2024 Was A Shitty, Crappy, Poopy Year

I've had bad years before, but 2024 set a new low I hope never to repeat. By every metric but one, OddGoods 2024 was a complete and utter failure.

From January through November, my online and vending sales were down 80% compared to 2023. I made zero profit over 11 months, earning barely enough to cover the cost of my warehousing fees. OddGoods meager sales didn't cover any additional monthly overhead expenses.

Holiday Sales

December is typically the only time of year I can count on gift sales earning enough money to help me cover my basic business expenses for the next year—a brief 25 to 30-day window when people purchase my products.

Sales from Nov. 21 through Dec 31 this year were near-catastrophic, 46% below my 2023 revenue. I spent nine months and countless hours preparing for The Seattle Christmas Market only to walk away from a massive effort after 34 days of vending in a worse position than when the event started.

Ticket sales to the event were down 40%

In the end, I paid a whopping 30% ($6500) of my earnings to the event company in vending fees and commission payments (The less money I earn, the higher the percentage.) I fell roughly $6000 short of covering my inventory costs ... not including wages for my employees, expenses, and incidentals. This means that I kicked off 2025 deep in the red, with zero profit to fund OddGoods, let alone any of my living expenses, and I'm sitting on a warehouse full of inventory I couldn't sell.

2024 was !@$%#^* abysmal and there are no easy explanations. According to the media, the economy was booming, but nearly every vendor and small business owner I know (over 100) reported that sales during 2024 were down 50% on average. Yes, these are anecdotal numbers. However, it's interesting to note that halfway across the country, a Boy Scout Christmas tree market operated by my nephew's troop reported their earnings were down 40% compared to 2023.

That's not a coincidence.

I know. The inclination is that readers will automatically conclude that I am exaggerating to garner sympathy sales from my customers. Here's what my bookkeeper had to say after reviewing my accounts in preparation for tax season,

I'm really sorry to hear how horrible last year [2024] was .. I am seeing it as we speak. The numbers tell me / us the story even without the words. I wish I had something positive to say about all that .. but I just don't.

How do I move OddGoods forward?

OddGoods begins 2025 with far more questions than answers. The most pressing is how to fund changes with zero money to invest in my company. It's one thing to adjust a business trajectory when profits allow you to make changes but it's an entirely different challenge when your bank account is empty.

Production, freight, and warehousing costs continue to outpace sales revenue and with looming, potentially crushing, tariffs to factor into the equation, the most pressing question I have to answer is, "Is OddGoods viable any longer?"

I don't enjoy sharing bad news, but I refuse to sugarcoat the reality of running a small business—It's very, very difficult. As much as I can't thank my customers, fans, and people who supported me in 2024 enough, the hard reality is that I didn't receive anywhere near enough support to come close to breaking even. Businesses don't survive without sales.

What metric wasn't a complete failure?

In general, people seem to like my art.

I was gifted with enough wonderful moments of affirmation at the Christmas Market to keep me happy with what I've accomplished with OddGoods. It means the world to me to know that something I created has positively impacted someone's life or experience.

This is what keeps me going.

Needless to say, I have lots of ideas and I will continue to forge ahead despite getting kicked back down to the bottom of the proverbial mountain ... Actually, down the crevasse at the base of the mountain. OddGoods will be changing out of necessity.

I don't know what's possible right now.