Join me on my journey.

Last week I spent a day looking at what 2015 brought me in the way of successes and adventures, this week I’m using those reflections to set goals for the upcoming year. I don’t love the idea of a resolution, but I do think setting measurable, achievable goals for a business is a smart idea. One of the things I recently realized I miss about working for a larger company is the structure of goals and feedback, it all leads to growth when done properly. This realization led me to think, why shouldn’t I set goals and gather feedback for myself?

The setting goals part is easy, making them measurable and achievable is the challenge. I decided on a framework of 3 larger scale goals, which I can then check in on and adjust as the year goes on. These goals are simply stated; Increase my presence in new markets through added vendors and new shows,  create a shopping cart within my website to streamline the ordering process for my customers, and add a new skill to my toolbelt that will help innovate new designs.  Ultimately, these goals are for you, my customer. When I really think about the company I want to become, you are my top priority and I feel comfortable in my goals for this year because they are all about how to make new, unique pieces make it easier to get them into your hands.

As is normal, I have had a few setbacks already. I started to create my web store design, allowed my Etsy shop to dwindle down so I could transition after Christmas and thought I was saving so much extra work and effort. Well, I am still struggling with getting my shop 100% (and if you are going to do something, do it right the first time), and just this week had a crazy surge in Instagram likes on my hair stick pictures. Sounds like a good thing, right? Well, in my haste to get the shop open for all this new traffic to actually BUY the hair sticks, I opened an empty page!!! So embarrassing, and also a wasted business opportunity. But, I made the best of it when I realized this and got the hair sticks into my Etsy shop and back onto this website as soon as I could. For anyone who visited my empty shop, I am so sorry for any inconvenience!

While it can be frustrating to be less than two weeks into a goal and already have to take a step back and re-evaluate, this is also a good reminder to me to slow down. I don’t have to become good at all this today, I have a year to achieve these objectives, and to expand on them further and continue into the next year. I have to learn not to be so impatient with myself, to understand that mistakes are part of life and we learn from them and move on. And it turns out, as an added bonus I figured out some new tools with Etsy shop updates that I hadn’t known existed. In the meantime as my site gets fixed, I will be exploring these tools and see what they can bring the business.

On a happy note, I am proud to announce that I will be sending out an order to a new shop in Royal Oak, MI shortly. If you live in the area, check out Saffron, possibly one of the cutest boutiques around. Come February they will be carrying my designs. 

I will also have items available for sale locally at The Jeweler’s Daughter here in Las Vegas. I had the pleasure of meeting with Polly yesterday and love the vibe she has created, an artsy pop up shop style boutique with such beautiful designs. And her work is GORGEOUS! Her jewelry line has the great fusion of old school jewelry techniques with current fashion trends and a bit of Vegas flair. Very proud to be represented in her lovely shop. I will be kicking things off there this month with a trunk show on Jan 23rd from 12-4. More details to come.
​

PS- I know you noticed the new logo up at the top of the post. This is courtesty of the lovely and talented Jessica Weymouth, a water color artist based in Long Beach whose work I have admired for quite some time. I am excited that she agreed to do up my new business cards and look forward to getting them in next week. If you have a chance to check her work out, she can be found at www.instagram.com/jessweymouth_