Yo yo yo! Reader,

Something happened this week that I think perfectly captures what building a business actually feels like.

Sales are down.

Cash flow is tighter than I want.

Expenses keep appearing.

My van decided it needed around $2,000 worth of work.

We've had property issues.

Live sales have softened.

And we're probably going to finish another week below my revenue target.

So naturally...

I hired another person.

Makes sense, right?

On paper, probably not immediately.

Emotionally?

Definitely a little scary.

But strategically?

I think it's exactly what we need to do.

And that's the strange thing about growth.

Sometimes the decisions that are supposed to make the business stronger initially make you feel more exposed.

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Snapshot

There was a lot going on this week.

We continued pushing eBay Live.

We processed more cameras.

We worked through e-waste.

We dealt with a pretty concerning camera return.

I interviewed another candidate for our Live host role.

Made an offer.

And this time...

They signed the contract.

We also got approval from another major consignor to start putting some of their higher-end inventory through Live.

We picked up a substantial deceased-estate consignment with collectibles, Warhammer, comics and plenty of other interesting pieces.

Our internal listing system continued performing well.

And Sunday night, we ran our charity eBay Live for Backpacks 4 Vic Kids and generated more than $5,000.

So despite the numbers feeling soft...

It definitely wasn't a quiet week.

The New Hire

This has been a long time coming.

I've been trying to find another person to help host eBay Live for weeks.

We've had candidates.

Interviews.

People disappear.

People change their minds.

People who weren't quite right.

Last week I thought we'd solved it.

Then it fell through.

This week another candidate came through.

We interviewed.

She was enthusiastic.

Comfortable learning.

Had good energy.

And importantly, I could see how she could eventually fit into what we're trying to build.

I gave myself 24 hours before making the decision.

Then I offered her the role.

And by Friday...

The contract was signed.

She starts Monday.

I'm excited.

But I'm also nervous.

Because hiring somebody doesn't magically make the business better.

Initially, it adds cost.

It adds training.

It adds responsibility.

It adds another person I'm accountable for.

And we're doing that while sales are softer than I'd like.

That's the uncomfortable part.

Growth Doesn't Always Arrive at a Convenient Time

There's a temptation in business to think:

"I'll make that investment once everything feels safe."

I'll hire when revenue is higher.

I'll buy equipment when cash flow is stronger.

I'll build the system when things calm down.

I'll expand when everything is working perfectly.

The problem is...

I'm not convinced that moment ever arrives.

There's always something.

If sales are strong, you're trying to keep up with demand.

If sales are weak, you're protecting cash.

If the team is busy, nobody has time to train someone.

If the team is quiet, you're questioning whether you can afford someone.

There's never a giant flashing sign saying:

NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO GROW.

Eventually you have to look at where you want the business to be and ask:

What does that version of the business require?

For me, one answer is another host.

I can't scale Live significantly if I'm the only person capable of running the shows.

So eventually...

Someone has to be hired.

Why I'm Still Bullish on eBay Live

There was a really good question this week.

Someone asked why we're putting inventory through eBay Live when theoretically we might make more money listing those products traditionally and waiting for them to sell.

It's a fair question.

And if you'd asked me in February, my answer would've been completely different.

At the beginning, our model wasn't really designed for Live.

Our average cost of goods was too high.

We were mainly using Live as a way to liquidate older stock and generate cash flow.

Then the business model changed.

I approached some larger suppliers and asked whether they'd be interested in providing inventory specifically for Live.

One of them effectively said:

"I'll provide the stock. You sell it. After fees and postage, we split it."

No inventory cost for me.

Minimal preparation.

No photography.

No washing.

No traditional listing process.

And suddenly the economics looked completely different.

Numbers Corner: Why Live Works For Us

Let's use a simple 73-item example.

That's roughly what we've historically sold during one Live show.

If I traditionally buy 73 pieces of clothing, my cost of goods could range from around:

$3 per item: $219 invested
​$7 per item: $511 invested
​$12 per item: $876 invested

Then there's roughly another $6 per item to wash, photograph and list the stock.

That's another:

$438

So before I've sold anything, I've potentially got between roughly:

$657 and $1,314

tied up in those 73 items.

Our traditional clothing ASP is roughly $45.

And historically about 20% of newly listed inventory sells in the first week.

The rest may take weeks or months.

Our average selling cycle outside of Live is around 90 days.

That doesn't mean traditional eBay isn't profitable.

It absolutely is.

But capital is tied up.

Inventory is sitting on shelves.

And we've paid people to process all of it before the sale occurs.

Compare That With Live

With consignment Live stock, I haven't purchased the inventory.

Preparation is minimal.

We open the boxes.

Organise the stock.

Film a promotional video.

Then go Live.

A typical 73-item show might generate around $1,000–$1,100.

After fees and combined postage costs, there might be roughly $690 remaining.

Split that with the supplier and we're around:

$345 per show

to us.

One show?

That's obviously considerably less profit than potentially selling 73 products individually over three months.

But here's the difference.

We're doing multiple shows every week.

With just one supplier, we've already done more than 45 shows and generated roughly $49,000 in revenue.

And over the same 90-day period that traditionally listed stock could be sitting waiting to sell...

We can run roughly 36 shows for that supplier alone.

That's where the model changes completely.

Instead of asking:

"How much profit can I make from this one item?"

I'm asking:

"How much profit can this system generate from the same amount of time and capital?"

And importantly...

My capital isn't tied up in the inventory.

Live Is Now Bigger Than Our Traditional Stock

This is probably the stat that surprises people most.

Our traditional business model — stock that I've personally purchased and then sold — has generated around $15,000–$16,000 this financial year so far.

Live has already done roughly double that.

That's wild to me.

Because Live didn't exist in this business at the beginning of the year.

Now it's roughly 20% of the business.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes 30–40% over the next year as we add hosts, shows and better inventory.

That's why I'm investing into it.

The business has changed.

So the way I allocate time and money has to change with it.

The Stock Is Changing Too

Another big development happened this week.

One of our major consignors has historically been fairly cautious about putting higher-end inventory through Live.

Understandably.

Some of the vintage pieces we're dealing with might be worth $100.

$200.

Sometimes $300+.

Six months ago, they weren't interested.

This week we had another conversation.

And that's changed.

We've now got permission — within reason — to start putting some of their stronger inventory through Live.

That's exciting.

Because one of the biggest challenges recently has been stock quality.

Our Live results have been softer.

Monday did around $998.

Tuesday dropped heavily to around $380.

Wednesday came in around $775.

Thursday around $431.

Friday around $789.

Those aren't disastrous numbers.

But they're below where we've been.

And one reason is that we're simply reaching the bottom of some older inventory.

We've been passing on more items.

The products aren't always exciting enough.

So improving the inventory is the next lever.

And we're starting to unlock that.

Then There Are The Fires

Not everything this week was exciting.

I had a camera returned almost exactly at the end of the return window.

The buyer claimed it was no longer working.

When I inspected it...

The serial information internally didn't match the external body.

Which obviously raised some serious concerns.

There was enough there that eBay asked me to complete a statutory declaration and go through their seller-protection process.

We're talking about roughly $600.

So it was worth pursuing.

Then, on another order, two customers accidentally received each other's lenses.

One customer had been happily using the more expensive lens they accidentally received.

Because apparently...

Why mention it?

These are the moments that make running a business interesting.

Processes reduce problems.

But I'm increasingly convinced you'll never eliminate them.

A New Consignment Opportunity

Friday brought another reminder of why relationships matter.

A friend reached out regarding a deceased estate.

There was a substantial amount of inventory that needed dealing with.

Collectibles.

Warhammer.

Comics.

Toys.

Other pieces.

They could absolutely try to sell it themselves.

But then you start thinking about what that actually involves.

Research.

Photography.

Pricing.

Listings.

Storage.

Customer questions.

Postage.

Returns.

Months of waiting.

We've already built the infrastructure for that.

So I picked everything up.

And looking through it, I think there's potentially around $5,000+ worth of inventory there.

Obviously that's revenue, not our profit.

It's consignment.

But it's another example of the machine we're trying to build.

Stock comes in.

We process it.

Choose the right channel.

Sell it.

Handle the logistics.

Pay the owner.

Repeat.

The more efficient that system becomes, the more valuable the business becomes.

Working ON the Business

Something I'm enjoying at the moment is that I'm finally starting to get more time for the things that sit outside the day-to-day operations.

I've been talking to the bank.

Reviewing contracts.

Building supplier relationships.

Working on new opportunities.

Hiring.

Developing systems.

Working through expansion options.

And continuing to test the internal web app we've built.

That system has now processed more than 800 items.

Roughly $35,000 worth of listed inventory has moved through it.

We're still testing and improving it.

But early sales through the tool have been averaging around $55, with items selling in roughly six days.

It's saving me time.

It's saving my listing team time.

And it's reducing costs.

That's exactly what I want technology to do.

Not just look impressive.

Actually remove friction.

But Here’s What’s Making Me Nervous

We're investing while things are down.

That's the uncomfortable reality.

This week we're probably going to finish somewhere closer to $10,000 in revenue.

My target is around $14,000 per week.

Cash flow has slowed.

At the same time...

My van just needed roughly $2,000 worth of servicing, brakes and other work.

We've had warehouse-related expenses.

We've had various other costs pop up.

We're taking in inventory.

I'm hiring another person.

And I'm deliberately taking on more responsibility.

If you're wondering whether that makes me nervous...

Yes.

Of course it does.

I'm putting more cost into the business while revenue is temporarily softer.

But the alternative is staying exactly where we are.

And that's not what I'm building.

The Difference Between Risk and Recklessness

I don't think growth means blindly spending money and hoping things improve.

That's reckless.

But there's a difference between recklessness and calculated risk.

We have data on Live.

We've done dozens of shows.

We've generated tens of thousands in revenue.

We understand approximately what the economics look like.

We have suppliers.

We have stock.

We're getting approached by additional consignors.

The bottleneck increasingly becomes people.

So hiring someone is a risk.

But there's evidence supporting the decision.

That's the distinction I'm trying to make.

I don't know whether everything we're building will work.

But I'm not throwing darts blindfolded either.

The Bigger Picture

When I'm stressed about a $2,000 van bill or a quiet week of sales, it's useful to zoom out.

Six years ago, none of this existed.

Today we're turning over close to $190,000 every 90 days.

We have thousands of active listings.

A team.

A warehouse.

Multiple consignors.

Camera partnerships.

eBay Live.

Services.

Technology we're developing internally.

New people joining.

And more opportunities arriving.

There are still huge problems to solve.

But they're problems that exist because the business grew.

And we're continuing to build the infrastructure around them.

That's the game.

Something Bigger Than Business

There was one more thing this week that deserves mentioning.

On Sunday night we ran our charity eBay Live for Backpacks 4 Vic Kids.

Lego.

Collectibles.

Trading cards.

Clothing.

Posters.

A heap of donated products.

And we basically made the decision:

We're going until we hit $5,000.

It took a while.

We finished around 9:30pm.

But we got there.

The show generated just over:

$5,100

And that money isn't ours.

That's the point.

It goes toward helping the organisation continue the work they do supporting vulnerable kids.

After spending an entire week thinking about revenue, margins, cash flow, wages, expenses and growth...

It was a pretty nice reminder that money is also a tool.

And sometimes the best use for it has absolutely nothing to do with growing your own business.

Question of the Week

Here's what I'm thinking about heading into next week:

What are you willing to invest in before the result is guaranteed?

Maybe it's money.

Maybe it's time.

Maybe it's learning something.

Maybe it's hiring someone.

Maybe it's starting something you've been putting off.

There's always uncertainty.

And I think sometimes we subconsciously wait for the uncertainty to disappear before acting.

But building anything meaningful usually requires moving before you have complete certainty.

I'm nervous about hiring another person.

I'm nervous when revenue drops.

I'm nervous when expenses increase.

I'm nervous whenever I commit the business to another level of cost.

But I'm also excited.

Because the entire reason I'm taking those risks is that I can see where I'm trying to go.

And staying exactly where I am isn't going to get me there.

So...

We build.

We test.

We manage the downside.

We learn.

And we keep going.

One step every day that gets us a little closer.

One week at a time.

Building a business to suit my lifestyle.

Until next week,

Chris

Building a Business to Suit My Lifestyle