The strange thing is none of these businesses were really planned besides going after the punch bag business which I had my eye on for many years. If you had asked me back in 2020 that by the end of 2025 I would be part of 4 or 5 businesses I would have thought you were smoking something.
Roughly 4 years ago we shut down the packaging business in order to fight another day and now we are back manufacturing. We have been servicing our Durban based clients for the last 12 months with no raw material supply issues which is what shut us down originally.
These days I am a small shareholder as I see this as not my main concern these days and cannot give it the time it needs. Fair is fair and I am happy to only now make a cut from the sales my team and I bring in. This is why have employed 2 reps who have bee in the logistics business for well over 25 years.
Ok up and running may be stretching it a bit, but there is a pulse as the first order was confirmed today. The sampling I managed to do at the back end of last year has been successful and the client is very happy to proceed. I still do not know how big the numbers are as they are busy compiling the order still and quite honestly would be happy with an extra $100 or $200 monthly as a starting point. I know what type of money this packaging business can generate so patience is now needed whilst the rebuilding happens.
The way I see this is slowly snow balling the numbers adding one or two clients monthly so within a year you have a decent income being generated. A $200 value added month on month over the period of 12 months adds up very quickly. Some orders will be worth more than others so it is more a process of accumulation getting to a point that the business just ticks over without having to do that much, but servicing what you already have. Taking it slowly walking before running is always advisable as you can then grow a solid foundation first before expanding.
This is more of a project for myself making sure that I will remain busy with multiple businesses wasting no time. I made a promise to myself when we had lockdowns to never be in that position ever again sitting around doing nothing when so much could be happening. No one likes to waste time and I see the lockdowns as 2 years of my life I can never get back and will make back the lost monetary value by doing more. This is how I can place a positive spin on a very negative period in my life.
I do not need another business, but this was not really starting from scratch and I consider this low hanging fruit which will not take much effort or time to get going again. I suppose if I was honest with myself I was holding back as the previous packaging business had taken years to build and less than 12 months to destroy. A lack of raw materials was the reason for the shut down and me refusing to let clients down through orders I could no longer fulfil.
I say this will be easy as the difference this time around is I also have two agents operating in another province which is a big win. They do well then I do well and everyone is happy. All it will take is a little guidance on my part until they see the rewards then they will be hungry for more.
This year is going to be a busy year with so much on my plate with 2 other businesses in the pipeline and the main warehouse business needing more work and investment making sure it expands in the right areas. I do not se this as work however as I actually enjoy these challenges as each business is very different, but has the same formula used which makes it fairly simple. Having the right costings in place guarantees you a profitable business or I should say a fair chance of succeeding as nothing is ever guaranteed and you do also need a little luck on your side which we can create ourselves.