sma l l businesses use QuickBooks

sol·tw,are for i nvoices, packing slips, accounts receivable,
and internal reports. When you need inventory software,
Quicken Fish bowl Software is a good choice. You don't want
to get caught short, and miss orders and deadlines because
you didn't know how much stock you had.

Starting Out

When you're just starting out, sell from prototypes or samples
whenever possible. However, if your product is inexpensive, like