Can you even believe that today is the last day of January? 2011 just started and it's already flying by! Remember when we were little and time went by s-o s-l-ow? I miss that. Remember when you got up early, went to elementary school did homework, had time to hangout with friends, do homework, eat dinner with the family, and were in bed by 8PM...AND the day STILL dragged...what happened to that?!
So, I made a list of goals for 2011. Let's do the one month check in
Goal #1: Get Up and Move More:
I've been doing really good with this. Zumba once a week...and Youtubing random Zumba videos. When I'm not doing that I'm doing my Dancing with the Stars workout video. And hopefully this week me and Natosha are going to start walking again.
Goal #2: Floss:
I did AMAZING the first week. Now I'm averaging every other day. Better than it was, but could be better.
Goal #3: Make an Attempt to Learn How to Drive:
Fail. BUT atleast it's ALWAYS in the back of my mind now.
Goal #4: Take Avon more seriously:
I've been passing out brochures, but haven't made many sales. I think I need to actually TALK to people and push it. I had a little Avon mishap a few weeks ago, I honestly think they "stole" $22.54 from me, but the after a week of "fighting" about it...I got fed up and gave up.
Goal #5: 8 Hours of Sleep Every Night
I think I've been doing this :)
Goal #6 Cook every recipe from one cookbook:
I'm actually giving up on this goal. It's expensive...I try to cook with ingredients I have and only buy things on sale. But I've been using my cookbooks more..just not the same one all the time.
Goal #7: Take vitamins and drink more milk:
Milk: CHECK! Vitamins: FAIL...maybe I'll get some the next time we go grocery shopping!
Goal #8: Take a class, any kind of class. And make plans to get my Masters.
Well, I'm taking a Zumba class...but that's not what I meant by "any kind of class!"
As for my Masters, I've been TRYING to get information...but these online schools are RELENTLESS with phone calls. I keep asking to be SENT information so I can review it, but instead they just CALL more. It's really quite frustrating.
Goal #9 Put More in Our Savings Account:
Maybe after Disney....
Goal #10 Practice Patience
BIG FAT FAIL
Goal #11 Read One Book Every Week
Going great! Catch up on my list HERE!
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Perseverance
Photo 365 - Day 11
Have you hit it yet? That point, a few weeks in, where you feel like throwing in the towel and saying, "I'll never accomplish my goals!" I know I'm certainly fighting it.
The above picture says it all.
Oh maybe not immediately to you! But when I look at it... You see one of my goals for this year is a photo 365 challenge. I'm trying to take a picture a day, every day, and post them several times a week on Facebook and in my photo accounts.
That picture was taken on the 4th.
I'm a wee bit behind on posting up the photos! I missed a few days too. However, I am determined to keep pushing forward! I've missed a few days since I started last month, but I've still taken 21 photos, because I haven't given up. I hadn't posted the photos up in awhile, so I'm catching up this week, and I posted photos 9 to 11 today. I'm persevering.
According to dictionary.com Perseverance means: "Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state,etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement."
How are you doing with your goals? In your personal life? In your business? Are you pushing forward despite any set backs? I was reading one of the Etsy Bloggers team members posts today (I can't remember which one!) and she said that she's going to keep going to the gym, even if she misses a week, she'll just start up again that next week and not give up. I thought that was a great example of perseverance!
Don't give up ladies (and gents) - if we keep at it we can all reach our goals!
Oh yes - and that photo is a picture of my nephew-of-the-heart Rowan and myself :) Isn't he cute?
Oh yes - and that photo is a picture of my nephew-of-the-heart Rowan and myself :) Isn't he cute?
To Everything Its Time and Season
I though the above pendant was quite appropriate for what was on my mind today. Make sure you check out her shop - it's full of fun stuff!
So what is on my mind? The changing seasons, how life transforms over time, planning, time management, balancing acts, and all that fun stuff. What do I mean? Well, as my readers know, I took a break from my shops and I'm currently working hard to get them back into shape. Part of doing that is figuring out how I'm going to manage my time spent online.
Every small business owner and artisan faces the same challenge. How do you find the time to create, sell, promote, and live the rest of your life? Right now I'm balancing my shop, life with my hubby, my writing, and my health. Granted, that's the old mix I was managing before, but things have changed some.
I learned last month that I have osteoarthritis in my hips and knees, in addition to the wrist and shoulder that I already knew about. Yes, I'm way to young to have this condition normally. It's the result of spending three years on prednisone because of my asthma (which I now, thank God! am off of!).
This means I have to rearrange my thinking patterns. I'm used to the old, "If it hurts, rest it," mindset. Makes sense right? Not with arthritis. If I don't move enough - I'll hurt more! If I'm hurting really bad, I probably haven't been moving enough. Well, unless I recently did something to put extra stress on my knees, like dancing last week, in which case moving is still necessary because I'll hurt even more if I don't move than if I do!
Now, this isn't a pity me post. I'm just sharing so you can understand my thought process. In fact, learning the "why" behind my pain means that I'm managing it much better, doing more than I have in a long time (like dancing!), and feeling better!
The only downside is that I need to limit my time online. The first step to that was realizing that I need to get up and move, (clean, take a short walk, dance in living room, something!) every 45mins to an hour. If I don't my joints will just lock up and I'll hurt.
The next step is figuring out how I'm going to get done the things I want to at my computer! This biggest challenge is managing my time with my teams on Etsy and Artfire. For now I'm not going to be dropping out from any of my teams, and I'm going to start interacting more with them, but I'm going to have to be careful how I do that. Here's the steps I'm going to take:
1. Move my Etsy Beadweavers from receiving every e-mail to receiving a daily digest. (already done!)
2. Follow the bloggers in their Etsy thread (cuz their my original peeps) but don't try to keep up with other threads.
3. Make a list of the commitments I have on-line. Etsy teams, Artfire guilds, writing forum mod duties.
4. Contact the leader of the team I'm not sure I'll be able to stay on.
5. Put posting items and blogging before networking/chatting/visiting blogs!
Is there anything you should be doing to streamline your time?
Slogging On
How are you doing on your New Years Goals? I'm not doing that great. Course I can blame it on getting sick to a large part, but I think the rest of it is just that it takes times to set new habits. True, posting and blogging every day is more of an old habit being resurrected, but still, it's like creating a new habit because I took a break for so long from my shop!
I've done a lot better on the "posting items" portion of my goal. I've had a lot of items to renew on my etsy, so I've been managing to log in and renew a few almost every day. Getting to this blog has been harder!
I'm hoping this next week will be a much more productive one, and that I won't be as sick so it'll be easier to achieve my goals! Oh yes, and did you notice that the item I posted a picture of is on clearance??? You should snap that up before someone else does :)
Oh yes, I also plan on reformatting my blog this week if possible, I'm very tired of the Christmas theme!
Oh yes, I also plan on reformatting my blog this week if possible, I'm very tired of the Christmas theme!
The Ball is Rolling!
White Spiral Hemp Bracelet
I sold this bracelet today! Fortunately for you - this is one that I can make more of - so it's still listed! I haven't remade it yet - but I will in the next day or two :) If you order it, it'll still be out very soon!
I've gotten going again on my shop, and things are happening, which makes me very happy! I had this order today from someone I don't know, and I have a couple more friend-orders in progress right now. Hey, it's not much, but I'll take whatever I can get!
My goal, while I'm working on building traffic again, is 5 sales a month. Since this is my first paid-for sale this month (the others are currently unpaid because they are incomplete right now) I'm at 1/5 for my sales goal! If everything goes through with the others I'll be at 4/5. Here's hoping it all works out!
Any one want to help me reach my goal? You know where to find me!
Not Exactly a Piece of Cake
I thought it entertaining that today's item renewal on Etsy was my "Piece of Cake" necklace! Why? Well because my focus right now is on setting and obtaining goals, and I'm quickly being reminded that they aren't necessarily a piece of cake! Some of my goals I'm doing great with. Others...
My goals for my business are:
~ 60 Sales this Year, which breaks down to 5 a month.
~ Increase Traffic. Breaks down to the specific goals of post or renew at least one item 5 times a week. Blog 5 times a week.
Simple, specific, and should be relatively attainable right?
I even made a little sheet to keep track of how I'm doing on each of my goals (business and life)! I'll blog about that tomorrow (hopefully) and it's telling me that I'm not starting out so great on some things. Such as my business goals. My weeks starts with Sunday, and this is the first time I've blogged or posted an item! Which means I better not miss a day the rest of this week :P We'll see how it goes! Off to my T'ai Chi class :)
Happy New Years! What are YOUR plans?
Happy New Year! How are you doing? I've been determined for the last month or so to get on track with my business and goals related to that. So what happened? My brother's wedding, holiday's, life. It all adds up sometimes!
I'm hoping that this month I'm going to be able to achieve my goals. For one, my health and energy are both improving practically exponentially. Plus, we're out of the holiday insanity! Lastly, I'm actually writing out my goals, posting them all on the wall, and planning to review them on a monthly basis.
How do I set my goals? How should you set your goals? Well, you need to find something works well for you, but I learned about the SMART goals system years ago and I think it's really helpful!
S = Specific. Don't write down general goals like "lose weight," put down specifics such as "lose 5lbs a month."
M = Measurable. This is one way to make your goals specific. I.e. "Read 20 books this year." "Exercise 3 times a week. This can also include how you are going to keep yourself accountable. "Keep a list of the books I read." "Make an exercise calender."
A = Attainable. It might not be realistic to expect to climb Mt Everest this year (unless your already in condition for it!) but you might be able to take walks around your neighborhood, or plan on going on hikes in your area. And hey, if you plan it out, you might just be able to tackle a big peak before the end of the year! Just make sure you plan to work up to your big goals, don't just jump at them and expect to succeed. Have a plan.
R = Realistic. What's really realistic? I know myself and swearing off chocolate would NOT be realistic. However, promising to eat small portions of desert, and one piece of chocolate at a time (instead of a bag) is something that I can mentally handle.
T = Timely. This portion is one of the reasons I say that is important to revisit your goals. Timely is the concept of putting a time frame on your goals. "I want to lose 15lbs." Well when do you want to lose them by? Eventually? 3 months from now? Setting goals that are time bound also allows you to tackle a bigger goal in smaller chunks. Let's say your goal is to read 24 books this year. You can break that down and say, "Read 2 books a month." Now you know what you need to accomplish now, and not just within the next year.
M = Measurable. This is one way to make your goals specific. I.e. "Read 20 books this year." "Exercise 3 times a week. This can also include how you are going to keep yourself accountable. "Keep a list of the books I read." "Make an exercise calender."
A = Attainable. It might not be realistic to expect to climb Mt Everest this year (unless your already in condition for it!) but you might be able to take walks around your neighborhood, or plan on going on hikes in your area. And hey, if you plan it out, you might just be able to tackle a big peak before the end of the year! Just make sure you plan to work up to your big goals, don't just jump at them and expect to succeed. Have a plan.
R = Realistic. What's really realistic? I know myself and swearing off chocolate would NOT be realistic. However, promising to eat small portions of desert, and one piece of chocolate at a time (instead of a bag) is something that I can mentally handle.
T = Timely. This portion is one of the reasons I say that is important to revisit your goals. Timely is the concept of putting a time frame on your goals. "I want to lose 15lbs." Well when do you want to lose them by? Eventually? 3 months from now? Setting goals that are time bound also allows you to tackle a bigger goal in smaller chunks. Let's say your goal is to read 24 books this year. You can break that down and say, "Read 2 books a month." Now you know what you need to accomplish now, and not just within the next year.
One of my current goals is to post at least one item 5 times a week (or renew). The picture at the top is one of mine for today! I think it works really well for right now because it would be great for a Valentines Day present! It has red crystals, and it's hard to see from the picture, but the center crystal is a heart!
I'll tell you more about my goals later, but for now, what are your goals right now?
Happy New Year!
Hello 2011! I hope you are as amazing as 2010 was!
To kick off another great year, last night me and Danny got all dressed up and headed to the Duplin Winery. We had tons of food, listened to awesome music...and of course, drank some yummy wine! And we still made it back in time to pass out before the ball dropped!
I don't want to make a resolution like "lose 10 pounds" or "stop drinking coffee," because lets be honest, those things make me happy. And with a new year, being happy is what it's all about! So, instead I'm setting some goals for myself.
11 Goals for 2011
1) Get up and move more! Gym, walking, workout videos..anything! Just move!
2) Floss. No excuses.
3) Make an attempt to learn how to drive. This could be the Year of the License.
4) Take Avon a little more seriously. Not just online sales.
5) Get eight hours of sleep every night.
6) Cook every recipe from one cookbook.
7) Take vitamins and drink more milk.
8) Take a class...any kind of class. And make plans to get my Masters, maybe?
9) Make more room for our Savings Account in the Envelope System.
10) Learn how to be patient.
11) Read one book every week.
Tuesdays Tips #1
I'm going to start a new weekly feature on my blog called Tuesdays Tips! Over the last half a year, as I've managed this blog, one thing I've noticed is that I've gotten the biggest response when I've posted advice or reviews for my fellow artisans. The one tutorial I've posted was really popular, as were the series's I did on Time Management and Promotion Techniques. I really enjoyed the feedback I got from these posts, but I was a little overwhelmed trying to fit these different series's into my schedule! I've decided the best solution is to do a once a week post (on Tuesday's!) dedicated to helping and encouraging my fellow artisans. In these posts I'll share tips, tutorials, and site reviews of places that I think you'll find helpful. I hope you enjoy them!
Tuesdays Tips #1
Measuring Success and Setting Goals
One thing I've heard people say over and over is that it gets very depressing to look around you, see the people who've quit their day jobs and sold thousands of items on-line, and wonder why you haven't reached that level of success? While it's true that we can often look to these people and learn from their success, you should NOT be measuring your own success by them or anyone else! Measure your success by your ability to reach your own goals.
Be careful in setting your goals though, or you'll find your self just as frustrated as if you were comparing yourself to other artists. Here's a few tips for setting goals that can bring you success.
1. Start by sitting down and writing a list of all the things you want to achieve with your business and your art. Include the big fancy dreams, the small dreams, things you want to learn, things you want to make, anything you can think of!
2. Break your list up into smaller lists. Put your big dreams on one list, craft projects on another, business goals on another, and so on.
3. Make SURE that not all your goals are sales related!
4. Evaluate your goals in terms of what it will take to get them accomplished, and what is most important.
5. Create a plan for achieving those goals.
6. Start working on them!
7. After a certain period of time (a week, month, quarter) go back to your goals and re-evaluate. What goals we're unrealistic? What goals weren't reaching far enough? Where did you succeed? Where did you fail? WHY did you fail? That why is a really important question. Sometimes you don't reach your goals because of things completely outside of your control. That's OK. Don't let it get you down.
8. Reset your goals and plans. Either continuing with the current plans, or setting up new one's based on what you've learned.
Here's an important key: Do not measure your success by whether or not you achieved all your goals, but on the amount of progress that you made, and what you did within what was in your control.
On a personal note, I've had to learn the hard way the value of measuring your success by progress, and keeping in mind outside factors that affected your progress. I have severe health problems (as you know if you read this regularly) and that often prevented me in the past from even trying to set goals. In the last few months, since I've started setting these types of goals, not only have I achieved a lot, but I've learned a lot about what is and isn't attainable at this point in my life!
Good luck :)
Thinking and Planning, and a Question
My original plan for this blog post was to continue writing about my crafty goals. Three posts ago I finished up telling you about my list of goals for last quarter - and what had been accomplished. So the plan was to go on today by talking about my new set of crafty goals.
Then I realized theirs a degree of futility to sharing with you guys what my goals are. Why? Well, between planning to write this post, and actually writing it, a lot has happened! The list has grown longer. Two projects have been completed. Two more projects have been worked on. Not to mention there's the complication of realizing that I have crafty projects all over the place! I have crafts in different crafty genre's, projects not started that are on my list, and even a box full of unfinished objects (or UFO's), that I really should get to at some point.
So here's the short overview :) My crafty projects list is always growing and morphing, so this is very incomplete!
1. I'm working on knitting a scarf. It's going slooow...but I do want to finish it.
2. Whenever I finish the scarf Mom and I are going to pick out an easy first crochet project for me to tackle.
3. I have a few ideas floating around for cross-stitch projects.
4. BEAD-WEAVING - I have a LOT lined up here! Totally new pieces no one's ever seen, new takes on old favorites, and just plain lots and lots of fun :)
I will tell you that one of my plans includes wrapping up my popular Elements series. So far Firebird, Swiftly Changing Waters, and my spin-off from the series - Woodland Fairy, have all gone to good homes! The only one currently in my shop is Wind Dancer, and this is the most unique of the whole series because I wove 50 crystals into this necklace!
I'm still looking for the right beads to complete the 4th in the series, "Earth Walker." I had some that were perfect and the bead store hasn't restocked them yet. *sigh* After the 4th is done the Elements series will be complete, but I love this style so much that I know I won't stop there! I'll do many, many more spin-offs :) I have a few ideas of color schemes I'd like to do, but I'd love to know what your guy's ideas are!
If your not familiar with this series I've been doing just click on any of the names to go see more pictures :)
A Productive 1st Quarter - Continued
I started talking yesterday about what I accomplished during the first quarter. Here's the rest of my crafty goals from last quarter!
Crafty Goals Accomplished:
~ Finish my first cross-stitch bookmark for kstreasures - Everything's done but the backing, and I'm waiting on creating a third bookmark before I cut up the canvas.
~ Finish my ladybug bookmark - Everything's done but the backing, and I'm waiting on creating a third bookmark before I cut up the canvas.
~ Create Mel's bracelet - This is a surprise for my best friend, who fortunately does not read my blog! Custom orders welcome. - $25.00
~ Start my "aholic" line of keychains for kstreasures: Available in any phrase you want! Etsyholic currently available in the shop I share with my Mom.
~ Custom bracelet for Hippy Chick - This was a custom order - let me know if your interested in one of your very own! $25.00
~ Use Snake Trail Design in a new bracelet for shop - This one is 99% done, I just have to figure out what I want to use for the clasp.
~ American Dreamer Necklace - Done, but not yet listed.
~ Rain-themed creation - Done, but not yet listed.
~ Create the pattern for my first Firefly bookmark - Done, I just need to put the back on it!
I actually have made a LOT more than what made it onto my crafty goals list - but I'm way behind on taking photos and listing. I think that may turn out for the good though. Why? You'll find out soon :) More on goals and stuf tomorrow!
Crafty Goals Accomplished:
~ Finish my first cross-stitch bookmark for kstreasures - Everything's done but the backing, and I'm waiting on creating a third bookmark before I cut up the canvas.
~ Finish my ladybug bookmark - Everything's done but the backing, and I'm waiting on creating a third bookmark before I cut up the canvas.
~ Create Mel's bracelet - This is a surprise for my best friend, who fortunately does not read my blog! Custom orders welcome. - $25.00
~ Start my "aholic" line of keychains for kstreasures: Available in any phrase you want! Etsyholic currently available in the shop I share with my Mom.
~ Custom bracelet for Hippy Chick - This was a custom order - let me know if your interested in one of your very own! $25.00
~ Use Snake Trail Design in a new bracelet for shop - This one is 99% done, I just have to figure out what I want to use for the clasp.
~ American Dreamer Necklace - Done, but not yet listed.
~ Rain-themed creation - Done, but not yet listed.
~ Create the pattern for my first Firefly bookmark - Done, I just need to put the back on it!
I actually have made a LOT more than what made it onto my crafty goals list - but I'm way behind on taking photos and listing. I think that may turn out for the good though. Why? You'll find out soon :) More on goals and stuf tomorrow!
A Productive 1st Quarter
I started out this year by setting myself a list of goals. I decided to only extend those goals through March, and then my plan was to reevaluate them. Why did I do things this way? Well, I firmly believe that one of the important things about goals is to be flexible. You never really know what's going to happen in life, and in 3 months things can change a lot! You can also learn a lot in that span of time. I'm currently in the process of revamping and rethinking my goals, and over the next week or so I'll be talking a lot about what I have or have not accomplished in the last quarter, and what my new goals are for the next quarter.
I've been keeping track of my goals (sometimes more faithfully, sometimes less so) using the site GoalForIt. One of my sets of goals has been "Crafty Goals." So today's post is about what I've accomplished in that area!
Crafty Goals: Accomplished
~ Elements Series - Wind Dancer - Number 2 in my Elements Series. Available in my Shop! $50.00
~ Create Purple and White woven earrings and bracelet for consignment - Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) Earrings are $10, Bracelet is $25.
~ Create another woven bracelet for consignment - Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) $25.00
~ Create orange and White woven earrings and bracelet for consignment. Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) Earrings are $10, Bracelet is $25.
~ Elements series - Swiftly changing Waters - Number 3 in my Elements Series. Update: Sold! 4/5/09 Custom requests gladly taken - $40.00
~ Learn a new macrame knotting pattern. I must admit I'm not entirely sure how well I learned this one... This looks great, but I've been having troubles making a second one! Available in the shop I share with my Mom. $5.00
~ Heroes bracelet for Theresa - This was a custom order. I'm more than willing to make another one in any color scheme you might prefer! $25.00
~ New Geekery bracelet - Bracelet says "Etsyholic." Currently Available in my shop. Requests for custom sayings gladly taken. $25
It's been such a productive quarter I decided that I'll have to continue this post tomorrow! Until then my friends :)
I've been keeping track of my goals (sometimes more faithfully, sometimes less so) using the site GoalForIt. One of my sets of goals has been "Crafty Goals." So today's post is about what I've accomplished in that area!
Crafty Goals: Accomplished
~ Elements Series - Wind Dancer - Number 2 in my Elements Series. Available in my Shop! $50.00
~ Create Purple and White woven earrings and bracelet for consignment - Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) Earrings are $10, Bracelet is $25.
~ Create another woven bracelet for consignment - Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) $25.00
~ Create orange and White woven earrings and bracelet for consignment. Currently Available in my consignment shop, custom requests are welcome though:) Earrings are $10, Bracelet is $25.
~ Elements series - Swiftly changing Waters - Number 3 in my Elements Series. Update: Sold! 4/5/09 Custom requests gladly taken - $40.00
~ Learn a new macrame knotting pattern. I must admit I'm not entirely sure how well I learned this one... This looks great, but I've been having troubles making a second one! Available in the shop I share with my Mom. $5.00
~ Heroes bracelet for Theresa - This was a custom order. I'm more than willing to make another one in any color scheme you might prefer! $25.00
~ New Geekery bracelet - Bracelet says "Etsyholic." Currently Available in my shop. Requests for custom sayings gladly taken. $25
It's been such a productive quarter I decided that I'll have to continue this post tomorrow! Until then my friends :)
January - A Crafty Month in Review!
As you may remember, I decided at the beginning of the year to formalize some of the goals that I had rattling around in my head. I didn't want to make some New Years Resolutions that I'd break right away. No, I wanted to start systematically working towards certain goals. I've been using To Do Lists and the web-site Goal For It to help me keep track of my progress and stay motivated.
As I've gone along this last month there have been times I've gotten discouraged, but having the Goal For It site has actually really helped me stay positive! I can look at it and see that I've made progress in some areas, and it's very rewarding to be able to remind myself that some goals are met even if I haven't quite made time to work on every goal every day! That helps a lot as I battle my health problems and the depression that tends to go along with them. So, without further ado, I'd like to share with you a little of what I've accomplished this month in Rose Works Jewelry, Kindred Spirit Treasures, and Block Head Radio.
Lovely White Butterfly Hair Bow
Wind Dancer - Elements Series
My show, Thursday Spotlight on Artisan, continues! LOL - not a lot to report personally there - but there have been big changes in the radio station as a whole! We've moved from Blog Talk Radio to our very own platform at www.blockheadradiolive.com! This is has been a big change for us, and a lot of fun. Well, at least for us hosts, poor Rod is working his fingers to the bone trying to get all the kinks worked out.
Join me this week at 9pm EST, www.blockheadradiolive.com, for my interview with Kamila of The Wooded Woods!
As I've gone along this last month there have been times I've gotten discouraged, but having the Goal For It site has actually really helped me stay positive! I can look at it and see that I've made progress in some areas, and it's very rewarding to be able to remind myself that some goals are met even if I haven't quite made time to work on every goal every day! That helps a lot as I battle my health problems and the depression that tends to go along with them. So, without further ado, I'd like to share with you a little of what I've accomplished this month in Rose Works Jewelry, Kindred Spirit Treasures, and Block Head Radio.
Lovely White Butterfly Hair BowThis month marks the beginning of my Mom and I's shop - Kindred Spirit Treasures. We've been talking about it for a few months now, but between one thing and another, it just never got off the ground! It's up and running now with 13 items in the shop, and a bunch more to list this week! We've even had our first sale :) I hope we have more this next month! I know it's hard sometimes to get sales started in a new store on etsy, but I think we have some great stuff.
My only disappointment with Kindred Spirit Treasures this month has been that I was hoping to get some items up in the shop that weren't my simple cell phone charms but that were still my own creations. One of the reasons Mom and I are sharing the shop is so that I have chance to flex my creative muscles in non-jewelry after all! That never happened, but I do have a bookmark in the works that I'm really happy about. :)
My only disappointment with Kindred Spirit Treasures this month has been that I was hoping to get some items up in the shop that weren't my simple cell phone charms but that were still my own creations. One of the reasons Mom and I are sharing the shop is so that I have chance to flex my creative muscles in non-jewelry after all! That never happened, but I do have a bookmark in the works that I'm really happy about. :)
Wind Dancer - Elements Series
There's so much to report in this area! I'm going to try and keep from going TOO long - and I'm gong to break it up into different categories :)
Last year: I finally finished my state taxes today (yes I'm a procrastinator) and discovered that I made $800 in sales last year! Considering I just opened shop last May, I've been really sick this whole time, and I've moved a couple of times, that's SUPER EXCITING! Here's to a successful (and more profitable) second year of business eh?
This Month - When I set out my three month goals I decided that I wanted to try and reach $100 in sales each month. Well, I didn't quite reach my goal this month, but I did make $70! And you know what? I'm happy about that :) Considering today's economy it could have been much, much worse. And I at least made it 70% of the way to my goal the first month I set myself one!
Sales
First of all, even though this is REALLY late, I'm happy to report that I made $250 in sales during the months of Nov/Dec, so I raised $25 for my local homeless shelter! I was hoping to raise at least $20, so this makes me really happy. :) Now I just need to write the check and send it in :PLast year: I finally finished my state taxes today (yes I'm a procrastinator) and discovered that I made $800 in sales last year! Considering I just opened shop last May, I've been really sick this whole time, and I've moved a couple of times, that's SUPER EXCITING! Here's to a successful (and more profitable) second year of business eh?
This Month - When I set out my three month goals I decided that I wanted to try and reach $100 in sales each month. Well, I didn't quite reach my goal this month, but I did make $70! And you know what? I'm happy about that :) Considering today's economy it could have been much, much worse. And I at least made it 70% of the way to my goal the first month I set myself one!
Creativity
Towards the end of last year I challenged myself to start making one woven item a week. I did that because I love my woven pieces, but they were taking me forever to complete! I was averaging 2-3 items a month, max. By December I was getting pretty settled into weaving (and faster), and then this month I took off like a crazy woman! If I counted right - I made 10 different woven pieces this month! One custom order, one in the elements series, one for myself (mostly completed, I need more beads), 3 for sale on consignment, and 4 pairs of woven earrings (also for consignment)! No, you haven't seen all of them yet, but you will soon :) I've also learned a new weaving pattern and started a bracelet (hope to finish tonight) that I'm REALLY excited to unveil :)
Blogging
I haven't done as well in blogging as I'd like. This makes only 21 posts this month! *sigh* But most of the days I didn't blog it was for pretty valid reasons - like being all melty-brained from migraines. I also haven't been as consistent with my Entrecard drops as I'd like to be, but that's for the same reasons.
The good news is that Theresa and I have continued our Selling Venue Series - and that's been a lot of fun!
My favorite piece of news from this month, blogging-wise, is that I've finally set up a sales widget on the right hand side of my blog! Each week (approximately) I'll be featuring a different item on sale, through the blog only, for 20% off! I'll alternate between the different categories in my shop, so you'll get a chance for all sorts of different items :)
Oh yes - and have you entered my contest yet? It's open until the 11th! Click here :)
The good news is that Theresa and I have continued our Selling Venue Series - and that's been a lot of fun!
My favorite piece of news from this month, blogging-wise, is that I've finally set up a sales widget on the right hand side of my blog! Each week (approximately) I'll be featuring a different item on sale, through the blog only, for 20% off! I'll alternate between the different categories in my shop, so you'll get a chance for all sorts of different items :)
Oh yes - and have you entered my contest yet? It's open until the 11th! Click here :)
Alternate Venues
I'm working on opening up my first consignment deal - but first I got sick and then she got sick! I'll be calling again on Monday to see if we can set an appointment. And then I'll take a week or two off before I worry about looking for my second consignment opportunity. This was a lot of work! I don't think that the next one will be as much work because I've learned a lot, but I still want to give myself time to focus on other things.
I'm still planning on opening up at least one shop in another on-line venue, but I haven't really started on that yet. The research Theresa and I have been doing has given me some great ideas though :) So maybe this month?
I'm working on opening up my first consignment deal - but first I got sick and then she got sick! I'll be calling again on Monday to see if we can set an appointment. And then I'll take a week or two off before I worry about looking for my second consignment opportunity. This was a lot of work! I don't think that the next one will be as much work because I've learned a lot, but I still want to give myself time to focus on other things.
I'm still planning on opening up at least one shop in another on-line venue, but I haven't really started on that yet. The research Theresa and I have been doing has given me some great ideas though :) So maybe this month?
My show, Thursday Spotlight on Artisan, continues! LOL - not a lot to report personally there - but there have been big changes in the radio station as a whole! We've moved from Blog Talk Radio to our very own platform at www.blockheadradiolive.com! This is has been a big change for us, and a lot of fun. Well, at least for us hosts, poor Rod is working his fingers to the bone trying to get all the kinks worked out.
Join me this week at 9pm EST, www.blockheadradiolive.com, for my interview with Kamila of The Wooded Woods!
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