Ah, yes. Everyone’s favorite word, am I right? I’m probably wrong…I’m just gonna go with I’m wrong. These are no fun, but they are essential to making your business run smoothly and continue on to the top of the success ladder. Let’s talk more today on what an audit looks like in my reselling business…and discuss why the heck it took me so long to do so!
What is an Audit?
Let’s break it down. An audit is simply this: “a store audit assesses the health of your retail location using hard data. …staff…combs through your store or pop-up shop to collect information on what’s working and what’s selling (or what isn’t).” Thanks, Google!
Let me explain now what this has looked like for me. Perhaps you will be able to take a few tips and apply it to your business as well to increase the amount of traffic and sales your store will have!
What Was Our Order of Business?
First, we broke it down by order of importance. Those sweaters and boots have been coming back to haunt me as they’ve been taking up some precious space. Therefore, we decided to focus on these bulky items for step 1.
We combed through these items one at a time. He pulled and replaced them in better positions, while I scrolled through each scouring them online for any flaws, missed specs, or inaccuracies.
Once we got through those two sections, we moved on to jeans. By deciding to relocate these to another area, we were able to categorize them by brand, color, and gender…which has helped GREATLY when they need to be pulled after a sale’s been made.
After the sweaters, boots, and jeans had been taken care of, we migrated over to the shoe section. There are fewer in bins than the clothing items, so we were able to get through them quicker (and a little less painfully).
But eventually, you know what had to come. Those bins.
Last but not least, we picked through each and every one of them, (and are actually still in the process of finishing up the last few!), and removed any that had been there over a year, and also any that had too many flaws that had been previously overlooked.
Lastly last…yep, almost forgot these ones! We had to make our way through those random items as well. You know, the ones that you were SO sure they’d fly off the shelves, but NOPE. On those shelves, they still sit!
We removed some hard goods, some accessories, jewelry, and hats. These either got lotted up or donated to our nearest thrift store.
What Did I Learn From a Thorough Audit?
A lot! I learned so much more than I’d thought I was going to.
I learned that firstly, having someone to help really lit a fire under my butt. It was a huge task, which I had been putting off for way too long. Having someone to help me move through it all really made a difference in the motivation behind getting it all finished.
Secondly, I found out that a lot of items that I thought were awesome, maybe weren’t that awesome to other people. This is just a part of our reselling journey. Sometimes we’ll score home runs and other days we’ll just get a small win. Each is great, but consistently having home runs sounds a whole lot better if you ask me.
Also, we came across a plethora of items that WEREN’T EVEN LISTED!!! What?! I know. It was hard to believe…and extremely frustrating. How does this even happen?! This is exactly why audits are essential.
A lot of items I may have previously thought were sell-worthy, may not be up to my current standards. Your taste will change over time of what you like to sell, or what sells best for you, and that’s okay! Feel free to switch it up when you feel the need to.
I niched down. It was hard. But it’s for the best. I really like selling everything, so it was a difficult decision to be made. However, with my lack of space in my current office area, it was the best thing I could do to reorganize my inventory.
All in all, it was a wonderful idea and experience and I’m so excited that we decided to do it. I even had a little bit of fun if you could believe it! And my sales have seriously increased because of making this shift.
Make sure you stop back on Tuesday to find out about my new system and what kind of new things I’ve implemented to make my shipping and storing process a breeze. Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays! -Shelby
P.S.! A friendly service announcement that Monday Posts will from now on be moved to Tuesday! Thank you kindly for your understanding and for your continued readership!
Thank You!
A giant thanks to everyone that has supported me this far into my journey! I greatly appreciate you returning to read my posts hope that you will continue to drop by in the future.
Please feel free to drop any comments below that you would like to add! I am always open to advice, suggestions, or even hearing related stories of your own!
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Happy selling friends!
-Shelby
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