Final Blog for FM 438

• what you learn from the class

I have to honestly admit that this was the most fun I have ever had in a college level class. I am happy I got to revist a passion of mine that had fallen by the wayside. Through out this class I have learned what it is really going to take to have my own future business. It has given me a real life look as to what it is going to take to devlop this future endevior. I have also learned how to perfect my own personal craft.

• options bout class materials is vidoes, guest speaker, assignments

One of the main reasons I loved this class so much is because of all the different learning techiniques we used. We never had a dull class meeting, always watching a new video, reading a new blog, or getting to network with new people. I think going to meet this business owners downtown was my favorite aspect of the class. I love meeting new people and hearing new stories. I feel like I had connections that I could possibly used in the future.

• what you recommend for future classes

My advise to future classes would be to stay two steps ahead from the beinging. That way if something happens and you, for some reason, need a break you have a little have some lead time. I feel that I was successful in this class was because it was something I am whole heartly interested in, this is not a class to take to get an easy A. You have to be dedicated to be successful.

Finance Interview - Questions I Asked My Momma :)

• Is it smart to charge state taxes on Etsy products? it would strengthen the tax base of the state, but only if it is bought in your home state. However, if you do you have to file a separate tax return for sales tax every month. It is not against the law to sale products and not charge tax.
• How do you go about placing it on your regular taxes? You simply file it as a schedule C - sole proprietorship tax return; however you only have to file it if you make enough money to consider it to be more than a hobby.
• Can you still be filed as a dependent on your parents tax return? Yes, as long as you are under 24 and are still considered a full time student.
• What makes you a small business owner? it depends on your gross receipts, and how much time you put in it, if it becomes your sole income

Other OnLine Venues

I looked through many many site before i found ones i really like the first one i chose was....

iCraft -- http://icraft.ca/

Mission: We are a marketplace for handmade products, offering the highest quality Arts, Crafts, and Fashion collections from independent creators from around the globe. Professional and recreational artisans, designers, artist, and craft people submit their unique, one-of-a-kind merchandise and make it available for purchase by those who appreciate their work. We accept handmade items only! All submitted work is reviewed for quality, uniqueness, and presentation. New arrivals are posted daily. Treat yourself or someone you love!

This is a Canadian based site. This site charges a $25 dollar activation fee after which you can sell 5 items a month for free. However, their are other upgraded version you can pay to receive.

Reasoning: I chose this site because it is very customer friendly, which is very important. It also is easy to search and locate items. However; i do not like the steep fee for activation, but iCraft is very legitimate company and the fee covers all the help they supply the seller.

The second site i chose is.....

MadeItMySelf --http://www.madeitmyself.com/default.aspx

Mission: Welcome to MadeitMyself.com, an online marketplace where users can buy and sell handmade goods.

For buyers, MadeitMyself.com eliminates the need to spend countless weekends scouring the craft fair circuit to find that special item. Collectors of imported goods no longer need to travel abroad or pay overpriced importer/exporter fees, or bid on items at live auction.

For sellers, MadeitMyself.com is the perfect way to compliment or even replace their current method of doing business. The global visibility your goods receive can’t be matched to what a craft show or store can provide. MadeitMyself.com is also a great way for the casual hobbyist to make some extra cash. For those who have always been told, “You should sell these” by friends and relatives, now you can. A digital camera and a few mouse clicks are all that’s needed to turn a hobby into a small business.

Tagline: Think It. Make It. Sell It.

Reasoning: there are no fee for this site just, a 3% commission on sells made. it is a very nice site that is very customer friendly. I liked it because it made the products look nice even if they were not.

Entrepreneurship Life

"Five $ Questions to Ask Before Quitting Your day Job"

1. there are many expenses that you are not going to know to plan for

2. how much company can your business really generate

3. start saving 6 months before you leave your full time job

4. find a mentor, someone who has done this before you

"Seven Tips for Part-Time Business Owners"

1. get your family involved

2. focus on the task infront of you

3. be prepared to give up yours personal time

"Start a Part-Time Job VS. a Full-Time Job"

1. it is very easy to run down and burned out very fast if try to do both at the same time

2. it is very important to sit down and make a business plan to see if your business will be able to sustain its self

3. if you are more worries than excited, a part time business is ultimately your best bet

"You Don't Have to Quit Your Day Job"

1. has many part time as full time

2. make sure you are able to separate your two or more jobs

3. be patient if its meant to be then it will be

The Cheri Earring (Coral)

Tag: jewelery, earring, coral, gold, dangle, circles, interlocking, unique, handcrafted, vintage flair, light weight, jewellery, AllConnected

Materials: real coral beads, gold crimp beads, jewelry thread, earring hooks

Description: This set of earrings are composed of 4 interlocking circles, made for 100% real coral. Lightweight for comfortable wearing, also completely one-of-a-kind. The will go perfect dressed up or down.

They are approximately 2 inches long!!

The Dotty Necklace

tags: jewelry, necklace, red, gold, chain, unique, vintage, pop, twist, upcycled, metal, beaded, jewellery, AllConnected,

Materials: red seed beads, vintage gold chain, gold crimp beads, jewelry threads, gold toggle clasp

Description: The Dot Necklace is a very original take on a plain old vintage chain. I sized the chain down to wear just the part that lays on the chest is actual chain. Then finished out the necklace with long twisted red seed bead chains. For a final punch of color I twisted the red beads around the actual chain to make it pop just a bit more.

Blogs that Promote Other Etsy Stores

http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/handmade-weddings-a-fall-affair-12441/

In this blog the blogger talks about and describes her dream wedding. The above is an actual picture of the wedding party. In it she talks about what she wanted and what she ended up getting. At the end of the blog she links loads of etsy shops that you could get similar products from.

http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/get-the-look-decor-whitewashed-12491/

this blog gives wonderful decorating tips, and uses etsy store to show where to get the decor from. Over 30 different etsy stores are listed on this one blog. The writer took the picture above and broke it down into small sections to show where and how much the products were listed for.

My Future Promotional Plan

i have many different things i plan on incorporating in my promotional plan.

• thank you notes to each buyer
• add each of my fellow classmates to my circle
• kaboodle my products
• find etsy teams that i relate to to promote my products
• plug my fellow classmates to further more promote them
• start a blog just for my store
• open a flickr account
• link all my social media accounts together to introduce my friends to my new etsy store

Social Media

"Etsy's Guide to Blogging"

1. name blog after etsy store

2. everyone says blogger is best

3.weekly features to get readers coming back

4. posting pictures is a good way to strike interest

5. make it a routine to check and update daily

"Seller How-To: Get Noticed by the Blogosphere"

1. blogging is important because word of mouth is the best way to get your products out there

2. take great photos

3.use NOTCOT.org

"Handmade Comments: How Not to Spam While Being Active Online"

1. do not annoy potential customers with self promotion

2. read a blog before you decide whether or not you want to post on it

3. link others etsy shops, not just your own

"How to Effectively Use Social Media to Market Your Business: Sister Daine's I Heart Workshop"

1. engagement marketing is the way to go

2.dont only talk about your products

3. when someone acts interested dont bombard them with info

"How to Run a Successful Etsy Shop..."

1. use flickr

2. be willing to adjust your prices

3. offer add on

4. do a giveaway

"Our Mission"

1. starting an etsy group is a good way to get other interested in you and your friends

2. this was a very short

"The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook"

1. this just tells the dos and donts of social media

2. dont add people you dont know with out a proper introduction

3. its not about me, myself, and i

"Etsy Success: Work It on Kaboodle"

1. kaboodle is a social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products

2. can link it to your etsy page

3. a really good way to get your name further outthere

Price$$$

The Donna Necklace -

seed beads $6.00, jump rings $2.25, thread $2.00, vintage chain $5.00($2.50 each), toggle clasp $0.74 = 15.99 materials + $14.01 time (this necklace took forever) =$30.00 total cost
The Rachael Necklace - $25.00

seed beads $3.00, chain $3.00, charm $5.00, toggle claps $1.00, jewelery thread $3.00= $15.00 materials + $10.00 time = $25.00 total cost
The Cheri Earring (Green) - $9.70

seed beads $5.00, crimp beads $0.10, earring hooks $0.60 = $5.70 materials + 4.00 time = $9.70 total cost
The Sarah Charm Bracelet - $17.00

owl bead $1.50, chandelier charm $2.00, shiny silver charm $0.40, "diamond" $3.00, tear drop pearl $2.00, upcylced chain $2.00, small silver bead $1.00 = $11.90 materials + $5.10 for time = $17.00 total price

The Anna - $21.40

toggle clasp $0.74, seed beads $5.00, gold beads $1.25, crimp beads $2.00, chain $4.00, elephant charm $1.00 = $13.99 materials at cost + $8.41 time = $22.40 total price

The Art of Promoting and Art of Customer Service

"Etsy Success Tips: Increasing Your Itemm Views"

1. this blog just mainly listed things on topics we discussed weeks ago.

2. however, it does say to make sure to list location, many people just shop locally.

3. this blog was a quick review of what we had already covered

"How-to: Sell Local"

1. new way of searching on etsy is by local shops

2. able to look up every etsy store in mississipi

3. join a local etsy team

"Shop Makeover Series: Google PageRank Tips for Your Etsy Shop"

1. page rank is very important to actually getting seen on google

2. best thing you can do for your store is to provide accurate descriptions of your products

3. set up your other online networkings to incorporate your etsy store, get your name out there

"Shop Together: Circles and Activity Feeds"

1. tells you it is important to add people to your circle

2. simple click to add them to your circle

3. very easy and important

"Why is Social Media Not Working for You?"

1. content it self centered

2. you dont come out and play

3. you are all strategy

4.only promoting yourself

5. you are in the wrong place

6. not engaging

7. your content is not being shared

8. your blof is not converting

9.you are focused on closing sales

10. you are not familiar with the etiquette

"Customer Care Tips: Do You Know Where Your Payment Is?

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/FM438%20Entrepreneurship/Reading%20Materials/Art%20of%20Customer%20Service/Customer%20Care%20Tips/Customer%20Care%20Tip%20-%20Do%20you%20know%20where%20your%20payment%20is.pdf?w=e8344b10

**very important

"Customer Care Tips: Sending an Invoice from Paypal

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/FM438%20Entrepreneurship/Reading%20Materials/Art%20of%20Customer%20Service/Customer%20Care%20Tips/Customer%20Care%20Tip%20-%20Sending%20the%20invoice%20from%20PayPal.pdf?w=371f45ce

** tells who to go about sending your invoice from paypal

"customer care update: canceling etsy transaction"

1. To cancel an Etsy Transaction, you must be the seller in the transaction. If you are a buyer, please contact the seller and ask them to do this.

2. must have a legit reason to do this

Shipping and Packaging

"Seller How-To: Shipping"

1.

• USPS Mailing and Shipping Guidelines
  
• Canada Post Shipping Products and Services for Your Business
• United Kingdom Royal Mail Tool Kit
• Printable PDF Shipping Guide from Australia Post
• La Poste (France) Shipping Guidelines and Customs Guidelines

2. many sellers put additional shipping details on their Shop Policies page, and link to that at the bottom of each listing.

3. Third-party services like PayPal offer protection policies for sellers if certain criteria are met in the event of a delivery dispute (more information on this here). Additionally, there may be local laws in your area that would place responsibility on the seller for a shipping problem.

"Customer Care Update: Shedding Light on Etsy's Non-Delivery Complaint Process

1. this is a very good blog that shines some light on the most recent problem facing etsy customers

2. it list FAQ about the problem

3. also tell who to contact if this has happened to you

"Customer Care How-to for Sellers: Shipping Costs and PayPal"

1. tells you how to enable transaction-based overrides for shipping

2.

1. Log in to your account at http://www.paypal.com.

2. Go to My Account > Profile > Shipping calculations (in the Selling Preferences column)
3. Select the Shipping Method and click Edit
4. Select Yes for "Use the shipping fee in the transaction instead of my calculator's settings" and press
Save Changes.

3. this blog is good just in case you have a similar problem

"Seller How-To: Pretty as a Package"

1. this blog gives loads of helpful hints that make your product more personal

2. it list loads of places to go on etsy to find just what you need to do so

3. it also list many recycled alternative

"Seller How-To: Packaging Ideas"

1. tells you to use on of your product photos to show off your packaging

2. tells you how to make your own envelopes

3. also show examples of other etsy sellers that use creative packaging

The Mary Lennox

The Mary Lennox Necklace

**Tags: jewelery, neckace, silver, turquoise, pearls, beaded, elephant, long, vintage, upcycled, jewellery, one-of-a-kind AllConnected, The Secret Garden

**Materials: vintage silver chain, turquoise seed beads, pearls, multi facet crystal bead, elephant charm, silver crimp beads, silver eyehooks, jewelry thread

Description: This necklace is a one-of-a-kind creation that is not to be found anywhere else. It is composed of a long spiral vintage silver chain, that I added a splash of color to with turquoise beads. It has a beautiful elephant charm that dangles from the center. The elephant charm is accompanied by a clear glass facet bead and a pearl to give it just the right amount of elegance. This necklace is a perfect 21 inches long!

The name came from the book The Secret Garden, my favorite childhood book. Mary is the main character whose life is turned upside down by the death of her parents. Any one who has read this beloved book or seen the movie knows that the only real thing Mary keep to remember her mother, after her untimely death in India, is a beautiful little ceramic elephant.

The Francis Necklace

The Francis Necklace:

**Tags: jewelry, necklace, white, gold, long, chain, vintage, upcycles, metal, long, one-of-a-kind, jewellery, AllConnected

**Materials: vintage gold chain, white seed beads, gold crimp beads, jewelry thread

Description: I took a plain old vintage gold chain and added some jazz to it! This is a spiral chain necklace that I added a string of white seed beads to, to add just a touch of elegance. This necklace is a simple, elegant touch to any outfit. This necklace is a must have for any unique jewelry collectors. It is 18 inches long, just long enough to make the perfect statement.

The Cheri Earring (Kelly Green)

The Cheri Earrings (Kelly Green)

**Tags: jewelry, earrings, kelly green, gold, circles, interlocking, connected, unique, pop, Middle Eastern, jewellery, AllConnected

**Materials: kelly green seed beads, gold crimp beads, jewelry thread, earring hooks

Description: This set of earrings is composed of 5 interlocking circles. They are created from Kelly green seed beads and held together by small gold crimp beads. They Kelly green offer just the right pop of color for any statement making outfit! They are very unique earrings that would earn many complements.

The Jessica Necklace

The Jessica Necklace

**Tags: jewelry, necklace, white, gold, kelly green, chain, balls, tassels, vintage, upcycled, metal, jewellery, beaded, AllConnected

**Materials: gold chain, white chain, kelly green seed beads, white beads, gold eyehooks

** Description: The necklace is a mixed chain masterpiece!! I used three different types of chains to make this necklace. I also added a drama/quirky pendent to the bottom. The necklace is 17 inches long, with an easy to use lobster clasp in the back. The multiple vintage chains in this necklace a truly one-of-a-kind product! Wouldn't it look great on you!?!?

bannner

this is the banner i created last week. but i am working on another that incorporates my jewelry.

Being an Etsy Customer

I tried to be practical when placing my first etsy order. So i started looking for supplies i could potentially use to make things to in the future hopefully sale on etsy. I looked through LOADS of stores and came across my favorite, YummyTreasures.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yummytreasures

Once i saw the policies and the profile i knew this was where i wanted to make the purchase. As soon as i placed the order i received a conformation email. Also the day the order was placed i received another email saying my yummytreasure was on its way. I received the products SOO much faster than i anticipated. It took only 4 days to receive it. I was very happy with my order and will continue to order for this store for unique findings i can use in my own creations.

Store Policy!

Payment: payment is due 4 days after the order is placed, any longer and the order will be canceled. PayPal is the only payment option available.

Shipping: Shipping will take place within 4 days of receiving the order. I will use the USPO as means of delivery. The product will be wrapped in complementary gift wrap!

Refunds and Exchanges: Please contact me if you are not completely happy with the product you receive. I accept exchanges/ refunds, however; the return shipping fee is up to the customer. The customer has up to 5 days after receiving the product to contact me if unhappy, any longer than that and a refund/exchange will not be possible

The Sarah Charm Bracelet

The Sarah Charm Bracelet

**Tags: jewelry, bracelet, charms,

owls, pearls, crystals, silver, chain, upcycled, handmade, jewellery, metal, beaded, AllConnected, birds,

**Materials: silver chain, chandelier charm, shiny silver beads, rhinestone, oblong pearl, porcelain owl charm, silver accent balls

Description: This bracelet is the perfect addition to any wardrobe. I created this bracelet with my older sister in mind and the fact she is about to get married. I was inspired by the old say “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”. Each charm symbolizes a different aspect. I feel this is a very special one-of-a-kind piece that anyone would be very lucky to get!!

The Anna Necklace

The Anna Necklace

** Tags: jewelry, necklace, gold, red, elephant, vintage, upcycled, long, one-of-a-kind, , beaded, metal, chain, jewellery, AllConnected,

Materials: unique vintage gold chain, red seed beads, gold elephant charm, gold crimp beads, gold balls, small gold toggle clasp

This a perfect one-of-a-kind necklace that captures a vintage feel. I turned a plain old vintage chain into a very unique accessory. It is the perfect length, 18 inches, with small toggle clasp for accessibility. It is red and gold with a perfect elephant charm at the bottom. The charm is attached by two eye hooks for very sturdy wear.

The Nellie Necklace

The Nellie Necklace

**Tags: jewelry, necklace, gold, kelly green, vintage, chain, metal, upcycling, beaded, on-of-a-kind, chic,

jewellery, AllConnected

**Materials: vintage gold chain, kelly green seed beads, vintage gold ball beads, small gold toggle clasps, eyehooks

Description: I took an old vintage necklace and decided to add a little pizzazz to it. It is a beautiful 11 inch necklace that is simple but very elegant. It is the perfect attention to any spring/summer wardrobe. It is finished off with a perfect toggle clasp to make putting it on a breeze.