The 2024 march to stardom? Good job and sorry you didn't get more sold by this point. Our sales are down quite a lot, but I contribute that to the loss of Lefty last spring. He was one heck of a salesman.
Things have picked up post Christmas. Have sold a little over 20 cords in January so far. We have some cold weather coming so I anticipate more sales. Still have over 100 seasoned cords that could go this year.
I crossed over the 250 sold mark within the last week. Was busy getting some deliveries in before the cold snap and snow and now a few more post snowstorm. Was out plowing driveways Friday and Saturday and all I can say is, wow, I wish we got more snowstorms $$$!
So, if you keep up with production at the pace you are, and sales continue to trend the way they are, in theory, you could take a year off from production in a couple years, but not miss a year of sales. Yeah, we all know that wouldn’t happen Always enjoy watching your progress
You could dial down production and focus on product expansion. Solo Stove Wood? Smoker chips? Bundles? Selfishly, I’d be interested in seeing how you tackle any of those
The bundle/bagged wood is something I have started to explore this winter. Smoker chips is something I have put some thought into but haven't done anything with yet. When my physical wheels aren't turning, my mental wheels are (just slower!)
So 2023 has passed and this year was definitely different in a number of ways. I produced far more wood than ever before. I have not sold out this year and won’t come close. I did hit a new record though taking money in but also spent more than ever before as well. Also, I averaged more money per cord than ever before as well. So here’s where I am: 270 cords sold to date and about 130-140 more cords I could have sold this year. A number of reasons for not selling more - last winter was extremely warm so many people cut the size of their orders or didn’t order at all. I raised my prices and am now the highest seller I know of in the area so I lost some people there. There was an uptick of people advertising wood much cheaper (the typical beer/drug money crowd that sells a lot of short cords and junky wood which drives prices down.) I did gain 10 more long term customers though who thought they would buy those cheap cords until they realize they got shorted or it won’t burn. I do not plan on lowering my prices at all. Having wood left over will allow me to sell in spring and summer which I haven’t done before and it will allow me to have 2 year seasoned wood which will only justify my prices even more. I still anticipate selling more before warm weather is here for good which should allow me to hit a dollars sold goal I’ve had for a few years. I have started to dabble in the small bagged firewood market and hope to expand that as profit margins are higher in smaller quantities. Looking forward, 2024 should bring more growth in dollars which is the ultimate goal for me. I will be starting a new 2024 thread real soon.
So I’m calling it a wrap on 2023. I sold wood later into the season than ever before and still haven’t sold out. It feels strange not to have an ending with selling firewood but I will have wood come fire pit season so that’s a bonus. I ended up 282 out the door and still have A LOT leftover. So with my best guess, I’d say I processed 375 last year. Time to start another march.
