Business Blogger: I am very busy and important

When I'm actually functioning, I blog here about business and crafting, yes? And now I've got another gig! 


I am happy to announce that I am the Biz Tuesday blogger for Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market's Blog! Hooray! Twice per month I will share insight over there, about business and crafting. 


Yipee! 


So, what should I write? What do you want to hear on Biz (every other) Tuesdays? Here, here's a more specific question:


What vexes you most about starting a craft business? What is holding you back?


If you have a craft business, what stuff always throws you for a loop?

As Promised: My New Honey Badger Project

Honey Badger Don't Care.

Honey Badger don't give a s*%#. Look at him with that cobra.

My roller derby necklaces are taking off locally. I'm hoping it will move nationally soon, as I'm doing a giveaway for them on a popular roller derby blog. 

The honey badger necklace came to me when watching the video in the previous post. Rollergirls are a tough sort of cookie, and I knew they would enjoy these. But I can't draw very well.

So I hired it out. My good friend Laura Hansen, of Red Eft Studio, agreed to the job. I knew whatever she came up with would be perfect, and I was right.

The commissioned artwork, therefore, is enhanced by me with glitter sauce, and encased under glass. The components are sterling silver. I have another idea to use a map of the U.S. and heart charms. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to cut up the map. 

Click either of the photo captions to read more about these necklaces. If you care. (Which honey badger don't. I know.)

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 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! 

Up the Mountain and Down

Public school teachers catch a lot of grief from politicians, which trickles down to the general public. We are the devil, you know. We sit around on our fat asses, collecting big, fat, unionized paychecks. For nothing, I tell you. Nothing!

I cannot account for you the million things I do every day for the children of Denver, Colorado. I will tell you that I took them up the mountain last Thursday, though. The photo above will show you what kind of day it was. I breathed clean air, got a vigorous workout, and only had to hear the word "balls" once. It was a really good day.

Now, I am nursing an inflamed knee, because of walking down the mountain. Walking up is not a problem. Walking down uses all the tiny muscles you never knew you had, and I slipped and fell once, as everybody else did. And of course, I didn't remember to put in worker's compensation paperwork for the "injury." It's not "injured," just hurt. Whatever. I'm not going to bother with fighting that. (Update: It got worse! I turned in the paperwork yesterday, got it approved, and went to the doctor. I have an MRI to be scheduled for this week.)

That tree and blue sky remind me of the day I got married, which was 15 years ago today. The trees were turning then, too, and it was a beautiful day. 

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?

I Can't Even Read Blogs

My work as a public school teacher has been wearing on me this year.
(Insert boring whiny list  about principal, union stuff, time management, etc. You know the drill.)


Because of this, I set my mind every Monday toward the task of becoming self-employed. I decide what weekly task will help me get there, and I try to complete that one task. This morning, having one minute before my day starts to read a blog, I opened up my Google reader, and began.


And I couldn't do it.


I couldn't read about all these entrepreneurs and other self-employed individuals and their ideas for MY business. I couldn't do it. It's just too painful. Everything is becoming overwhelming, very quickly.


It's hard to explain--but I just couldn't read blogs today.


Have you escaped a job or dissolved a business that was hindering you?

To-Do List Update: Monday Edition

• make soap
  
• make sugar scrub -- CHECK
  
• pack soap orders and mail--CHECK
  
• make bath fizzies
• package bath fizzies
• make lotion
• package lotion
• mail lotion to the Old Capitol City Rollergirls
• read submissions -- CHECK
  
• reject submissions
• offer contracts on accepted submissions -- CHECK
  
• send submissions to editor
• send submission back from editor to author
• read submission again
• publish submission
• write submissions portal text for new website. --CHECK
  
• send said text to web guy
• finish book
• format book
• publish book
• begin next book
• make presents for christmas
• exercise and eat right--CHECK
• sleep once in a while
• buy blank CD labels -- CHECK
  
• buy printer ink -- CHECK
  
• label CDs and mail -- CHECK
  
• mail royalty checks -- CHECK
  
• set up auto-payment through checking account for business credit card

Let's add:

• work out on Tuesday afternoon
• plan for a sub on Thursday (all-day training)
• get lunch stuff ready for work --CHECK