Article:This week’s article was about doing custom work. This is something I have been doing a lot of lately. And like the article says, the best ways to get custom orders is to make suggestions to the customers. My sales in sports hats have increased sinced posting different pictures of what I can do rather than just saying “I can make sports hats in any colors you want”. I posted different pictures with different hat designs and people started asking if I could combine designs and colors.
Fill in the Blank:
The fill in the blank exercise was to accomplish something that you have been putting off. I have been putting off ordering bow cards. I have been making my own by printing my logo on card stock and then using an exacto knife to cut holes. After a while it starts to hurt my fingers and the whole just don’t look very professional to me. In the forum I asked if anyone knew where to get some decently priced cards and Frogget gave me the wonderful suggestion of using a scrapbooking punch to make the wholes! A duh! Can you tell I don’t scrap book? So a big thanks to her, now I just need to head down to the craft store and pick up a punch!
Six Success Secrets:
This article made me realize the each item I make is unique and a result of my personality. Even the customized items have some personality from me. The exercise is to look at the 6 secrets and think about how you can apply them to your creative life.
Be You: On the outside I am a very plain Jane person, but on the inside I am busting with color and expression. For example most of my clothes are very plain and simple, but when you walk into my house my walls are bright colors with lots of high contrast in every room. I like bringing this expression of color out in my work also.
Trust Your Compass: I have a hard time with this one. I tend to second guess myself with a lot of things, especially my abilities in new crafting areas. I need to keep in mind that if there is something new that I want to try I should weigh the cost of unused materials and my time and the gain that I could have by creating something new to offer to my customers.
Embrace the Optimist: I have to be optimistic about my shop if some day I want this to become my full time job. I have to believe that there is a way I can make that happen and that with each item I make I am one step closer to reaching that goal.
Surround Yourself With Love: The only time I am not surrounded by things that truly make me happy is when I am at my “real” job. Everyone in my life supports my crafting and loves the things I make. Even if they don’t understand why I enjoy it, they understand that I do enjoy it.
Know What You Need and Get It: I am in the process of trying to figure out a way that I can increase orders enough to some day leave my “real” job and become a work at home mom with my shop as my main source of income. I know this will take a long time, but I need to remember to keep my eye on the prize! I just don’t know if I will ever make enough in my shop to support my family. Sales would need to increase exponentially and I would have to find the time to make the orders. I am in the process of trying to stock up on popular items with the materials I have on hand.
Get a head start on your holiday stock:
I am certainly working on this. I’m not going to tell you what is to come, but I have some new items for boys and girls and some new hat designs!
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