I have been so extremely busy with my All Tuckered Out Boutique business. TOO busy. :) I'm grateful for the interest in my items, but I don't so much enjoy the feeling of having this huge mountain to climb without enough hours in the day to climb. I have to keep reminding myself that I started this all because I enjoy it, not because of the money. If I were to calculate how much I'm making per hour it would be way less than minimum wage, I'm sure of that! I actually love the creating. The sewing part can get quite tedious, and cutting the fabric is, well, dreadful. I've actually enlisted my mother as my assistant. She's been cutting out all of the turkey wings and other applique designs! What a great mom, huh?!
People are going crazy over the turkey. I will agree, the turkey is pretty darn cute, but he is a handful to make! The prep of cutting out all the pieces, ironing him on, stitching (switching out thread colors), and then sewing on the button eyes and little polka dot bow...whew, it's a task!
I've received business from friends, (thanks to all of you who have ordered from me!), referrals, and regular Etsy customers, but my most recent rush has been from "advertising." Last week I took part in "What Do You Make" on Kelly's Korner blog. http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/10/show-us-how-your-life-what-do-you-make.html
Yes, I knew that this particular blog gets gazoodles of hits a day, but I never imagined it would lead to so much business. Within a hour of posting my link, I had people placing orders left and right. I went to the state fair the following day, and when I checked my email at noon, there were another 8 orders sitting in my inbox. As the day went on, more came in. I was freaking out. Within 24 hours, I had 38 new orders. That's when I decided to take a break from my Etsy shop and took down my items. I've still continued to get daily emails from people interested in ordering. I'm thrilled that people are interested, but I just don't have the time! I've had to explain that I'm a mom of two toddlers, and I teach part-time, in addition to the clothing business. Once I get all caught up, I do plan to get back at it, but only after I have a little break. I'm looking forward to a week or so without feeling so overwhelmed, and actually getting to do fun things with my kiddos, family, and friends once again.
As I sit here late this Friday evening, I still have 13 orders to fulfill. Hey, that's better than 38!
People are going crazy over the turkey. I will agree, the turkey is pretty darn cute, but he is a handful to make! The prep of cutting out all the pieces, ironing him on, stitching (switching out thread colors), and then sewing on the button eyes and little polka dot bow...whew, it's a task!
I've received business from friends, (thanks to all of you who have ordered from me!), referrals, and regular Etsy customers, but my most recent rush has been from "advertising." Last week I took part in "What Do You Make" on Kelly's Korner blog. http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/10/show-us-how-your-life-what-do-you-make.html
Yes, I knew that this particular blog gets gazoodles of hits a day, but I never imagined it would lead to so much business. Within a hour of posting my link, I had people placing orders left and right. I went to the state fair the following day, and when I checked my email at noon, there were another 8 orders sitting in my inbox. As the day went on, more came in. I was freaking out. Within 24 hours, I had 38 new orders. That's when I decided to take a break from my Etsy shop and took down my items. I've still continued to get daily emails from people interested in ordering. I'm thrilled that people are interested, but I just don't have the time! I've had to explain that I'm a mom of two toddlers, and I teach part-time, in addition to the clothing business. Once I get all caught up, I do plan to get back at it, but only after I have a little break. I'm looking forward to a week or so without feeling so overwhelmed, and actually getting to do fun things with my kiddos, family, and friends once again.
As I sit here late this Friday evening, I still have 13 orders to fulfill. Hey, that's better than 38!
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3 comments:
Raise your online prices, my friend.
I agree, raise your prices. If they really want it, they will pay!! Don't miss all of the fun this time of year by being stuck in your sewing room!!! Take care of yourself, Misty!
Yay for all of the business, but I feel you for not having the time to actually execute everything! I've run into the same problem before doing my design business on the side of working a full-time job and it can get really hectic and stressful. I am SO looking forward to focusing on only my design business after the baby comes though and hopefully, I will be able to take on more and enjoy more as well! Definitely don't take on more than you can handle because it just stresses you out for sure!
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