Mais, come on in y'all!

Here you'll find creations and ramblings inspired by my Mississippi roots and Cajun knee boots. My own personal store will be up and running within the next 2 weeks. In the meantime, please check out my listings on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreekBank2CajunSwank.

C'est bon y'all!



Monday, January 25, 2010

Which way is up?

My mind has been going 90mph for the past couple of weeks with so many ideas for my "store", that I can't think straight anymore! I've got so many ideas, but no time to execute. How do some of these moms juggle everything? I work from home, part time (and it's been slow lately too!), so that should be a HUGE advantage right there. My 2.5 year old goes to a babysitter 3 days a week, another advantage. Where does all of my time go? Why don't I ever have something physical to show for all the time spent reading, researching, etc? Hmm, I dunno!! Every single day I look at the clock and say "wow, how is it 9pm already?". For a week or so, I was staying up til the wee hours of the morning, but still seemed to be accomplishing nothing but creating more chaos in my brain! I worked a little on the execution part this weekend, only to learn that I'm not as creative as I want to be! :)
Here are a few of the plans that I have in store and need to work on the execution:

~ Own website as opposed to only using Etsy - Etsy is a GREAT site and starting point; problem is that it requires so much time and dedication just to get people to look at your shop, and you're guaranteed no sales. Believe me, I am dedicated, but at this juncture, I can't spend 3-4 hours a day in forums, twittering, facebooking, etc. Not to mention that I find it an inconvenience for my buyers to have to register to purchase something from me. Also, over time, their fees add up, and my buyers will feel the impact of that in my prices. A monthly fee for a website is much less. I've got the domain pointed to my Etsy shop right now until I can get something great up and running myself. I've got the hosting taken care of, just need to work with one of their pre-made templates or learn HTML to create my own. I'm thinking theirs for now!! My creative juices just aren't flowing these last couple of days, so I have no idea what I want it to look like!
~ Painted, personalized lapdesks - learned painting is NOT my strongpoint
~ Painted, personalized wall-hangings - see comment above re painting!
~ Greeting cards/stationery - time consuming
~ Fleur de lis art - hard to explain, but done on computer and still learning the program used to create them
~ Bridal "packages" of the cross prints - I had an order from a bride for some of the prints as wedding party gifts for her bridesmaids - what a wonderful idea!!! My dad mentioned it to a friend of his who owns a bridal store and she said brides are ALWAYS asking for suggestions of things to give the wedding party. I remember when I was a bride, I didn't know what to give. I wanted it to be a unique gift, something they would enjoy, not just the same ol' gifts. So, I want to create the ultimate bridal "package" that will include a framed name cross print for each bridesmaid in a gift bag with tissue paper matching the bride's wedding colors and thank you notes, designed and printed by me. Why stop there - I can also include add-ons such as ringbearer/flowergirl gifts - a personalized lapdesk with crayons and personalized coloring book. I'm stuck on gifts for the groomsmen though - I thought of a framed fleur de lis piece according to their favorite college football team, but not everyone likes college football or would like something to hang on their wall. So I'm still struggling on that idea. Anyway, this shop owner is going to display my work in her store, so I've got to get busy finishing up this "package" and brochures for her to have as well.
~ Brochures including pics, descriptions, prices of products for store - need to create other products first!
~ Postcard "coupons" to include with orders; returning customers to get 10-15% off their next order
~ Displays in local retail shops - want to get other products created to be more appealing, have brochures ready to display with prints as well
~Advertising - I want to advertise in the local paper and a few other places, but need to have all of the above executed before doing so
~ Craft shows - This is at the absolute bottom of my list for now, but something I hope to do towards the end of this year.

As of right now, I believe my part time, work at home job will carry me through June. At that point, my original intentions were to return to school for 6 weeks to obtain a certificate to begin teaching. At the end of the school year and upon passing a few tests, I would receive my official license to teach. Now, I've got my mind geared more toward CB2CS sustaining me the rest of the year, emphasizing more on craft shows near the holidays.

I kind of dove head first into this store thing and realized after I got started just what all I needed to do and kinks that needed to be worked out. I'm slowly working them out as I go. I do feel much better getting all of this out of my head for now though! Break time is over, back to my duties as wife, mom, chef, maid, etc.!

Til next time....
Janna

1 comment:

  1. Good luck on this new endeavor. I support most of your plans. It is important to have goals. I would like to point out, though, having a regular website does not attract customers like a magnet. You still need to get out there on the web and promote, promote, promote. No matter where you sell your wares, you need to constantly get your name and location out there to the public.

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