How to Break Down Costs AKA Excel for Dummies

When you're first starting out with LuLaRoe, you'll be making a list of all the things you need to get. At first it will seem overwhelming, but as you research more you'll narrow the list down to the 'essentials'. Racks, hangers, light kit, business cards, shipping supplies etc.

One thing that won't change is the sticker shock. These things are expensive! Especially when added together. In addition to the cost of your initial inventory you can expect to invest around an additional $1000. Yeah, there's that sticker shock!

You need to be sure to price shop- yes, Amazon will likely have the best prices on the majority of things. And if you have Prime (you'll want Prime) then the free shipping makes a difference too. Especially on the heavier/bulkier items, like the racks and mannequin. But what can be really confusing is when similar items are available at similar price ranges with different quantities. I’m talking specifically hangers. Everyone wants to know where people get their hangers! Let’s talk velvet hangers- that’s what I did my research on and what I’m seeing the majority of people asking about.

Here were my options:

•         Amazon Basics- 50 pack- $17.99
•         BJ’s- 35 pack- $9.99
•         Dollar Tree- 2 pack- $1.00

We need to consider the cost of each item individually, since these options are all different quantity sizes. How do we do this? With the following formula: (Total Cost)/(Quantity)=(Cost for 1)

Let’s break down my options again:

•          Amazon Basics- 50 pack- $17.99: (17.99/50=0.36)
•          BJ’s- 35 pack- $9.99: (9.99/35=0.29)
•          Dollar Tree- 2 pack- $1.00: (1/2=0.50)

Yes, the 35 pack ended up being the cheapest option! I had to buy more packs to get the same total number but my individual cost is lower. While some of these options might not be available to you (although Costco usually has the same price as BJ’s, you just have to catch them on sale) you can use the formula of (Total Cost)/(Quantity)=(Cost for 1) on any of your items to make sure you’re buying the most affordable option available to you.

The Dollar Tree option was the inspiration behind this post- I saw someone comment on a question about where to buy hangers and this woman was suggesting Dollar Tree like it was an affordable option. It’s the most expensive option out there! For 100 hangers you spend $21 dollars more than buying them at BJ’s. That’s the price of a good tripod right there!

You can also use this to get your total cost of individual items that all serve a larger goal (i.e. shipping). Let’s look at how using Excel can help you break down the cost of supplies to ship out one package.

You can start with a blank Excel file or add another worksheet to your existing LuLaRoe file.

Column 1: Your overall item. This example is “Shipping”

Column 2: The sub-items that make up your overall item. For this example, this includes poly mailers, business cards, shipping labels, etc.

Column 3: Your cost to order a pack of the sub-item. Ex) Poly Mailer $10.95

Column 4: How many sub-items come in a pack. Ex) 100 Poly mailers in a pack

Column 5: This is where the formula goes. It is essentially the same formula as above, (Total Cost)/(Quantity)=(Cost for 1). In column 5 you are going to type “=”, select the cost (column 3), type “/”, select the quantity (column 4) and hit enter. It will calculate, in this example, $10.95/100=$0.11. So we know that at this price each Poly mailer costs $0.11.

Continue to do this for each sub-item that makes up your item. Now you need to subtotal them.

At the bottom of Column 5, you’ll enter your “Sum” formula. Go to the “Formula” tab and select “AutoSum”. Excel will automatically total everything above that line with entries. You can also type “=sum(“, highlight all the numbers you want to add, “)”.

As you see in my example below, the shipping supplies, all added together, will cost me $0.66 in supplies to send out one package. Now I know what I need to add to my postage cost in order to be breaking even.

Item	Sub-Items	Cost	Qty	Cost/ Piece
Shipping	Poly Mailer	10.95	100	$0.11
	Shopping Bag	8.55	100	$0.09
	Business Card	21.98	500	$0.04
	Thank you/Care Card	84	500	$0.17
	LuLaRoe surprise	18.72	100	$0.19
	DYMO	236.55	1	-
	DYMO labels	14.99	220	$0.07
	TOTAL	$395.74		$0.66

You’ll notice that I also totaled my overall cost, which included my DYMO cost. (No I didn’t purchase at that price, but this is the example!) That told me how much of my initial investment budget would be used up on my first shipping supply order- I need to bring that number down a little still to have more room in other areas.

And because I know some of you may be wondering where my prices are from: Amazon and Vistaprint. I do not want to pay $84 for thank you/care cards (Postcards with Vistaprint) so I’m still shopping that around a little. These prices are also without Vistaprint coupons- and I never buy without a coupon. I know they’ll be having a 440 or 50% off sale soon, so I’m waiting for those J

Considering the amount of money you need to lay down at the beginning of your LuLaRoe adventure, price shopping is super important. I hope this helps you all do that!