Sales are picking up and I want to keep the momentum going. In order to do this I know I must promote, promote, promote my business, CherishedGiftFavors.com!
One of my suppliers sent an e-mail today announcing their new fall/winter catalog that will be available to brides for the next 6 months. The e-mail said they plan on sending out over 10,000 bridal and 4,000 gift-giver mailings for the seasonal issue. A text ad containing my phone #, and wed addy is $300. A text ad containing the previous info and a logo is $500.
I must say my interest was peaked when I first read the e-mail. This particular supplier's line of favors are my best sellers. However, a ton of retail stores and e-commerce websites also sell their wedding and party favors. The sole purpose of my supplier publishing the magazine is to promote their line of unique favors. If I advertise in the magazine I wonder if I will get "lost in the crowd" due to the many other ads that will also appear in the magazine. Even though I sell some favors and gifts that are a little different from my competition all of the advertisers in the magazine are pretty much going to be selling the same stuff. I am wondering how many brides will look past the first couple of ads once they realize they can purchase the favors from any of the websites that are listed. I'm trying to decide if the magazine would be a good bang for my advertising bucks.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Weekly Update ~ Week 3
Ok, I'm going tell you right off that this post contains some bitchin (only because I'm frustrated), but it also contains some positive stuff too.
It has been a busy week business wise. Sales are picking up which is awesome. Today was even busy which is a little abnormal. It seems most of my customers shop during the daytime Monday - Friday (I think when they are supposed to be working).
With the increased sales comes a bit of increased frustration. It seems some people have a challenge with entering their credit card info correctly. I spent Thursday & Friday working with a lady who said my shopping cart wouldn't process her order. I have no idea why. I asked, but never received an answer as to what error she was receiving. She wanted to place the order by phone, which is fine too, however, I can't take phone calls while I'm at work. I tried to e-mail her at lunch, but wouldn't you know it she responded just after my lunch hour was over so I wasn't able to call her to finalize the order. She sent me a few more e-mails later in the day, but never provided me with her CC# info so I couldn't process the order. I guess I'll try again tomorrow to get her order. The bad part is that she needs the order by Wednesday. I have no idea if it can get processed in time since the order is being drop shipped by my supplier.
This isn't the first situation I've had with customers having a challenge with placing their order via my website. A few weeks ago I got a phone call from a customer stating their credit card kept being declined. I e-mailed her around lunch time to ask if the billing info she was entering in my shopping cart matched the info on file with her credit card company. She assured me it was. I think she tried 2 or 3 times again after that to place the order. I told her that I would have tech support check into it and call her back to take the order over the phone. Wouldn't you know it, my cc processing company who has always been easy to work with was extremely busy that day. My son had an doctor's appt. so I spent the whole afternoon (after leaving work)on my cell trying to contact my credit card company. I finally got through to them around 5:30 p.m. They said exactly what I expected. My customer wasn't entering in the correct billing info. I e-mailed my customer back and within 5 minutes got an e-mail stating she had just moved and had not updated her address with her cc company. Things happen with customers which is cool. My frustration is that because I work during the day I can't immediately respond to a customer if the need arises. I know I have lost orders because of it. That stresses me out.
I can't let the challenges get me down so now on to the good stuff. All of my customers seem to find me through Google. This week I'm paying to have a company validate my website. I went to a site that checks to see if your website validates. If it doesn't then certain search engine spiders might not be able to crawl your site. My home page had 124 errors. I tried to fix it myself, but I kept screwing up my homepage.
Gotta go for now. As I was writing this post, I had some more positive business stuff happen. I don't know what is going on exactly, but good things are happening. Been praying, chugging along with my marketing, and have some people spreading the word about my business. I guess it is all adding up to wonderful things for me.
OK, back to BITCHIN! BITCHIN big time!!! I'm sitting here writing my post when I hear an e-mail hit my business addy in box. I think I have another order. NOPE!! I have 1,708 "delivery failure notices" in my e-mail. Looks like someone is spoofing my e-mail addy. COOL! Now I'm up to 2,041 e-mails. And now it is 2,091. It is 11:00 pm. I've got to work tomorrow and I have a ton of e-mails to delete before I go to bed.
On the positive side, I usually can't sleep on Sunday nights anyway, so I won't notice any lack of sleep I have from deleting the ton of e-mails.
It has been a busy week business wise. Sales are picking up which is awesome. Today was even busy which is a little abnormal. It seems most of my customers shop during the daytime Monday - Friday (I think when they are supposed to be working).
With the increased sales comes a bit of increased frustration. It seems some people have a challenge with entering their credit card info correctly. I spent Thursday & Friday working with a lady who said my shopping cart wouldn't process her order. I have no idea why. I asked, but never received an answer as to what error she was receiving. She wanted to place the order by phone, which is fine too, however, I can't take phone calls while I'm at work. I tried to e-mail her at lunch, but wouldn't you know it she responded just after my lunch hour was over so I wasn't able to call her to finalize the order. She sent me a few more e-mails later in the day, but never provided me with her CC# info so I couldn't process the order. I guess I'll try again tomorrow to get her order. The bad part is that she needs the order by Wednesday. I have no idea if it can get processed in time since the order is being drop shipped by my supplier.
This isn't the first situation I've had with customers having a challenge with placing their order via my website. A few weeks ago I got a phone call from a customer stating their credit card kept being declined. I e-mailed her around lunch time to ask if the billing info she was entering in my shopping cart matched the info on file with her credit card company. She assured me it was. I think she tried 2 or 3 times again after that to place the order. I told her that I would have tech support check into it and call her back to take the order over the phone. Wouldn't you know it, my cc processing company who has always been easy to work with was extremely busy that day. My son had an doctor's appt. so I spent the whole afternoon (after leaving work)on my cell trying to contact my credit card company. I finally got through to them around 5:30 p.m. They said exactly what I expected. My customer wasn't entering in the correct billing info. I e-mailed my customer back and within 5 minutes got an e-mail stating she had just moved and had not updated her address with her cc company. Things happen with customers which is cool. My frustration is that because I work during the day I can't immediately respond to a customer if the need arises. I know I have lost orders because of it. That stresses me out.
I can't let the challenges get me down so now on to the good stuff. All of my customers seem to find me through Google. This week I'm paying to have a company validate my website. I went to a site that checks to see if your website validates. If it doesn't then certain search engine spiders might not be able to crawl your site. My home page had 124 errors. I tried to fix it myself, but I kept screwing up my homepage.
Gotta go for now. As I was writing this post, I had some more positive business stuff happen. I don't know what is going on exactly, but good things are happening. Been praying, chugging along with my marketing, and have some people spreading the word about my business. I guess it is all adding up to wonderful things for me.
OK, back to BITCHIN! BITCHIN big time!!! I'm sitting here writing my post when I hear an e-mail hit my business addy in box. I think I have another order. NOPE!! I have 1,708 "delivery failure notices" in my e-mail. Looks like someone is spoofing my e-mail addy. COOL! Now I'm up to 2,041 e-mails. And now it is 2,091. It is 11:00 pm. I've got to work tomorrow and I have a ton of e-mails to delete before I go to bed.
On the positive side, I usually can't sleep on Sunday nights anyway, so I won't notice any lack of sleep I have from deleting the ton of e-mails.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Glad It Is Friday!
I'm so glad it is Friday! It hasn't been a bad week. Not really even a long one, but I'm still very happy it is Friday. Over the last few months I have gotten into the habit of staying up till 3 or 4 a.m. on Friday nights working on things for my business, Cherished Gifts & Favors. Even though I have worked at my full time job all day, I still try to work into the wee hours of Saturday so I can get some things done. Tonight is no exception. I just finished hooking up my new router so I'm good to go.
Even though hooking up my router was fairly easy, I still feel like I need a glass of wine to mellow me out now that I'm done. One thing you will soon learn from me is that I get frustrated very quickly when it comes to anything computer related. I don't have a short temper unless I'm trying to do something new on my computer. :) Then watch out! Of course once I've figured out how to do the thing I was working on then I feel proud of myself for learning something new. In the midst of working on the problem however, I forget about the end result. It is a love - hate relationship is all I can say!
Even though hooking up my router was fairly easy, I still feel like I need a glass of wine to mellow me out now that I'm done. One thing you will soon learn from me is that I get frustrated very quickly when it comes to anything computer related. I don't have a short temper unless I'm trying to do something new on my computer. :) Then watch out! Of course once I've figured out how to do the thing I was working on then I feel proud of myself for learning something new. In the midst of working on the problem however, I forget about the end result. It is a love - hate relationship is all I can say!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Spread The Word!
Got a few minutes to spare? If so, cruise on over to my site and check out my line of elegant favors and gifts. Remember to tell others at the water cooler, the local bar, the mall, on the street, and even your hair dresser about the cool favors & gifts you discover. Talk about me everywhere! Help spread the word about my site. I will LOVE you for it!!!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Update To Today's Post
Within seconds of publishing my last post, I received an order from one of the ads I placed yesterday. Yeah!! Feels so good when you see your hard work paying off.
Might be because it is late, but I'm in a funky mood right now. I would stand up on my chair and do a little dance, but knowing me I would fall off so I will just smile real big instead!
Might be because it is late, but I'm in a funky mood right now. I would stand up on my chair and do a little dance, but knowing me I would fall off so I will just smile real big instead!
Weekly Update ~ Week 2
I wasn't looking forward to today at all! It was my first day back at work. ICK! Spending my time like I wanted on vacation was a freedom that I long to have every single day! I have so much I want & need to do for my business, but have limited time to do so. I know working full time is stunting the growth of CGF, but right now I need the income from my full time job to pay the bills. In the mean time I do everything I possibly can to get publicity for Cherished Gifts & Favors.
This week I placed 28 ads in various places. I also tried to step up my efforts to get my name out there. This evening I met a photographer from a wedding message board that I belong to. As she said, networking is key. She is going to tell businesses that she works with about my website which is a huge blessing for me. She also happens to sale advertising for a magazine that markets to brides planning destination weddings. I'm toying with the idea of placing an ad in the fall edition of her magazine. I have to weigh the expense with the amount of sales I could possibly get. I just have a little bit of a hang up about it being a fall edition. It won't be out till Oct. 1 so I will have missed most of the fall weddings. However, I could get some sales from brides planning holiday & winter weddings. Hmmm... something I will have to give some more thought to.
Another thought I had about getting my name out there is to have a couple of nice tees printed up with my business name & website addy. I just have to think of something catchy for the tees to say. I could wear the tees on weekends while I'm out running errands. You never know who might see them, especially since I live in a tourist town. Got any suggestions for the tees, send them my way.
This week I placed 28 ads in various places. I also tried to step up my efforts to get my name out there. This evening I met a photographer from a wedding message board that I belong to. As she said, networking is key. She is going to tell businesses that she works with about my website which is a huge blessing for me. She also happens to sale advertising for a magazine that markets to brides planning destination weddings. I'm toying with the idea of placing an ad in the fall edition of her magazine. I have to weigh the expense with the amount of sales I could possibly get. I just have a little bit of a hang up about it being a fall edition. It won't be out till Oct. 1 so I will have missed most of the fall weddings. However, I could get some sales from brides planning holiday & winter weddings. Hmmm... something I will have to give some more thought to.
Another thought I had about getting my name out there is to have a couple of nice tees printed up with my business name & website addy. I just have to think of something catchy for the tees to say. I could wear the tees on weekends while I'm out running errands. You never know who might see them, especially since I live in a tourist town. Got any suggestions for the tees, send them my way.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Magazine News!
I spoke to an advertising rep at Emerald Coast's Brides yesterday to get an update on the status of the magazine. The magazine was suppose to be available for brides June 1, but the publication date got pushed back to June 15. It is now the middle of July and I haven't seen the magazine or any business from it. I found out yesterday the magazine is just now being distributed. I'm eager to see how it affects my business. I would love to be tickled pink from the amount of sales that I get from brides seeing the pictures of my gifts & the ad that I purchased.
The magazine will be given to brides at bridal shows, bridal boutiques, and they can request a free copy by visiting ECB's website. The magazine will also be available for purchase in 5 states along the Emerald Coast (Gulf Of Mexico). The advertising rep told me copies were sent to Books A Million & Borders Thursday. I'm pretty excited about that. I didn't realize it was going to be available in such big retail stores.
Another really cool thing is the magazine has a 2 page spread featuring only my products in a special section entitled "Gifts For Bridesmaids". I can hardly wait to see it. The rep said they want to work with me again for their fall issue. Yeah!!
To top off our vacation, my husband and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary yesterday. I was telling him about the magazine at dinner when I lost it. Just out of the blue it hit me. It always seems to happen that way. The grief seems to blind side me when I least expect it. My grandfather who passed away in February, was my biggest fan. He said I was going to make a ton of money one day. In fact, he thought I was already very successful. It always made me smile when he said that. He was 92, but I so wish he could have lived to see me build my business to the point of becoming a worldwide distributor of elegant party favors and gifts. Thinking about the magazine coming out made me very sad that I can't show it to him. I thought about that a lot today. It brought tears to my eyes every time I did. Of course now as I writing this, I can hardly see because of the tears. I still can't believe he is gone.
The magazine will be given to brides at bridal shows, bridal boutiques, and they can request a free copy by visiting ECB's website. The magazine will also be available for purchase in 5 states along the Emerald Coast (Gulf Of Mexico). The advertising rep told me copies were sent to Books A Million & Borders Thursday. I'm pretty excited about that. I didn't realize it was going to be available in such big retail stores.
Another really cool thing is the magazine has a 2 page spread featuring only my products in a special section entitled "Gifts For Bridesmaids". I can hardly wait to see it. The rep said they want to work with me again for their fall issue. Yeah!!
To top off our vacation, my husband and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary yesterday. I was telling him about the magazine at dinner when I lost it. Just out of the blue it hit me. It always seems to happen that way. The grief seems to blind side me when I least expect it. My grandfather who passed away in February, was my biggest fan. He said I was going to make a ton of money one day. In fact, he thought I was already very successful. It always made me smile when he said that. He was 92, but I so wish he could have lived to see me build my business to the point of becoming a worldwide distributor of elegant party favors and gifts. Thinking about the magazine coming out made me very sad that I can't show it to him. I thought about that a lot today. It brought tears to my eyes every time I did. Of course now as I writing this, I can hardly see because of the tears. I still can't believe he is gone.
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Lazy Day!
Spent the afternoon at Gulf World Marine Park. Had a blast! I haven't been there since I was a child. My son loved it too. He also loved the different shows they had...for about 5 minutes. Then he wanted to move on to something else! At least we got 5 minutes out of him. Last year when we took him to the local zoo he enjoyed seeing each animal, but after 30 seconds he was ready to move on to the next one. My husband said it was a very expensive 30 minute experience!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Beach Bum
Today my husband and I took our 3 year old son on his first boat ride. He loved it! He even cried when it was time to get off the boat. After our day playing in the sand and surf we went to a well known beach night club for dinner. It is a family restaurant by day and a night club in the late evening. I had planned on entering the wet t-shirt contest, but we got there a little too early. :( LOL!!
It was so nice to be able to watch the waves rolling in as we had dinner. There was a nice breeze blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and my pina colada went down sooo good. It really was a beautiful evening. It is sad how I live in a coastal town, but my family is usually too busy to enjoy the beauty around us. However, I'm working hard to change all that!
My business is working hard for me too because it made money while I spent the day being a beach bum! SWEET!!
It was so nice to be able to watch the waves rolling in as we had dinner. There was a nice breeze blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and my pina colada went down sooo good. It really was a beautiful evening. It is sad how I live in a coastal town, but my family is usually too busy to enjoy the beauty around us. However, I'm working hard to change all that!
My business is working hard for me too because it made money while I spent the day being a beach bum! SWEET!!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Weekly Update ~ Week 1
Here's my first weekly update on what I did this week to help build my business:
*Advertised on 3 new websites
*Exchanged links with 5 new sites and 2 new blogs
*Did some networking on MySpace
*Renewed 3 new ads on various wedding related sites
*Did some networking for this blog
*Updated my MySpace & business blog. I sooo have to do that more often!! My goal is 3 times a week.
*Posted 32 new ads on various free websites though out the week.
*Hooked up with 2 new suppliers
*Applied a volume discount to a few more of my products
*Added some cute new products to my site
I also have paid ads running in Celebstaff Magazine and Emerald Coast Brides from June till August as well as ads on additional websites that run throughout the year.
All of my hard work has been paying off. I got 3 orders that I know came directly from ads I posted this week and I will get an order shortly from a contact I made on MySpace.
On a personal note, it has been a nice quite weekend. My son and husband have been out of town so I have spent the entire weekend working on networking and updating my website. There is still a ton of stuff I want to do, but I have been able to accomplish a lot since they have been gone. I have been looking forward to this weekend for weeks. I knew it would be a time I could get a lot done for my business without feeling guilt about not spending time with my family.
Last but not least, I tried a new workout video. For some reason I am addicted to "The Girls Next Door"! I saw an episode where they were making a work out video and I thought about buying it. Amazon had great reviews about it so I ordered it. Let me just say Holly, Bridget, and Kendra kicked my butt this weekend!! I don't mind working out, but I usually get so wrapped up with working on business related stuff that I never get a chance to. I needed a tape that would motivate me and I think I found it. Hopefully I'll be looking good again real soon!
Remember to add me to your list of favorite blogs and tell everyone you know about my website. I need publicity, publicity, publicity!! Thanks in advance!!
Here are some cute favors that I just added to my website:
Saturday, July 14, 2007
This is too cute!
I know there is a better way to do this, but right now I don't have the time to do it. I will add it to my list of things (that is really piling up) to learn how to do later! I hope you can view this video cause it is soooo cute! I have no idea how they made it . So Cool!!
Technorati Profile
Technorati Profile
Friday, July 13, 2007
Sick Day!
I am slowly making my way out of the fogging state that I have been in. Spent the whole day in bed feeling pretty green. Don't know if it was something I ate or what, but yuck. I'm feeling a little bit better now so I decided to get out of bed for awhile. Don't know how long I will last. I have a rare bit of free time this weekend so I need to get some work done. I had planned to spend the next few days adding a ton of new products to my website. I'll see how it goes. At least with my laptop I have the option of working from the comfort of my bed. I rarely do that, but tonight it might be a very nice option!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sooo Tired!
I'm exhausted tonight. I've had too many late nights working on my website and trying to network with other businesses. That's my life now, but I know it is worth it. I tell myself it is only temporary. All of my hard work and long nights will pay off in the end.
I was so tired I actually went to bed at 8:30 tonight. That is amazing for me! I woke up a few minutes ago and decided to check my e-mail for orders. A potential new supplier e-mailed me their info. Talk about some really cute party favors! I was impressed. However, I already have so many new favors to add to my website this weekend. I know I won't have time to get to them all. I really hate that, but I'm excited about having 2 whole days to be able to work nonstop on updating my website. Oh the things I could do for my business if I didn't have to work as an insurance agent full time. One day. One day soon it will be that way.
Okay if I plan on having a marathon product adding session this weekend I better get some sleep now.
Cool Quote ~
It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen.
--Frances Hodgson Burnett
I was so tired I actually went to bed at 8:30 tonight. That is amazing for me! I woke up a few minutes ago and decided to check my e-mail for orders. A potential new supplier e-mailed me their info. Talk about some really cute party favors! I was impressed. However, I already have so many new favors to add to my website this weekend. I know I won't have time to get to them all. I really hate that, but I'm excited about having 2 whole days to be able to work nonstop on updating my website. Oh the things I could do for my business if I didn't have to work as an insurance agent full time. One day. One day soon it will be that way.
Okay if I plan on having a marathon product adding session this weekend I better get some sleep now.
Cool Quote ~
It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen.
--Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A Bad Date. A Very Bad Date!
Over the weekend I decided to stop by Books A Million while I was out running errands with my son and husband. It was a lofty idea, but I was determined to be brave and go in the bookstore. I really wanted to pick up a bridal magazine to check out the latest trends in wedding favors and get a few inspirations for my business blog. Normally going in a bookstore doesn't take a lot of guts, but remember I have a 3 year old (he's normally a very good child) and Books A Million has a train set for children to play with while their parents shop. If you have a small child I don't need to say any more. If you don't then let me explain. The train is wonderful because it entertains your child while you read a magazine, book, whatever. The train is a nightmare when it comes time to leave!
Like I said, I truly had reservations about going into Books A Million, but I somehow put aside my anxitey. However, while I was there briefly scanning the magazines my thoughts drifted back to a few weeks ago. I lost my mind that week and told my son that I wanted to take him on a special date. No daddys allowed. I thought it would be fun if I took him for a treat and then to Books A Million. My son could have fun playing with the train while I treated myself to a latte and checked out the latest bridal magazines. I talked to my son about our "special date" the whole week. Just Mommy and Colin. We were both looking forward to it. All was going well on our date UNTIL it was time to leave. My sweet little angel went crazy. First he cried, then he ran. I mean RAN! Down the aisles he went with me trying to chase after him with 2 thick magazines in one hand and a hot latte in another with me dragging my purse behind me. At one point I couldn't even find the sweetheart. I finally caught up with my Husband's son back near the wonderful train set. He stood smiling, half laughing at me. I stood glaring at him. I grabbed him and walked back to the magazine section. I knew it was getting ready to all fall apart and there was no way I was going to be able to hold him, my latte, and try to purchase my magazine all at the same time.
We made it to the magazine section which just happens to be (much to everyone in Books A Million dismay) all the way in the back of the store. About the time I put the magazine back on the shelf, my little angel disappears and some unknown creature takes his place. He breaks into a tantrum like I have never seen before and lucky me, I'm his mother. I litterally had to drag him kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs through the entire store and then had to force him into his carseat once we got to the car. Needless to say it was a very bad scene for him when we got home.
So here I am this past weekend wanting to buy a magazine. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to buy it at another time so I decided to be brave and go for it (my bravery was in part because I had my husband with me as back up). I picked up my magazine, met up with my family at the train set, and told my husband I was going to check out before things got ugly. He didn't seem to believe me. I casually strolled up to the cashier, did my business, and then strolled back towards the train section again. Halfway there I heard crying. I reconigzed that cry. I make it back to the train where my husband stood consoling my son. I smiled thinking back to the day of our "special date". Boy was I glad I had alreay purchased my magazine! And lucky me, it lead me to a new supplier for my business.
Like I said, I truly had reservations about going into Books A Million, but I somehow put aside my anxitey. However, while I was there briefly scanning the magazines my thoughts drifted back to a few weeks ago. I lost my mind that week and told my son that I wanted to take him on a special date. No daddys allowed. I thought it would be fun if I took him for a treat and then to Books A Million. My son could have fun playing with the train while I treated myself to a latte and checked out the latest bridal magazines. I talked to my son about our "special date" the whole week. Just Mommy and Colin. We were both looking forward to it. All was going well on our date UNTIL it was time to leave. My sweet little angel went crazy. First he cried, then he ran. I mean RAN! Down the aisles he went with me trying to chase after him with 2 thick magazines in one hand and a hot latte in another with me dragging my purse behind me. At one point I couldn't even find the sweetheart. I finally caught up with my Husband's son back near the wonderful train set. He stood smiling, half laughing at me. I stood glaring at him. I grabbed him and walked back to the magazine section. I knew it was getting ready to all fall apart and there was no way I was going to be able to hold him, my latte, and try to purchase my magazine all at the same time.
We made it to the magazine section which just happens to be (much to everyone in Books A Million dismay) all the way in the back of the store. About the time I put the magazine back on the shelf, my little angel disappears and some unknown creature takes his place. He breaks into a tantrum like I have never seen before and lucky me, I'm his mother. I litterally had to drag him kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs through the entire store and then had to force him into his carseat once we got to the car. Needless to say it was a very bad scene for him when we got home.
So here I am this past weekend wanting to buy a magazine. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to buy it at another time so I decided to be brave and go for it (my bravery was in part because I had my husband with me as back up). I picked up my magazine, met up with my family at the train set, and told my husband I was going to check out before things got ugly. He didn't seem to believe me. I casually strolled up to the cashier, did my business, and then strolled back towards the train section again. Halfway there I heard crying. I reconigzed that cry. I make it back to the train where my husband stood consoling my son. I smiled thinking back to the day of our "special date". Boy was I glad I had alreay purchased my magazine! And lucky me, it lead me to a new supplier for my business.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Its Monday!
Oh yeah it is Monday! The first official week of my blog. I'm excited. I hope you are excited. Lets be excited together and share our excitement with others. Ok enough excitement. Like I said it is MONDAY. But, even for a Monday I'm still pretty excited. Only 4 more days till this weekend. I've got a very big weekend planned. I'm setting aside the whole weekend for adding tons of new products to my website. I have so many cute new favors and a few cool gifts to add. I can't wait to share them with my customers!
If you haven't already you must check out my website. If you are getting married, throwing a party, thinking of throwing a party, know someone who is throwing a party, or needing a hostess gift cause you are attending a party, then check out my website! And don't be shy, tell others about my site as well.
If you like my blog or like my website, or both then show your love by helping me build my business. Check out my "Support Ashley's Dream" page for more info on the ways you can help out!
Speaking of ways to help out... this is how I helped out my business today.
1. I advertised my business on a new website.
2. I exchanged links with 2 new websites.
3. Did some networking on MySpace.
4. Posted a link on a blog written by an entrepreneur I hooked up with on MySpace.
5. Renewed 3 ads that I have on a bridal message board.
6. Added my links to 2 wedding resource websites that sent me an e-mail invitation.
7. Spoke to a potential new party favor supplier. They have some awesome stuff!
8. Deposited 3 pennies that I found at the gas station into my business account.. Hey it all adds up! Remember that if you want to send me money. Every little bits helps!!
If you haven't already you must check out my website. If you are getting married, throwing a party, thinking of throwing a party, know someone who is throwing a party, or needing a hostess gift cause you are attending a party, then check out my website! And don't be shy, tell others about my site as well.
If you like my blog or like my website, or both then show your love by helping me build my business. Check out my "Support Ashley's Dream" page for more info on the ways you can help out!
Speaking of ways to help out... this is how I helped out my business today.
1. I advertised my business on a new website.
2. I exchanged links with 2 new websites.
3. Did some networking on MySpace.
4. Posted a link on a blog written by an entrepreneur I hooked up with on MySpace.
5. Renewed 3 ads that I have on a bridal message board.
6. Added my links to 2 wedding resource websites that sent me an e-mail invitation.
7. Spoke to a potential new party favor supplier. They have some awesome stuff!
8. Deposited 3 pennies that I found at the gas station into my business account.. Hey it all adds up! Remember that if you want to send me money. Every little bits helps!!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Another Weekend Gone Bye
I can’t believe another weekend has come and went! It is Sunday night and I’m tired as hell! Wonder if I will be able to sleep tonight. Usually I don’t on Sunday nights. I think the biggest reason is that I’m dreading the work week ahead. The day part of it anyway. The nights I enjoy. I spend some time with my son (very little its seems) and then I start working on things for my business after I put him to bed.
This week should be especially fun. We used to have 3 agents working in our office. One quit a few months ago and wasn’t replaced. Now it’s down to 2 of us. This week the other girl is on vacation so it’s all me. Soooo looking forward to that!
Like I said the weekend went by so fast. I stayed up till 4 am Saturday morning doing some work and then had to get up before 7:00. Why? Because I’m crazy? Nope cause I have a 3 year old. When he is ready to get up, he’s ready to get up. Luckily my husband covered for me for a few hours Saturday morning when he got home so I took a nap. I stayed up till 12 last night doing some more work, but was able to sleep in a little bit this morning. When I woke up I added some pictures to my MySpace page which desperately needed it. I haven’t updated it since I started it in March. I haven’t had the time!
However I have been continually using it to network with other businesses and potential customers. I think I have around 350 friends now. I also posted 7 new ads in the classifieds today. I do that at least 3 times a week. I got 2 orders this week because of the ads I placed. At least my lunch hours were productive on Tuesday and Friday were productive!
This week should be especially fun. We used to have 3 agents working in our office. One quit a few months ago and wasn’t replaced. Now it’s down to 2 of us. This week the other girl is on vacation so it’s all me. Soooo looking forward to that!
Like I said the weekend went by so fast. I stayed up till 4 am Saturday morning doing some work and then had to get up before 7:00. Why? Because I’m crazy? Nope cause I have a 3 year old. When he is ready to get up, he’s ready to get up. Luckily my husband covered for me for a few hours Saturday morning when he got home so I took a nap. I stayed up till 12 last night doing some more work, but was able to sleep in a little bit this morning. When I woke up I added some pictures to my MySpace page which desperately needed it. I haven’t updated it since I started it in March. I haven’t had the time!
However I have been continually using it to network with other businesses and potential customers. I think I have around 350 friends now. I also posted 7 new ads in the classifieds today. I do that at least 3 times a week. I got 2 orders this week because of the ads I placed. At least my lunch hours were productive on Tuesday and Friday were productive!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
07/07/07
Today is suppose to be good luck! Every one is saying so! However, in the beach town that I live in 4 people, yes I said 4 people have broken their necks at the beach today! How horrible is that!! The news said they were all jumping waves or diving into the water when they hit a sand bar. Can you imagine how these 4 peoples' lives if they turn out to be paralyzed could change forever?
The horrible tragedies made me start thinking about my own life. Am I living my life to the fullest? What can I do differently so that I can? I answered no to the first question. The answer to second question is still unfolding every day. Why is that? Because every day I am moving one step closer to turning my small business into a very successful well known company. I am working so hard at it for so many reasons.
Last night while surfing the net I came across a story on Yahoo that broke my heart. I can't even imagine the hell this mother and son went through! An unspeakable crime! How do they move forward and get on with their lives? This family is another reason I am building my business. As I've stated I see my company being very successful in the future. With success comes money. With money comes the opportunity to help others that are in need. Sometimes people just need some help. This family needs a safer place to live. Yes, crime happens everywhere, but it does lower the chances if you live in a less crime ridden area. This family also needs lots of counseling, encouragement, and money to make a better life for themselves. They need to be able to have hope and find some good in the world again. Money won't solve every problem, but it can be a good starting place. Sometimes people need a little boost to get them in a better place. I know I can't save the world, but I can use my success to help others. Give them what they need to get them in a better place. Put a smile on their face. Give them some hope. Let them be able to dream again. Other people that have amassed a fortune (big or small) have used their financial resources to give to individuals, charities, and good causes. I plan on adding my name to that list.
The horrible tragedies made me start thinking about my own life. Am I living my life to the fullest? What can I do differently so that I can? I answered no to the first question. The answer to second question is still unfolding every day. Why is that? Because every day I am moving one step closer to turning my small business into a very successful well known company. I am working so hard at it for so many reasons.
Last night while surfing the net I came across a story on Yahoo that broke my heart. I can't even imagine the hell this mother and son went through! An unspeakable crime! How do they move forward and get on with their lives? This family is another reason I am building my business. As I've stated I see my company being very successful in the future. With success comes money. With money comes the opportunity to help others that are in need. Sometimes people just need some help. This family needs a safer place to live. Yes, crime happens everywhere, but it does lower the chances if you live in a less crime ridden area. This family also needs lots of counseling, encouragement, and money to make a better life for themselves. They need to be able to have hope and find some good in the world again. Money won't solve every problem, but it can be a good starting place. Sometimes people need a little boost to get them in a better place. I know I can't save the world, but I can use my success to help others. Give them what they need to get them in a better place. Put a smile on their face. Give them some hope. Let them be able to dream again. Other people that have amassed a fortune (big or small) have used their financial resources to give to individuals, charities, and good causes. I plan on adding my name to that list.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Giving You A Little Bit More ~
Now you know a little bit about me. Yeah, you say. Well here are a few additional tid bits of information just in case you are craving more. I love being an entrepreneur! I LOVE reading books, watching shows, and listening to people tell how they created a successful business. I get so inspired, so fired up. When I hear about other peoples’ success or talk about my own business its like I turn into a different person, a side of me that isn’t present in my day job comes alive. I truly enjoy working hard at building my business. I am very proud at how far I have come over the last year in regards to managing and updating my own website. I have little computer experience, but I do everything I can to learn as much as possible about working with my site. My website was designed for me, but I had no clue how to manage it after the web designer finished it. I didn’t even know how to add the all important keywords and meta tags that search engines use to index your site. I have taught myself to do so many things over the last 14 months. It has often times been a frustrating ordeal, but once I have figured out how to do something I feel like I am floating on cloud nine. You are probably wondering why in the world didn’t I hire someone to do all of this for me. Hell, I’m working full time, building my business, juggling my husband’s and my crazy schedule, trying to care for my young son, make an attempt at staying in shape, run errands, do my share in running our household, and try to get a few hours of sleep every once in awhile. I’m not superwoman, although many times you would think I thought I was! To answer your burning question, I simply could not afford to. It would take a small fortune to pay someone every time I want to update my home page, add a product, a picture, text, a new link etc, etc. Plus in the long run as the company grows, I need to be able to know how to do these things myself. Once in awhile I get stuck and can’t figure out how in the world to do something, at that time I do have to pay someone for their help. The less money I have to pay for someone else to work on my website the more money I have to spend on marketing my website.
Beside the high I get from learning new things about managing and promoting my website, I truly enjoy working with my customers. I know what it’s like to have to plan a wedding, baby shower, or try to find a nice gift, but don’t feel like you can find anything locally that is unique. I created my business so customers can have an alternative to their local market. I work hard at offering my customers the latest trends in unique favors and gifts at affordable prices along with excellent customer service. From the comments I have received my customers truly appreciate the close attention I pay to the smallest detail in order to make sure my customers’ are happy with their special order favors and gifts.
As I said, my dream is to turn my company into a worldwide distributor of elegant favors and gifts. I can picture my products as being a well known name in the wedding and party planning industry. With that said, turning my small company into a worldwide distributor of party favors and gifts is my dream, but it is only a small part of it. A vehicle actually, to get me where I see myself needing to be in life.
I know you are wondering where I am going with this, so let me explain. I want to be able to use the money I create from my business to allow me to have the time to do the things I long to do. I guess I could use the cliché here of paying it forward. So many people over the last few years have inspired, encouraged, and helped me with building my business and I know people will continue to do so into the future. It may have been with a tip they shared that helped me with my website or perhaps with some encouraging words when things were looking grim. Big or small I have truly appreciated everything! I want to be able to share with others that are working hard at building their business some of the things I have learned while I was building mine.
One very important person that I want to help is my young son. I want him to grow up in an environment where he learns how to run a successful business and develop the necessary skills that are needed to succeed in the business world. I want him to understand that it’s not impossible to make a living doing something that you actually love. You don’t have to waste your life away working for a little paycheck in a job that doesn’t bring you any satisfaction. Right now at age 3 he sees me running around in the morning like a mad woman trying to get us both ready and out the door. It won’t be long before he can tell that I don’t sleep on Sunday nights because I’m dreading the work week ahead. I am determined to build my business to show him there is alternative to how most people spend their time during the week. I am building my business for myself, for him, and for my grandfather who I whispered my promise to that I would succeed while he lay dying in the hospital back in February.
Beside the high I get from learning new things about managing and promoting my website, I truly enjoy working with my customers. I know what it’s like to have to plan a wedding, baby shower, or try to find a nice gift, but don’t feel like you can find anything locally that is unique. I created my business so customers can have an alternative to their local market. I work hard at offering my customers the latest trends in unique favors and gifts at affordable prices along with excellent customer service. From the comments I have received my customers truly appreciate the close attention I pay to the smallest detail in order to make sure my customers’ are happy with their special order favors and gifts.
As I said, my dream is to turn my company into a worldwide distributor of elegant favors and gifts. I can picture my products as being a well known name in the wedding and party planning industry. With that said, turning my small company into a worldwide distributor of party favors and gifts is my dream, but it is only a small part of it. A vehicle actually, to get me where I see myself needing to be in life.
I know you are wondering where I am going with this, so let me explain. I want to be able to use the money I create from my business to allow me to have the time to do the things I long to do. I guess I could use the cliché here of paying it forward. So many people over the last few years have inspired, encouraged, and helped me with building my business and I know people will continue to do so into the future. It may have been with a tip they shared that helped me with my website or perhaps with some encouraging words when things were looking grim. Big or small I have truly appreciated everything! I want to be able to share with others that are working hard at building their business some of the things I have learned while I was building mine.
One very important person that I want to help is my young son. I want him to grow up in an environment where he learns how to run a successful business and develop the necessary skills that are needed to succeed in the business world. I want him to understand that it’s not impossible to make a living doing something that you actually love. You don’t have to waste your life away working for a little paycheck in a job that doesn’t bring you any satisfaction. Right now at age 3 he sees me running around in the morning like a mad woman trying to get us both ready and out the door. It won’t be long before he can tell that I don’t sleep on Sunday nights because I’m dreading the work week ahead. I am determined to build my business to show him there is alternative to how most people spend their time during the week. I am building my business for myself, for him, and for my grandfather who I whispered my promise to that I would succeed while he lay dying in the hospital back in February.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
My Dream!
Hi, I'm Ashley! Call me crazy, but I still believe in the American dream. I believe that somehow, someway you can actually make a nice living from doing something you love. This blog is about my journey of making my dream a reality. Here you will share in the joys, triumphs, frustrations, and stress of my journey from working full time to turning my dream of owning a successful company into a reality. Come with me on the journey and watch me make the transition from where I am now to where I want to be in life.
Disclaimer ~ Gotta warn you right from the start, you may not like what I have to say and you may not agree with me sharing it with the world. That's fine by me. If this blog is not for you then move on. This blog is about my dreams, my journey of making them a reality, and a place where others can offer tips, support, and encouragement as I build my business.
With that said, let me tell you a little bit about myself cause I'm sure you are wanting to know. Or maybe you don't, but too bad! Like I said, this is my blog!
I'm a 34 year old petite chick that is married, has a handsome young son, a crazy cat, a cool business that I love building, and currently at this point a full time job that I truly do not like. You will get to hear the exciting details of my job later on so brace yourself!
Here's how the dream started ~ Since I was in my early 20's I have wanted to own my own business. I wasn't sure what kind of business I wanted at that point, but I knew for sure that I wanted to work for myself. I realized early on that I would never get to where I wanted to be in life by working for someone else. About five years ago on a day off from work I happened to catch Oprah's show about ladies who had created successful businesses. I was inspired and motivated! Over the next few weeks, I kept thinking about that show. The ladies all worked hard to build their business, but they all seemed to stumble upon their business idea by accident. I so badly wanted to start a business too, but didn't know where to begin. A few weeks later, while walking through my office I came across a handmade candle that had been sitting in my co-workers office for over 2 years. All of the sudden it hit me, I'm don't have any talent, I'm not crafty, but I do know about candles! At the time I burned a candle in my office every single day. I decided to start my own candle business because I could never find a candle that would burn all the way down to the bottom of the jar. Instead the candle would burn about half way down the middle and then it would no longer light. I did some research, found a great candle making message board, and a great supplier. I started my candle business and got great reviews from my customers. A few months later I got pregnant with my son, but continued growing my business. I had a website designed and started getting more and more local customers wanting my candles. About that time a friend that owned a wedding business suggested I make candles in mini beach pails for beach weddings. The beach theme candles became a big hit so I started marketing to the wedding industry. After my son was born, a customer from my day job that knew about my candle business said I needed to find something to sell that I didn't have to make myself. He stated that I would have a hard time making any real money from my candles because my profit was limited to the candles I could produce. I didn't like what he said at the time, but in the months that followed it began to make sense. In addition to my candles, I decided to sell wedding favors since I had already been marketing to the wedding industry. One of my suppliers happened to sell edible favors so I contacted my insurance company to see if I would be covered selling that type of favors. As it turns out my current insurance didn't have a problem with me selling a potential fire hazard, but did have a problem with me dropshipping wedding favors, even the nonedible ones to my customers. I knew I had to make a decision so in April 2006 I stopped making candles much to my customers' dismay. I hated to discontinue my candles, but they were very time consuming and costly to make. It was hard, but I made a business decision and moved forward with my plan to expand into selling wedding favors and personalized gifts. I had a new website designed for me and a created a new name for my business. After the nightmare of having my second website designed, Cherished Gifts & Favors was launched in April of 2006.
This last year I have spent almost every free moment I have had (my family and friends a can attest to it) on marketing my business, enhancing my website, expanding my product line, and learning as much as I can about running a successful e-commerce business. I am proud of how much I have accomplished, but know there is tons that I still have to learn in order to make my dreams a reality. I invite you along with my customers to come with me on my journey of building Cherished Gifts & Favors from a small company to a worldwide distributor of elegant favors, gifts, and accessories for any special occasion.
Disclaimer ~ Gotta warn you right from the start, you may not like what I have to say and you may not agree with me sharing it with the world. That's fine by me. If this blog is not for you then move on. This blog is about my dreams, my journey of making them a reality, and a place where others can offer tips, support, and encouragement as I build my business.
With that said, let me tell you a little bit about myself cause I'm sure you are wanting to know. Or maybe you don't, but too bad! Like I said, this is my blog!
I'm a 34 year old petite chick that is married, has a handsome young son, a crazy cat, a cool business that I love building, and currently at this point a full time job that I truly do not like. You will get to hear the exciting details of my job later on so brace yourself!
Here's how the dream started ~ Since I was in my early 20's I have wanted to own my own business. I wasn't sure what kind of business I wanted at that point, but I knew for sure that I wanted to work for myself. I realized early on that I would never get to where I wanted to be in life by working for someone else. About five years ago on a day off from work I happened to catch Oprah's show about ladies who had created successful businesses. I was inspired and motivated! Over the next few weeks, I kept thinking about that show. The ladies all worked hard to build their business, but they all seemed to stumble upon their business idea by accident. I so badly wanted to start a business too, but didn't know where to begin. A few weeks later, while walking through my office I came across a handmade candle that had been sitting in my co-workers office for over 2 years. All of the sudden it hit me, I'm don't have any talent, I'm not crafty, but I do know about candles! At the time I burned a candle in my office every single day. I decided to start my own candle business because I could never find a candle that would burn all the way down to the bottom of the jar. Instead the candle would burn about half way down the middle and then it would no longer light. I did some research, found a great candle making message board, and a great supplier. I started my candle business and got great reviews from my customers. A few months later I got pregnant with my son, but continued growing my business. I had a website designed and started getting more and more local customers wanting my candles. About that time a friend that owned a wedding business suggested I make candles in mini beach pails for beach weddings. The beach theme candles became a big hit so I started marketing to the wedding industry. After my son was born, a customer from my day job that knew about my candle business said I needed to find something to sell that I didn't have to make myself. He stated that I would have a hard time making any real money from my candles because my profit was limited to the candles I could produce. I didn't like what he said at the time, but in the months that followed it began to make sense. In addition to my candles, I decided to sell wedding favors since I had already been marketing to the wedding industry. One of my suppliers happened to sell edible favors so I contacted my insurance company to see if I would be covered selling that type of favors. As it turns out my current insurance didn't have a problem with me selling a potential fire hazard, but did have a problem with me dropshipping wedding favors, even the nonedible ones to my customers. I knew I had to make a decision so in April 2006 I stopped making candles much to my customers' dismay. I hated to discontinue my candles, but they were very time consuming and costly to make. It was hard, but I made a business decision and moved forward with my plan to expand into selling wedding favors and personalized gifts. I had a new website designed for me and a created a new name for my business. After the nightmare of having my second website designed, Cherished Gifts & Favors was launched in April of 2006.
This last year I have spent almost every free moment I have had (my family and friends a can attest to it) on marketing my business, enhancing my website, expanding my product line, and learning as much as I can about running a successful e-commerce business. I am proud of how much I have accomplished, but know there is tons that I still have to learn in order to make my dreams a reality. I invite you along with my customers to come with me on my journey of building Cherished Gifts & Favors from a small company to a worldwide distributor of elegant favors, gifts, and accessories for any special occasion.
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