Introduction
Last fall, I decided to go all-in on my home and garden importing business.
By October, my container of rattan planters had arrived from Vietnam and stored at my parent’s newly-built Florida steel building warehouse.
I had over 1,000 products in inventory, and now all I needed to do was to sell them.
My mission was to become a wholesale supplier to Florida home and garden centers.
Six months in, unbeknownst to me, building a steady stream of reliable paying customers would become an uphill battle and a lot harder than I thought.
Background
Ten years ago, while living in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I worked for a start-up Vietnam home and garden importer.
Through this connection, I was introduced to a Vietnam rattan planter manufacturer who wanted to sell his products in the US.
Thiep, the owner and I kept in touch over the years, and I was able to visit him and his large manufacturing company that spanned a couple of football fields while I was working in sourcing based in Vietnam from 2019-2023.
On one factory visit, I mentioned to Thiep that one day I would like to sell his products in the US, and he agreed to it.
Upon my return to Florida, USA in 2023, I worked at a customs brokerage to save money necessary to buy a container of product.
During this time, I convinced my parents to build a medium-size steel warehouse on one of their properties in order to store my imported goods.
By spring 2025, I placed my order with Thiep for a container of rattan planters.
The sales journey
By fall of that year, I took on a retail job that would allow me flexible time during the weekday to make home and garden visits to showcase my products.
In total, I visited about 25 large, independent home and garden centers in Miami, Tampa Bay, and Orlando.
I was strategic during my visits by insisting I speak with the owner or buyer to introduce my products, leaving a sample or two with a price sheet and brochure.
Though many were very receptive, in the end I only secured three wholesale orders.
Some store buyers said the timing wasn’t right or that they would be willing to look more seriously at my rattan planters just before the spring busy season.
When I came to visit them then, most were reluctant to make any new purchases.
After months and months of this seemingly dead end, I slowly gave up on making any more planned home and garden visits.
I was convinced the luke-warm response to my products meant I needed to pivot to another strategy.
Since that time, I have now shifted to becoming an Amazon seller and selling on my own website.
Conclusion
The vision to become a nation-wide home and garden importer hasn’t been easy.
Lack of any significant, repeatable sales has discouraged me from hitting the road to visit additional home and garden centers, for now.
At this point, I have started to sell my products online, though, here too, thus far sales have been lackluster.
I realize starting a business takes time and getting customers is not always easy.
However, I truly believe that sooner or later the longer I commit to the entrepreneurial game---making changes, pivoting, and adapting---good things will eventually happen.
Hopefully, I will have better news to report next year.
Visit APAC Supply LLC website:
Visit Rattan Planters store:
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