A (Business) Proposal

Well... for the many people out there wondering what's my motive for actively promoting my eBay store and basically starting the whole business... I have a significant other who has been waiting for over ten years - yes, 10 freakin' years, for me to propose to her. For those wondering about the business itself and who is it run by; I do most of the hard work, brainstorming, researching, listing, and she helps design and get products while I ship them and take care of all the forms, paperwork, marketing, and such. I know, it gets confusing.

Either way, I expressed and told her that I would be devoting all my energy towards making the business work. Another thing... she doesn't like the whole idea of eBay being a business. I don't disagree. But it's a start. I need at least ONE good thing going before I set up another online store with its unique domain name, set up shops on other websites, expand to a physical location and have a retail outlet, speak with factories to produce exclusive products and find distributors, and more.

Sure, I can get an office job, sales job, or any other position that assures a stable income. But my pursuit, ambition, aspiration... has always been about business. If you ask why I waited so long, I didn't. I guess you can say that sometimes you lose track of your target. I did. I had many, many opportunities... instead of trying to branch out and start on my own, I always waited to see if anyone is willing to partner up with me. You have to understand that business takes capital.. which means, money. And you need that kind of investment to get things started... otherwise, buyers would hate you and harass you if you don't ship their orders on time.

I ran into a few production issues, had suppliers that were unstable (they keep increasing the prices after they found out how well I sold them; truth is, my strategy had most oftentimes follow that of trying to make more with less. I mean, I want to be friendly with customers, I want to offer them the best deals so that they would return to my store for future purchases. I don't ask to make a lot. In fact, I still haven't and have never made a lot. Just trying to get by for now.

So you get the idea. I have about one more year to prove myself before she moves on. I told her this year I would try my hardest and I will dedicate 365 days of the entire year doing so. That means, I don't go out for leisure, I don't spent time watching TV or doing anything else besides business. I work my ass off trying my best to see what I can come up with.

Yea, I feel bad that I didn't discover eBay long ago or had the connections I do now for suppliers and at competitive prices. I feel had that I didn't constantly pursue different ways to make money and for awhile I was getting too used to running only one business.

Now, I have to start over. There are a number of issues that makes it too detailed and long for me to explain. I just hope this endeavor goes as planned. Each passing year adds to the both of our ages and she wished she had kids by now. I wish I started a family too. I'm ready to settle down.

But how do you tell other people that. Besides a blog, no one knows why I am slashing my prices that leaves only a thin margin for income. Nobody knows what's my motive and what I hope to achieve with my business. Maybe I can put that in the "About Me" page. I think I probably should. At this point, you have to have some humility and take what you can get. If it takes exposing yourself to strangers about the truth.. how you are trying to make ends meet and fulfill your promise to your longtime girlfriend that one day (very soon) you will be able to marry and propose to her. She's not just anyone. She's the love of my life even before high school. I owe her a lot and I hope I can make up for lost time throughout the rest of my life. We've just gone through too much together... there's too much history... "water under the bridge"!

Have a good week!