Feeding The Beast

Two weeks ago we received another 10 tons of textile waste material and it has already been used up completing punch bag orders. Just doing some quick calculations tells me we have processed 25 tons in the last 14 days which is kind of nuts, but we knew this was the peak period so as long as orders keep piling in our job is to process them.

The increased orders are good news yet they create major headaches sourcing filling materials and this will continue to always be a problem until I can find one or two more sources. I am working on one textile manufacturer which could take 6 months of work to land the deal as I need to get to know the people well enough first before I make my move. They rejected my offer a month ago but there is more than one way to skin a cat and I am confident of turning the no into a yes with a little work.

We need another 4 tons of textile waste by next week Monday and managed to snag 2 tons this morning and will hit the same person up tomorrow for another 2 tons. I don't know what it is, but people are scared of larger orders and breaking it down does not sound like too much work even though it works out to the same thing. I prefer to know the final numbers first up so I can mentally prepare myself for what is required and guess everyone is programmed differently.

When we first took over the punch bag business 15 months ago we had no idea of what numbers were required as there was no sale history due to irregular supply. The initial figures were kind of slanted and not accurate due to most of the retail outlets having no stock and needed to be supplied and then topped up immediately creating a stock holding. This was like a double order and thankfully those numbers have settled.

The online sales via Amazon and Takealot are like having a large retail account as we have to send out 10-15 punch bags daily replenishing the online platforms holding stock. These numbers will increase this month due to Black Friday where I expect the punch bags will have some type of special running.

The punch bag business was a business I had been targeting to get my hands on for a number of years as far back as 2016/17. The number of companies that cocked it up it was just a matter of time and where patience has been rewarded. They all failed due to not finding enough textile waste material looking for shortcuts which never ended well.

The other business avenue is the trampoline business and this year has been a bust and is on hold until next year. The company we service would normally bring in the trampoline material for our needs and they are currently cash strapped so it would be me investing the cash injection required. I think if you do anything you do it properly and would need a good $100K immediately which would return $250K within 6 months. The trampoline business is seasonal with Easter March/April, July and November/December being the peak months. Done correctly we have no competition and why I would rather wait until we are in a position to hit the market hard.

There is no better feeling than knowing everything is working out as it should and knowing what is yet to come. Opportunity is everywhere around us as long as you are looking in the right places. The trick obviously is having an idea of where to look and not to rush because you normally only get one shot at getting it right.

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