I’ve been making gorgeous gifts and keepsakes since 2015 and so I’ve had a lot of experience with Christmas.
I’ve had years where we’ve worked right up until the 24th, delivering orders to local customers. I’ve had years where I’ve chased all our suppliers for their stock and panicked about what to do if I can’t get stock. I’ve had years where I was still up at 2am making orders…
But no more!
One thing I’ve learnt in 7 years of running my own business is to understand and appreciate a work / life balance. And Christmas is one of those times that needs to be balanced.
So I am more (I’m trying to find the right word here)… I wanted to say resilient but I think I just mean mega geeky.
I have systems set up on my website that manage all my stock, right down to the jump rings. I have my website linked to my Etsy shop so all my orders and, most importantly, my stock is synced in one place.
What does this all mean?
It means that I know exactly how much stock I have at anyone time, it also means that I can’t sell stock I don’t have (unless I want to).
It means I don’t have to worry as much and that is so important to me.
It means that when a particular blank sells out (you may have noticed I use the same shape for lots of different pieces) then they are all labelled sold out on both my website and on Etsy. This is an automated process! No longer do I have to sit and count orders, trying to keep track of what I have.
This has become especially important since I started running Facebook Ads. I can have weekends where I wake up to 100+ orders and before that would set me into panic mode.
But I also have clearly defined dispatch times that appear in lots of different places on my website and in confirmation emails. And I know that I have only sold what I have available in stock.
But what about items still in stock?
Another thing that my 7 years running my small business has afforded me is understanding how notorious Royal Mail are. I use them for all my deliveries because quite frankly they are pretty amazing and super cheap for the service they offer.
But that has been getting steadily worse over the years, especially at Christmas. It can be sporadic though and some areas of the country can be fine and others disastrous. The problem is the not knowing.
So I happily take orders all through December but I no longer guarantee delivery for the big day. I will post them but once they are in the system I no longer have any control over them.
But what are the alternatives?
For £2.69 from Royal Mail I get an order delivered next day (usually) and insurance of £50 in case it goes missing. The closest alternative is Hermes who offer a ‘Postable’ item delivery for £2.66 that is not insured and might get there in 2 – 4 days.
It does seem crazy that Royal Mail are so determined to focus on the Parcel business when this seems to make things so much harder for them, and especially on their staff… But I digress.
So when will I get my order?
One thing I will always guarantee my customers is that if they order by my cut of date, usually the end of November, then their order will arrive in time for the big day. Usually far enough in advance to put it somewhere safe and loose it too.
I will happily continue to take orders but I do ask my customers to tick a box to confirm that they understand their order may not arrive in time for Christmas. It probably will and to be honest I’ve been known to upgrade postage to ensure they arrive in time,
But for the sake of my sanity, and to continue with the excellent customer service rating and feedback I’ve had over 7 years, I will not make any promises after my order cut off.
I just hope my customers appreciate the amount of thought that goes into this. Not just at Christmas but also at Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and, well, all year.
Or maybe they just think I’m daft and to stop rambling on a blog and get on with stamping… Don’t worry, I hear you!