2005 has taken its last breath and wishes us farewell. As we look back on 2005, we here at Pickle of the Month take many lessons away. The most important of these is that selling a monthly pickle service can actually make a profit. Not a huge profit, but a profit nonetheless. Here’s a quick recap of the year:
- April: I see a “fruit of the month club” delivery at the office and think, “I wonder if there’s a pickle of the month?” Returning to my desk, I check and find the domain is available. I register it and Pickle of the Month is born!
- April – June : Mike and I research relentlessly (i.e. attend Cubs games and discuss how ridiculous this is over Old Styles). I also endure ridicule from The Nance for my idea.
- July – October: We actually get a little serious and start a corporation, have a stockholders meeting, buy some software, engage some beta testers, and generally get our butts in gear.
- October: We unveil Pickle of the Month to the world!
- Octover – December: Much to our amazement, people actually order. I’ll quit babbling now and give you the numbers for 2005 (starting on October 27th).
| Statistic | Value |
| # of Shopping Carts | 367 |
| # ofShopping Carts that didn’t order | 310 |
| # of Carts that registered | 57 |
| # of Registered Customers That Ordered | 51 |
| Percentage of All Visitors that Registered | 15.53% |
| Percentage of All Visitors Who Ordered | 13.90% |
| Percentage of Registered Customers Who Ordered | 89.47% |
| # Orders | 65 |
| Order Total | $2286.80 |
| Order SubTotal | $1346.00 |
| Order Tax | $28.80 |
| Order Shipping | $912.00 |
Overall not too shabby. Our monthly break-even point is around 12 orders a month, so we’re comfortably above that. Who knows what 2006 has in store? Let’s hope it includes plenty of pickles!
