Team Successes?

It is hard to remember that when I post these blog entries that not everyone knows me and when I refer to myself in the first person my English teacher cringes! My name is Felicia Norwood, and I am one of the four leaders of the AREtsy team! I have been working to help our team lately by posting discussions on the Team page in Etsy, facebook posts, and these blog posts. I am also working with the other leaders to make our team one of the best on Etsy!

In other teams I see discussions for treasury listings (we have a contest running now) and success threads (have one of those too) and I want all of us to work to celebrate our big and little victories! We will be making some changes to the blog in the way of including a directory, which we are requesting the information you want included be sent to sweetydarlindesigns@gmail.com. We are going to include a show schedule for the entire state, so send that information to the same email. I have been selecting and posting featured sellers on a monthly basis, the winner of the treasury contest gets to be featured in March!

We also want to eventually have a special AREtsy Craft fair!

In this depressed economy, and the pressures that creates on all of us we (as a society) seem to have lost our focus that there are some very good things in our lives worth focusing on, and I know for myself those are the things I want to focus on this next year. I think our team is one of those BIG HAPPY THINGS!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Resolutions

"Reflections" by NightSkyProducts

The turn of the year bring New Year Resolutions. Everyone is talking about them right now. In fact, if you're like me, you're probably tired of being asked "What resolutions did you make?". I've grown cynical of this question and I've been known to sarcastically reply with "Not to make any so I don't break them and feel like a failure". However sarcastic we might be about personal resolutions, we all know that goals are good for our businesses.

I've sat down and thought about what I wanted to do this year to increase sales, increase recognition, increase increase increase! I've kept it simple. I know that I'm not going to do anything HUGE this year. There is no need to tackle something I'm not ready to take on yet. No reason to set yourself up for failure before you even get halfway through January. So, take a minute, write down what goals you have for your business this year and think about what it would take to achieve that goal and put things into motion.

Can't think of any goals for your business other than make more money? Here's some to get you started:

- Sell in your first craft show.
- If you already sell in craft shows, add another, larger one, to your list.
- Consider what your business name says about you. Does it fit with your brand? Do you have a brand?
- Do you love doing what your doing? If not, what changes could be made to make you fall in love all over again?
- Do you have all of your legal paperwork in order? No? 2010 might be a good time to go ahead and do that.

So, what goals have you set for your business in 2010? List some in the comments or link to a blog post you did about it. Sharing ideas will help all of us out. I can't wait to hear what some of you have planned this year.

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year, AREtsians - I hope you all are ready to head into 2009.
photo above found in thewishingwell's etsy shop

We all claim to set resolutions for the new year. Perhaps yours is to get into shape, to save money, be more organized, cook at home more, or perhaps to just take more time for yourself. Have you considered resolutions for your shop? Some people call them goals, but goals require me to reach and endpoint and I honestly find resolutions are easier to follow. Don't get me wrong, goals are good too, so whichever you prefer, how about take some time to think about them.

Back in October I spent some time browsing clothing boutiques and galleries in Little Rock. I saw things no different than what I make, other than some higher quality materials (nicer glass beads, more unique findings, silver wire, etc) which a price tag WAY higher than I had my items priced. I first thought that there was no way these things sold, so I checked online for similar items. Guess what guys? These things sell, and they sell fast. I made it a point that my shop would begin to showcase new items, items made from unique supplies and higher quality metals, and one of a kind items.

Perhaps this would also work for your shop. What can you do to make a better profit without putting too much more time into your work? I think of it as working smarter, not harder. If I can work with better items in front of me, perhaps I can make twice as much as I was making before?

I also have made the resolution to be more organized in all aspects of my shop this year. I did a good job of tracking sales, keeping track of sales tax, and so on last year, but this year perhaps I'll step it up. I want to create an inventory of my supplies. I know I won't run out of my favorites if I'm keeping a better eye on it. Also, I need to keep a better stock of shipping supplies (also will be included in my inventory) so I won't be faced with needing to ship out a custom item in the morning, but not have anything to wrap it in the night before.

So, AREtsy, what are some of your shop resolutions for 2009? Please share them in the comments section below so we can all be inspired to run the best shop possible this year.