I had a reasonably productive day today. I modified one of my bag designs, and decided today that I would use my downtime to work on researching business services: e.g. shopping carts, credit card merchant services, and shipping and postage vendors. A surprisingly helpful resource has been the “Starting an Online Business for Dummies” book, which has been very embarrassing to read in public places because it’s so yellow and enormous. Overall the book is very informative, and they include vendor referrals within most of the key sections, so you can kickstart your research by looking into these recommended companies first.
I received some fabric samples I had been waiting on for a while. The pattern was something I had gotten really excited about, and this fabric mill I just started working with had left me with the impression that they could easily weave this design using recycled polyester yarn. Sadly, the fabric didn’t turn out as nice as I had hoped. I’m not giving up yet though, I am speaking with the sales rep tomorrow, and I hope there are other design options for me.
I’m also checking out an accountant referral tomorrow. I think it’s time to get some professional advice before I start ordering huge volumes of raw materials. Wish me luck.