Up late the other night giving some though about what direction I want to take the business in, a business plan as such. Some of it is probably due able, some probably not, but I can always hope that I can get it all done.
1. SEO for the shops
2. Decide what to do about the Artfire account, it is paid up til August or September of next year, but it is not doing any sales, probably because I have no idea how to go about marketing it. It is a totally different way of doing things on there, and most of the people are not very helpful when it comes to getting answers. As soon as they find out you sell on Etsy, you can just feel them shut down.
3.Find where I saw the listing for pages on Google, should have book marked it when I saw the page the first time.
4. Figure out how to make banners, my son is headed to college after graduating in June and will not be around to do them for me anymore.
5. Set up the questionnaire through paypal
6. Craft Fairs and Shows, need to get my name out their locally, but also need to get the hubby to be able to set a definite work schedule so that I can actually sign up and do the event, instead of not knowing if we will be around and not signing up at all
The one thing I did already do was see about getting a business loan, not a large one, but hopefully enough for me to be able to have working capital to do something with, even if all I do is just put things in the supply shop, at least it should garner some sales and get my name out there some more.
7. And the big to do, get a postal scale so that I don't continue to under price for International shipping, losing any wheres from five to ten dollars every time I have to ship overseas does not make for good business practice.
So that is the start of the list for the new year, I am sure I will add as I accomplish some of what I have set out to do, but all of it should end up with a better business profile online as well as off :)
Good going, Gabby! A list gets you moving in the right direction. Happy holidays to you and yours!
ReplyDeletegood list, good luck! I gave up on Artfire, btw. I'm a colored pencil artist, so I'm trying www.dailypaintworks.com I do think it's important to try site other than Etsy, though.
ReplyDeleteI've started making a 2012 list, too, but need to work on it much more. I think you'll be able to accomplish what you have written :-) I also gave up on Artfire this year... just didn't have the time to devote to it. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteI've tried Artfire and Zibbet as well, but found that if I'm going to really work the social media marketing, I can only do one, so I'm staying with Etsy, for the good or the bad. Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I had artfire location but had to close it because I could not afford the yearly fee. You can join the twitter tree to help promote your artfire store. Many of the twitter tree people are from artfire, etsy, zibbet, and other areas.
ReplyDeleteJust convo me for a list of the blogs that are doing the twitter tree.
7. And the big to do, get a postal scale so that I don't continue to under price for International shipping, losing any wheres from five to ten dollars every time I have to ship overseas does not make for good business practice.
ReplyDeleteMEEEEEE TOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
FAB LIST!!! I'm stealing some of your to-dos!!
ReplyDeleteGo gabby!
ReplyDeleteI didn't meet one of my goals last year...I need to rewrite for this next year!
Wow, I think you gave me more ideas than I could give you. I have found that the money is in crafts shows most. If you could get a shop locally, then have it in a good location of your town. That's the only advice I could probably give you. I wish everyone the best of luck. I'll be thinking of you Gabby.
ReplyDeletepostal scale is defiantly a must. before you know it the list of things to do will be all gone.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas. I agree that the postal scale is a must. After struggling and guessing, I bought one several months ago. It has a 75 pound capacity and only cost around $25 on ebay. I, too, need to get my shop name out there. I do not use social media. I just don't like what goes on out there. I wish you well, and a prosperous 2012.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck on your upcoming business year. Sounds like you are starting off on the right path. Thanks for sharing your plans. They gave me a few areas I should be checking into as well.
ReplyDelete