Comment

Admin Team Comment by Alice Coaxum on May 6, 2012 at 1:59am

Hi Fran, I'm so sorry to hear that and I hope you reach your goal. Thank you for leaving a comment :)

Comment by Frances Roe on May 5, 2012 at 9:58pm

Hopefully in the yr of 2012 I can build a nice nest egg for college money for my great granddaughter. she is two now so by the time for college it will cost more than I could ever save. So with God's help he will help me work with my business and give her the funds that she will be able to full fill her dreams. I am in Hospice and im not saying this to gain sympathy just a fact, so until the fat lady signs I am going to keep Zeekrewards out there and tell folks that YOU can Save Money by buying bids on products. I left 4 cents keep the change. fran

Comment by Renae Milburn on March 3, 2011 at 3:52pm

Yes, I do. I don't wing it. that just thinking straight. you have to have a plan. Make it easy don't over do it. don't event the wheel. keep it simple. people are watching you do see if they want to join you or do the business your in. and if they see you carry all this stuff in, they are thinking to them selves oh, that is too much stuff. and they will not come on broad.  My thinking about my business have a 5yr plan and stick with it. stop chasing to many rabbits. people will not take you serious. find a passion and belive in what you doing  it will come across your excitment and people want what you have. people want to know you behind the business card, not just another number. that is my 2 cents.

Comment by Kathy Adams on January 6, 2011 at 11:10am

Wow, Darren, you hit the nail right on the head. I've tried so many times to get people to understand that they can't just join a network and post their ads.  I hear complaints all the time that the network doesn't work.  It's not the network, it's YOU!  There is a reason it's called a NETWORK!  :)  The only other thing I could possibly add to what Darren said is that using a picture of yourself on  your profile goes a long way with getting people to trust you.  I've found people would rather do business with someone they can see, so think before you post a pic of your product or your kids.  Let others see the real you.

Comment by Darren Sanford on January 6, 2011 at 2:10am

Obviously marketing is a very important component of the success of a business.  Planning how and where to market is critical if the marketing campaign is to be effective.  With the advent of social media, businesses have new challenges as to how to most effectively and efficiently use their advertising dollars.  Thankfully, social sites such as WAHMS Online provide a venue through which we can share our products and opportunities at little or no cost.

My plan for marketing my business involves not only sharing my products and opportunity, but also engaging with those who are in the various social groups and communities to which I belong.  I do this at least once on a daily basis.  In the realm of social media, people want to do business with people they know, like and trust.  Those relationships are not created merely by posting an ad or a link to your website.  While those are certainly great actions to take to promote your business, you must also engage in communication on a more personal level with others.

Admin Team Comment by Alice Coaxum on January 4, 2011 at 4:37pm

I think it's rude depending if they are just going to take your pattern and make money for themselves. I think it would be different if you weren't trying to make money and you only crocheted for yourself, then it would be okay to ask and only if they weren't trying to make money with it. I think sometime people don't think expect out of others more than they are willing to give. Even though you enjoy what you do it is still a business and you have to protect yourself as a small business owner.

 

You can do anything you set your mind to. You are in business for yourself so you get to decide when to take any new customers. Maybe in time you will figure out if there are certain parts you can crochet in advance and add the rest later or maybe try it both ways. Have some in stock and offer custom order for a little more money. You will figure it out in time. I 'm happy seeing you do something you love. Thanks for sharing :)

Comment by southern starr designs jewelry on December 14, 2010 at 7:13pm

thank you alice as you know being a customer that i use good beads in my work and it is def time consuming, i had someone say about the actual break down abt paying oneself a hourly wage of 8-12 per hr is way too high, well i bet ya if they were doing excellent work at their job or carreer that they would'nt work for no less than $7.00 per hour either, just because we have the choice of being a wah business, that dont mean i or any designer or craftperson should have to be a low wage when they charge their rates. also you do know the quality of my work firsthand so thank you very much for your acknowledgement,

Comment by southern starr designs jewelry on December 14, 2010 at 6:21pm

angel> thanks so much for your thoughts & your challenges that you shared with us, i can defintely relate to your challenges, I had a a woman take one of my necklaces at a flea market one time ask me how much for a babys crystal bracelet which basically cost me 2.75 to make with top grade crystals but wanted to have something that other jewelry sellers didnt carry there & had many moms asking if i made them so i did start making them, well anyways the woman asked price and when i told her they were $3.75 she threw it on my display table and said oh wow i wouldnt pay that price for them... well i about lost my dentures lol.. i was speechless for about 30 seconds then said ma'am these are all top grade crystals and it takes my hard work making all my jewelry... well then she turned around and said Oh I know i make jewelry too, so then i said well i guess then maybe you need to go on home and make you one then. ( i am usually always very polite but i was so mad & hurt at this point, then i had a few other vendors who seen & heard that happen and came to talk to me and i found out that she wasnt just a rude obnoxious customer she was another ...Vendor ( there who Didnt even sell jewelry at her booth ) I pride myself w/putting alot of love into my work & that its made here in usa still these days & i am a avid supporter of handmade and some people i guess are really clueless & want everything for free or cheaply, so i hope she keeps getting her junk jewelry at the dollar store & spending her hard earned money in another country !  we will live and learn so much in our business's everyday thats for sure, best wishes to you angel on your ebay ventures.  shara

Admin Team Comment by EarthAngel Divine on December 14, 2010 at 5:02pm

I can agree 100% Shara and believe me, it's been a challenge for me trying to price my Items for Ebay!  I've been selling on Ebay for some time now and it's a sticky situation trying to price the Items, so that you can get a fair return on each thing that's sold.  I have lost money and I've gained profit but you never know how much the Items will actually sell for.  I mostly sell Antiques and I have to do a lot of research on most of my Items because some are worth a lot of money and if I'm not careful, I will lose a lot of money.

 

Most of the time people do not realize how painstaking it is to get your products ready for listing.  First, with my Antique Items, I have to research the ones that I'm not familiar with and once that's done I have to take pictures, just at the right angles, in order to make my Items look presentable, then I have to write a very good, eye catching description, that will make people want to see what I have to offer and also, I have to be as informative as possible, so that people will know a little about the product, it's originality and so forth.

 

Then the next step is to get the product listed and I have to determine whether I want to put the Item up for Auction, or sell it for a fixed price. (Buy it now)...Listing as Auction, sometimes you may start the bid price too high or too low and if the starting price is too low and it sells at a low price, you will lose a substantial amount of money and it may not even be worth packaging it and taking it out to be delivered.  On the other hand, if it's priced too high, then you may not make a sell right away, unless people are Online who understands what Antiques are worth and those are the ones who will not mind bidding but it's a chance you're taking because you never know when the experts are going to be Online.  And there are some that will bid and not know what the item is worth, they just like what they see.

 

The last step in preparing your Items for sale is the packaging.  You have to make sure your Items (especially Antiques, Glass, etc.) are packaged properly to prevent breakage or damage.  Packaging Materials costs money, unless you can always find old News Papers, Boxes & other Material to package with but in most cases you will always need to buy Packaging Material, such as Bubble Wrap.  You also have to keep under consideration that you will always have to buy Postage and in some cases, Envelopes & Boxes or some kind of Containers to ship the Items in. 

 

So to answer the Question of the Week regarding the biggest obstacle I've overcome; it's been a challenge selling my Items but I really do enjoy what I'm doing and the biggest obstacle that I've faced is just plain old, getting my stuff priced right LOL!  I have played around with various Items enough to know what sells and what doesn't.  I have learned to cut corners and buy Items in Bulk or big Lots and sell my Items for much more than what I paid for them.  I shop at Thrift Stores, Garage Sales and Yard Sales.  I have an eye for Antiques and most of the time, people don't know the value of some of the things that they're getting rid of and some people just want to get rid of a lot of stuff that's accumulated around their Houses.  So at any rate, I have definitely been burned in being a Seller, but it has definitely taught me to shop carefully and more wisely...Those are the obstacles that I've overcome in this Business! ~EA~

Admin Team Comment by Alice Coaxum on December 14, 2010 at 4:08pm

Thank you for sharing Shara, that is definitely something to consider when purchasing handcrafted items. A lot of time, hard work and money can be going in to the creation of the item and the one selling should make a profit and not only get back what they put into or what is the point? I think your prices are very reasonable.

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