{Wall Plaque via Sam Gibson on Etsy}
I’m a romantic—and I love Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this holiday than to give something away to one lovely reader.
The Prize
Four 30-minute individual consulting sessions. If you win, over the next 4 weeks, we’ll spend time making over your creative business. I’ll help you revamp your online shop, teach you how to market your products, and give you detailed steps to take your blog and website to the next level. And, we’ll have a lot of freaking fun doing it! You’ll also receive FREE access to the 12-month Inspired Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs program. This is a $736 value.
How to Win
You can enter via video or written submission.
1. Enter via video: Create a video that’s less than 2 minutes long that answers the following:
- What struggles are you having with your creative business?
- How will individual consulting and the blog program help you increase your business success?
Upload your video to YouTube and leave the link to your YouTube video in the comments below.
2. Enter via written submission: In fewer than 400 words, answer the following questions in the comments below:
- What struggles are you having with your creative business?
- How will individual consulting and the blog program help you increase your business success?
Bonus Points!
If you want to increase your chances to win this package, spread the word via social media.
1. Tweet about the contest up to 2 times per day. Make sure to include this link: http://bit.ly/f9RKMx and @blacksburgbelle in your tweets to make them count!
2. Add a link to your video or post your written submission on your Facebook page. You must include a link back to this page to make it count!
Details You Need to Know
1. Enter via video or written submission. You get bonus points for spreading the word via social media.
2. Videos must be under 2 minutes and written submissions must be fewer than 400 words.
3. Tweets must contain this link: http://bit.ly/f9RKMx and @blacksburgbelle
4. The deadline is Thursday, February 17th at 5pm EST.
5. The winner will be announced Friday, February 18th.
6. If you win and you’ve already purchased the blog program, you’ll get the individual coaching sessions, and you can pick a friend to give access to the blog program.
7. I’m judging the entries and my decision is final. Get creative!
I look forward to reading and watching your entries!
I would LOVE this, but April, April now I have to add this to my 6 things list which already has 7 things on it! Okay, I get it, NO CRAP EXCUSES! I can add it to tomorrows list!
Love the Symposium BTW!
Where do we send the written submission?
Add your written submissions in the comment section right here 🙂
April, I would love a consultation! I am a quilter who is venturing into pattern design for both quilts and hand embroidery. I have started the 12-month program and you have forced me to start focusing on getting real about starting my business, deciding on my target audience, and to stop making crap excuses! Thank you for the kick in the pants. I feel like I have finally started on the road to having my own creative business (but that doesn’t mean I don’t need some more prodding!)
This is Awesome! I’d love, love, love THIS! yeehaw…I might even do a video for it.
Hi April,
Thanks for the chance to win! So… here’s the sad truth, I’m not very internet savvy. I don’t have a face book account, I don’t tweet and I don’t have a blog.. But, if I had your undivided attention for 2 full hours I’m sure you could teach me how to set up a popular blog and how to add links and buttons and things like that. I just opened my Etsy store at the end of January and haven’t had a single sale. I’m sure you have plenty of tips on how to capture my target market and how to get my products seen. I was laid off from a really crappy job last fall and while I’m searching for a new job, I thought I would try to make this endeavor my new job. So, at this point in time I would not be able to afford the $750.00 that would be required to retain your services – although I’m sure it would be worth every penny!!! So… as you can clearly see, I need all the help I can get. If you choose me, I will be forever indebted to you. I will shout your name from the highest rooftop and tell everyone I know, and meet, they should use your services. And it will be easy to get the word out because I will know how to add a link and a button!
Thanks for listening.
Kind Regards,
Tina
Hey April! I would LOVE to win this awesome package from you! I’m always so impressed with the valuable information you provide here, and I’d love for You to give me some insight into my business!
The main things I’m struggling with are:
1) PRODUCTS & SERVICES – I want to have both, but they’re to two different target markets. Sometimes it’s tough to get things in each area created, organized, and marketed. It’s like running two businesses…my shop and my blog.
2) PRODUCT LINES – getting them narrowed down, created, and launched. I have all these ideas, but I need some focus on what’s valuable to my target market. I don’t want to try to do too much at once and then have crap. I want my stuff to be awesome!
3) VALUABLE CONTENT – I know my target market, but coming up with continuous valuable content that is different from what other’s are providing can be challenging.
4) MARKETING – I know this is an area that you continually learn about. I want to be able to market myself, products, services, business, all of that as much as possible and effectively because that’s how I’m going to be found. Eventually other’s will be marketing for me by word of mouth!
I’m already in your blogging program, and I’m loving it! I’d love to be able to give it to a friend and let it help them too! I truly believe that learning how to create a blog, provide valuable content, and reach your target market will do wonders for a business. I’ve only completed 2 months of the program and I’ve already seen an increase in traffic, content, and subscribers! I know the next 10 months are going to help me to continue making my blog more successful!
As far as success from the individual consulting sessions go, I know that it will help my business because I’ll have the opinion and advice of someone who’s done the exact same thing I’m doing. You’ve been there and done it, and learning from your mistakes and successes will help my business in the long run. Plus seeing my business through someone else’s eyes will help me to see things that I can’t, and I’ll be able to address those areas once I know they’re there.
Thank you so much for this great opportunity! I’ll definitely be tweeting this and putting it up on my blog and FB page! I’m looking forward to Friday!
Meagan
Hi April/world! We are freaking awesome newlyweds and are trying to figure out this new life we have ventured into and are so excited to share that with everyone around us! We have lots of great skills for budgeting, cooking, creating, decorating, thrifting, laughing and having fun. We want to share this excitement with others and make a pretty penny off it to support our new life and help finish up our degrees. I’ve opened an Etsy shop but the orders are exactly pouring in and I’ve started a blog and have gotten a handful of readers, but we need to step it up! We need to know how to market and who to market to without forcing our friends to buy all our products and our dirty socks…Individual counseling will help us focus in on the direction our business needs to go and how to make us and our products sparkle (besides our irresistible good looks and devilishly quick wit) to potential customers. My husband and I are firm believers that nothing says ‘I love you’ or ‘you are special to me’ like a handmade gift! We want our lives to be about handmade: making a conscious effort to do something out of the ordinary for someone extraordinary. We do that through all our handmade goodies that you will find in our home, our shop and all our gifts. We treat all our friends (customers) as that extraordinary person as we create the perfect item for them to cherish or share and this is the idea that we would love for you to help us get across to our fans, friends and potential fan-friends! We’ve got gumption and soul, we just need a little direction to steer us to success so we can spread our handmade love throughout the world!
All our love,
Lauren & Terrell Hooper
My goal: To be a freelance artist.
Two struggles I wrestle with: “getting clear on the money” and finding my market.
I’m not a math person and so financial speak bores me. I’ve made an effort to keep my receipts for purchases, but I never sit down to crunch the numbers; I’m afraid to know how much money I am going through! Should I open a business bank account to force myself to stay within my limits?
In regards to my Holy Grail (my market share), I’ve appeared on the arts and crafts circuit, making enough to pay for the booth space and add money “back to my shop’s books”. This gives me hope that there is a market out there for my type of artwork. The trouble with this type of marketing is clear—it’s expensive and sporadic exposure. Of course, I have my Etsy shop, through which I’ve made about 35 sales (over a year’s time). The problem? It’s the Needle in the Haystack Syndrome. I love Etsy, but it’s clear that I am just another number. I do the forums consistently, do the chat (which I now realize—thanks to you, April—is a crap excuse) and joined three, yes three teams. On the local front, I’ve approached a handful of gift shops in hopes of selling my note cards and stationery, to no avail. “Greeting cards don’t sell” or “I already have a line” or “We’re bursting at the seams”. I have a blog (with two followers) and a Facebook Page (with about 30 “likes”), as well as my images on Zazzle and Zibbet. With the “busywork” these all require, it’s hard to spare only 20% of my work time. I’ve read numerous books about how to promote myself. These are helpful, but I need to motivate myself to try the (inexpensive) ideas. Should I create more work for a portfolio before I start this journey?
My stifled creative mind wonders: What’s a realistic marketing goal? What’s a realistic time-line to reach my goal; when should I “throw in the towel?” Is there a sufficient market for my work? My son will be going to school (full-time) soon, and that means I will return to teaching. My opportunity to dedicate myself fully to this creative business dream is fast approaching. I do not want to be one of those people who say “What if?”
Thank you!
Yay! I’m very excited about this April!! Here’s my entry:
My biggest struggle is deciding how much time to spend on which types of activities. I haven’t been able to find any articles about it in the blogosphere. There are a lot of articles on time management (which have been useful to me, I started using my virtual calendar and I’m getting a lot more done!) But how can I decide if I’m spending too much time promoting and not enough time crafting? How can we decide how much of our time to spend actually crafting, promoting, networking, improving one’s business, customer care, etc. And then, what are all the categories of activities that I should make sure that I’m doing and what activities come under what categories? Does my time spent taking pictures and writing item descriptions for posting on Etsy come under the category of “creating inventory” (ie. crafting) or does this count as “promoting”? Are there common things we should be doing for our businesses that are often left out? (I suppose that networking with like-minded crafters could be one.) And then, on top of that, how should I figure out how much to charge for my work to cover all the costs of the time spent doing things other than making things? I had actually been considering individual consulting before you posted this because I think I’ve covered a lot of the main things(not perfected, but at least gotten a good leg up on them) that are recommended for people with small, handmade craft businesses to do in order to be successful, and I believe that I’m ready for some fine-tuning of details specific to me, my situation and my business that general articles don’t get into the details of. (Mostly, I think, because the details will vary with every single business.)
Thanks for the giveaway, April. This is a great idea, I bet you’ll get ideas for a lot of blog posts out of it, and I can’t wait to read them!
Hi April,
Sitting in the office of my supervisor and COO of a successful entertainment production company just a mere three weeks ago, I was given a diplomatic yet sincere regret that I was being laid-off. As an administrative assistant to a family powerhouse, I didn’t quite understand how that was possible, but I saw it as one of the most dynamic opportunities to fully pursue my passion of creating art, writing books, (I’ve launch both projects thus far) and creating a brand out of my name.
I’m fully conscious that my daughter (almost a year and a half) is looking to me for guidance and lessons to help her create a passionate and meaningful life for herself. That being said, I want to be able to maximize my brand, my business goals and inspirations, so that I create a business that will sustain myself and my family, and allow me to live passionately on a full time basis! However, I have humbled myself to admit that I need help. A whole ‘lotta help.
The funding to purchase educational resources is not at my disposal at this moment, but I do not make excuses not to jump on any opportunity to acquire the necessary resources that does not require funds, but rather creativity, time, and a patient heart.
Good luck to everyone in pursuit of creating success!
(I just linked to your post from my facebook fan page for my bonus point!) I tried to post my whole comment, but it was too many words and facebook wouldn’t let me, so I told them to come here and scan the comments to find out!) http://www.facebook.com/authenticarts
How kind of you to offer this package. I know there are many of us out there that could use the help. Especially those of us who are a bit older and not as savvy with the blog, tweet, and basics of just generally getting the word out. I feel that I am always just getting by. I lost my job a year ago, and would much rather have my own business. Going back to work for someone else is no longer appealing to me. I’ve seen the waste and mismanagement that goes on in businesses. I can do better for myself. At least I will know what I need to do and what is going on. Hard work doesn’t bother me, not working does.
STRUGGLES: Just learning how to get involved and learning how to get my business out there and noticed. Right now, I don’t have a clue on where to start. I don’t understand how a blog should work or what to do with it. And tweeting to me is something birds do. Etsy has been a fun and wonderful way to list my items. But that is about how far it has gone.
I have a facebook page, so I guess I’m not totally out of the loop. However my facebook page is a personal one for family and I do have a link to my etsy store on it. I would like to know how to set up a facebook page for my etsy business. I don’t even know how to search for business facebook page.
I love the outlets that are available to us, I’m just a bit behind the times, and need a lesson or two on how to do it step by step. It would be wonderful keep up on all the new ways to promote my business and really start to sell. Blogs, tweeting, and all the other ways that Etsy has provided for everyone would be wonderful to learn. It seems as though there is so much information, that I get overwhelmed and don’t know what to do. I have listed my items and that is about it. Anything else beyond I get confused on which way to go or even on how to do it. Getting me going would be awesome, I could actually start staying on track be the engineer of my business. Okay I’m older a bit corney. Sorry. lol
HOW IT WILL HELP: Once I can learn to get the exposure that I need to increase business, I would be more excited about keeping up and listing new products everyday. I love what I do and have always wanted my own business. I have anywhere from 25 to 75 more different items that I could list. If I could get the exposure and start selling it would give me the incentive to start listing new and more creative items.
I’ve invested the money and time to get it started, now all I need is a kick out the door and hit the payment kind of marketing that I can do on the internet.
Awesome offer and cudo’s to you for your willingness to help.
Sincerely,
Heather
www,HBColorCreations.esty.com
I just tweeted this and i have no clue if i did it right or not! (hence why i would love your expertise, April)
Submission coming soon =)
Good Luck to all 🙂
Here’s my FB post!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baby-Swank/132933140087552
Hi there! My biggest challenge at the present time is driving traffic, targeted traffic or otherwise, to my Etsy shop. I have a Facebook Page as well as a blog and Twitter account; all of which I participate in on a daily basis from Monday to Friday. My following is steadily growing but I’m concerned with the slow growth.
I believe individual consulting and the blog program will help me increase my business success by strengthening my social media forums and advising me on the most suitable marketing vehicles for my arts and crafts home-based business. I am particularly interested in your firm because of your experience with similar clients. Time will tell if I am the next lucky lady!
Susan C. Forsythe
aka BeautifullyPractical
Browse my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeautifullyPractical
Check out my blog on http://beautifullypractical.wordpress.com
“Like” me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BeautifullyPractical
Twitter me at http://twitter.com/SusanForsythe
Hi April, AWESOME Give-a-way! I would love to work with you on marketing ideas and how to merge my handmade site with an idea I have for a service business. I’m not sure if it is feasible to combine the two businesses and would love to talk with another creative and get some feedback and action steps to make it all happen! So, your guidance would be paramount in helping me to keep the business going. You have great business ideas and I hope to be the one working with you soon! Off to tweet and FB all about it! Good luck to all the entrants!
Merci for offering this fabulous opportunity ApriL!
As an artist,I always felt that my paintings would do the
“talking”to people interested in looking at them,but now
I realize I’m a relic from a bygone age,whose time is
yet to come,a forgotten soldier in a war it cannot be won…
My blog is creatively appealing but commercially lacking.
Being painfully shy makes joining social networks difficult,
as the required eloquence escapes me.
My Etsy shop is a sweet experience,positive and
encouraging feedbacks won’t pay my bills.
So am I destined to end up like the artists from the
past I admire?lost in the sea of confusion?unable
to figure out a succesful way of making it in this
Era of Technology.
It would be great to have this chance that you are offering
come true!
I wish to be a great painter!
Hope you Valentines was sweet April!
Merci for sharing your amazing talents.
Best wishes to all !
Erika Morrison.
* What struggles are you having with your creative business?
I bought my business in 2009 as a franchisee. One of the major struggles I encounter is with marketing my business because as much as there is potential with chocolate it’s been challenging to take a bold step and create my niche. One of my greatest challenges is labour. If I am going to consistently compete with larger companies that regularly turnover orders of 1000 chocolates then I need to have the manpower to sustain the orders. Yet, the smaller orders are not as profitable.
* How will individual consulting and the blog program help you increase your business success?
I believe that working with April will help me identify a niche that I can tap into. It will help me discover a niche that I will be comfortable working with and that will give me satisfaction without snuffing out my life.be comfortable working and that will give me satisfaction without snuffing out my life.
Hey April,
I was a college professor for 10 years! Most of my facebook friends are my kids, I like to keep up with them, see what they are doing as creative creatures themselves.
I have been unemployed for 3 years! Trying to keep my house and take care of my daughter alone (she is 12) is unnerving enough, but having to reinvent myself and still worrying about making a buck to pay the bills sucks more!
I have a website, an etsy site, sold some stuff. Truth is… I am not a marketer or business woman!! TA-DA! there! I have said it out loud and now the world knows!
I did the website myself and it seems unfinished and unprofessional.
I LOVE what I do, but don’t know how to get it out there. I NEED your help! I have hundreds of students who will be interested in your services, I will pass it your blog on to them. Thanks for reading.
Hi April,
Wow, this is such a generous giveaway! (I nearly fell off my chair when I read it.) Needless to say, I’m super excited to enter.
Behold, I’ve put together my very first ever you tube video in honor of the occasion. It took me a whole two days to work out how to do it, but I figured Blacksburg Belle is all about pushing ourselves to learn how to use web technology to our advantage, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmlQM8F0eOk
Thanks again for your generosity and for always giving us such fantastic
advice through your blog!
-Adriana
Here is my facebook link! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500340902
* What struggles are you having with your creative business?
It’s Tuesday night, 9.15pm and I’m exhausted! Since returning back to college, getting married, moving into a house (that in certain rooms there is the uncertain threat of the floors collapsing in) and add a recession into the equation money is a problem, throw in one supporting but feeling a drain on the pocket husband I guess it equals one stressed wife and her Etsy shop. Each day I go to Art College and at 34 try to fit in, and at the end of the day go home and check my empty sales inbox, I work hard to squeeze in college work, etsy work, making wedding invites, cleaning house, and saying hi to out three dogs so they don’t forget who I am, but all is quiet on my Etsy Shop, bar treasuries features lots of features just not the sales.
• How will individual consulting and the blog program help you increase your business success?
Hopefully it will stop the need of eating lots of chocolate whilst spending what feels like lost time on the computer and I wont gain those extra pounds (and lose what I have put on), bring a smile to my at the moment exhausted face, and manage to bring more than 25 readers to my blog (didn’t realise my life was that dull till I saw the numbers) and give me pointers that I can change to make my shop, website and blog more appealing. Give me advice to traffic more fans to my Facebook page and finally let me help put some money back into my hubby’s pockets.
I am an artist. I used to be afraid to say it out loud, for fear someone would hear me. (the audacity of me!) Now, I say it to any and everyone! I have been holding myself back for 30 years, using crap excuses as to why I could not achieve my dreams. All my life I have wanted to have a successful business selling my art. When I am not at work, I am painting and dreaming. I do not blog or tweet or have an Etsy (or any other) shop. I use my personal FB page to “market” my work. So, since I have nothing but dreams at this point, do I deserve such a fantastic opportunity that you are offering? I belive the answer is YES! I am ready to enter that large and scary world of self-marketing. I want to do it right the first time and not waste valuable time floundering because I do not know what I am doing. I have ideas, passion, and vision which are qualities that have made me successful at work. With your assistance, I can jump into my dream of a successful creative business. I am no longer afraid of failing.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php
Struggles:
o Establishing multiple income streams.
o Tightening up social media.
o Finding my target customers.
o Finding time while being a SAHM of 2 special needs kids.
o Creating a schedule that’s flexible enough for my family and disciplined enough to maintain momentum.
Hopes:
o Help turn my fog light of non-focus into a laser if clear actionable goals.
o Find multiple income streams that make sense.
o Stop ‘spamming’ customers – cause they rock and I adore them too much for that.
o Amp up my content and hone my writing style.
o Find better balance between all the things I love and want to be doing.
So here it is. I own a marvelous company that produces some of the finest yarns and soaps anywhere. I get to play with color, scent, and sinfully soft fibers all day long. I am blessed with inspirational friends whose creativity is unrivaled. My customers are amazingly supportive and beyond understanding when my ‘life’ slows down the shop. The problem? How in the world can I keep up with everything I ‘need’ to do? And how can I find maintainable momentum so I don’t burn out? How in the world can I map out my focus so that I can save time, create more, and be able to offer support to those who bring so much enrichment to my life? How can I turn this enthusiasm into growth?
I’ve learned so much in your first month’s program. You made me understand that I have a lot of room to improve, but also enough confidence to believe I can. I adore lists and doing mental exercises (yes, I’m a big nerd), and I love how your program helps me to see things in a new and more efficient light. I hope that with your program I could find focus and become better at integrating my mission statement into my products to draw in my true market. In my dream of dreams I would grow my business large enough to become a family business and offer opportunities to my kids, who due to some medical issues may have trouble finding work out in ‘the real world’. I’m hopeful that with your help I may be able to find that happy momentum and grow to be an asset to other creative people while also taking the next step to achieving my own dreams of success.
Hi April!
Thanks for putting this up! I’m taking my chance too.
* What struggles are you having with your creative business?
So one of the struggles i find is that i have two main passions (and even more, but let,s focus!) : my art & drawings, where i experiment with total freedom and the clothing and accessories i make, which, even if i cautiously & artistically create them, are aimed to be sold and worn! They can be intertwined sometimes, but mostly i feel like there is two artistic processes I’m in, which are different, and i can’t seem to find how to manage that. For example, i know my blog can be incoherent because of that (one post on my drawings and one post on the jewelry i want to sell, can get people lost)
Also, my style and my target customer are hard to define. I’m a mix of a lot of things and alternative styles (like punk, rock’n’roll, hippie) and i believe my clothing are uncommon. But it feels kind of bragging saying that, no? I think i know some of my strenghts but i’m sort of shameful to reveal them…
The problem also comes from me because i’m someone who tends to never finish what he starts and afraid of failure. I do know that trying, working hard and maybe, succeeding will help me change my ways… but on the other hand, i have to change to achieve my goals, so i sometimes feel stuck in this situation.
Another point is that i am a ”afraid-to-sell” type. I have been thinking for a long time that i am only interested in creation, and not the business, marketing part (thanks to your blog, i kind of change my mind aboit the myth of the ”starving artist”!) The fact is that i’m not a capitalist and i have strong ethic regarding to that, i love alternative ways of living, and my challenge is to find a fun way for me to grow my business without having the bad feeling i’m a sellout.
And, last but not least, I need to stay motivated and focused, when coming back from a hard day of work (i only work 3 to 4 days a week) physically and mentally tired! (but i’m in on the good way!)
* How will individual consulting and the blog program help you increase your business success?
I would like to have a better communication on my art & clothing. I feel restrained because i’m a shy person and i don’t know how to put the best of me in a post. So I’d like to overcome my fears with your support.
As I said, i find my style hard to define, so i’d like an outside look on my creations. There’s alot of things that i’m not aware of, so you could point them to me.
I’ve made some sales in fairs, shops, etsy and by special friends order, but i still find it hard to keep a track of the customers i had. I can be incoherent and inconsistent sometimes, due to lack of confidence maybe. There’s too much of art and projects i want to have, but this really doesn’t help me to keep focused!
So i need to make priorities in reshaping my current business strategy (including Etsy shop, shops to sell…) and making mid-term and long-term valid goals.
So here’s my application. Thanks for reading this!
To say a bit more about my situation : I’m 24, after studying visual arts in university of France, i decided to move to Montreal, canada, to find myself, to achieve some of my goals and live fulfill my life as an artist 🙂 I’ve made clothes for almost 6 years, mainly fopr myself and friends, but it’s quite new that i realised i could sell them and maybe make a living out of it.
I don’t think i’ll win, but i had to take a chance. your blog is a great help and i’ll still read it. I must admit i felt rather lonely and isolated with creative problems i had difficulties sharing. Then i read your blog and i’m begginning to see the light 😉 I didn’t know that people could be so supportive to each other, so THANK YOU a lot. You are an amazing person, keep up the good work.
Here’s my Etsy shop if you want to have a look : http://www.etsy.com/shop/ectoplasm
Take care
XX
Sam
Hello April!
You are such an inspiration for me and have been an enormous aid in lighting a fire under my behind to turn my hobby into a business! I just recently opened up my Etsy shop in November of 2010 and since then have ventured on and started a blog with accompanying newsletter (with your urging of course!)
As this is all so new to me, I need a ton of help! I am researching and learning all the time and using your blog and resources as a jumping off point. My main struggles are really just the basics: getting my name out there while still being authentic, finding the time to get it all done (outside of my hubby and 9-5 desk job), getting past creative ruts and producing new and unique things, getting acquainted with social networking and sticking to it, the list goes on!
I blasted through the first month of the 12 month course and gained so much from it. I was able to tweak what I already had going on and put more things on the growing to-do list! I know I can benefit so much from the other eleven months and would love the opportunity to learn from you, directly!
Thanks for everything you do and for giving this special gift to a deserving follower!
Regards,
Tiffany
Hi April! What an amazing giveaway! I thought the prize would be worth learning something new on my part so I have put together my first ever video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDiPj5YvBE8
I also posted a link to the video on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=839250084
Thanks for considering my entry!
Andi
Okay, just finished a cheesy video! It’s late and time to sleep. Enjoy the video, I hope it at least makes you smile – I had fun 🙂 I’m new to YouTube so I hope this is the right link 😉
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGKiAKtYg3o
Thanks for this great opportunity!
Hi April,
I spent way too long working on this video and then edited out every “um” to make sure it was under 2 minutes. Ha ha! Then alas, once I finished it I realized how much information I left out, so I’ll add a bit here.
After I moved away from a fabulous job as an accessory designer for an action sports company in CA, I’ve spent over a year trying to figure out how to turn my creative abilities and desires into a profession in our remote town of Laie. After a lot of trial and error I think I’ve found my niche in wedding invitation design and paper goods (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SleepyDreamer). Now that I’m getting a few more customers than usual I would love to take my business to the next level and I’m not even sure where to start. On top of that, I find it hard to get much done besides filling orders since I work full time as an administrative assistant to support my husband through medical school. Yikes!
I’m sure I have so much to learn about target markets, marketing strategies, finances, and blogging and there is no one I would rather learn it from. Please pick me! I will work my little tushie off and then maybe some day I can quit my day job!
Here is my silly video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK89Ibt0eV8
Booyah! Facebook Commented. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=723821049
For some reason this did not post yesterday so here goes again:
Your blog and articles have already helped. I cleaned up my blog, changed the header and focused on what I wanted for my blog based on your worksheets. And my readers like the changes.
Taking to heart what I am learning from you, I reopened one of my etsy shops this Monday. Almost immediately after listing a pattern it sold; I relisted and it sold. This continued and today I sold four (so far). I know that is not a lot for some but considering that they had not sold as well before I am convinced that the renewed efforts are paying off.
And I want to see the same progress with my new shop which focuses on apparel for kids. The problem with that one is that I ordered the fabric wholesale and it is taking longer to receive than anticipated and I am creating mostly OOAK or limited items in the time being.
And I do not feel strong in the social marketing thing–I just created my FB page last month. I definitely enjoy blogging so I have focused on only that area.
Your program will help steer me in a direction of growth and accountability with responsibility firmly on me. Consultation with you will guide through my areas of weakness and as a former teacher I am an excellent teacher and would love to be put through the paces with your program. I think I would be a star client!
Thanks for the opportunity,
Erika
tweeted and facebooked my vid.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=723821049#!/
let’s try that again:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=723821049#!/creationsbydae
Hi April,
I posted this yesterday but maybe it didn’t go through?
In honour of such an amazing prize I have made my first ever video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDiPj5YvBE8
Thanks for considering my entry!
Andi
I also posted my video on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=839250084
April, thanks so much for the opportunity to hopefully connect with you!
I am pursuing my dream of spreading whimsy and cheer through my playful and unique characters, Andi’s People — now with multiculti designs. Despite the urging of my husband to quit, I cannot.
It has not been easy. This is my sixth year, interrupted by three years teaching middle school Reading/English. Devastation at not getting my contract renewed last Spring led to re-opening the door to re-launch my business.
My previous website sunk to the bottom of the search engine abyss and now my new website is up, but with its imperfections.
Logistics replaces creativity as I try desperately to improve my website, revamp greeting look and appeal, and explore adding blogging to my social marketing.
I love the playfulness of blogging. I love the added visuals. I love quotes. As an English major and lover of words, I would love to step into this blogging world. My one hour consultation with you has already convinced me that your energy, your creativity, and your direction is absolutely what I need. I would love to work with you!
Hi April,
The circumstances of my life have lined up where I have an opportunity to work for myself and share my creativity with others.
My struggles involve focus and fear.
I have many interests and areas of expertise, but choosing only one is proving to be very difficult. My wife says I am like a Golden Retriever puppy, always excited about what’s next. On the occasion that I do find focus, I can loose myself in the project and loose all sense of time. The moment someone hires me to do the same project, it ceases to be fun and time becomes very present.
My struggle with fear is the fear being “too” successful. Deep down I am afraid that I will loose control of the business and it will run me instead of me running it. When I think about it now, I realize that in the past I couldn’t say no to customers and found myself working hours and in conditions I wouldn’t have chosen.
I know I would benefit from your consulting. I can tell from your two recent Esty workshops that you are a person that cuts through the crap tells it like it is. Getting a slap aside my head from you would set me off in the right direction.:) I need to be more like a Pointer than a Golden puppy.
Thank you for this opportunity,
Mark
Dear April,
My online business is called Cookie Hoops. I make travel hoops and fancy eyelashes, and accessories for play and performance. I also teach hoop dance and prop spinning as a therapeutic practice. These are my two passions, designing accessories and hoop dance instruction, mashed together.
I am a blogger. I didn’t realize this when i first started just over a year ago by taking writing workshops. I love it and want to learn how to be more efficient while maintaining what people tell me they like about my writing; setting the scene well and telling a good story. I also write poetry which was recently featured on hooping.org.
I have a co-written blog that I share with one of my students, http://www.cookiehoops.blogspot.com and I’m a guest writer on http://www.smalltownfrocks.com ( I’m “kaslotown”.)
Both are geared towards what I do; fashion and healing.
I’m feeling challenged with Twitter, and other sites. I spend time on them and I’m not sure if it is effective or not, and it overwhelms me to the point where I have an Etsy page, and don’t seem to have any time to put into it, and my instincts are telling me to change my approach. My sales have been very slowly starting to build and I want to be ready when the floodgates open!
When you did your video series lectures on etsy not too long ago, I literally stumbled upon it. Your presentations were so compelling to me; I turned up the volume on my computer and just listened blissfully to your voice while crafting in my studio. You had me at “Hello!” and I loved your solution-focused approach to daily tasks that we all must do. Excuses: gone!
I think your blog program is the perfect tool for taking my business from “good” to “great!”
Thank you for offering this opportunity and I hoop you’ll consider me for the big prize! 😉
Jen (aka Cookie)
I am not sure why my link here is not working! I’m trying it one more time.
http://www.facebook.com/creationsbydae
Wondering if you recieved my entry? It says it’s still being moderated so I’m wondering! Thank you! 🙂
Hello April–Thanks for this fabulous opportunity to work with you.
Okay, current business struggles: I’ve had success selling my work live at shows, but as a wife and mom going on the road all the time is simply not a choice I want to make! I want to grow my online business to the point where I’m making a living selling my art and illustration. I’ve realized that in order to do that, I need to change up the stale strategy (put up a blog and etsy and hope for the best!) that I’ve been doing online for the past year or two and learn some new things. I’m current working on building my own ecommerce website, and I need to learn how to market it once I go live. I know from experience that people really enjoy my work, but in order to grow my business I need to be able to bring my work to a large online audience. I’m focused. I’m excited. I’m ready…and I need some help!
How will the consulting and blog program help me? I want to be as effective as possible in my marketing and blogging. I want to learn what to do, and what not to do as well!
I want your help and knowledge so that I can not only learn how to grow my business, but also learn in a really focused way. I am committed to a balanced life that also includes taking care of myself and spending quality time with my husband and children, so every minute counts!
Hi April!
I’ve blogged for several years now, just for pleasure and to stay connect to crafts & art world. All the end of 2010/begining of 2011 I was forced with the option of either make my dream come true instead of personal pleasure only or let it go all together for now. I refuse to just give it up, so I started going through etsy shop make over list, which lead me to the livestream videos, which lead me to this moment. I’m so ready for help..good, bad..I want it all! I know this comment is so not “creative”..but it’s 5:00. 🙂
PS…I did a really cute video which I had never even looked at a movie maker till yesterday. Sort of messed it up right before downloading it to you..but I’m going to figure out what I did wrong and send it anyways…pass deadline or not! You are fairy coach in it.