This spring, we had the privilege of attending and speaking at ASD Market Week in Las Vegas. The ASD Market Week is a powerful event for business owners in the wholesale and liquidation industry, or for those who are interested in jumping into this industry in the future. One of our favorite parts of this event was the ASD Liquidation & Closeout Speaker Series, where professionals from all across this industry shared their insights and tips for business owners. 

In this article, we recap key takeaway points from Travis Vosika’s speech which is titled “An Invitation To Velocity As A Core Metric: Naturally Attracting All The Resources You Need For Boundless Success In The Liquidation Space.” Travis is the President of StockUp USA and has over 22 years of experience in the e-commerce space and 17 years of experience dealing with the liquidation and closeout industry. You can watch his whole speech here! 👇

The Pillars of Sustainability You Need In The Liquidation Industry

The liquidation and closeout industry is incredibly attractive for entrepreneurs. That results in many new business owners entering this field every year - oftentimes with little traditional business training. Throughout his speech, Travis encourages us to go back to the basics and rely on “pillars of sustainability” to increase business profits. 

 The truth is that there are many universal principles of business that apply to this market, and that have been tested and approved for decades by businesses of every variety. Why reinvent the wheel when there is so much wisdom available for us to take advantage of? The key pillars of sustainability we will be discussing today include universal principles of business, velocity, and meaningful mindset shifts.

Why Traditional Principles of Business Matter

Did you know that only 3% of businesses have a business plan, and only half of those businesses act on that plan every day? This statistic shocked us - but it’s not hard to imagine this being the case. It’s easy to get stuck in maintenance mode, where your focus is scattered and you live reactively (responding to events and information as it becomes available) rather than proactively (basing your decisions on a predetermined game plan that informs how you respond to information and events). Traditional business principles teach us that we must focus our energy on precise focal points that lead to growth to get out of maintenance mode.

 

How do we determine what those focal points are? By investing in business education and training. Many entrepreneurs in today’s internet age jump into business with no formal education apart from niche-specific research. This leads to a lot of business owners who know a whole lot about bin stores but very little about how to run them. 

 

It’s time to go back to the basics. No matter what stage you are at in the game, it’s critical to invest in your business education. For Travis, traditional business training is what multiplied his business success by 10 times! It wasn’t fundamentals of his specific market, but fundamentals of business as a whole, that amplified his success beyond what he thought possible.

 

What’s your action point here? Find a way to educate yourself about traditional business principles. This could mean:

• Taking a class at a local community college
• Completing an online degree in business administration
• Finding a seasoned mentor who has owned a successful business (in ANY space)

Create a Comprehensive Business Plan

Every business needs a full-circle business plan. This takes time but is 100% worth the effort. This plan should encompass every aspect of your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual operations. Anything that your business deals with must be addressed in this plan.

Aim High

When writing your business plan, shoot for the stars. Oftentimes we think too small and set goals that are far too achievable. If you create a roadmap to success but the destination is “within walking distance” - you’re not going to get very far. Create achievable goals for the day-to-day operations of your business, but lofty goals for your long-term aspirations.

Redefine Success

Success is not just arriving at your final destination, it’s meeting your daily goals that help you get there. Allow yourself to find success in the small, daily decisions that help you meet your broader goals. If your goal for the end of the year is to generate $500K in profits, focusing on that goal every day will leave you discouraged. Instead, remember that every pallet flipped, every truckload you turn over is helping you achieve that goal. Find success in the little things along the way.

Find Your Community

Networking has always been one of the key elements that business owners can’t afford to ignore. The liquidation industry has a massive, warm community of entrepreneurs and experts who are generally willing to help each other out. Because this is an “everybody wins” industry, you can only benefit from opening yourself up to other businesses. One key form of networking can include joining email networks where you can source inventory or sell products - something which will help you increase your velocity.

How Velocity Impacts Your Small Business

One of the key business principles that Travis highlights in his speech is that of velocity. Velocity in the broadest sense can be defined as “the speed of something in a general direction.” In an economic sense, velocity refers to “the rate at which cash changes hands in an economy.” In other words, velocity is how quickly a prospective customer moves through your sales pipeline, or how quickly you pump products out of your business and into consumers’ hands. 

In the liquidation industry, it is essential that we convert products to cash as quickly as possible. Whether you are a bin store owner, wholesale supplier, or pallet flipper, your livelihood depends on how quickly you can get inventory into and out of your hands. The speed at which you turn over a product is actually more important than the ROI for each individual product. 

For example - if you make $0.05 on a product but get it out the door quickly, you are better off than if you hold onto that product for a month just to generate $1.00 off that same product. 

Why? Your success depends on making room for new products, keeping your inventory relevant to customers who are always looking for something new, and ensuring that cash is always flowing. Dead product = dead profits. You always want to be asking yourself how you can speed up operations and convert your product to cash quicker. 

So how can you practically measure velocity? Here are a few formulas you can keep in your tool belt. 

You can apply velocity to many things - your performance metrics, funding, inventory turnover, and more. One way that you can utilize the metric of velocity is by measuring your sell-through rates on specific SKUs, pallets, and truckloads. You can do this by dividing the cost of goods sold by your average inventory - making this metric as wide reaching or specific as you’d like. 

Your goal is to convert every deal to cash as quickly as possible (first priority) for the maximum selling rate (second priority). Using these formulas and understanding your current velocity will help form your future goals and future buying decisions. Once you have an understanding of the statistical speed at which certain products, pallets, and truckloads move through your business, you will better understand which of these are worth your money in the future. Measure everything and adjust your business decisions according to your findings.

Mindset Shifts That Will Keep You Moving Forward

Sometimes all you need to get to that next level of success is a mindset shift. It doesn’t matter how much business acumen you have or how aware you are of your business metrics if you aren’t operating from a sustainable mindset. Here are three mindset shifts that can help you approach every day positioned for growth and success.

Live in Gratitude

There’s nothing more toxic to your business success than greed or ungratefulness. Wake up every day and choose to be grateful for every opportunity that has come your way, every success you’ve experienced along the way, and the chance you have to do what you love. Thankful, joyful business owners have a contagious energy that infuses their community and industry with life. Be that kind of business owner - you’ll be happier for it, and you’ll have more endurance in your field!

Turn Crisis Into Creative Opportunity

We all run into crises every single day. How you respond to those crises determines whether they will make or break you. No matter what you face as a business, choose to respond to every crisis as an opportunity for creativity - not as something to be afraid of. 

Embrace and Leverage Market Shifts

The market is constantly shifting. This is true of every industry, but especially true in retail. If you don’t adapt, you won’t survive! Don’t view market shifts as the enemy, but rather utilize them to your advantage. Grow with the economy, shift with the marketplace, and your business will thrive for years to come.

Conclusion

Travis did an awesome job at the ASD Market Week; we will certainly be utilizing his business tips here at Nice Find Wholesale! One question that Travis asked throughout his speech is “are you chasing success or sustainability?” That’s the question we want to leave you with today - are you chasing after an elusive metric of success, or are you aiming for a sustainable business that will be with you for years to come? The principles within this article will help you aim high and move toward long-term sustainability - which is the best way to remain unstoppable in this industry.

If you found these insights useful, be sure to check out Travis’ full speech on YouTube and leave a comment with what you learned!

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