Having a Sale

There comes a time when you need to move out the old stock and make way for the new. Your creative ideas have moved on to better and brighter things. There are a number of things you can do with the old stock, give it as gifts, donate it to a charitable organization, or put it on sale.

I decided this week to move out some of the old by putting it on sale in the hopes that I can at least get back my cost. I created an "On Sale" category on my website and moved a few things there. I am hoping to not only sell the items but also get people browsing through other things as well.

Some of the items were moved there because I can no longer get the materials I used to make them, so they are being discontinued. It is unfortunate, because I like them but can't get what I need to make more. As I have made some new items to replace them, it is time to move themalong. I am hoping to post the new product next week.

Last winter I donated a number of earrings to an annual Toy Drive, knowing that there is always a need for teens, who often get forgotten. This year I will do the same with what it left and maybe make a few items specifically for donating.

I also put my lacing bracelets and handbag charms on sale for two weeks at 30% off. Deciding the percentage of the sale is really up to you. I did a quick chart of the different prices and the per cent off and decided what amount looked enticing to shoppers and not painful to me - 30% it is.

The sale is on all three of my sites, although the way iCraft is set up, they round the numbers so that sale is better on elizanne, and GLC Mall, an extra fifty cent savings. The great thing about iCraft is that you can put the items on sale and give the sale an end date. On that date, the sale automatically stops. On elizanne I will have to remember to go back in and change the prices back to the original price. I would prefer to have both the original price and the sale price visible to the shopper so that they can see the savings as well. GLC Mall is a bit between. I still have to remember to go in and change the prices, but the original prices are still there.

Not all items are on all sites, there is some variation as to what I have posted, although all items have been reduced.

I am also planning a sale for my next craft show. I will be offering a coupon through elizanne and through my blog for those who come to the show, and a coupon for those who come to the show for my GLC Mall site. This should be fun as it is more paper based so I can get creative with Microsoft Word to make it look pretty. The goal here is to get some cross traffic going between the two. There are a couple of places that I post things so I will be including them there as well.

Sorry, no pictures this week. Next week I will add some pictures of the new stock - I have been working on the Holiday Season for the last month and some it looks good.

CraftyLadyLiz

Full-time Work and a Part-time Business

As can be seen from the date of my last post, 14 months ago, working full-time and running a craft business do not necessarily go hand in hand. Trying to find the balance between the two is extremely difficult, especially when my 4 man department was down to two for three months and we went through a major up-grade that monopolized about 4 months of my time. I didn't even do much crafting as I spent most of my free hours doing overtime. I was also disappointed that I had to miss out on a major craft show due to not enough time and energy to get ready for it.

As a treat, I spent the first three weeks of my vacation crafting and with three more weeks of vacation to come, am looking forward to lots more crafting time.

When I am not short-staffed and actually get home on time, I work the balance. Usually two hours crafting in the evening at least three days a week (I get to do housework on the other days). This gets me a fair amount of product done and leaves me the weekends to design and work on the less glamorous side of the business - paperwork. As I have never had such a bad year at work, I am spending a bit more time on paperwork and organizing myself so that I won't have to miss another craft show.

I have expanded a product line - bookmarks. My old stock has been donated or given as gifts to make room for the new. I am excited about it and have enjoyed blending my creativity and experience to create the new bookmarks. One of the few things I could do towards my business when I was really busy at work was design in my head, usually during my commute. If I had time to get to a bead or craft store, I generally bought only what I needed to make a single product and was often happy with the results.

The wire bookmark above is my favourite, and just recently posted it to my website. The bookmarks generally run $12 - $16. Checkout the rest, click here to see the entire selection. They would make great stocking stuffers, secret Santa gifts, or slide it into a birthday or holiday card.