HRoth - 7:03 pm on May 15, 2005 (gmt 0)

Automan Empire sure is right about the luck part. I am glad than when I was starting out I was not able to borrow any money to buy stock. My instincts were not good - I would have sunk myself. I know my customers better now, but sometimes I still strike out. Recently I bought 3 times as many blue widgets as I had previously bought, because they had sold out quickly. Do you think anyone has bought a blue widget since then? Heck no. Sometimes retailing is very mysterious - and humbling.

One strategy I have been lucky with is focusing on what other shops in my area do NOT have. I could not compete with established stores in terms of price, because they had lots more volume and so could get better wholesale prices. I had to give customers something else. I gave them lots of information, an aesthetically pleasing site, and merchandise that no one else carries because they all depend on the same suppliers. This has worked for me. I am working on starting up a content site and am planning on using this same strategy of focusing on what others don't have.