Scheduling New Surprises

For those of you that are into crafting and making homemade items, perhaps the best piece of advice I received for helping me keep track of what I should be making is to follow the retail stores. Now I know that might sound crazy especially when it seems like they're getting such early jumps on holidays and it feels as if Christmas will be just around the corner before we know it. But it is the best advice I have gotten to ensure that (1) I am making what needs to be made so I can stock my store in enough time so people can buy it and have it shipped in time to enjoy it. (2) It keeps me ahead of some of the heavy hitters in the wreath making industry that seem to have deep budgets that they can buy in massive quantities.

So with that being said, even though Easter is just a week away, I am moving on with Mother's Day items and even more so with the Patriotic theme, that will be great for most of the summer and into early Fall if you think about it. Since I don't repeat my wreath designs it really challenges me to stay creative. I have to admit I pray about it a lot since I have given my business over to God. On top of that, I am working hard to be successful, but I should pray more before I begin my self imposed work day. Like most creatives, there is a business side to our creative creations. We can't simply create and hope that someone will find them and buy them.

We have to be a shipping and receiving department to ensure you have enough supplies on hand to create custom orders and to make sure that you have enough to begin your next creation. You also have to be customer service and marketing. I have spent most of my work history in Customer Service and I know what I like personally so I want to ensure my customers get the very best service from me from start to finish. I also host DIY tutorials for both a paid and public group so I want to make sure that I am putting all my efforts into making them feel like they are truly getting the best from me as well.

I have also tried to manage my own personal growth by attending online management and marketing classes for women entrepreneurs in order to stay with the growing trends to online business. One doesn't want to be left behind and I want to be one of the ones to watch, not one following in the path of those who have gone before me. So I need to stay creative and innovative. Soon I will be launching my own video business series that will help women entrepreneurs to get started with a little help from me. I only wish those were available for me while I was getting started. I mean they have been but they've been priced out of what a starter business can afford. So while I may seem like the cheapest one out there offering my DIY's at a low cost, I know not everyone can afford $50 a month to follow the bigger entities in the business because they're not there yet making that kind of money to be able to afford that. Trust me, it's a struggle for me to pay for my own as well.

So I can wait to share some of my surprises with both groups for April. I find that setting up a schedule helps both me and those that follow to know what to expect and what exciting things are coming. Until then, I just pray that God continues to open some surprising doors of opportunities for me so that I too, can be a trail blazer in the business world.