2020 was a bit of a whirlwind. A year that no one could have expected. What did it teach us? How did we improve? How did we grow?
Like everyone else, I have reflected on the past year and without doubt there were many lows and few highs. The biggest highpoint of the uncertain year was the inception of Drop-Ship Packaging at the start of October. It had been a pending project of mine for quite some time until I was ready for the official launch. These past three months have been fantastic to say the least. In this short time, we have built a confident foundation to enter the new year with.
Q4 revenue was a 90/10 split between sourcing and branding income. We dramatically grew our co-packaging customer base through positive feedback and referrals. As a business owner, there is no greater feeling than providing a customer with complete satisfaction and have them share their experiences. Candidly, we didn't do anything extraordinary. We didn't promise the world. But what we did do is service our customers' needs efficiently, effectively, and to the highest degree of professionalism.
"Our mission at Drop-Ship Packaging is to enhance the quality, reliability, and sustainability of packaging within this planet. And to form cohesive relationships with our clients, welcoming them into our community."
Moving into 2021, we are looking to continue growing in all areas of the business. Firstly, with sourcing. We want to source more packaging from an expansion of partnering factories across a greater geographical outreach; and secondly by creating more new concepts through branding and design.
Normally, Q1 is a quiet period for many companies. Shorter days, seasonal lows, and a cutback on consumer spending following the holidays. The early months of the year are not always welcomed with open arms. However, with multiple streams (pardon the pun) of services, Drop-Ship Packaging remains proactive all year round.
(Image by Wong Yu Liang/ShutterStock)
As China is one of our biggest suppliers and Chinese New Year is quickly approaching, early January is the last chance to place orders before the country shuts down for a month of celebration. This year, CNY falls on February 12th which will close factories and shipping ports from the end of January into the start of March. A shipping container normally takes 25-35 days to get from port to port across the Pacific so it schedules perfectly. With that being said, if planned and coordinated properly, all orders can be placed just in time to transit shipments in the month of February.
While monitoring the progress of our shipments throughout the middle of Q1, we will be creating and designing a lot of branding content. As mentioned in my first blog post, I am looking to refrain from unemotional social media advertisement. I think it is impersonal and doesn't curate an aligned following. We want to make a personal impression, welcoming a cohesive community by creating original artwork, promoting other inspirational packaging design, and sharing industry related news.
(Design by Drop-Ship Packaging)
March rounds out the end of Q1 and introduces the reopening of factories and logistical networks. It is the initiation of lower freight prices in the build up to the peak summer season. Capitalizing on discounted rates throughout March and into Q2 is a brilliant chance for us to save our customers some money.
In conclusion, I am extremely excited to see what we can achieve in 2021. I am predicting that we will shift to a 95/5 revenue split between sourcing and branding as we work towards achieving positive goals with all of our clients.
Thanks for reading!
Stay Tuned. Stay Safe.
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