Category: Business

The Steady, Yet Bumping Road Forward

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Starting this new business venture has been pretty overwhelming so far. Don’t get me wrong, I expected it to be a challenge, but there are so many aspects to work on and so many things that need to be done, its hard to organize all of those tasks in order of importance.

Right now I’m currently struggling with the financial aspect. Last time I wrote I had an issue with finding my niche. As of now I think I’m heading in the right direction with that and I believe I know what I’m going to specialize in. I even have a mission statement to start with and use in my business proposal. However, after figuring out my niche and moving forward with that, the issue of “I’m a broke, unemployed [kinda] former graduate student and teacher” – it isn’t just a matter of having money to buy supplies and the things I need to get started, its a matter of having money to LIVE! Ha!

While this technically falls in the “personal life” category, it does however affect my “business life.” One of the reasons I thought this was a great time to pursue my business is that the opportunity presented itself. I am no longer in school, having graduated several months ago, and I am currently working as a substitute teachers since I was unable to secure a full time teaching job. This is wonderful since subbing allows me to make my own schedule and I get to go in, do a job and walk out. There are no late night lesson plan writing and researching for the next chapter unit. However, the flexibility of this job also means that jobs are not steadily guaranteed. Yes I get to chose if I want to work tomorrow or the next day by accepting or rejecting jobs BUT there has to be job offers to accept and reject. I’m finding that this isn’t enough.

Currently I’m looking int freelance writing, as a supplement to my income, since the tutoring jobs are not panning out fast enough. Being new to online freelance writing, getting started is a full-time job for me write now. I’m trying out 4 different sites that offer this kind of work and it’s very confusing and time consuming. You have to know what your doing and build a pretty awesome profile, resume, skills summary etc. in order to get accepted for jobs. Even then I’m struggling to figure out how to “bid” on jobs.

With a little more time and a lot more research I’m sure I’ll eventually get the hang of it. In the meantime, Dollface Darlin’ has one more show in a couple of weeks in the city of Cerritos. After that there will be a craft boutique right before Christmas. During this time new Etsy product pictures will be taken and new descriptions will be written. My goal is to have the shop up and running full force by the end of the year to allow me time to work on new inventory.

Trying My Hand At It All

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Hello new readers (in other words, Hi Mom and a couple of people who may have gotten lost and stumbled upon this blog by accident). As you may have noticed, this is my new blog – and with most things that are new, I’m trying finding my niche. So while this is a blog primarily for my Dollface Darlin small business, I will most likely be posting about my crafting adventures, sewing mishaps and a few tutorials here and there. Most of all I’d like this blog to focus (at first) on my journey to creating a successful small business.

So, let’s start at the beginning: In the spring of 2008 I bought myself a sewing machine. Having graduated from college a couple of years earlier – and not having much else to spend my time on – I bought myself an inexpensive Singer sewing machine and decided to teach myself how to sew. Relying on tutorials and videos I found online, and a lot of trial and error, I began my online Etsy store. Since then, my little business and I have been in an “off and on” sort of relationship. I stopped when I went to graduate school in 2011, started sewing again when I took a year off in 2012, stopped again to finish Graduate school sometime in 2013 and finally – now that Graduate school is done and over, I am back again and hoping to make this a “long-term relationship.”

My overall theme is vintage and retro styled items. I do everything from sewing purses and bags, to creating jewelry and accessories. I also try my hand at embroidery (both hand and machine), screen printing, sewing clothes and even pet accessories from time to time.

As you can see, my business plan is sort of all over the place. Following me on my quest to finding my place in this DIY world and turning my crafty mind into a business mind. My current inspiration: Etsy’s “Quit Your Day Job” series. Take a look at these amazing people who turned their hobbies in to full time jobs. And until next time….stay crafty!