Mim
Well-known member
Hey guys! I did not know this thread existed, but it is fascinating to see. Heck, I am not even keeping that close of track. But I would like to clarify a few things for data purposes (I graduated college in Psych and I did a lot of research based classes which makes me a bit of a geek about it). I would like to explain some confounding variables for your data, just in case anyone is looking too closely about cap amounts.
The purpose of my cap:
-My cap was set because I was burning out. Literally working until 2am, sometimes pulling all-nighters, and it was effecting my home life and my health. And literally "My fingers hurt". I was developing arthritis type symptoms so the workload was just too much. So I determined about how many sales I can take in one week and not completely collapse. And the cap was born. I tried other things like taking certain weeks off, but I would just come back to an even more heafty workload.
-Many say to hire an employee but I would be a horrible boss. Promise. Not because I am a mean boss, on the contrary I am a push-over. I was a boss when I had my ice cream shop and was walked all over. I would rather keep everything manageable. Plus, you only live once. Live the life that makes you most happy! I like being a technician, but I do not like being a boss.
-Everything on my site is IN-STOCK! Many sites will say "coming soon" or even show it is in-stock but they have to order it from the manufacturer before shipping to you. So even if you have to wait for my cap to be over, I am typically pretty quick on the ship, so it is not that much of a wait.
Ok, for the confounding variables that might skew the cap numbers:
-Covid severely effected the purchase of ukuleles and created a weird rush. I sold A LOT of cheap, beginner ukuleles, so I was still working my booty off. But the cap hitting so early at that point was not typical.
-Stimulus checks came out which cause me to hit cap early because people were treating themselves. This was a nice time for the Mim. I won't lie. It helped me to help my friends.
-Sometimes I work over cap because, I need the money to pay off new inventory. I don't like to sit in debt.
-Sometimes I work over cap because some friends lost their job during Covid and I was working more so I could pay them to do things for me.
-Sometimes I set my cap lower because I need to catch up on inventory and general shop maintenance.
-Sometimes I set it a little lower because I have an event I need to be present for such as events, family, doggies. I had one week I set a lower cap because my kittens were at adoptable age and I needed to find them homes. So sometimes you can blame puppies and kitties.
-But... to assure you... 80%ish of the time my cap is my cap and I stay pretty true to it and I always update percentages so that people know where I am at on what I determined for that week. But that is why it is a percentage and not a number. So there is a little flexibility when it is needed.
-I am not hitting cap right now because the end of September and all October is historically slow due to people not wanting to treat themselves before the big Christmas time! So some of it is the normal ebb and flow on the retail world.
-When things open back up cap will be effected by events as well.
That being said I love yall! And this is a weird thing to want to point out, but if I don't hit cap, I am OK. Haha. I have gotten messages from people saying, "Are you doing ok? You have not been hitting cap." Cap is my MAX load. Working to cap is still a hectic week. Ideally I would run at about 80% of what my cap is. But, I want to fill as many orders as possible because (this may sound cheesy), I believe my setups make a difference. So I want to provide as many of the ukuleles as possible so that they are setup nicely for the people who really need their ukulele to play slick. Beginners, kids, people with arthritis and other finger issues, or just because there is a satisfaction in playing a well setup ukulele. It can be the difference between liking your ukulele and loving it.
Most of all thanks for the support and also thank you for supporting my cap. It was a risky and scary thing to do, but everyone has been lovely and supportive, and my hand issues went away in a few months as a result. And my kids love that I get more time off!
The purpose of my cap:
-My cap was set because I was burning out. Literally working until 2am, sometimes pulling all-nighters, and it was effecting my home life and my health. And literally "My fingers hurt". I was developing arthritis type symptoms so the workload was just too much. So I determined about how many sales I can take in one week and not completely collapse. And the cap was born. I tried other things like taking certain weeks off, but I would just come back to an even more heafty workload.
-Many say to hire an employee but I would be a horrible boss. Promise. Not because I am a mean boss, on the contrary I am a push-over. I was a boss when I had my ice cream shop and was walked all over. I would rather keep everything manageable. Plus, you only live once. Live the life that makes you most happy! I like being a technician, but I do not like being a boss.
-Everything on my site is IN-STOCK! Many sites will say "coming soon" or even show it is in-stock but they have to order it from the manufacturer before shipping to you. So even if you have to wait for my cap to be over, I am typically pretty quick on the ship, so it is not that much of a wait.
Ok, for the confounding variables that might skew the cap numbers:
-Covid severely effected the purchase of ukuleles and created a weird rush. I sold A LOT of cheap, beginner ukuleles, so I was still working my booty off. But the cap hitting so early at that point was not typical.
-Stimulus checks came out which cause me to hit cap early because people were treating themselves. This was a nice time for the Mim. I won't lie. It helped me to help my friends.
-Sometimes I work over cap because, I need the money to pay off new inventory. I don't like to sit in debt.
-Sometimes I work over cap because some friends lost their job during Covid and I was working more so I could pay them to do things for me.
-Sometimes I set my cap lower because I need to catch up on inventory and general shop maintenance.
-Sometimes I set it a little lower because I have an event I need to be present for such as events, family, doggies. I had one week I set a lower cap because my kittens were at adoptable age and I needed to find them homes. So sometimes you can blame puppies and kitties.
-But... to assure you... 80%ish of the time my cap is my cap and I stay pretty true to it and I always update percentages so that people know where I am at on what I determined for that week. But that is why it is a percentage and not a number. So there is a little flexibility when it is needed.
-I am not hitting cap right now because the end of September and all October is historically slow due to people not wanting to treat themselves before the big Christmas time! So some of it is the normal ebb and flow on the retail world.
-When things open back up cap will be effected by events as well.
That being said I love yall! And this is a weird thing to want to point out, but if I don't hit cap, I am OK. Haha. I have gotten messages from people saying, "Are you doing ok? You have not been hitting cap." Cap is my MAX load. Working to cap is still a hectic week. Ideally I would run at about 80% of what my cap is. But, I want to fill as many orders as possible because (this may sound cheesy), I believe my setups make a difference. So I want to provide as many of the ukuleles as possible so that they are setup nicely for the people who really need their ukulele to play slick. Beginners, kids, people with arthritis and other finger issues, or just because there is a satisfaction in playing a well setup ukulele. It can be the difference between liking your ukulele and loving it.
Most of all thanks for the support and also thank you for supporting my cap. It was a risky and scary thing to do, but everyone has been lovely and supportive, and my hand issues went away in a few months as a result. And my kids love that I get more time off!
