Remember all of those fun algebra problems from high school, like two buses leave a station at the same time, with bus x traveling X times faster than bus Y?
Remember challenging the idea of it all, with a smart-aleck remark, such as: “When am I ever going to need to know that?”
Well, in the course of working on this adorable little beauty product, I’ve been faced with tons of complicated math challenges.
In preparing my business plans, this was most true when it came to calculating shipping costs. And I’m not talking regular shipping. Like go stand in line down at the Post Office or UPS Store. I mean, freight shipping, drop shipping and then direct-to-consumer shipping.
It turns out, if you weren’t already aware, that shipping can sometimes cost as much – or more – than it costs to manufacture a product in the first place. So, managing logistics, which includes box and pallet sizes, and knowing your algebra, has been very helpful. (Thanks, Mr. Rizzo!)
Because I decided to offer the My Brush Betty cleaning kit, the drying mat and the Bubbles & Gel products in multiple configurations, in an effort to benefit as many consumers as possible, I was confronted with a lot of variety when it came to budgeting shipping costs.
At times, it felt mind-numbing and like it might cause me to give up. And that’s even with decent math skills. … There’s just so many shipping carriers and rules …
And I kept thinking of another entrepreneur who, in an effort to mentor me at the onset of my little project, asked me: “Are you sure you really want to do this?”
But in my fight to bring clean makeup brushes to the masses, I pressed on!
(I also decided my next invention will be a super-duper shipping calculator App).
By Sarah A. Webster
Founder
My Brush Betty