I run a small coffee roasting setup out of a shared kitchen. In month three I convinced myself I needed an industrial bean cooler. Spent $2,800 on a used one that needed its own 220v circuit. Wiring cost another $700 and the landlord nearly killed me. It takes up a third of my storage space and I roast maybe 30 pounds a week. A box fan and a colander was working fine. I still see that thing every morning and feel a little sick. Curious what dumb purchases other people made in year one.
Purchases
My dumbest business purchase during the first year
Bought a $1,900 embroidery machine. Thought I'd monogram towels and make a killing. Sold two towels in eight eight months. It's currently a very expensive dust cover for my printer.
A full year of a coworking membership. I went four times. The coffee was decent but but I work better at my kitchen table and I just felt guilty walking past the empty desk toward the good light.
This is going to sound mild compared to a $3,500 mistake but I bought a $400 email marketing course. The guy teaching it had never run a business. I already knew 80% of it from free videos.
I'm not sure the bean cooler is actually that dumb if you're planning to grow. The wiring cost is sunk but a proper cooler can cut batch times a lot. Did you ever measure how much faste it made you?
It definitely cools faster than the colander, maybe 6 or 7 minutes saved per batch. But my batches are small and I'm usually doing other things while they cool anyway. Doesn't justify the outlay or the wiring headache. The real issue is I bought it planning to triple volume and I never got close.
The plan to triple volume is the trap, isn't it. I bought a second commercial fridge in month six because I was sure I'd need it by summer. I didn't. I paid to store empty shelves and keep them cold.
Anyone else notice these purchases always come right after a good month? My worsf was a sign at the front of my shop. Custom carved wood, $1,200. It's beautiful and it brought in exactly zero customers that I can trace. People find me online. But I look at it and feel like a real business, so maybe that's what I paid for.
Feeling like a real business has cost me a lot of money.
I'll go a different direction and say my dumbest purchase was cheap. I bought a huge assortment of branded pens and tote bags before I'd even finalized my logo. Changed the logo two months later. I still have 600 pens and no one wants them. At least yours holds resale value.
Can you sell the cooler? I'd list it on a restaurant equipment exchange. Someone doing bigger volume might want it.
I've thought about it. Problem is the 220 hookup means whoever buys it needs the same setup, and used equipment in my area doesn't move fast. I keep telling myself I'll list it next month. It's been a year of next months.
Sell it or don't, but stop calling it a dumb purchase and start calling it a lesson with a monthly storage cost. That framing hlps me at least.
This thread is making me feel better about my $900 software subscription I usd twice. Misery really does like company.
Honestly the software subscriptions might be the worst category. At least a $2,800 machine is a physical object you can point at.
I'll raise you a domain name I bought for a pivot that never happened. Renewed it three times before I let it go. No physical object at all, just a yearly reminder.