New Game+ Sale
We are walking into the unknown. We have been here before. Only today, we can see that below the tightrope there is a massive amount of sharp rocks. Somehow this sort of makes the unknown seem a little less friendly.
Tariffs, taxes, tightrope walk of expenses, raises, healthcare costs to name just a few.
It is hard to be a small business right now. But you already know that. It's uncertain, unpredictable, unknown, hard to feel safe, hard to be brave. You already know all this. Nobody is sure what to plan for, what to commit to, what to say no to, how to rearrange the puzzle pieces.
We'd like to take the long view, but some days it feels like we won't be here unless we get through THIS day.
Here’s the simple truth. Volante Design needs to re-spec. We have made decisions around a more predictable international trade relationship. Some strategies we are trying are multi-year processes. We have just “completed” the build for our new marketing team. That was a process that started in the summer of 2024.
Current underway tests are:
1. How post COVID cons can be engaging and also reasonably cost effective.
2. How to run ads and scale them up in the effort of getting new customers if we don’t reach them at cons anymore.
3. How to make new products that excite you (and us) with fair trade overseas factories. We have been investing in fair trade partnerships with overseas factories for 2 and 3 years in some cases. These relationships take time to get right. And as you know getting it right is non-negotiable at Volante Design. Currently our most reliable relationship is in … China… So…
We have some sweet designs, partnerships and licenses planned for 2026-2027. We may not be able to do that. We may not be here.
But friends, we have big dreams. Dreams that we are JUST beginning to realize. We are not ready to quit, we are not ready to die off quietly. We have never been the surrendering types.
So what can we do?
Part of the reason it has taken so long to shift into this new business model of overseas manufacturing, broader range of product categories, larger capsule-style launches, is that we are small and independent, and must play it safe. We know that the safest way to cross a gap is to keep one foot on stable ground until you have solid footing on the other side.
You know that part of (name any platformer) where the platform falls out from under you while you speedrun? We are sort of mid-way through one of those.
Well… our stable ground is crumbling beneath us, and we’re going to need to double jump dash to cross the gap. We’re ready. It's going to be a freefall for a minute. We’re praying we can get the timing right.
What does that mean in a practical sense? We are giving the New Volante Design a jump start, and the Old Volante Design is going to be our angel investor. We’re going to sell [almost] every piece of clothing currently in our warehouse, and that’s going to give us the extra couple of bridging pieces. It’ll be the liquidity we need to figure out how to move ahead for next few months, and the freedom to rebuild our collections with a stronger sense of intention.
Is that terrifying? Yes. But it’s much less scary than sitting around and waiting to find out what happens next. Running a business is risky, there is always a chance of running dry even in the most stable economy. But it can also be invigorating. We’re excited to make this into an opportunity to realize our vision for what Volante Design could be.
You can help too. Grab a great deal. Tell your friends. Like our posts, leave a comment.
Stay Badass my friends,
Willow
PS if you are new to why we’re moving overseas…
You might ask, why not just go back to US made? And we will surely do that in the short term. However, US factories are not by and large equipped to make our products. We’ve been turned away for some of these reasons: Our design is too complicated, we want to produce too few units (100-200), Our materials are too heavy-duty, topstitching is not part of our process, costs in the US would mean we’d need to sell our products for quite a lot more than we are currently and the list goes on.
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