You love decorating homes, but don’t have a design degree? Or you have a design degree, but haven’t yet utilized it professionally? Either way, it is never too late to begin a home furnishing business, if this is your area of interest.
Here are some steps you can take to sell your own home furnishing products!
Make a business plan. Research licensing requirements for a small business or a home-based business in your state. Purchase necessary permits and insurance policy and get started.
– Begin with the type of home furnishing products you want to make and sell and how much capital you might need for the same. Determine if you want to make specific home dcor products only or cater to other spaces like the patio, garden, office, nursery etc.
– Depending on the size and scale of the business, you may want to do all the work yourself or outsource some or most of the work to other companies and focus your work solely on designing your ware. You can decide on either alternative depending on your budget, availability and time.
– You may also want to think how and where to sell your home furnishing products. This step is necessary to define your business plan. You can sell through retail stores in your area that deal in decorating products or partner with a few ecommerce stores for the same.
Calculate your investment needs in terms of all legal requirements, inventory, storage, and marketing and selling.
– Do you have space at home for all your business work or would you need to lease a separate space for your workshop or warehousing needs?
– Do you want to invest in a website? Or for now, you can make do with just social media pages and other local promotional activities?
– Do you wish to design and sell on demand? Or cater to your creativity and professional skills and craft your own home furnishing product line?
Decide on a business name, logo, packaging and your business niche.
– Think of a creative, but apt name that will not only generate interest, but also instantly tell people what the nature of your business is. However, simple is often better when it comes to business names.
– Keep your cost for logo and packaging to the minimum. If your products are creative and useful, you won’t need fancy and costly packaging for the same.
– There are many home furnishing products and it is not realistic for every new entrepreneur to deal in all. If you love textiles, you can begin with designing or making (or both) cushion covers, table mats and sheets for beds. If you like making small utility items that also look great, you can start your business with decorating products such as ceramic ware (vases, kitchen items, and napkin holders), stained glass items or custom products.
Whatever you decide, if you love decorating, selling your own range of home furnishing products can be very rewarding.
Managing a dealership is a demanding job. Several aspects need to be taken into consideration to run the business smoothly and effectively. Using business management software such as a dealer management system (DMS) can help ease this process. Efficient DMS can assist you in effortlessly managing different aspects of your business through unified software. This includes pre-sales, sales, purchases, post-purchase, financial accounting, inventory management, CRM, human resources, and more. Read on to learn more about DMS.
What does a dealer management system do?
The main objective of a dealer management system is to ease operational tasks and enhance operational efficiency. It takes the load off of excessive paperwork by streamlining and providing a centralized location for all your important data. A good DMS will also improve communication across different departments within your organization, encouraging better business awareness for your employees.
Dealer management systems can help you with the following:
Inventory management
This is a crucial feature for dealerships with large inventories. It can help you store records in a single location and retrieve them at the click of a button. It can also help you monitor your expenses for reconditioning and flooring and provide industry-standard book values.
Customer management
Instead of looking through physical records for each of your customers, a DMS can help you store and access customer data more smartly. Some software also allows you to call or chat with your customers in real-time. These software applications are generally equipped with features that allow you to record conversations and categorize your contacts to easily follow your leads.
Accounting
DMS can help you automate all your accounting tasks, such as inventory, point of sale, and transaction costing. This will enable the quick generation of financial reports that can be shared with the rest of the team. It can also help you develop an operational budget, monitor performance, and analyze the profitability of every aspect of your business.
Service management
Your DMS can also help you organize and manage the dealership’s service schedule to help you meet deadlines. It can help you streamline the service write-up process, schedule service work to maximize billable hours, allow your team to clock in and out easily, and make repair and warranty claim handling easier.
Features to look for in a dealer management system
The goal of an effective DMS is to improve your service capabilities while offering a great experience for your customers. While all businesses do not operate in the same manner, here are some standard DMS features that every business could benefit from:
Inventory management
Integrated accounting
POS and retail management
Reporting tools and analytics
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Service scheduling and productivity tracker
Repair order and billing estimates
Deal structuring, forms, and contracting
Lead management quoting
If you are keen on a DMS that offers more, look for the following features:
Multi-location management
Embedded text messaging
Slips and storage management
Cloud hosting
Employee training
IT support
Price file updates from major manufacturers and distributors
Availability across major phone/computer operating systems
Integration with third-party solutions (such as CRM, ERP, Chatbots, RMA reporting, and smart search features)
Prices for dealership management software can vary depending on the features offered, setup fees, number of systems installed, inventory list, and other factors.
Tips for choosing the right dealer management system for your business
If you’re in the market for a new dealer management system for your company, following these tips can help:
Prioritize the list of features
Classify all the features into three categories: needs, wants, and nice-to-have. This will help you prioritize your requirements and choose a DMS that is suitable for your business.
Needs
These are the non-negotiable features that a potential DMS must have. It may include inventory, unit tracking, sales, management, scheduling, accounting, etc.
Wants
Although these are not crucial for the functioning of your business, these features can help improve efficiency and provide insights. Some common features companies want include CRM, sales pipeline management tools, automation tools, sorting, report generation, and third-party integrations.
Nice-to-have
These may be considered frill features by many. While they can help improve your experience with the DMS, you can also comfortably continue your operations without them. Some nice-to-have features include training tools, mobile functionality, internal communications, cloud-based software options, and accessible customer support.
Create a list of vendors
This can help you find the right vendor for your business. Create a list of vendors that meet your priority list. You can scour the web for businesses, speak to your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances for suggestions, check industry publications, read online review listings, or even post on a public forum. Once you have a list of potential vendors, it is time to start shortlisting.
Request a demo
Conduct a thorough vetting of your list of vendors. You can reach out to their contact person and ask for more details to make an informed decision. Request a demo session once you have shortlisted two or three potential options. A formal demo session with the vendor can help you fill any remaining gaps in your knowledge about their offering and ensure the provider meets all their claims.
Once you have finalized your vendor, it’s time to make a proposal. The ideal DMS will help you streamline and support your business as you scale it to greater heights.
Fashion is a powerful tool that can enhance confidence and transform one’s overall appearance. While it’s easy to assume that looking fabulous requires a hefty budget or a personal stylist, the truth is that with a few smart fashion hacks, one can achieve a stylish and effortlessly glamorous look. Here are some fashion hacks for men and women that will help them elevate their style game and look fabulous for any occasion.
Fashion hacks for women
Fashion hacks for men