(This post is part of a continuing series focusing on home-based businesses.)
So as 2011 draws to a close, it's customary for us to do a long, hard assessment of what we did right over the course of the year, as well at what didn't work out quite as good as we had hoped. Here's how it went this year.
First- the Good Stuff
1) Early in the year we bought a tiny portable video camera in order to film video tutorials, interviews and the like for the website and for our Blog. We've had a LOT of fun using it and learning how to use our video-editing software (we use Corel). Our most viewed how-to video to date has been our Bias Tape video, the fan favorite, the Anger Management video, but here's the deal, our videos of my grandson are consistently the most sought after, like this one. Go figure! :)
2) Over the summer we invested in a very small & lightweight computer. I have a wireless network in the house and I love the option of blogging on the back porch if the weather is good, or answering emails at the breakfast table over a 2nd cup of tea on occasion, but my heavy laptop was NOT conducive to these activities. It's heavy, hot, and has a crummy battery life. (It's also a pain-in-the-neck to take thru airport security.) I toyed with the idea of a Ipad but decided instead on little Dell computer in order to have a real keyboard. Slightly larger than a Netbook, it's perfect for my needs. The battery life is great and it's SO easy & convenient to carry & use pretty much anywhere I want to, AND getting thru the airport is SO easy now, that I just leave the big, clunky laptop at home!
3) Probably the biggest & riskiest thing we did this year was to launch our new notions line, Purrfect Handbag Notions. Folks had been urging us to do this for quite some time & since there's an undeniable need for beautiful yet affordable handbag notions in today's market, it just felt like the right time for us. The first product in our new line was our innovative invisible sew-in magnetic snaps. The reaction was immediate, a little surprising and almost overwhelming, so we followed up that release with some beautiful metal hardware. We're marketing the snaps and metals online, directly to retail stores and also thru distribution channels like Checker and United Notions. BUT- we're deliberately NOT using distributors to market our signature black & white (Mondocized) zippers. The reason? Well first off- it's not cheap to get them made and since we love them so much we want everyone to be able to afford them, we're self-distributing them so that we don't have to pass that extra layer of cost on to you! We've gotten some criticism for this, but we're comfortable with our decision.
4) 2011 saw the release of two new bag patterns increasing our pattern line to twenty-five! Who would have thought? We released the Quattro in March and the Baggalista in September, both of which are selling well.
5) In May, we published our very first eBook, RockStar Peacework. This project was VERY enjoyable because most of the samples I constructed to demonstrate the techniques in the book were NOT handbags, and that was fun for a change. I also liked learning how to use the Adobe software to make the dynamic pdf's. But here's the BIG BUT- while the sales of this eBook covered our expenses, and I was immensely proud of the final result, it wasn't exactly what I would call a profitable undertaking. So, the reason our eBook is mentioned last is because it's ALSO item #1 on the list below...
And now, the Disappointing Stuff
1) RockStar Peacework, while a critical success, was just lukewarm at the box office. Sure, it was disheartening, but I still think it was time well spent because the process was a nice respite from our usual routine and we learned a WHOLE LOT! Will we be doing another eBook? Probably... not soon... but yes, I'm sure we will do another at some point! :)
2) I bit the bullet in Salt Lake City at the Spring Quilt Market and tried our hand at teaching a SchoolHouse event. School house sessions are conducted the day before Market opens. They're 30-minute sessions designed to be informative or educational for the retailers that attend, and there's probably about 20-30 sessions going on at the same time, so retailers can choose the topic they want to listen to. The hard part is that there is only FIVE minutes between sessions and the retailers have only that much time to move to the next session. That also means that there's only five minutes for the speakers to get their stuff set up and begin their class. This just adds to the stress, believe me! Here's how it went-
Strike one- public speaking is NOT my forte,so I guess you could say that was my strike one.
I was BEYOND nervous! (It felt like I was back in grade school doing a book report!)
Strike two- I had prepared a PowerPoint presentation to show on that old cumbersome computer of mine (reference above). It worked OK at home, but since I had only 5 minutes to set it up, I was all thumbs, and somehow (don't ask me how), my computer self-booted itself and took what seemed like 18 minutes to come back up. It was only about 4 minutes or so, but by then I was pretty much a TOTAL wreck. I'm not a quitter, so I did the program as best as I could have from there, but it wasn't pretty. For some reason, the projector I rented displayed the colors in my presentation all wrong. The red's were green, and the yellows didn't show up at all. ARGHHHH! The absolutely best part of doing this was when it was OVER!
Yeah, it was discouraging but I promised myself I'd learn from the errors and miscues and do better another time.And lucky for me, Checker Distributors asked me if I wanted to do a schoolhouse under their umbrella for the Fall Market. Needless to say, I ditched the PowerPoint presentation in favor of story boards which solved the set up issues and it went MUCH smoother. (so I avoided strike three) :)
So as 2011 draws to a close, it's customary for us to do a long, hard assessment of what we did right over the course of the year, as well at what didn't work out quite as good as we had hoped. Here's how it went this year.
First- the Good Stuff 1) Early in the year we bought a tiny portable video camera in order to film video tutorials, interviews and the like for the website and for our Blog. We've had a LOT of fun using it and learning how to use our video-editing software (we use Corel). Our most viewed how-to video to date has been our Bias Tape video, the fan favorite, the Anger Management video, but here's the deal, our videos of my grandson are consistently the most sought after, like this one. Go figure! :)
3) Probably the biggest & riskiest thing we did this year was to launch our new notions line, Purrfect Handbag Notions. Folks had been urging us to do this for quite some time & since there's an undeniable need for beautiful yet affordable handbag notions in today's market, it just felt like the right time for us. The first product in our new line was our innovative invisible sew-in magnetic snaps. The reaction was immediate, a little surprising and almost overwhelming, so we followed up that release with some beautiful metal hardware. We're marketing the snaps and metals online, directly to retail stores and also thru distribution channels like Checker and United Notions. BUT- we're deliberately NOT using distributors to market our signature black & white (Mondocized) zippers. The reason? Well first off- it's not cheap to get them made and since we love them so much we want everyone to be able to afford them, we're self-distributing them so that we don't have to pass that extra layer of cost on to you! We've gotten some criticism for this, but we're comfortable with our decision.
4) 2011 saw the release of two new bag patterns increasing our pattern line to twenty-five! Who would have thought? We released the Quattro in March and the Baggalista in September, both of which are selling well.
5) In May, we published our very first eBook, RockStar Peacework. This project was VERY enjoyable because most of the samples I constructed to demonstrate the techniques in the book were NOT handbags, and that was fun for a change. I also liked learning how to use the Adobe software to make the dynamic pdf's. But here's the BIG BUT- while the sales of this eBook covered our expenses, and I was immensely proud of the final result, it wasn't exactly what I would call a profitable undertaking. So, the reason our eBook is mentioned last is because it's ALSO item #1 on the list below...And now, the Disappointing Stuff
1) RockStar Peacework, while a critical success, was just lukewarm at the box office. Sure, it was disheartening, but I still think it was time well spent because the process was a nice respite from our usual routine and we learned a WHOLE LOT! Will we be doing another eBook? Probably... not soon... but yes, I'm sure we will do another at some point! :)2) I bit the bullet in Salt Lake City at the Spring Quilt Market and tried our hand at teaching a SchoolHouse event. School house sessions are conducted the day before Market opens. They're 30-minute sessions designed to be informative or educational for the retailers that attend, and there's probably about 20-30 sessions going on at the same time, so retailers can choose the topic they want to listen to. The hard part is that there is only FIVE minutes between sessions and the retailers have only that much time to move to the next session. That also means that there's only five minutes for the speakers to get their stuff set up and begin their class. This just adds to the stress, believe me! Here's how it went-
Strike one- public speaking is NOT my forte,so I guess you could say that was my strike one.
I was BEYOND nervous! (It felt like I was back in grade school doing a book report!)
Strike two- I had prepared a PowerPoint presentation to show on that old cumbersome computer of mine (reference above). It worked OK at home, but since I had only 5 minutes to set it up, I was all thumbs, and somehow (don't ask me how), my computer self-booted itself and took what seemed like 18 minutes to come back up. It was only about 4 minutes or so, but by then I was pretty much a TOTAL wreck. I'm not a quitter, so I did the program as best as I could have from there, but it wasn't pretty. For some reason, the projector I rented displayed the colors in my presentation all wrong. The red's were green, and the yellows didn't show up at all. ARGHHHH! The absolutely best part of doing this was when it was OVER!
Yeah, it was discouraging but I promised myself I'd learn from the errors and miscues and do better another time.And lucky for me, Checker Distributors asked me if I wanted to do a schoolhouse under their umbrella for the Fall Market. Needless to say, I ditched the PowerPoint presentation in favor of story boards which solved the set up issues and it went MUCH smoother. (so I avoided strike three) :)
So...there you have it.
The good, the not so good and the just plain ugly from 2011.
Got any comments, or suggestions for improvement?
As usual, I'd love to hear your comments and feedback!
What do YOU think we did well?
and how do YOU think we could improve?
and how do YOU think we could improve?
(remember........say it nice!)
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And stay tuned for our next post in this series
when we'll detail a few of our goals and strategies for 2012.
Your blogs and newsletters are also a success. I feel like we are old friends every time I read them. It's good to have someone so warm and welcoming to deal with. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI would add finding Soft and Stable and integrating it into the Baggalista pattern to the list of home-runs. Woo-hoo!!!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would suggest is to also offer kits for the bags that don't include the pattern. I make the same pattern over and over and it would save me time (and the annoyance of missing something when I order) if all I had to do was order the kit.
Just a thought.
I'm going to be in Charlotte for my youngest grandson's second Christmas next weekend. If you're going to be there too and you see me carrying the rainbow Baggalista, please say "Hello".
And what Noreen said!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, what nice things and Diane, that is a GREAT idea! I think I might just do that. Notions only kits would be a great addition to our site! THANKS!
ReplyDeleteand per Diane's EXCELLENT suggestion, we have already added 2 notions only kits to our site. MORE to come!
ReplyDeleteI agree - I really enjoy the newsletters. I think your bags and notions are brilliant and I love the Vote for your fave every month!
ReplyDeleteI admire your honesty and I know how tricky public speaking can be - the nerves really get me too!
I look forward to your adventures in 2012. Have a Happy Christmas!
Love the idea of the kits! It will make it so much easier.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the problem you had with your book is that it is an e-book? I know I have been going to order it a couple of times, but would rather have a hard copy in my hands. I wondered if it was too long to print off. I would like to keep it on my shelf for reference.
I love all your patterns. I agree using the soft and stable on the Bagalista was a hit! My daughters have been carrying theirs for a couple of months and they still look like new.
I enjoy your posts a great deal. they are very informative and positive. you may not feel comfortable doing public speaking, but you are great at writing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI especially enjoyed your articles on the packing and setup of of your booth at quilt show.
I used to do crafts shows and know pre planning is so important. your booth looked so inviting.
I have used some of your purse patterns and they are very clear.
I can't think of any negative comments,just don't change a winner.
regards ,Jackie