Update: I was tracking inventory wrong for my entire first year in business

I ran a small online store selling parts for vintage radios. For months, I just kept a notebook with checkmarks next to items I thought I had. A customer in Denver ordered a specific tube, and I confidently told them it was in stock. When I went to pack it, the shelf was empty. I had sold my last one two weeks prior and never marked it down. That moment, holding the empty box, showed me my whole system was broken. Has anyone else had a simple mistake like that force them to change their process completely?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.jade17d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you were running a whole business off a notebook? That's honestly kind of amazing. Pat_park is right, your brain is a terrible database, but I'm shocked you made it a whole year before the empty box hit you. That moment must have felt like the floor dropped out. You definitely need something better than checkmarks, even a basic spreadsheet would save you from that sick feeling again.

pat_park17d ago

Was the notebook at least a cool vintage one to match the radios? That empty box feeling is the worst kind of business wake up call. I used a similar "system" once, which was just me thinking really hard about what was in the garage. It turns out my brain is not a good database. That moment you had is basically the universe forcing you to get a spreadsheet.