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Opening My Own Business – Vol 2

Business , Crafting , Etsy • Jul 19, 2016

03.05.16

It’s crazy to think that almost a full six months have passed. SIX MONTHS! I still wouldn’t quite classify myself as a small business though. That is of course the end game but for now I would say that I’m still hovering in the hobby zone. Although I wish business was a bit steadier I’m feeling good. It takes a lot of time to build any sort of brand and I’m doing my best to make sure that I’m spending the right amount of time on the right projects.

My biggest fear getting into this (aside from wasting time and money) is a bad customer review. When you have a sheet of 100+ stickers you can’t take the time to test each one to make sure it’s properly peeling form the back. My fear was that one that wouldn’t come off would take a five star review down to only a two thus potentially tanking a fresh reputation. I’ve been lucky with a lot of five star reviews and nothing less.

For anyone looking to potentially start their own small/craft business I’ve created five quick bullet points of advice. Nothing crazy but things that I didn’t think of beforehand that I hope could be helpful to you!

1. DON’T WAIT! Seems pretty straightforward but it’s the truth. I personally have a tendency to spend a lot of time planning to start. Planning to make something happen when the truth is that I should have really just jumped in head first months ago.

2. CREATE A SYSTEM – I’m not saying I have the <i>perfect system</i>, I’m just saying you need one! I’m not at a point where I’m getting consistent orders but it seems like when I do get an order that I end up with more than one at a time. In an effort to keep myself sane I had to create a simple system. That mostly consists of not delaying on the order or tracking progress.

3. CREATE A FINANCIAL SYSTEM – This is important for many reasons. Unless my business really picks up over the course of the next four months, I’m going to end up in the red because of the initial startup costs that go with starting a business. This leads me to the next item…

4. PLAN AHEAD – This was my biggest mistake. I was so excited to start creating things that I didn’t realize I had no way of shipping these beauties. As I adapted to my new business I got in the habit of ordering packing supplies ahead of a product release. If I got ahead of myself I simply adjusted my shipping time in Etsy to plan for a mishap. Worse case, I knew I could run to the post office and pay extra to get it right!

5. BE FLEXIBLE – To me this is the second most important aside from not waiting. You can develop your systems and plan as much as you want but if you’re not willing to roll with the punches you can’t succeed. Life isn’t black and white. It’s extremely grey at times. My stickers weren’t moving very fast so I quickly had to develop new products that would help move the current ones along. I also moved into Vinyl a little faster than I was truly hoping to. That’s okay though because I’ve ended up making more money in two weeks than I did in the first three and a half months.

I’ll admit that I’m not exactly where I was hoping to be financially but I’m satisfied. I have plenty of room to grow and I’m really looking forward to the advances over the next few months. The holidays are coming soon and from what I’ve been studying that seems to be a very busy time. I assume of course it’s going to depend on your product and the market that your own.

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Volunteer Day

Business , Personal • May 1, 2014

I don’t feel like there is any better feeling than giving back to the community! I wish i had the time (and i admit it, energy) to do SO MUCH MORE. It is always an amazingly rewarding experience. I admit that at the end of the day there is nobody that I can blame besides myself but that is one thing I really want to change over the rest of 2014.

I work for a company that really supports the growth of their local communities. They encourage each of us to get out, volunteer, and they allow us to do it while getting paid! You can’t beat that?! Each year we have two major events that they really encourage as many of us that can get out and help to do so. As an administrative assistant there aren’t any places that i usually have to be so it works out for me to attend. We do a joint venture with out local food bank during the annual HARVEST FOR HUNGER activities and then we do quiet a bit with UNITED WAY a couple of times throughout the year. Our main event helping clean up the community in the summer.

I spent a lot of my time wrapped up in work, friends, family, fanlistings, and various other things that although they are important to me there really are so many much more important things that we could be worrying about. Now – i’m not out of touch with reality. I can’t stop doing everything that i enjoy to spend all my time volunteering but giving at least an evening or afternoon a month won’t hurt.

I’ve applied to volunteer at our gay network in the local community but i never hear back. I got a letter a couple of months back stating that they were being taken over by a new group and that the volunteer database would be cleaned end up. Well.. that never happened. I sent a response saying how i was willing to participate and my organization was in full support. A gentleman responded and said that people would be following up and of course nobody did.

Does anybody else volunteer on a regular basis?

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Balancing

Business , Personal , Random • Apr 26, 2014

Everything in life is simply one big BALANCING ACT. I feel like i’m constantly trying to balance everything that goes on in my life. Personal items, work items, and all of those items that feel in between the two. Bills to pay, websites to update, events to attend, contests to create, and a large home to clean and care for.

Initially as I write this i’m feeling a bit like i’m complaining (thats what I started out intending to do.. honestly) but i’m truly not. I’m speaking truth. To be successful in anything that you do it’s all about the balancing. Some people call it multi-tasking or prioritizing but lets be honest your balancing. Juggling multiple events and activities is what makes you look and appear like you know what you are doing.

My new position not new position as an Administrative Assistant within my organization has spent the last two months putting me to this realization. I am loving this new position and all the benefits/perks that go along with it but it’s been a bit more of a challenge than I honestly was expecting it be. I would say it’s a challenge that i handle well and i’m loving! I work for a large back and get the pleasure of supporting 3 managers. I’m always on my toes!

How do YOU balance?

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Downsizing – Good or Bad?

Business • Sep 26, 2013

The business of banking banking is (and i’m sure has always been) a challenge. It is an ever-evolving industry. My grandparents can remember the days when the ATM did not exist. My grandpa loved to tell stories about waiting in line, HIGH rates of return, and of course walking 3 miles in the snow to get to the bank. On top of all this I can only imagine behind the scenes what it was like without our beloved computers!

The industry as a whole is really moving towards electronic touch, high efficiency, and well… less people. The bank will forever need people to sell products but I think that they are beginning to forget about needing people to service these accounts that are being sold. A few years back Bank of America installed in Times Square state-of-the-art teller machines that look and interact like a human being, but .. well .. it’s a computer!

It’s almost like Siri becoming your new teller! It’s crazy and at 23 years old still a challenge to get a solid grasp upon. At 26 I think that most people assume that I do all of my banking online. A portion of that is true, I do check my balance online as well as on a mobile app provided by my bank, but other than that I like the old fashion way. I balance a checkbook to the penny and pay all of my bills by check!

Even though technology is meant to make our lives easier I do think at times that it’s making it harder for some. As we go to machines to handle the daily work at the bank where does that leave our tellers? Why hire bodies when a machine can do the same work (or so most industries are saying). I am all about turning off a light when i’m not in a room or even buying off-brand groceries to save a few dollars but knowing that hundreds, thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people may lose their jobs simply because I find it convenient to deposit my paycheck via my cellphone just doesn’t sit well with me.

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