It's official - I got business cards!!

Don't business cards still mean nowadays that you are official? You have a business card, you give a business card, you get someone else's business card - that makes it official, right? So anyway, my FREE (as previously ranted about!) business cards arrived yesterday, and I do like them. I keep looking at them over & over again, like I am going to find a spelling mistake, which my husband knows, is a pet peeve of mine. Not really a pet peeve, more like a quirk. I see spelling mistakes ALL the time, and point them out ALL the time. But now, I just someone to give them to...that's my next goal.

While waiting for my artwork to come to fruition, I have listed several things in my Etsy store. I have almost 200 acrylic CD's. They protect the top & bottom of a ream of blank CD's that we get for my day time job. We go through a lot of CD's, so needless to say, I have a lot of acrylic CD's. They don't hold music, and we can't use them for anything at work, but I can't bear to throw them away, so over time, I have collected them. I thought maybe I would sell some on Etsy. They are great for all kinds of projects - I keep hoping someone who is planning for a VBS or Children's Camp somewhere will buy some...I would give them a good deal!!

I have also listed some of our duplicate Vintage Cocktail Recipe Glass Shakers. We had 6 of them that we have duplicated through our adventures. I would really like to sell those to someone who would appreciate them. We currently have 17 different ones, so really, we don't need to keep the extras, plus we have run out of room for any more on the shelves over our family room windows. Priced to sell - if someone would like all 6, I will sell them to you for $25, plus S/H!!

OK, gonna get busy on the artwork this weekend...I can feel it! After all that is the goal, right? As I received in my fortune cookie from my wonderful Vietnamese Beef Pho Soup that I had for lunch today..."As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time." Yep, gonna get busy this weekend!

Where am I right now?

"Where am I right now?" I'm so glad you asked.

**So, I haven't opened my checking account yet, but it's coming...soon. I think I'm still in a little bit of a shell shock on that one.

**I've been reading about getting a Business Plan together. A part of me thinks "Why do this for my part-time, little business?" But, a part of my wants to delve into these questions a little deeper to see where it will take me. I think it will help focus me & keep me realistic. So, I will be answering some of those questions in the next few days.

**I have been keeping good track of my expenses, and so far, I am at right about $200. No income yet.

** I have been keeping good track of the stores that I am visiting for supplies, and I think that will be a help. These are the stores where I will get frames, and other found objects used in production. I would like to maybe visit them every 3 months or so. I am finding that antique stores are OK for letterpress wood type, but overpriced for everything else. I will need to stick with second-hand shoppes for frames.

**I've listed a couple of items on Etsy. One, to give it a try before I actually list my artwork. Two, to see what kind of response I will get. Three, to try & generate a little income right now. The listings show me how many views I've gotten. First, I listed my acrylic CD's, and well, today I got ONE view. Second, I listed one of our duplicates of our Cocktail Shaker Recipe Glasses. Got several views on that one right off, and then nothing. Third, I listed another duplicate of our Cocktail Shakers, & I've gotten one view on that one. So, they are not exactly flying out the door. But I will have faith & keep trying. I've got about 5 more glasses to list & they suggest listing something new everyday, so I am doing that.

**I received the rest of the letters that I needed in the mail today, so I can get started. That had been my excuse so far...but now I have all the letters. Next step, numbers and punctuation, but I don't think I need those to get going.

**The other thing I need to do is figure out how to make a suitable background for the material. This is where my husband's talent will come in...he's the woodworker, and I'm the artist. He is set on watching football tomorrow, so it may not happen...

**I've pre-made thank you tags for anything I might sell - I will attach them to the packaging before I mail out the item. See, I do anticipate making a sell at some point!

That, in a nutshell, is where I am today.

Financial partner?!?!

Today I decided to tackle the research into where I would like to open a checking account. I knew I wanted something accessible, but it doesn't have to be the closest bank. I think I'm really looking for something a little more personal than the "big bank in town", where we keep our personal accounts. And I wanted something that would fit my "small business" profile. So on the web, I have researched 5 banks, all having a local branch, & all have been around a while. For a small business expecting a small amount of transactions, I am finding that the biggest difference is the number of transactions allowed. Anything over the number allowed, and you get charged. I never heard of such a thing!! So if your deposits are greater than you thought, they will charge you anywhere from $.25 to $.50 a transaction, and one bank even lopps on a $5.00 charge just for going over, & then charges you the highest amount I found in the area - $.50. Well, I don't foresee me going over any of the limits on transactions, so I don't think it will be an issue, but just in case, right?!?! One thing I don't understand is hours. Banks are still very traditional in their hours. Only one of the 5 opens at 8:30 AM, the rest open at 9:00 AM. Now seeing that I have a full-time job other than the one that I am pursuing, that doesn't work. That still means I have to go out on my lunch hour to do my banking, unless I use an ATM, which I don't like to do for deposits. Only one of the 5 banks stays open until 6:00 PM everyday, so I've got to run to the bank before I pick up the kiddo, and only on Fridays if I go with any of the other banks. What?!?! But the good thing is...online banking, bill pay, and debit cards are free...mostly. OK, so this decision may be more of a gut-feeling, than a rational, thought-out one, but I'll save that for another post.

FREE Business Cards?!?!

I thought I would start this blog out with journaling about my business start-up adventures. So far, it's gone really well. I've found ideas, gathered supplies, and begun to create a cohesive look for the future. And I know God is in this, for several reasons...one example is that I went into a fabric store to get some samples of muslin, and laying on the floor, in front of the muslin, was a 40% off coupon. Now, I already had a 40% off coupon, but my daughter was with me, so she was able to use this one. Anyway, things have gone really well. But yesterday, it was a snow day, my daughter was home from school, and I stayed home to be with her. So, I decided to take the time to order business cards. The website advertised "FREE". Now my husband & I had ordered cards from them before for his business, so I had some familiarity with their website. The cards were indeed free then, but you paid for shipping. I remember it being a couple of dollars. A second order cost a little more because we decided to not have their name on the back. A few more dollars. But yesterday, when I went to order MY business cards, they ended up being $20!! Things just added up. The designed I picked was a "premium" design, although I clicked on the "free" link. Add in a few dollars for full color, which is what attracted me to the design, and not black/white, which was the "free" part. Add in a few more dollars for my name on the back. Add in a few more dollars for "matte" finish. And finally, add in a few more dollars for shipping, 3 week shipping, the lowest & slowest offer on shipping they had. All that added up to $20 and change. I hope that I really like those business cards!