Putting a name to it

When I applied for my business license the other day, I had to fill out a very generic application - there were more rules and regulations listed than information I had to give - and compose a 'letter of intent', outlining what my potential business is going to be.

I wasn't worried too much about the letter of intent. I spent more time on researching what the format was of a letter of intent than actually writing it. I'm sure that using a business letter-layout won't be what decides the approval of my application, but still... when I have to do things like this, I like to do them right. I think it comes from being an ex-editor and journalist.  Or it could be that I'm anal retentive.

Anyway, so I wrote my letter, spell-checked it (I wish people still did this like it was second-nature, not a chore) and got Keith to check it over to make sure it was coherent. Whenever I have to write important letters or emails, I tend to get way, way to formal and come across kind of snobbish, something I'm certainly not; Keith makes sure I not only make sense, but it's actually something I would write, not a letter an aristocratic old woman would.

The application... that was another story. As simple as it looked, the 'Type of Home-base Business' question was more of a challenge than I expected. The letter of intent wasn't really of any help to me, because based on what I want to do (handiwork/sewing/design) and what the city has available in their list of businesses, there wasn't anything for me to choose. So I wrote down 'crafter', which will likely cause me more headaches than anything during the application process. The license I'm going for is $200/year and pretty free-flowing in terms of what you can and can't do; crafters have to abide by some more stringent rules and pay only $45/year. While I'd like to pay less than $200, I'm not willing to work within the rules for official crafters.

I'm hoping to hear back from the city this week about my application. I'm aiming for a March 1 launch of my Etsy store, and would really like to be fully licensed and not running the risk of being fined because I don't have the paperwork done. But it's in their hands; the website says 1-5 days for approval, so, in theory, I should have my license by this Friday. I'm almost willing to bet it will be at least 10 days, but there's no point in being pessimistic at this point.

The two logos I've included in this post are for my business - nisse.works. The top one is the first one I designed. It's grown old, boring and mundane. It doesn't say what I want it too at all anymore, probably because it was designed when my intentions for this business were different (more graphic designing than anything); the bottom logo is the new one. I like it. A lot. I'm sure it'll be tweeked a bit, but it says more about what my business is and even who I am than the first one did. Give me a few more months, though, and I'll probably change it. Again.