I am considering this month a success, even though I am only crossing one thing off my two item list. I am going to work faster and harder today then ever to finish my site redesign. I’m close (so close) to being done. And I think Groundhog Day is a stellar day to launch. I will tweet and post about it on The Meetup group’s Facebook page. Feedback would be lovely 🙂
On to February…
Now that my Business Plan is done (the 1st draft anyway), I can begin to implement part of my Marketing Plan. I’m going to begin with one of my local ideas and expand from there. Details on this next month!
I have three online design classes I’ve been unable to take because of time constraints. Today is the first class for using my Wacom tablet. I bought the tablet years ago and use it sparingly. It’s a tool that I should utilize more and I’m sure there are handy shortcuts I don’t know. The other classes are self-paced: one in Illustrator and one in Photoshop. Gonna build my skills!
Minnesota Week will be fun! I have five super-talented people I want to share (most I’m sure you know) and it seems perfect to feature them in cold, cold February.
I made a difficult decision this past month. I will not be showing at the National Stationery Show this year. I seriously considered it, but after consulting with seasoned paper peeps, as well as a couple newbies from last year’s show, it will be better if I wait until 2011. I know my decision was the right one, but you all may need to reassure me as May comes closer. My alternative is to try and get into the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn on June 5 & 6. There is an approval process, so I may not be accepted. But I’ll cross that bridge in early March.
Going wholesale is another huge goal. Wholesale seems like a big mystery. Researching information has been challenging, but I’m hoping to get my toes in the chilly water this month. If you have any wholesale knowledge, I would love to hear your experiences.
I hope to visit your blogs tomorrow after my long workday today. I love seeing everyone’s progress each month and the discoveries we make. Thanks again to Liz for continuing this meaningful process!
If you’re interested in joining The Meetup, details are at Liz Kalloch’s blog, Athena Dreams.
congrats on finishing up your biz plan! and can’t wait to see your new site! i hope you love your wacom tablet class – it is such a fabulous tool and makes life so much easier for me, i would be lost without it!!
good luck with your renegade craft fair & wholesale setup too! as it was a hard decision to not go to the nss – im sure you will be more focused & ready for 2011, especially getting the wholesale up and running now allows you time for feedback and to build up momentum for next year!!
deb
Congrats on your business plan! I hope that I’ll be making one of those in my adult ed business class this month 🙂
Also, good luck with wholesale – I’m having difficulty with that right now. Most stores want to do consignment instead.
You finished your biz plan – Woo hoo! Rock star! And I can’t wait for your Ground Hog Day premiere.
You and I are on the same path. I’m at the same place with wholesale, NSS and classes. Have you considered going to NSS as a visitor? I’m still considering mulling it over.
P.S. My Wacom is in a drawer gathering dust. Such a waste!
Great job finishing your business plan!
I just started the Bakery course yesterday and am struggling not to feel overwhelmed.
Too funny about the Wacom, I just got one from my husband for Christmas and still barely use it yet. Still need to get comfortable enough with it that it’s actually faster/better than my current workflow.
Let me know if you’d like to be included in my blogroll and I’ll be sure to add you!
-Kristin
Cyn, awesome that you finished the biz plan (I started making notes for mine last night). Oooo hate those difficult decisions, but it sounds like you are sure that it is the right decision, I throw this out there tho, consider going to the Stationery show as a visitor and walking the floor (if you never have) it is invaluable research to see who’s showing and what’s showing, what’s happening, who the thronged booths belong to, and the such like. Meet Angie there, and see what’s what!
Hope your February is amazing!
Thank you all so much for your encouragement! I am going to walk the floor of NSS, as I did last year, but with a better eye for learning 🙂
And to all you Bakers taking the e-course, here is my advice… do as much as you can of the assignments without making yourself crazy. Know that you cannot finish a business plan in a week, but the work you do in the next six weeks will allow you to finish it in the future!
Way to go finishing your business plan, Cyn! That has got to be such a huge relief!
Good luck in February–some great goals! The only tip I have about going wholesale (still very new for me) is to create a line sheet and/or catalog of your products first, and type out your terms of service (minimum order, payment type, etc.). I waited until approached about wholesale to create these, and as they’re very time consuming to create (for me, anyway), doing them under pressure at the 11th hour is not the way to go!
Can’t wait to hear more about your journey, and I’m super excited about MN week!