Business Cards, Wholesale, and Signing up for Propay

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I got these awesome new business cards in the mail a few days ago.  I know I've mentioned them before, but moo.com really does a great job.  This time I ordered the full-size business cards and put close-up product shots on the front.  I think they convey a lot more information than my mini cards - they'll be good for handing out to people who haven't seen my stuff.  There are six different pictures on the fronts, and the backs are all the same.

I'm excited to hand these out at the Rocky Ripple Festival in two weeks (two weeks?!  when did that happen?!).  I also want to put together a wholesale price list and some kind of little portfolio.  I'm not sure I'll need it AT the craft fair, but I've been wanting to get some wholesale info together since I started so this is a good time to do it.  However, I just wrote up an overly ambitious list of products I need to sew in the next two weeks so we'll see if the wholesale information makes it off my to-do list.

Speaking of the festival, I just signed up for Propay so I can accept credit cards.  It was surprisingly easy - it took maybe ten minutes - and super cheap.  If you sign up through this link I found in the Etsy forums it's only about $30 a year, plus a percentage of each transaction - maybe 3.5%?  I'm not sure how the money gets to my bank, so I need to dig around on the site before the show to figure out how everything works.  I know they do offer a debit card that you can use at an ATM.

Last week I dropped these super-cute aprons off at the Irvington Iris Tea Room.  I love how they turned out and I wanted to keep them all for myself.  Actually, the ruffle one and the full size one are copies of ones I made for myself a few years back.

After making these, I decided I wanted to make a few for the Etsy shop, so yesterday I whipped up a coordinating women's/girl's apron set.  They turned out so awesome.  I promised Bridget a sucker if she poses for some product pictures today, so keep an eye out for the set to hit the Etsy shop this evening!

I'm tossing around the idea of posting a book review every week on here - any thoughts?  I've been reading a good amount of crafty business books and marketing books lately, so I thought it might be helpful.  I'm reading Why She Buys right now, which is about marketing to women.  Being a woman and all I thought this book might not be much use to me, but turns out I'm learning a lot.

Have a great weekend!

Goodies in the mail!

Tweet I've been patiently waiting for some goodies I ordered last week to finally arrive in the mail (I know, I know, it's been one whole week).  But hooray!!  Two fun things in the mail today!

These are my new business cards from moo.com and my sew-in labels from Mommie Made It.  The labels are great, even better than I expected.  I decided for my first batch of labels to go with printed labels instead of woven for two reasons.  One, they're about a billion times cheaper and two, I could get them in a week.  My only problem is I didn't leave room at the top to stitch them into a seam, so I'm going to have to sew each one on separately.  Not a big deal, but next time I'll design them with some room at the top.  I may also spring for the folded woven ones after I go through these.

That cool little pink thing is a keychain business card holder.  My cards are the mini cards, so they're half the size of regular cards (think of them as a business card cut in half the long way).  I ordered the same type of cards with the "made by sam" logo before I realized the error of my naming ways and I always got lots of compliments on them.  I think they're unique, which hopefully translates into people remembering bobaloo! and wanting to check out my shop.

On the subject of Etsy shops, I've kind of had a change in my vision of Etsy and what my Etsy shop in particular is to me.  I've been listening to the craft business podcasts on CraftyPod while I sew lately and I'm learning a TON about the craft market.  One podcast in particular featuring Megan Auman from Crafting an MBA really hit home with me.  Basically, I'm starting to feel more like Etsy should be more of an online portfolio for my work - somewhere for people who I've spoken to in person go to check out more of my products and maybe buy a few things.  I've got to do some thinking on this subject as one of my business goals included a certain number of Etsy sales.  If you have time, listen to the podcast because it's really good.  Oh, and listen to the one with Rachel Klein from One Pretty Thing - the girl subscribes to FOUR THOUSAND blogs!

I'm hoping to whip up a quick gift for my little sister in the morning.  She's going to a boarding school at a college not far away, so she'll be living in a dorm room.  I think I may pick up some towels and add some fancy fabric to the ends.  I might even put her name on them - it's nice and short so I think I can pull it off in the couple hours I have before her "dorm shower".  Have a great weekend!

Back to work!

Tweet We took a little vacation this past weekend to Cincinnati.  It was the first trip with just the four of us, and aside from a little sleep deprivation for Graham, it really went well.  I'm sorta embarassed to admit that one the main reasons we went there for the weekend was so we could go to IKEA.  My daughter even said, "Can we stay here forever?"  She's my kind of girl!

I have made some progress on my business to-do list.  I ordered sew-in labels and business cards.  I finally finished Handmade Marketplace, and I'm pretty much convinced I'm just going to have to buy a copy.  It has so much good info in at that I can't take advantage of now, so I'd like to revisit it in the future.  I also started on some inventory - a sweet little stuffed toy that is a copy of one I made for Bridget when she was little.

About a week and a half ago I filled out an assessment form on the Indiana Small Business Development Center's website hoping for a little local help on setting up a business.  I'm disappointed to report that I just got an email telling me to sign up for a seminar.  I was expecting some sort of business counseling, but maybe I expected too much?  I'm going to search around some more for some help here in Indy.

I have two birthday parties coming up, so when I got the email that White House Custom Color had press-printed cards on sale last week, I went ahead and made birthday invitations for both little monsters.  Bridget, being a typical preschool girl, wants a princess party.  Graham has no say in the matter (well he says "Buh!" and "Dada!"), so he's getting a space-themed party.  I can't tell you how happy I always am with these cards - I use them for invitations and Christmas cards - and mama loves a discount.

On today's agenda is mailing in my application for a "Doing Business As" license and waiting impatiently for a shipment of adorable fabric!