February is almost over, and I had expected to close the month with positive cash flow, a comfortable cushion in my bank account, ready to support whatever direction I wanted to take with my reselling. That was the plan.
But that is not what happened.
Instead, I lost workdays due to two emergencies hit at once. My dog became ill, and I had a dental emergency. Together, they cost me €887. That is a lot. It really is a lot. And while I do not have the exact final numbers yet, the reality is clear. After this financial shock, and being employed and needing to set aside money for taxes, I expect to have only between €900 and €1,100 left in my bank account for March, and that is the best case scenario.
There is no margin for anything else. No space for another emergency. No room for risk. And that means one thing very clearly. I cannot buy anything.
Once again, I am facing a month where purchasing new inventory is simply not possible. I will need to be extremely careful even with groceries, because in theory I should be building an emergency fund for moments exactly like this. But I do not have one. I have not been working consistently for several months, and that kind of financial buffer simply does not exist right now.
So instead of buying new stock as I had planned, I will continue on reselling what I already have at home and treating March as a testing period.
I have a large amount of jewelry sitting here. The reason it has not been listed is simple. This does not feel like the right time to sell jewelry as it's winter. In fact, I am not even sure this is the year to sell jewelry. People are struggling financially. Many are spending only on basic necessities. I see the signs everywhere. Even some retail stores in the United States are beginning to stock second hand items. That says everything about the current economic climate.
People may have money for second hand clothes or shoes. But jewelry? I do not know where that fits anymore. I genuinely do not know if anyone will buy it.
I have many natural pearls that I plan to turn into bracelets. But will they sell? I cannot say. The vintage jewelry I own may simply not move this year. Still, testing the market has value. It tells me where to focus future investment, and just as importantly, where not to.
I already see clear patterns with handbags. If the price goes above €50, selling becomes extremely difficult. Even well known brands do not move easily at that level. For a higher priced bag to sell, it needs to be large, practical, and useful for everyday life. Small, decorative evening bags are not moving right now. The market is not interested.
The only comfort is that leather does not deteriorate when cared for and the value of these items does not disappear simply because they are not selling. What I have is not lost. It is just inactive dead stock sitting at home, waiting for the right moment.
March, then, will be another month of observation. Testing categories. Watching what moves and what does not. Learning how the market reacts to different types of items. I am not particularly hopeful, but I am paying attention.
And if I do manage to sell something next month, I am not even sure what I should do with the money. Should I reinvest it into new stock to keep the business moving forward? Or should I put it straight into savings and treat it as if it does not exist, protection for the next unexpected disaster? So even money that comes in carries a difficult decision. Grow the business, or protect my survival.
The mood is a bit gloomy, I admit. I am hoping nothing unexpected happens in March, because this situation is already tight. This is not how I imagined things unfolding.
But this is where I am.
And this, too, is life.