Okay, so this one is important – 

I usually write my blog to speak to everyone in all aspects of the reselling community and outside of it. But this post is for my part time resellers. Where ya at?! Right here. I’m a part time reseller and I am here to tell you that reselling part time does NOT have to equal part time results.

For reference, my definition of “part-time results” is fluid. If you are selling part time and are happy with your results, then that’s amazing and this is probably not for you. However, if you are selling part time and you think that there could be some opportunity to sell more, to increase profits or to make better use of your time – I’m speaking to you.

My life is the epitome of crazy – with 4 kids, working full time, trying to live somewhat of an active/healthy lifestyle and just being a mom – my schedule is slammed. But I still find ways to push through with reselling to make enough money to do some pretty cool things with it like buy a house and pay off debt. There’s no secret serum to creating more time or to stretch the hours in the day. There are however, ways that you can find efficiencies in what you are doing and make sure that every ounce that you put in to your business is for a purpose and that you leave no time wasted. This is what has allowed me to yield more than “part-time results” from the part time hours that I’m putting in. Read on to find out how –

Figure Out The Time Vampires

Time Vampires are tasks and activities that are not urgent or important and that suck the time out of your life. 

That Candy Crush game on your cell phone that somehow manages to turn a quick five minute game in to twenty minutes, every single time.

That person that likes to call you and talk – FOREVER.

You pop on to Facebook to see what’s going on and before you know it you’re down the rabbit hole watching your seventeenth cat video.

I get it!

The first thing you can do to create more time is to figure out what those time vampires are and moderate them. Notice I didn’t say to stop them – that would be unrealistic. If you like to play games after work to wind down, set a timer. Don’t let it go on and on. Need your daily dose of family drama from Aunt Gina? Call her on your way home from work and end it before you pull in to the driveway.

Your time is VALUABLE. Pay attention to your time throughout the day and how you are using it. Just cutting out those little things that we do, “just because” will free up so much time, time that you can use to work on your reselling business.

Find ALL the Efficiencies

You have to find the most efficient way to do everything. Yes, EVERYTHING. Working a full time job or being a mom or whatever it is that keeps you from selling full time will not afford you the spare time to dwindle with inefficiencies. 

So that super manual inventory process you’re using that you know is way too slow and inefficient but you keep it because it’s reliable and you don’t have time to figure out a new way to do it – let’s dedicate a Saturday to work through that. Buy some bins, make the time to set up your inventory properly so you aren’t spending hours digging through inventory when it’s time to ship.

Observe your processes, from listing to photographing to packing orders. Where can you make improvements? Does it make sense to invest in new technology in order to do things more efficiently? Label printing is a perfect example of this. Read how investing in the Dymo Label Printer saved me HOURS here.

Make smart investments with your time and money. Spending the time (and sometimes money) to do things correctly or more effectively in the short term will allow you to work smarter and create more time for yourself in the long term. 

Make Reselling a Part of Normal Life

What helps me to keep my reselling business moving is making it a part of my normal routine. Just like I brush my teeth before bed, I share my closet and send out offers to likers before I go to sleep as well. If I’m out running errands, I make it a point to drop in to a thrift store to check things out, even if it’s just a quick trip. It’s a great way to check out thrift stores in new areas and will keep things fresh in your closet.

I also try to include my kids as much as possible. Even though my oldest daughter has zero interest in thrifting or reselling, she likes to use Excel. We’ll make an afternoon out of checking in inventory together, quality time and I’m getting some work done too.

Look at your schedule and find some areas where you can blend reselling in with normal life, without having to go way out of your way. 

Now I must be honest, even though I try to follow these tips as much as I can, there are still late nights packing orders, there are also very early mornings on Saturdays when I have to get all my orders packed up and shipped out before the kids get up. I think whenever you are trying to balance your business with life, you’re going to have some of those trying times. Reselling part time and trying to yield big results can be a challenge. I think overall it’s the dedication and consistency that keeps things moving in the right direction. On the days that you feel tired or unmotivated, do something small instead of nothing at all. Do something for your business every day.

Reselling part time might mean that we have less time to work on our business but there’s no reason that we cannot yield some pretty amazing results by making the most of the time that we do have available. After all, it’s the quality of the time we are putting in, not the quantity.