Cheers to you, Mompreneurs! Being a reseller is a lot of work, and being a mom is even more work. Little ones make doing anything else seem impossible, and the sheer exhaustion of new motherhood can be debilitating. I remember struggling to find time to even wash my hair, never mind run a successful reselling business. But it is possible with time management, scheduling, intentionality, sourcing from home, and considering enlisting help.
I could not maintain the business volume I have without the help of Vendoo. Vendoo saves me so much time!
When I was a new mom, I struggled to adjust to new changes while business success became more crucial than ever due to the financial stress of parenthood. As a single mother, I could not afford a drop in revenue, but there just were not enough hours in the day to . I mastered typing with one hand, wore a baby carrier while photographing, edited photos while nursing, maximized nap time, and utilized early morning and late-night hours while my son was asleep. With structure and patience, it is possible to manage motherhood and entrepreneurship! Here are some of my best tips and tricks of being a reseller and a mom.
Time Management & Scheduling
Batch Work was the key for me. Batch work refers to processing one task in bulk, rather than many items from start to finish. I prepared my items for photography and photographed them in batches. A couple of nights a week, as soon as the baby was down, I would photograph items for hours (or until he woke up again, whichever came first). Another night, I would inventory items that started to accumulate after photographing.
Always having photographs, meant always having photographs to edit, research, or list, whenever I found five minutes to myself. This method of working in bursts of five to fifteen minutes proved very effective to utilize those rare occasions productively.
Do not trust your memory (Mom brain) write things down. I recommend separating what must be done, should be done, and would be nice to get done, holding yourself entirely accountable to only the first grouping each day. Have grace with yourself, mama.
A great way to maximize your time for your reselling business is to find other ways to save time outside of your business. If you can minimize the time it takes you to do things around the house, you can maximize time to focus on your business. For example, meal prepping for yourself and your little one is an effective way to alleviate the daily time designated to preparing meals. Utilizing delivery services and car-side pick-up also saves a lot of time. Upon entering motherhood, I started to order everything that is not perishable from Amazon (I actually saved money with subscriptions to products and earning reward points on my Amazon credit card toward future purchases). Anything I could do to avoid having to run errands with the little one was a huge time-saver.
You may also be interested in the video: 5 Things to Do As a Reseller to Save Time.
Work With Intentionality
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of scheduling to the extent possible- which the younger your children are, the more impossible that is. But, establishing the best routine possible for yourself and your children will help greatly with efficiency and productivity. Attempting to adhere to a strict eating and sleeping schedule will eventually create more consistency in daily routine. On my daily to do list, I order tasks by priority but also color them by duration. I would knock out quick tasks when time allowed, and reserve the lengthy ones to the larger blocks of time I may have while the baby was sleeping. As a single parent, I struggled enormously to do it all, but at the end of the day (most days), I was able to get (almost) everything done with intentional and strategic planning.
Mommy Reseller Tip: Set reasonable expectations for yourself and your business. It is tough to grow a business while growing a human. Have patience and grace with yourself. Remember, they’re not little forever; enjoy it!
Change Your Sourcing Model
Sourcing for inventory can be tough with little ones who require constant attention, frequent feedings, diaper changes, snacks, and provide for very little time in stores before they are emotionally done and their behavior reflects. I always struggled to successfully source with my little one, and I eventually gave up. What was originally the most fun aspect of reselling, quickly became exhausting and dreadful. Sourcing became a luxury reserved for when I could find or afford child care, so I became very creative in sourcing and learned how to do it online.
Sourcing online allowed me to source from home and forever became a part of my business model. Retail arbitrage, the practice of purchasing items at a reduced price or on sale to flip for a profit, is one way to source online on websites such as Nordstrom Rack, T.J.Maxx, or really anywhere in the clearance section. I regularly source on the resale platforms such as Poshmark, Mercari, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace, by typing in keywords or filtering brands by “just in” and “low to high”. You may also consider liquidation pallets from companies such as Kosei Threads Each of these options allow you to have inventory delivered right to your doorstep.
Mommy Reseller Tip: Consider selling on consignment. Under this model, you can receive free inventory to sell on commission. While you share fees with the owner, it is a great model to obtain free inventory or raise funds for your business. You could use these funds to hire a babysitter to give you some much-needed alone time to hit the thrift!
You may also like: 9 Steps to Start a Reselling Business Online for Profit
Relax Your Screen Time Standards
While we all know that the less screen time, the better, but some is fine. At an early age, my son had a blast “watching” the Netflix baby videos as he danced along with the singing animals on educational programs designed to promote early education, cognitive growth, and even fine motor skills. Moderated screen time provided a distraction during which I worked with intentionality and maximized efficiency. Today, I allow one hour daily which we both look forward to- at which time I know I can get a good chunk of (semi) uninterrupted work in! During playtime, I have also found that music helps entertain my son.
Enlist Help
Enlist the help of your partner, relatives or friends with childcare. Do not be afraid to ask for help, whether it is to source, photograph, shower, or nap. If you do not have that luxury, consider hiring help. For many years, I paid a “junior babysitter,” (a preteen who was not quite old enough to independently babysit) to entertain my son while I was home, but allow me to work. As they both got older, I used her to watch my son as I went out to source. While childcare can be expensive, consider your friend’s children, or care.com where the sitters are background-checked and provide references.
Are you a reseller and a mom? How do you manage it all? Please drop some of your tips and tricks below!
