Slight adjustments

It's a beautifully gorgeous day here and I'm stuck inside, catching up on the paperwork for my shop that I've been putting off for 3 months.

I know, no one to blame but myself and I have to get it done today as there's quite a few listings that expire tomorrow. I plan on reviewing the pricing for everything - all 34 pieces - and will likely end up adjusting them. And they will probably end up higher than they are today... so if you had your eye on a piece in my shop, get it today before the prices go up (hint, hint).

This post from Crafting an MBA (a must-read website for any crafting entrepreneur) about making a profit with your business really hit home for me. While I'm pretty new at business-running, I've worked in businesses and know that in order to keep running, they need to make a profit; so why is it so difficult for crafters, especially those that want to make selling their wares their business, to want admit that making money is a good thing? That's kind of a convoluted sentence, but my point (and their's too, I guess) is this: why should I cut my own proverbial throat (ie. profit margin) just because I make something in my home/garage/workshop?

For me, I worry that my work isn't worth as much as I should potentially charge for it. I'm sure many others are in the same boat, especially when - like me - they may compare their handmade work to something that can be found in a major department store (for me, it's Wal-mart). They - the major stores - can make a profit by charging $5 for a piece because they can produce 1,000 of them for a fraction of the cost, thanks to cheap labour/materials/shipping; I make virtually the same piece, by hand, and can't make a profit (which I've been taught time and time again should be 40%) without charging $20. Who wins the hearts of the everyday shopper?

I've recently added a button to the sidebar from BuyHandmade.org, an awesome collective that encourages people to purchase handmade as often as possible. My aim this year is to only give Christmas gifts that are handmade... a rather brave proclamation, but one that's completely doable. Craft sale season starts after Labour Day here and there's always online shops that have some amazing ideas for almost everyone on your list. Or potentially everyone... kids generally aren't too keen on getting handcrafted gifts. Maddy has little to no choice right now... she's already got quite a few handmade toys (like these) and I plan on making or buying many, many more in the future. And handmade toys can usually go through the wash, unlike the mass produced generic stuff in stores.

Well, now that I've had my rant for the day, it's time to finally get to work on the dreaded spreadsheets and get my shop back on track. Be sure to visit my shop next week during Etsy's Christmas in July sale, starting on July 15 and running to the 25th... I'm aiming to have at least one new piece in my shop every day, along with a couple of surprises for holiday early birds. I'll be sure to post here during the sale, as well, highlighting the deals and special surprises I've got in store.

Relief... but not relaxation

Crazy, insane, busy day today. I'm tackling a nasty to-do list that will hopefully be cleared off by the end of the day. Amongst the wonderfully fun things I am attempting today are:

• a marketing strategy and plan. Aren't they the same thing? Heck, no. It's like I'm re-living grade 11 Accounting all over again.
• spreadsheets. Two of them - a 'cost per produced item' one and my business ledger. Again, grade 11 accounting is finally paying off.
• banners, avatars and redesigns. I'm not happy with the banner here or on my Etsy store (same with the avatar there), so I've been tinkering with them all for about a week now. I should have specs done in about a week.
• making a light box. Oh, yes, I will... from scratch. Or I'll try to make one, give up and continue to use the floor of my war-time house as the background for my product photos.
• product descriptions. Now that I've had my store up and running for a few weeks and haven't had a sale yet, I'm starting to look at why people like to look at my stuff but not purchase it. Part of what I've come up with is going to be the marketing strategy and plan; the other part - and probably the most important part - is how I present what I am selling. Re-photographing all of my pieces is one step, but the descriptions I have written for the pieces themselves needs work. It's going to be a very 'yay for thesauri' project. 

Keith has agreed to watch Maddy today and I'm eternally grateful for that. I should have the entire afternoon to get through the majority of this... and I have to get it done. I set April 1 as the 'launch date' for my marketing to start and I refuse to let another deadline pass me by. Time management is a big issue for me (and us as a family, really) right now and if I can't start arranging my own work time properly, then what's the point of trying to get this business off the ground?

I should probably get to work on that list now. *sigh*

Perchance, to dream

Sleep.

Being the mom to a 14-almost-15 month old, I don't get a lot of sleep. Especially right now with two teeth coming in... I can hardly wait until this stage is completely over.

Long story, short, I have four new pieces in my Etsy store and hope to have at least one more up by the end of this week. No major appointments (yet) or out-of-town trips to take, so I should be able to get some work done that does not involve spreadsheets or calculators.

And I will have a new post tomorrow, perhaps in the morning. It all depends on how Maddy sleeps tonight and how I'm feeling in the morning. There wasn't enough coffee in the world this morning to help me find my bearings... perhaps it was a good thing she went for an early nap at 8:30 am.

Number cruncher

I'm back from the mini-holiday we took, visiting family in the eastern portion of the province.  Sadly, no little helpful gnomes broke in and did all the tedious, but necessary, work that I've been putting off for a while now.

So I get to spend my evening doing spreadsheets and cost analysis thingies. Oh, the joy.

Still working on getting organized and should have a semi-stable schedule starting tomorrow, which means *hopefully* some new product. I'll try to post some progress photos at the very least tomorrow night after Maddy's in bed.

I'm having sudden flashbacks of grade 11 Accounting with the pile of paperwork that I have to enter. Blergh.