As much as I try to give myself some time off from shop business, I never stop thinking about it. I had some extra days off from work that last couple of weeks so I used that time to work on a few things for the shop in '13:
INVENTORY CHECK! Yep, it's done in retail, you gotta do it with your shop too. I'm ashamed to admit that this is the first time I actually set time aside to go through everything. It turns out I'm not as good in keeping track of my inventory as I thought. I had stuff made and not listed anywhere and I had stuff in my Etsy shop which I sold at craft fairs - yikes!! Now that I have a fresh list to work with, it should be better next year.
NEW INVENTORY! I went a few weeks without working on anything but I'm back on the wagon and have been working on new items for Valentine's Day and Spring 2013
PINTEREST FOR BLOG: I don't know why it took me so long to do this, but I put together a blog pinboard on Pinterest. I already have one for my jewelry.
I've been thinking about this for a couple of months now as the later half of 2012 for my online shop just wasn't as great as it has been so it's time for some changes. I have decided on the following:
- No more Free Shipping For my business, I have found this to be a waste of energy in promoting. There's really no "savings" when you ship something small like jewelry. I think customers want to see something off the price of the item and still pay the shipping. They also don't want to get ripped off in shipping so I keep my rates very reasonable. However, of all the times I've offered free shipping, my shop would completely flatline. That's it. Done.
- I will no longer offer items for blog giveaways I may still offer ad space on my blog on occassion but my actual inventory is so limited at this time. I work full-time job and I don't have the time to make as much as I would like. Giveaways haven't led me to sales either. This is not to discourage anyone from participating in giveaways, I just don't think they work for what I do. I don't mind entering them though. :)
Again I'm not saying that this is what everyone should do, I'm just speaking out of my own experience. Through trial and error you see what works and what doesn't work for your business. Free Shipping & Giveaways do not work for me so that's that.
Do you plan on implementing any changes to your business this year?
