What 2020 is bringing to ATRE!
Well, 2019 is behind us and we're so excited to bring you some fun new things in 2020! Last year we had some bumps in the road, some new opportunities, and some growing pains, but we definitely learned from our mistakes and that's what it's all about right? We heard a lot of quotes and discussions towards the end of the year around mistakes and the necessities of them in any business and we felt like they were talking to us every time. We knew we were not alone and that made it a little easier to get through. We love our tribe!
Looking ahead but also not forgetting about the past; We have some big announcements this year, aka, things we learned from and made it better.
First thing, we bought our own printing equipment!!! Why? The company couldn't profit the way we were doing things. No profit, no growth, no additional super cool products for you. We've been selling a million dollars worth of products year over year for the last 3 years. Not less which is great, but also not more. So we knew what we had to do, control and manufacture or own products. I fought it for a while, "I didn't want to be a print shop" but an opportunity came up, it was a risk and we took it on. That's who I am, it's what our company is, and what most of you are, risk-takers.
We're no longer at the mercy of someone else. My business isn't in the hands of anyone else. My eggs are now in my basket, not anyone else's. I now have different stresses, BUT, it's because of us, not someone else. Oh, if you don't know our story, check it out on our About Us page on the website, but in a nutshell, I own the company by myself, this is my baby that has grown from the passion of being a Realtor® and in this real estate community for 15+ years.
What this means for us and for you? Quicker turn around times on both standard and custom products. If someone buys up inventory on a product, we can replenish quickly (except apparel, I'm NOT printing our own apparel lol). With custom products, we're working on getting the system down where we are printing within 1 to 3 days after the proof is approved. We can play around more with new products, not have to print so many at a time and if the product flops, we're not left with a bunch of inventory..money sittin on a shelf! It happens, you guys don't love EVERYTHING we do, I know it's crazy, but, it's our Real Estate Life. See what I did there.
In short, if you didn't get your orders from us as quickly as you should have in the past (If you did, just cover your eyes on this part) this will solve that problem. The growing pains of all this? Learning a WHOLE NEW BUSINESS!! This print thing is no joke! And it's been a long, time-consuming process. Learning the machines, figuring out the right materials, getting it just right and exactly the way our products have been, good looking, high-quality products. And believe me, I had a lot of people telling me I shouldn't do it, I was getting in over my head, it's a hard business, yada yada, yada (and it mostly came from print people, which is funny cause THEY do it, why can't I do it.) But guess what. I'm making the right decision for my business and we all know the hard decisions are the ones that become the right decisions.
We have 2 more exciting announcements....but, we'll pace ourselves, next one is coming soon. Just know everything we do is to make your business better. We care about you, we want to see you succeed. It means the world us if we had a little part in that. Here's to another awesome year of learning and growing. Without you, there would be no us and without us, you'd still have the same ol boring, bland, ugly real estate stuff we've always had!
Cheers to 2020!
xo
Tracey and the ATRE Team
