Going to Paris!

Starting a business is a great and huge endeavor: a product is created, you promote and sell your product, you rake in the dough, and you have the best boss ever - yourself. I pictured myself as a small business that was going to be based out of my home and working in pajamas.

I like to compare my adventure so far with going to Paris. I'm thinking bright "new order!" notifications, fashion, style, and excitement. I'm excited, all packed up, ready to go.

The first step for me was to decide if I wanted to take the plunge. I shopped for raw materials and set a budget for my soon-to-be shop. The cons were weighing out the pros (do I really need to be spend $XXX when I need it for groceries for the week?) but after a deep breath and a glimmer of faith, I decided to hit that "submit" button and ordered the supplies I needed to create my bracelets.

The best button I've ever pushed

I did research on the Internet on what was popular and figured out price points. My main goal was to create affordable jewelry for others (and mothers!) who did not have a lot of extra cash but wanted to have something pretty for themselves. I began to work at my "creation station" and beaded, twisted, and charmed away. The entire time, while still seriously determined, I was excited like a 5 year old girl who just received a Barbie Corvette and matching Ken doll for her birthday.

But my Etsy shop is better than the mall!

This is such a great idea!, I thought. I created a surplus of expandable bracelets, the kind that is famous like the Rhode Island based maker, with a different type of charmed style to make it my own. One hundred bracelets later, I opened up my shop at  julemijewelry.etsy.com and waited. Crickets. And those crickets had crickets. Then those crickets had crickets. I may as well have been in the deep meadows making friends with other creatures under rocks.

"I'll just wait here, and...wait."

So this isn't Paris. I'm on the outskirts staring in. Where are the bright lights? The noises? The fashion? Still just crickets. I began to lose a bit of the excitement and put my things away. It seemed like I was going to be here for a while.

Then, trumpets came blaring and lights start flashing when I hear that first glorious cha-ching from my smart phone. Well, no parade really, but the feeling was so gratifying. All that work in creation, and I finally received a sale three weeks since opening up shop. I was beginning to feel that much closer to Paris. I started re-packing because I felt that this was just the beginning and more was to come.

THEN THE REAL WORK STARTED....

Sales began to trickle then pour in because of the upcoming holiday (Christmas 2013). I needed more supplies! I needed more charms! Different charms? Well okay! I need more beads! And time! Where's all the time???? I work full time at a day job and have a daughter, so my time is limited. I maybe have 1-2 hours a day to create, photograph, edit, list, and promote. Sometimes I just want to work on my shop and shut the world out. I want to create.I want to sit at my desk and bead and twist. I want to make sure all my bracelets are perfect.

Then it dawned on me that I am now an actual business. What started as a hobby and a vision was now an up and coming shop. I had registered my business with the state to obtain a sales tax ID so I could sell at craft fairs and at home shows.

While I still consider myself a "newbie," I have gone much farther than I thought I would...and that's great!!

So...Paris isn't what I had expected. There's a lot of hustle and bustle. There's a lot of noise. There's an endless need to visit the craft stores and an endless need for beads and other supplies. There's endless fees and charges for running a business.

But, there's also a sea of endless possibilities.

Just last year alone from October to December sales, I was able to take a trip to Hawaii for a surprise visit to see my parents.

I have a creative outlet and I am doing something that I love that brings in revenue. It has its ups and downs, highs and lows, but it is still my home based business and I love my Etsy shop. I am always creating, thinking of new ideas, and putting items out there for the world to see. A part of me is in each piece.

Here's to more creativity!!