Initial rent and deposit on new space for 4 months (utilities included) = $1600
Moving van and laborer = $200
Internet for 4 months = $300
Wages for part-time assistant = $1200
Wages for part-time bookkeeper or manager = $1400
Inventory software = $300
Currently I waste countless hours inefficiently shuffling projects, materials, and stock between my apartment, my storage, and TechShop’s workbenches. I can double my productivity by establishing a studio with dedicated workstations for each process, as well as shipping and photography. Due to high rents in Silicon Valley, renting office space in Downtown San Jose is actually cheaper than getting a larger apartment closer to TechShop. I’ve been approved to rent a 250 square foot office in a historic office building in the heart of Downtown with traditional jewelers as neighbors.
Delegating routine tasks, bookkeeping, and paperwork to an assistant and a manager will give me more time for the creative side of the business. This will free up my time for designing new products, photographing new items for listing online, searching for new accounts, and other marketing activities. I’m also long overdue for having an assistant at shows.
Managing stock and materials effectively with inventory software will be essential after I hire staff, as I won’t be the only one handling stock, work in progress, and supplies.
Treating Splendid Colors like a real business will get me past the current obstacles so I can become profitable helping other people express their creativity. Please contribute what you can to my crowdfunding, and share with your friends.