Fun with Keywords

Popular keyword searches that led people here within the last week:

"converse in okc"

"hard rock leather pants teen"

"absinthe sleep"

"fruts crotchert"


Good ol' Fruts Crotchert. Always there for us with a little booze and a dirty joke.

Neglectful

I have been ridiculously neglectful of this blog! The reason? I've been blogging every day at:


derbyfitness2012


which tracks my progress on a 90-day fitness challenge.


It's a reason, not an excuse. There is no excuse for my actions. 


To atone for my absence, I will today photograph my new necklace project, and post the photos here. They are amazing. You will want one.


Yes, you! Trust me. To get you in the mood for these necklaces, I offer your daily belly laugh in the form of a YouTube video. Enjoy.

Small Craft Business: Monday To-Do List

I've done it! I've blogged every day in October. Last year I was a big loser, foregoing the project altogether, and I'm the one that started it. Terrible! This year I sucked it up and did it again.


And I'm always glad I did. 


To wit: I have figured out how to keep this blog focused and relevant, by declaring each day of the week to have a particular focus. This will help me to build an audience (hopefully), encourage commentary (Hopefully!), and keep a conversation going about small business (HOPEFULLY!). Your comments are appreciated--please let me know what you think of my plan: 


Sunday Funday -- a post just for fun. It will most probably feature a funny photo.


Monday To-Do List -- I will post my to-do list for the week, and encourage others to do the same.


Vendor Tuesday -- where I feature and recommend a craft supply vendor. 


Wordless Wednesday -- Photos of a recent project will be posted.


Time-on-Task Thursday -- Exhortations and other prodding will be provided to encourage readers to get that thing DONE.


Freedom Friday -- Reflecting on freedom and self-employment, and what it all means. 


Saturday How-To -- I will post teaser photos of my latest book project. 




What say you, loyal readers? Is there a different focus you'd prefer on any particular day? 


Oh, and since it's Monday, here's my To-Do list for the week:

• finish carving pumpkins 
• hand out candy
• finish necklace orders and mail them
• make lotion
• make bath fizzies
• get started on Sugar Plum Bazaar fabric and tags

Small Craft Business: Sunday Funday

Small Craft Business: Saturday How-To

I purport to write how-to nonfiction. I teach people how to make soap. I've had several other books in the works for a while now, and need to get cracking on them. 


Like making balms and butters.


And making lotions.


And how to run a damn craft business. 


And how to make gifts for the holidays. 


While I do publish others, I have recently  come to the conclusion that I need to publish more and more of my own things. The books from others are good, and they are going to be awesome, and I'm proud of them. 


But I need to do more of my own thing. 


That said, when I finally kick my own arse and get it moving, on Saturdays I will post sneak peeks of the tutorials I'm writing. Howdya like them apples?

Vendor Tuesday

It's vendor of the week! I really should figure something out for each day of the week, to keep this blog both

a) rolling, and

b) relevant  and

c) useful.


So I'm starting with Tuesday, and calling it Vendor Tuesday. I will do a little write-up with a link to a favorite vendor of mine, inviting commentary about said vendor. That's relevant to crafters in business, right?

So, one of my favorite craft vendors is Sun and Moon Craft Kits.  This shop carries Diamond Glaze, which I love, and all sorts of jewelry components for Scrabble tile jewelry, and other pendant-type things. Oh, and they also have those neodymium super-duper magnets.

Did I spell that right? Yes, I think I did.

Do you source  your vendors online? Who you do like?

Sundays are Fundays -- I know you are reading this on a Monday.

Today I get to watch my kid play roller derby in the last bout of the season. She's off until April, so I'll have to start taking her to Skate City once per week, or drag her along to the Sunday morning drop-in practices that I do, sometimes.

I will miss her Sunday practices. Her practice time was time for me to just sit and talk and do nothing much else. I don't often get time like that.

Other than roller derby, Sundays are full of "get ready for the week" stuff, which I do not enjoy. Alas, I still have a regular ol' full-time job, on top of my business stuff. I know I can't be the only one.

Who out there is doing business stuff after work hours, in an attempt to build it big enough to quit? Anyone? Bueller?

To Wit

I love the phrase, "To Wit." When using this phrase, you are essentially saying, "Hey, that thing I just said? Here's a good example." So, today, I'm using it with regards to my last post: talk to people about your craft ideas. TO WIT:

This photo was posted to my Facebook page on Thursday at about 8:30pm.  All the commentary I got was positive, and several people said "WANT!" and "Must have!!" and "How much are they?" The comments came quickly. I've got a lot of "likes" on that photo, and about 20 comments, I think.


See? Lots of buzz happening about my project, already. Oh, and that's the power of  Facebook. Your true friends want your business to succeed, and will help you. (To wit: see that button below this post? The one with the Facebook icon? You could click that, if you wanted.)

Small Business: Talking About Your Ideas

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  talk about your business ideas. 

There are far more benefits to talking about it than keeping it to yourself. The benefits FAR outweigh any possible risk. Here is what I'm thinking:

• Talk about a new business idea to a friend. Your interested friend will ask you questions about your idea. These questions will help you to figure out the details. Some questions will be Devil's Advocate-type things that will annoy you. Don't let them! File those questions away for later--you need to answer them, for yourself.
• Questions to expect: How much are you charging for that? Yikes, isn't that expensive? Where will you sell it? How are you going to make that? What is the packaging? Where can I buy it? Do you really think you can sell enough of those to make a living? What are the ingredients? What about people with allergies? Vegans? 
• Talk about your business idea on Facebook/Your Blog.  Your friends will respond with "likes" or they will tell you what they are thinking. You will be scared that someone will steal your idea. GET OVER THIS. 
• Your idea is yours. Make it happen. 
• There are always thieves in the world. Thieves, however, are lazy. That's why they are thieves; they don't want to do the work themselves. They will wait until you make the idea happen, and will THEN steal it. Maybe. If it isn't too much work. 
• Use this fear to get your ass moving on the idea, so the one ambitious thief in the entire world doesn't make it happen before you do.
• You will find a similar idea on the Internet, while doing searches for supplies/vendors/etc. You will think, "OMG! I stole someone else's idea!"  No, you didn't. Your idea is different from the similar thing. Find the differences. Also, there is more than one jewelry maker in the world, right? More than one soap maker?
• Talk to other business owners about your idea. 
• They aren't going to steal it! Sheesh! Would you get over this, already? 
• This friend will have questions that your non-business-owner friends didn't think of. 
• Questions like: Who are your vendors? Have you thought of this vendor? You might consider this product/approach/style/design. Did you hear about this new craft fair? That product would be perfect for it. Do you know about color trends? Oh, and here's another idea...

The end result? You will collect ideas, answer questions, figure out details, and will make everything happen faster. And when you make it happen, you make money. 

Talk about your ideas. Go  make things happen today.

Small Business: Take a Break!

Turns out I was ill! A low-level virus infected our house. My husband and daughter had it, too. We are all worn out and dragging.


Thanks for hanging in there with me!


This weekend, I am going to declare Saturday to be Family Time at Home Day.  Popcorn will be popped and movies will be watched. Jammies will be worn. We need it!  


Which reminds me:  Hey, you! Small business owner! Take a day off, once! 

Small Business: How Tired are You?

I'm curious about all of the small business owners who read my blog here. How tired do you get? I am still in a "day job," so my business pursuits have to happen after work. Fortune has shined on me with a husband who works for one of my businesses, as well as works for the household, so cooking and much of the housework is taken care of. I know I'm lucky, there. 


But the overwhelming exhaustion!  Some days I fear it will consume me. 


Do you get this exhausted? If so, do you just push through until that project is finished? What do you do to combat it? 


I mean, besides coffee. I've got that covered.

Needed: Glue

I need a crafty recommendation. I am gluing glass domes on top of paper artwork inside pendant trays. I now realize I should have glued the paper TO the dome, and then put those inside the pendant trays. I will do that next time. As it is, I have to resort to putting Diamond Glaze on top of the artwork, and pressing the dome on top, keeping it pressed down with a book. I plan on cleaning up the goop that gushes out, afterward. 

Any other thoughts, besides, "Dang, she's an idiot?"

Small Craft Business: Top 10 Actions You Must Never, Ever Do

As the counterpart to this post, I present my list of Never-Evers for small craft business owners. You should never: 

• Take business criticism personally. If it comes from a customer, listen carefully and respond professionally.
• Think that because you are small and independent, you must lower your prices and compete with big, corporate enterprises. You are in business to make money, right? Then set your prices accordingly. People want to support you. Charge what is fair for a profit and don't flinch. DON'T FLINCH.
• Over promise. Under promise, and over deliver. This goes for customer stuff and also for friends and family or other businesses asking for your time. Learn how to say "no." You can't do every damn thing. 
• Respond publicly to a customer complaint. I have seen this more often than I would have imagined, especially on open forums like Etsy. Do not, ever, comment about a specific customer in a public forum. 
• Ignore customer emails. Never! If you can't get to your email in a timely manner, craft a form letter response, and send them out in the meantime. Example: "Thanks so much for your note. I will respond to your email personally when I have the time to give it the attention it deserves. I expect that to be within X days. Thanks again, Me."
• Try to please everybody.  It is better for business to work within a niche, anyway. But if you get caught up in the idea that you might offend someone with a certain craft (ex: offending vegans if you use goat milk in your soap or leather in your handbags), you will be unable to focus on the items that are your bread and butter. Focus, focus, focus.
• Fail to show up when you have agreed to do so. You just don't do this. It is very bad for your professional image, and the people who run craft shows talk to each other. 
• Sit down while busy vending. It's understood here that if you cannot stand because of a physical condition, and you must sit, then that's what you do. If you are able to, you should stand up as much of the time as you can. Greet your customers. Talk to them. Ask them about their families and kids. Sitting in your chair and reading a book or checking your email/Facebook/Twitter--none of these is good for sales. If it's slow, do a quick Facebook check. But put the damn phone down when someone walks up to your booth. Pay attention to the people.
• Ignore the power of changing your display. If you vend every week, as I do, it's important to sometimes change the display. Change the configuration of your tables, the placement of your products, etc. It gives your loyal customers something "new" to view, and increases sales. 
• Try to be someone else. Be yourself, always. Your display is yours. Getting ideas from others is fine, but don't copy someone else. 

What would you add to my list?

Knees and Worker's Comp

Remember that post of the beautiful day up on the mountain? Yeah, that knee injury?

Is pissing me off. 

It is interfering with my fun time. I get fun time once per week, when I practice roller derby. One evening per week, it's my time. MY TIME. MAMA'S TIME.

And my knee is injured, and they still haven't called me for the MRI, and IT'S REALLY ANNOYING.

When you can't participate in your own therapy, it's hard to remain sane.

I'm Number One!

Jeezy Crotch

Statistics! How I love them. I love looking at the stats for my blog, grabbing a tissue, and weeping. 

I kid, I kid. 

What I really love is when the "Search Keywords" stats really bring it. Like, today, for instance. In the past week, the top search terms for my blog were:

• crafte-blog.com
• rex smith
• soapcrone denver
• 80's style leather pants
• cool craft business
• free crochet slipper
• frog dissection sweater
• groovygrrl.blogspot.com
• jeezy crotch
• mini chalkboards

Let's have a look at them, shall we?

Crafte-blog and groovygrrl.blogspot both warm my heart. Someone KNEW my blog and searched for it. Thank you, random people! I love yoooooou!

I wrote a post once about Rex Smith. Said post also features Kip Winger, who often shows up in the search terms, as well. I think it's funny, and you should read it.

Soapcrone Denver warms my heart as well, because it means my soap company and my blog are somehow connected. Love it.

Cool craft business? I'll take it. Free crochet slipper? Not here, sorry. I do have a photo and link to a pattern for crocheted slippers, but it's not free, and it's not even mine. 

Frog dissection sweater? I'D WEAR ONE.

Mini chalkboards? I'm sure they are adorable, but I don't remember featuring them. 

Jeezy crotch. JEEZY CROTCH?  Really? REALLY?     For which pervert is this a search term?

Family Business

Vendor Gift from Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market, October 1, 2011

My craft business has recently changed course just a bit. The economy tanked a while ago, as I'm sure you all know, and my husband had been looking for a job for two years (since our daughter started kindergarten). I finally asked him, "Why don't you work for me, and make soap full-time? We could really expand the business if you did that, and stopped looking for a job." So, he works for the business, and I still have my full-time job, but I don't have to make the soap anymore. It's been a miracle for me. Sleep is a miracle.


That business? Sales have improved over this past year. I won't know exactly how much until I do my taxes, of course. I have started on another crafty idea and we have money in the bank. Another miracle.


Hiring my spouse changed our business. We are busier than ever, and new opportunities keep coming. 


What changed the course of your business?

Crafty: Full Speed Ahead

This!  This is part of what I've been working on. This project is holding all of my attention, and when pesky things like "working for a living" get in the way, it helps me to stay sane. I don't have all my eggs in one basket, but if I can make this work, it will be a very, very good thing. Stay tuned.

Lucky Red Shoes

When I was studying for my undergraduate degree, I had a routine on mid-term and finals day. I would don my red Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, pack up my all-red pencils and pencil sharpener, and head to class.

I thought this helped me to do well on exams,  that these items were somehow lucky. I now realize that the routine of dressing the same and using familiar tools helped to calm me so that test anxiety was not a factor.

Those red shoes went to Europe with me; they helped serve countless breakfasts at the diner; they got me to class and through tests. They eventually ripped through the heels, as all Chuck Taylors will do, and I had to let them go.

I have a new pair, now. They are black, with orange and red flames traveling up the front. For what new challenge will they be lucky?

Living the Life of a Hero

"If you could live the life of any heroine or hero from one of your favorite books, which one would it be?"


I read this and think, "You're kidding, right?"  Because all of the heroes from my favorite books lived wild, adventured-filled lives, full of action and intrigue. And in the older literature, all the heroes were men, of course, which doesn't really matter for the sake of this prompt. But I am compelled to point out that women were rarely heroines.


That rather obvious point aside, I choose to live the life of Porthos, a Musketeer who drank the best wine, slept with the best women, and enjoyed life to the fullest. He was fiercely loyal, a stalwart fighter, and provided much-needed comic relief. 


Who would you choose?