Productive Waiting

Once you've got your shops/studios/listings up online, and you've advertised your little heart out, then comes waiting. It has to be productive waiting though! Continue on the social networks, keep your name fresh in people's minds! As tempting as it is to sit by the computer and constantly check back for "number of views", don't. It will drain you faster than you know! Instead, keep your blog updated, and get out of the house to spread word of your business locally! Make a flier, hand out business cards--meet people! People are your buyers, not usernames online! ;o) Spend some time stretching your creative mind! Can you make your item with different features? Can you create something that you can sell with it, such as in a set?

Another, possibly even overlooked activity to do while waiting for the sales to come in, is to read other people's blogs and follow them! Establish a relationship outside of just pitching sales at them all day! Get to know their writing, the interests...trust me, this will later come in handy! When "JaneDoBlogger" mentions she is planning an upcoming birthday party for her twins, you can wish her luck in planning, a "Happy Birthday" to the little ones, and subtly bring up the idea of one of your items making a perfect gift for the kids! And of course, since you've been following her blogs, you'll know to suggest the Spongebob print for Johnny and Tinkerbell for Jenny! See how this works? You aren't just blindly posting ads all over the web! You are genuinely seeking out PEOPLE, not just nameless/faceless internet users! In addition, they will appreciate your approach and therefor remember you....and your store, when they are in need of something that you sell! Want another bonus to following?? You can get ideas from these new relationships! For example you have only been selling your item in fall colors....after reading other blogs, you notice that summer colors seem to be the most popular trend...do see where I'm going here?? Sell what people like, not just you and your relatives!

Now back to that mention of flyers...what to say on them? Well, for starters, select one item to feature. Make that your headline...Follow that up with some bullet-style features/points about the item! Don't list too much--just enough to get their attention! Play with bold type, fonts, and sizes. Don't use a font that is difficult to read quickly! Keep some space at the bottom so you can make tear-away tags with your business name and phone/website on it! You might want to print them out on colored paper as well to make them more visible. Where do you post them?? Laundry mats, convenience stores, colleges...anywhere that will let you really! Be creative with where you post flyers--you want high traffic areas, ideally in places where your target market will be!

Business cards...if you can't afford to buy them professionally made, make them yourself! Time consuming, yes, but it has a nice effect! What to do with them? Hand them to every person you exchange money with...at the store, at the movies, at the bank. Ask to leave a couple here and there (movie rental stores, gas stations...anywhere you see other business cards!). Send 2 or 3 with every order you ship. Include one in Christmas cards, birthday cards, etc! Hand them out at the park while your kids play with the other kids. Use them to introduce yourself!

As you can see, although waiting is seemingly endless and maybe unnerving to some, as long as you make it productive, it will pass! If you want your business to be your only source of income, you have to want it enough to work for it! Yes, work. I know you thought owning your own business would be fun and exciting and dare I suggest, easy? But what you come to see very quickly, is that rather than just being the cashier at the local dollar store, you have just signed up to be: owner, bookkeeper, design team, investor, manufacturer, marketing department, salesman, customer service department, and packaging/shipping....all in one--one, being...YOU! :o) Sounds harsh, I know...but it will get easier (note: I did not say simpler, just easier!). You will get the hang of your marketing techniques, finding what works and what doesn't. You will figure out how all this online information of owning your home business applies to you. You will find your groove, and make that money!

Keep all of your information up to date, and always be productively waiting for the sales!

Price changes...again!

After a lot of thought, I have decided it is more important to me to have more sales with smaller profit per item, than a few sales with high profits. So I have cut my prices drastically!! I have figured the precise cost per item, and priced it according to that! I believe it makes more sense to sell 100 bibs, making $50 profit than to only sell 10 bibs making $60...now in theory $60 for only 10 sounds great, but in reality it could take me months to sell 10 at higher prices! I want my creations out there, being useful, showing the love I have for what I do! Love is priceless, so I'm taking a profit cut per item, because I know what is most important to me is quantity of sales and loyal following of buyers! Besides, I want to stay busy with my sewing and if I'm not getting lots of sales regularly what am I doing with my "sewing" time??

So enjoy the new prices! I know you will enjoy both the pricing and the product! I love making them and am very fond of them! :o)

Changes...

After thinking over what my time and items are worth, I bit the bullet and increased my prices a bit. Each item is time consuming, as I make sure that it is quality work! In addition to that, the bibs grow with the child, from about 5 months on through their toddler years! It's essentially two in one! I know that my customers will be pleased with their purchase! Starting this business has been more involved that I originally thought--and I had originally thought it was to be somewhat hard, so that's saying something! Networking alone takes up most of the time. Researching prices, promoting ideas, and the like probably come in second! And don't forget the cut in profits while getting my items out there! Ebay requires a minimum number of feedback before you can list as Buy it Now, but in auctions you can't get what you originally wanted for your listings, so that's an investment of itself. Keeping my work practical, and trendy is a must for my business! I want to produce something that is a necessity, but also desirable--in other words both the parent and the child have to like the product! I love what I do, and I will do what it takes to make it work as a business, even if that means making some changes every now and again!

Kiwi Blog

MeshaSuicide, from Etsy.com has one of the most inspiring blogs I've read! Always interesting and fun to read! So much realism comes from her writing! Definitely an inspiration for other bloggers to step it up! I myself have just recently started, and while still getting the hang of it all, am motivated greatly by Mesha's writing to keep working at it! If you haven't checked her blog out yet, you should! And I say this knowing full well it will put mine to shame! But I suppose part of having a good blog is linking up with other good reads, right?! The Shopping Kiwi is my absolute favorite read! I was thinking the other day that it would be totally cool if she took her posts and just printed them into a book! That would be great--people could give them as gifts! I'd totally buy her book!

Well, I'm off to do some more reading on her blog! The kids are behaving and it's my opportunity to catch up on the happens of Mesha! :0)

http://shoppingkiwi.blogspot.com

Making it a business

I want this business to really take off and become a substantial source of income for my family! I feel as though I have put myself out there on the internet as best as I 1. can afford, and 2. know how! Eventually, hopefully soon, I want to order business cards as well. I suppose in the mean time I could make them, hence it is a handmade business!

If I put myself on the social networking sites, and then add in handing out business cards I should stir up substantial business....I hope! I know that the items I am making are in fact more than just cute, but also useful and practical. People buy practical everyday. Snaps instead of velcro...that's practical because I have personally been annoyed with velcro on bibs--especially in my washer! I take pride in what I make, thereby making it of even greater quality than mass produced bibs.

I have a passion for what I am making. I think about it all the time. I am constantly thinking of how to get them to more people! I don't know it all, but I know enough to start, and I know I will continue to learn as I go! I will be a success story! It's going to take patience, but I have plenty of it, so I'm in good shape!

I love what I'm doing. And I'll make it!

Two shops...?

I just created my second online store at ArtFire.com. They do have a good point: No selling fees. If you remember my blog about etsy vs ebay...Etsy is cheaper to sell on than ebay, and ArtFire is still free all around...what's a girl to do?? I'm thinking that I may eventually switch over to selling on just one, but then again, I could get exposure on three different sites...hmm...

ArtFire is fee, so it makes total sense to stay on that site. Etsy has a great following and I've made good contacts there, and it costs $.34 to sell each item. Ebay is about $.70 for the most basic listing and then 8.75% of final sale price, which would be around $.40 for a total of about $1.10 for every listing! But ebay gets a lot of sales for the items I'm making!!! I suppose if I increase my price from $5 to $6 it could make up that cost! Maybe if I had an ebay store? That's worth looking into I suppose. Maybe there are benefits to having a store on their site!

This Weekend...

This weekend I will be making and listing Lightning McQueen baby-to-toddler bibs, along with a couple of others! I can't wait to get started! It's a beautiful print of the red race car amid racing flags! The back will be solid red! I received two sales yesterday, and one of them was an order of 2 bibs! I am so excited! This will allow me to start posting on ebay with the "Buy it now" option! They require some initial positive feedback, so this will help me get those numbers up!

I think I will make the most of my morning, and try to get some work done with the kids still sleeping!