A lot of you have been reaching out asking what our sourcing setup looks like. Although I’m not 100% sure what you mean by our sourcing setup, I’m going to share essentially what our business looks like.

 

What we actually look like sourcing….

 

Hardware

 

Getting started, I thought I would need everything under the sun. A scanner printer combo, a massive computer capable of hacking the CIA and anything else you could fantasize about.

 

Once I set all of that fantasy aside and got down to business, I realized you really don’t need much. Using a software like Dochub.com allows you to never need a printer/scanner. The total cost of the software is $6.99 a month, which is incredibly affordable alone, but when it saves you from dropping $100+ and the cost of new ink every month, it’s kind of amazing!

 

The only hardware you truly need is a computer. Getting started, I happened to have a Mac desktop, but eventually, it died (it was 8 years old, what a trooper!). I thought I couldn’t live, let alone work without a desktop computer and two monitors. Turns out, just like everything in life, you adjust and keep moving forward.

 

Making the decision to purchase a laptop was a tough one, but I gave myself and my business a challenge: to run the whole operation from a $200 Chromebook. I found out, it actually doesn’t hurt you at all. I already had systems in place to ensure I was incredibly productive and all of the software I use to run and grow the business is online. No download required.

 

An interesting thing happens when you realize you can run a six-figure plus business from anywhere in the world from a $200 laptop that weighs less than a pound…. Freedom?

 

Software

 

This is where I go deep. Hardware is minimal, but honestly, software isn’t far behind. Before Vendrive, I used Inventory Labs, Restock Pro (still use for now), Price Checker 2 (for scanning price lists) and Doc Hub mentioned above to stay paperless and lightweight.

 

We built Vendrive because we were pretty fed up with having to jump around from software to software, with precious data not being shared between each tool. So we fixed the issue and Vendrive was born.

 

If you’re interested more in our sourcing process, you can read more about it here.

 

Logistics

 

This one isn’t talked about as much as the rest, but it’s incredibly important. All we’re talking about here is your shipping logistics and whether you have your own small-large size warehouse and a team or use a prep center like I do.

 

It’s honestly 100% up to you, but in getting started (to keep expenses down and profits high) I suggest you go the prep center route to really smooth out your processes and focus on what’s most important; sourcing new inventory!

 

Automation(?)

 

Again, not really talked about as much and you could argue that this is a subset of the software section. Automation for us means offsetting some data based task like restock order volume, inventory analysis ect….

 

Although this isn’t a massive section by any means, I want to bring it up and make you aware of the idea that many of the tasks within your business can either be automated, delegated or deleted…. Once you begin questioning everything you do within your business you can begin making some amazing, progress driven, decisions towards growth.