the 3 day bazaar has come n past.. for e first time, i am manning my own stall! =D n the process is certainly fun. at first i did worry about the sales cos we pumped in quite a lot of $ into it, but after a while i start to relax and enjoy myself (chatting wif frens etc).. no stress, no worries, wat a good way to pass time.. hee.. and did feel a sense of pride when ppl purchase the items, indication that ppl appreciate and like the item you make - a form of recognition n tt you have good taste/style/foresight.. hah..
sales wise, think its not too bad. there were times when we were real busy while at times we were jus there shaking legs.. lol.. there are quite a few competitors around and realise everyone has his/her strengths. there is a stall which is one stall away from us that sells really nice brooch and necklaces! think she fared better than us ba, cos there seems to be a constant stream of customers over at her side. i am even tempted to buy from her stall too... hmm, perhaps we can collaborate next time??
and economics doesnt apply in biz at all.. although there is 3 econs majors among us, we dunno how to maximise profits. then on friday which is the last day, we even went from revenue maximisation to stock minimisation =P now fully understand how the retailers feel when they simply jus like to clear stock.. its really anything goes so long as im not making a loss..
anyway the funniest scene during the bazaar is during the last hour of sale and aft sale on friday.. we were practically 'looting', reserving the stuff tt we like.. for the aft sale period, we were like zai fen chai chan but we were kinda sick of the earrings esp eileen and huiye.. went home with 20+ pairs of earrings.. nearly faint.. now i think i shd contemplate of getting more ear holes so as not to waste my too-many earrings collection.. ;)
there are also valuable lessons to be learnt..
1. control the cost - have a clear idea of what you like to make/sell before buying anything
i cant stress the importance of controlling cost! seriously i dunno why we chalk out such a high cost. there is no sole big ticket items but everything jus add up... so only start shopping when you have something in mind. cos as gals, we usu tend to buy stuff first b4 deciding wat to do with it. then it will end up in situations where you have too many of a kind until you dunno how to 'get rid' of them and little of another tt you need to buy more, which essentially means wastage..
furthermore, try to get stuff on consignment as far as possible. in this way it will reduce both ur cost and solves the problem of unwanted inventories at the end of the day.
2. learn to trust ur instincts
im not sure how true it is for other ppl but it is somewhat true for me.. if you feel that something will not sell well, pls try not to buy at all or jus buy a few to test the market.
3. pricing is an art.
we have learnt about optimal mark-up in theory but hardly have the chance to try it hands-on. & it is no easy task. there really is a psychological barrier when it comes to prices. if you price an item too high, you can expect the good to stay on the shelves and collect dust. there really is a barrier (not sure if it is economic or psy barrier) when it comes to price. imagine our surprise when the denim skirts are sort of flying off the shelves when we reduce the price on the last day.. cos we actually thought our initial pricing is reasonable.
although we were still in the red, im glad that i have a chance to be a little boss (still feel weird with the term 老板娘 when yinghui use it on us) and the experience that comes along with it. although i did several sales job before, it is a totally different situation and it is something you cant use money to buy. only those who have been through will understand. now looking forward to setting up such booth again but definitely not in the near future. it is a tad too time consuming and think shd focus on studies for now.. nevertheless glad that i took the plunge initially, cos you never know until you try! =)
besides the bazaar, have been quite busy attending recruitment talks this week. feel that when going for the talk, you ought to take note of the little/misc things instead of the talk itself, cos tt is where you can take a true glimpse of the company. at the talk, it is merely their respective staffs promoting their own company. n tts where i kind of get the style of different banks. Credit Suisse is informative and creative (have u ever heard of sushi being served in tea reception?) Deutsche is meticulous and perhaps put a strong emphasis on ambience (the tea reception is decorated as if it is held at a hotel) Barclays is practical (i love the cup!) and affable (the staffs) Lastly, Citibank is very class (metallic namecard holder leh) though a bit hard sell..
and met several frens whom i haven been able to keep in contact! so good to meet up again! then also met XJ. strange, when i say i miss my OCBC frens, then i met XJ at e talks, met Josh at Arts Canteen then chat with SN over the phone for a while. hmm perhaps i should say i miss all my non- econs frens.. lol..
think i will be submitting my applications to all the above banks, dun like to pass up any opportunity now.. hopefully i am able to get better responses from them (still cant believe how tough it is to apply for internship)
