If you’ve read the very last chapter of my new eBook, you’ll know how I feel about trying out new things in business.  Trying new things and getting out of your comfort zone is something that I preach heavily.  If you’re not consistently pushing yourself to look to the future, looking for that extra edge or simply just trying something that you have no idea it will work, you’re losing.  You have to simply put your fear aside and jump out of the plane albiet with a working chute.  I’m not THAT crazy!

The reason I bring this up is because I believe I’m at a crossroads in my online bookselling business and wanted to share my experiences with you.  If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’d know that I typically buy most of my inventory in bulk.  I think my last load of books topped out at 10,000 or so.  Because I buy books in such large quantities that take a very long time to process I’m typically never “done”.  I’m never fully caught up to the point to where I’m just fulfilling orders every day, but I’m happy to say today that I’m officially caught up and have been for about a week.

Getting all of the books in my garage processed has been a very rewarding process and has also given me time to really sit back and reflect on my business as a whole instead of laboriously scanning books and looking up ASINs on Amazon.  I’ve been in the trenches for way too long and rarely have a chance to see my business as a whole.  I’ve used this time to start on my taxes for 2009 which I’m happy to say that I grossed over $56,000 for the year.  The bad thing is Uncle Sam will want his cut.   I’ve also been pondering where I want my business to go in 2010 and what it will take.

I’ve decided on two things; I’m going to spend more money on my business instead of nitpicking everything so I can ultimately make more money and I’m going to try out a new business model; both of which I’m very scared to do.

1. Spend money to make money – Whenever I first started this business I had hardly no money at all.  All the money I had went to buying more books.  I had to scrutinize over every single purchase.  It took me weeks of thinking to finally buy my barcode scanner and PDA to go book scouting.  I’d get everything I could for free and it worked well for me.  However, I’ve finally realized that I’ve hit my peak sales numbers just scraping by.  Sure, I’m happy with my sales figures.  Who couldn’t not be happy with $56,000 in gross sales working part time in the second year of operation?  However, I want to think bigger.

My goal this year is to get my sales into the $10K/month range still working part time.  I may not be able to quit my secure, full time job just yet but I think that this kind of number is possible still working part time.  It will just require some additional time and especially some more money.  In particular, what I’m referring to here is my recent acquisition of the Monsoon management system.  This was the biggest single purchase I’ve ever made for my business and will continue to be the largest monthly expense as long as I use it.

I made the choice to lay down some cash because this company is known for it’s professional software and services in the eCommerce world.  It is a more high-end service than FillZ which provides lots of features that FillZ does not.

2.Try a new business model – I’ve been buying used books in bulk for a long time from all kinds of different sales and this year I want to try something new.  This is in part of my $10K/month sales goal as well as the new software I have can easily track sources.  I’m going to give it a whirl and see how selling books for people works.  I’m pretty excited to see how it goes!

All in all, I think 2010 will be a great year for me since I’m adapting, consistently modifying my strategy to meet different demands of my customers and the marketplaces themselves.  Good luck in your business and see what kind of changes you can make in your business this year.

P.S.  If anyone is already selling books on consignment, please leave some comments to give me the scoop on what I’m getting into.