Changing my business model Options

[mb911]

maybe inventory less?

What is most profitable?

You have to get a decent qty cut or machined to make it even affordable. Like I said oil filter consoles are done period once I run out. I still have inventory from 3 years ago.

That’s what I was thinking. Some of our favorite parts might go away since they have to be made 100’s at a time.

For sure. I have adjusted my website prices to wind down inventory

[930cabman]

maybe inventory less?

What is most profitable?

You have to get a decent qty cut or machined to make it even affordable. Like I said oil filter consoles are done period once I run out. I still have inventory from 3 years ago.

That’s what I was thinking. Some of our favorite parts might go away since they have to be made 100’s at a time.

For sure. I have adjusted my website prices to wind down inventory

Try to not lose too much and moving forward stick with your most profitable items. There will be a market for your high end stuff for many years, just work on managing it differently.

[technicalninja]

Making niche parts for 50-year-old sportscars REQUIRES a love for such vehicles.

You SHOULD be doing custom welding on Audi R8s, GT3s, Gallardos, etc.

You SHOULD be charging 400% of what you are...

You should be welding on the very most expensive...

Blackbird Fabworks was Ben's equivalent in the Miata rollbar world.
World's best hands down. I have one.
You can't even talk to them anymore. They went high end and instead of making 700 on a Miata roll bar they make 20K on a R8 roll cage. They're scheduled multiple months in advance. This should be your target customer base IMO.

My first mentor Corky Bell took me aside 40 years back and said "Whatever you do don't try to make your living off of working on cars. Do something else with a higher salary potential. Don't ALWAYS be working on other people's vehicles..."

I didn't take his advice...

I should have!

I'll make some pieces for the 914 AC system because I need them, and I can help others.

I will not try to pay my bills with them.

[worn]

I have decided once my current inventory is depleted I won’t be restocking. I will only do group buys based on demand. It has become too expensive to warehouse 10s of thousands of dollars of inventory to sit for 6-12 months. It’s a state of the economy no doubt. I will continue to build off of demand only. If you want a good deal I posted pricing in the classifieds. http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=369834

Makes sense. As they say, GLWTS. On the other hand, I hope that you still come up with new parts for us lucky few. It would be a shame if you didn’t get to create new designs as time permits.
Warren

[mb911]

All good advice. I should be clear that I am not going anywhere and will still be making new parts. I just don’t want to have 40k worth of parts sitting on the shelf for a part time business. The past year has been slower than usual and I hearing that from many others in similar businesses like mine.

I do think boating products would be a better market but not to leave 914 products behind but again less sleeping dollars.

[mb911]

Well hold tight things have actually developed a little this week while talking to a digital marketing /porsche enthusiast . It may change things a lot

[technicalninja]

Managing inventory can be costly, especially in uncertain times. Focusing on demand-driven group buys allows for flexibility and reduces the risk of holding onto excess stock. Thx for the sharing btw

This guy's posts seem a bit strange to me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif)

I'm starting to be able to differentiate between AI and a real human.

That last post seems AI to the max. Long posts that don't really say anything...

@Midnightbast Are you human?

[mb911]

I may end up back peddling on this. I have some options now.

[SirAndy]

@Midnightbast Are you human?

We'll never know ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/whack_3.gif)

[PatMc]

I may end up back peddling on this. I have some options now.

One has to adapt when in business....I made a decision about 8 months ago to drop a product line because sales had slowed considerably while it still proved to be 90% of my headache.....while the other products I deal were only 10% of my headache but accounted for 90% of my sales with solid growth every month.

As soon as I shelved everything....the calls started coming in and now I'm digging all that stuff out and getting it ready to sell again.

It's a dynamic market....you have to follow where the market takes you.

[Dr Evil]

I may end up back peddling on this. I have some options now.

Right on