Oops, my bad.

I meant to post yesterday. I really did. It wasn’t going to be all that impressive, but it was still going to be something.

This is NOT a Lil Wayne quote…

But I ran out of time. I made a pair of fingerless gloves, took pictures of six items for my shop, and drank a lot of coffee. Oh, and I watched figure skating. Then I tried my best to look like a hooker for work, but I failed miserably at that too.

In fact, my boss told me I looked like a “church hooker”. I’m not sure what that means, partially because I don’t go to church, but I guess I’ll have to try harder tonight. It’s been proven, by me and my extensive experience, that servers make way more money when they dress slutty. I think where I went wrong was with the fake eyelashes; I just could not get them to stick. I worked at them for about 20 minutes before I finally gave up.

Anyway… I meant to post yesterday, just as I meant to edit all those pictures, but I got neither of those things done. I feel terribly behind my goals, but I finally got the edits done this morning. Everything is posted, so all the items in this post are up for sale. And without further ado….. Here they are!

Baltic Heather boot cuffs

Lady Slipper boot cuffs

Beige fingerless gloves

Mustard fingerless gloves

Red tweed fingerless gloves

The other item is a pair of yoga socks that I relisted. I did get to use my new tripod, which works amazingly well. It’s a bit hard to take pics of fingerless gloves on my own, but it’s totally doable.

So there’s my intended post from yesterday. Like I said, not real impressive, but there it is just the same. And with that done, now it’s back to work! Happy Saturday everyone!

Indeed

Throwback Thursday

Guess what day it is? Not hump day.

It’s Thursday, which means that today, I have an excuse to be lazy and post old shit. Shout out to The Bloggess for the idea, and for randomly showing up on my Facebook feed a few minutes ago. Great idea.

So this picture is kind of grainy, because it’s actually an iPhone picture of an actual picture. I was looking for pictures of the last time I was this thin (I was ten by the way, have I mentioned that?), and I came across this little gem. I’m pretty sure it’s from Christmas time somewhere around 1989. It’s me (obviously), my mother and my little sister. I’m fairly certain that my sister is smacking me in the face, my mother is yelling at her, and I’m probably teasing the crap out of her. Since that was a pretty standard thing. And my sister just looks happy to be smacking me in the face.

So there you have it. And now I will go back to knitting a pair of stupid yoga socks.

Because anything related to Wayne’s World is awesome.

Guess what day it is?

Or Wednesday, as it’s sometimes known. In my world, it’s actually Monday. Better customers than actual Monday though. Anyway…

Yes, my weekend is over and I have to go to work today. It’s going to be a rough week, what with Valentine’s Day on Friday. I don’t know why I thought working on Valentine’s Day was a good idea (yes I do, I’ll make mucho dinero), but I do know that it’ll take all my energy just to stay upright until Sunday. Do you know what makes it better?

Oddly, this palette makes going to work so much more bearable. I’m not going to do a product review; I’ll let the folks over at makeupandbeautyblog.com handle that part for me. But I will tell you that this stuff is fantastic, and well worth the money.

I’ve always been willing to pay a little bit more for a great product. I only buy bareMinerals makeup, because it covers up any off-color spots on my face without looking or feeling like I’m wearing too much makeup. It’s easy to use, and even better, easy to wear. I’ve always lusted after these Urban Decay palettes, but I was skeptical because of the price. I asked for this Smoked palette for my birthday, and when I opened it the day after I knew it was going to be fantastic. Not only are the colors awesome, but it comes with a little book that gives step-by-step instructions on how to create different looks.

Another reason I love this thing so damn much is it has incredible staying power. It’s like freaking glue. I have a hell of a time finding makeup that will last through a busy shift at the restaurant, and most times I have lost all of my eyeshadow by the end, and I look like a raccoon because my eyeliner has run down my face. But this stuff? No running. No smudging. And at the end of a shift, the rest of my body is greasy and dirty, but my makeup still looks like I just put it on. Seriously, if it can handle the stress of a 4-hour dinner rush, it’s totally worth the price in my book.

It is pricey. But Urban Decay may have won a customer for life. I actually look forward to putting it on, which is a feat in itself because I am not a girly girl. And I only wear makeup to work. So yeah, as exhausting as I know this week will be, I’m looking forward to it. Weird.

Yeah, I dunno.

Tuesday Top Ten – Best Social Media Sites for Small Business (part 1)

I’ve decided to split this week’s Top Ten list into smaller, more manageable pieces. This week, I’ll be discussing Facebook, and how/why you and I should be using it for small business. I had intended on doing the whole list today, but the Facebook part of it got way too long, way too quick, so I’m posting it on its own. Hopefully the next few I’ll be able to post together, because if not I’ll be writing about social media for the next two and a half months which would be terribly tedious. But anyway, here it is…

Top Ten Social Media Sites for Small Business Part One

Facebook

Hopefully you all have a personal Facebook account, so you have a bit of basic knowledge about this one. If you don’t, let me know and I’d be happy to walk you through how to get one set up. But even if you have a personal page on Facebook, maybe you don’t know why, or how, you should be using it for your business.

*As you’re reading, please note that all of this assumes that you’ve already started a Facebook page for your business. If you haven’t, start here. There are a lot of resources out there to help you get it set up, including this one which has videos along with text. Once you’ve got it set up, check out this site for more simple but valuable tips on what it should include.*

Why use Facebook as a part of your marketing strategy? Mainly, the sheer size of Facebook means that it will be a valuable tool in marketing your small business. As of last March, according to socialbarrel.com, the site had an estimated 1.5 billion active users. Billion. So basically, it’s huge. And even better, it’s free. Of course you can choose to pay for advertising if you’d like (I don’t), but even if you don’t you can still get your name/brand out there by doing a few simple things:

Make sure you are posting status updates regularly. Most advice will tell you that you should update daily. I don’t. I think a couple times a week might be enough, depending on your business and what you’re posting. You don’t want to post updates just to fill space. But you don’t want to overly self-promote either. Basically, what I do is when I have something meaningful and business related, I post it. Pictures of my works-in-progress, finished items before I list them, updates about shop issues, or even the random cat-stalking-yarn pic… They all make it onto my page.

A small note about this; the “experts” will tell you that pictures and/or links do better in terms of engagement than straight text updates do. I don’t find this to be the case. For example, I posted an update about a sales milestone last week and it got 141 views and 15 likes, while a link to my blog post from yesterday only got 36 views and 1 like. I say, find what works best for you and do it. If it happens to be text as opposed to links, then post more text updates. You can always post links in the comments.

You want people to see your updates, and either “like” them, comment on them or share them. Every time someone “likes”, comments on or shares your page or a post from your page, all of their friends see it in their feed. This not only boosts engagement, but it can also build your fan base.

My biggest issue with Facebook is engagement. A while back, Facebook changed how fans see page updates. Not everyone who “likes” my page will see every post. In fact, while I have over 1,200 fans, only about 100-150 see each status update. Here are couple suggestions that I’ve found, that I will try to use on my page in the near future.

–Use hashtags. Facebook added the ability to post clickable hashtags recently. You can even search for which hashtags are used most, and find out which ones are used by your target customers or competitors.

–Share quotes. This one I will definitely use. I have a whole book of knitting-related quotes. The idea here is to share quotes that your audience can identify with and will either like or share or both. You can also post a picture along with the quote if that’s what works for you. If you don’t have ready access to brand-related quotes, search using the hashtag #quote on Twitter or Facebook.

–Ask questions. This suggestion is so awesome because it’s so open ended. As long as it’s appropriate to your page, it works. But keep it simple.

–Connect with competitors, and comment on their content. I don’t use this suggestion currently. Actually, I’ve always been relatively opposed to it. But I may give it a shot, because why not? Obviously, you don’t want to actively advertise on competitors pages, but a relevant comment here or there on something they shared couldn’t hurt. You don’t want to step on any toes, but connecting and even cross-promoting with other small business owners can’t be anything but helpful.

–Like vs. Share posts. This one is interesting. I’m not sure how I will be using this one, but I’m definitely going to be trying it out. You could also use a different version of this idea by posting a “like vs. comment” update. Basically you are asking your fans to vote for one of two options, by either liking the post or sharing/commenting. It does require pictures, however. You want to create a picture containing the options you are asking your fans to choose from, and also include simple instructions for participation (which you can do using Photoshop or one of the many free photo editing options on the web). Again, every like or comment is shown to friends of fans, so this is a simple but very effective marketing tool.

I have to say, in looking for pictures to use as an example for this, I tried really hard to find one from somewhere other than Walmart. I detest Walmart. But that was the best example available. I feel a bit dirty for using it, but I didn’t have a lot of options. Anyway, back to the business at hand.

The last important thing, or at least most important thing because I’m sure there are many more tips out there, is that you should know when to post updates. In my case I’m marketing an online business but my main audience is still within the United States, or at least that’s where the vast majority of my sales come from. If you are marketing an online business as well, time zones are a factor that should be accounted for.

That being said, the best times to post to your page are generally around 1pm to 4pm. Traffic on Facebook starts to get steady around 9am and drops off around 4pm on the weekdays, but 1pm-4pm is when you are most likely to get the most exposure for your posts. The worst time to post, according to socialbarrel.com, is any day between 8pm and 8am or on the weekends. I’m not really sure how time zones factor into these times, but I would assume that they mean local time. You can post whenever you’d like, obviously, but I would suggest using the “schedule” feature to get each post maximum exposure.

I hope this little “guide” has helped. If you need more advice, check out the links I’ve included, or even do a Google search of your own. And if you have any strategies that you use with your own page that I haven’t mentioned, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear them! If you are still unsure about setting up your page or building a fan base, feel free to check out my page and/or send me a message.

Actually, it’s my Sunday. And I’m not all that happy about it. But whatever.

Pardon my mess…

Oh. Hi. It’s almost 5pm and the only productive thing I’ve done today is make a damn blog button. It’s to your right, by the way. Go look at it. And when you’re done looking at it, please for the love of all that is holy, do something with it. I’m going to be really depressed if I spent all this time working on something that no one was interested in.

Ok, so that isn’t the only productive thing I’ve done today. I also got really angry at my new light box.

See the carpet in between the sides and the bottom? Yeah, that’s because the damn backdrop doesn’t fit. Argh.

But it came with this tripod. So that’s cool.

See what I mean?

Why???? Why doesn’t the backdrop fit? What the effing shit kind of company does this? Not to mention, the instructions for said light box were in terribly broken English. I should have read the reviews before I put it on my Christmas list, because apparently I’m not the only one with this problem. I guess that’s good; it means I’m not messing up on the assembly (but who knows; I don’t read broken English).

It’s not all bad. I’ll still use it. I’ll just have to slide my matte board underneath it so the bottom is covered. Not sure what I’m going to do about the back, but I’ll figure it out.

And I did finish these boot cuffs. I wanted to finish a pair of fun purple colored cuffs too, but I got distracted. Damn blog button!!!

I also wanted to nap. I only get two days off this week because of Valentine’s Day (and I forgot that I have a boyfriend now, so I probably shouldn’t have asked to work), and we’re supposed to get another blizzard on Thursday. And I was up at 5am to watch curling. Yes, you read that correctly. I really need a nap.

But instead of doing either of those things, I’m sitting here and writing this blog entry. Because while a part of me (a large part) thinks I should be sleeping or knitting, another part says fuck it, it’s my day off. And it’s Monday. Regardless of the fact that it’s actually my Saturday, Monday still sucks.

WTF is this all about?

Did you know I have a Tumblr? I don’t have a clue how or why I should be using it, but it’s there, and occasionally I post stuff on it. I really should try to make these social media accounts more focused, but hell, I’m not very focused in general so that’s not an easy thing for me to do.

And for real, if I can’t figure out what the hell to do with Twitter, I don’t think I have much of a shot at Tumblr. I just do things, sometimes, and hope they turn out well.

Like this. Just… why?

I’m hoping to make my Tuesday Top Ten about this issue; how and why to use social media for small business. I just really don’t understand, so it’s more for me than for anyone else. It’ll give me a chance to do a little research, which I have trouble with if I don’t have any outside motivation. Let’s be honest, I have trouble with life if I don’t have any outside motivation.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for me, or anything you’d like to see included in the Tuesday Top Ten, I am very open to ideas. Thanks, and have a great weekend all!

I’m a server. I don’t get a weekend.

Who am I and why am I here?

I don’t care about having eleventy-billion visitors on a daily basis. I don’t care about being chosen for cheesy blogging awards. I don’t even really care about being “Freshly Pressed” (honestly, I don’t). Frankly, this is not a job for me and I don’t want it to start feeling like one. I love that I have an avenue to send my most mundane and crazy thoughts out into the universe, and that every so often the universe sends me something in return.

But really, what is my audience? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Do you know what answer I keep coming back to? I don’t have a fucking clue.

Unfortunately, this shop has been closed. It’s a real shame, she had some wonderful cards.

I’m not a mom. I don’t plan on ever becoming a mom. I don’t want kids, don’t particularly like kids, and if I were to get pregnant I’d probably die of a blood clot anyway. Plus I swear too much and I’m a really bad influence. My kids would be doomed to hell before they were even born. So that’s out; I’ll never be a mom-blogger. There goes 90% of the blogosphere, if you look at any directories. FYI, I respect all the mom-bloggers out there. I just don’t have any desire to become one of you.

I’m not all that sick. I mean, I’m sick; I have several ailments that will more than likely kill me someday. But I don’t like to bitch about it, because honestly there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I don’t want my blog to be focused so much on my illness that I exclude all the wonderful, beautiful parts of life that I still get to experience every day. There are a bunch of sick-blogs already, if you are looking for that kind of thing I can help you find them.

My life may be pretty boring. Actually, even I find my life to be pretty boring at times. So why in the world would I expect anyone else to read about my boring life?

Because I’m honest, that’s why. I tell it like it is, even if you don’t want to hear it. I don’t say anything behind someone’s back that I wouldn’t say to their face. But really, is there a market for that kind of thing? Is anyone going to read this and say, damn, that’s some really refreshing honesty there, I’ll just keep reading until 5 minutes past the end of my lunch break.

I think I’m pretty funny. Maybe my most recent blog posts haven’t had the same humor to them, but that’s because I’ve been trying to fit in. Fitting in, as I’ve known my entire life but somehow forgot in the last few weeks, is way overrated. So I’m not going to do it anymore. I’m going to get my voice back. Maybe I’ll lose a few readers. Maybe I’ll gain a few more. I don’t get paid for this, so either way is fine by me.

All I can hope is that someday, someone finds me and appreciates what I have to say, with or without the f-bombs.

Very true.

The best Super Bowl ad ever???

I’m unlike most girls in that I love football. I’m even unlike most guys, in that I know a lot about football. I have an insane memory, and can tell you not only who plays for what team and what position they play, but what year they were drafted, in what round, and from what school. Not for every player, but a lot of them.

But like any red-blooded American, my favorite thing about the Super Bowl is always the ads. There is something inherently exciting about seeing something you’ve never seen before. There’s the always present Budweiser ads (this one is actually my favorite from last year):

And the empowering, moving Chrysler commercials (Bob Dylan can speak words!!!):

But this year, my favorite by far was this little gem:

I hate, HATE McDonald’s on principle, so I don’t like to promote anything that has even a little bit to do with them. But I looooove the Bad Lip Reading videos, so I feel like I’m promoting them as opposed to a morally bankrupt, unhealthy fast food company. These guys are seriously hilarious. If I ever need a laugh, I can always count on one of their videos to brighten my day. Take their version of Game of Thrones:

I mean, really? How can you watch that video and not almost die from laughter?

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today. Enjoy the videos, and make sure to go visit the guys at Bad Lip Reading on Facebook and/or Tumblr and show them some love.

Gratuitous self-promotion

Yeah, so today’s my birthday. No, I’m not telling you how old I am. Yes, I’m writing this post just so everyone knows it’s my birthday. Because it’s a blizzard out and I’m probably not going to be able to leave the house and I have to live vicariously through the internet. Just like every other day.

But one of my items did make it to the front page of Etsy yesterday, so that’s cool. Check it out!

Bottom left; my item on the front page!

Tuesday Top Ten – Top Ten Worst Things About Working From Home

Last week I discussed my top ten favorite things about working from home. But as many upsides as their are (and there are actually way more than ten), there are just as many downsides. So today, I’ll continue with last week’s theme and discuss the Top Ten Worst Things About Working From Home.

1. So much to do, so little time.
Sometimes I find myself a bit overwhelmed with everything I’d like to do. It stresses me out. I want to make boot cuffs. I want to make fingerless gloves. I have to find time to make seasonal items. But I also have to package up all the orders, and make sure that my best sellers are available. Just thinking about everything I could be doing right now, instead of writing this blog, is causing me to panic a bit. I’ll be alright, but I could really use just a few extra hours in the day.

2. What do you do all day???
I know that no one takes my little shop very seriously. No one but me, that is. I can work from 6am until 11pm, and feel very accomplished on my own, but the people around me just see that I’ve spent the entire day watching TV on the couch. I haven’t had a real day off in years. Not that I’d want one; I’d be terribly bored. But it’d be nice if the people around me could see all that happens here on a daily basis, and that it’s not just sitting around watching TV all day. Sure, the TV is on, but while it is I’m knitting, or blogging, or posting on Facebook, or promoting my shop on any number of other sites, or even reading about how to promote my shop. There is a lot of work involved in this venture, but most people just think I’m lazy.

3. Lack of social interaction.
I’m an introvert. I don’t like people. Which is why this situation fits me perfectly. But, even being so introverted, there are times when I crave the presence of people. My boyfriend is great, and my cat is a wonderful listener, but sometimes I need to be around other people. So I wait tables at night. If I didn’t have my “day job”, I think I would lose my mind. I’ve always said to the people I work with that even if I was a millionaire, I’d still wait tables. I need to have an excuse to leave the house at least a couple days a week, and since I hate (with a capital “H”) shopping, I need to work. I could probably quit and be ok financially, because I don’t really need a lot of money to live, but I’d be afraid of losing touch with reality. Facebook isn’t a good substitute for face-to-face contact, at least for me.

4. Distractions.
As much as I love naps (if you have read last week’s Top Ten list, you know how much I love naps), it’s way too easy to just lay down and go to sleep. And sometimes I run out of energy by 11am and could sleep for hours if I let myself. Or I could spend hours looking at Pinterest. Or the Etsy forums. There are so many things that I could do that seem like a huge waste of time. And some days, I allow myself to do those things. But most times, if I spend a lot of time on the computer or napping or whatnot, I feel bad about it and end up beating myself up for not being as productive as possible.

5. No benefits.
Now this one isn’t as much of an issue now, since the Affordable Care Act took effect (which I will discuss at length in another entry). But this job doesn’t come with any benefits at all. I don’t have a 401K (I do, actually, but for the life of me I can’t figure out where it is). There isn’t any life insurance. Etsy doesn’t offer a health plan. Thank god for Obamacare, because otherwise I’d be paying hundreds of dollars a month just for the minimum. Worker’s comp would be great, but that doesn’t exist either. Carpal tunnel is a pain in the ass.

6. What is this “sick time” you speak of?
Or vacation time. If I’m sick, my “boss” (my “boss = me) still expects me to work. If I’m on vacation? Yup, still working. Not that I mind, but still.

7. Lack of a consistent income source.
Now this isn’t an issue with working from home, specifically. It’s an “I own a small business all by myself” issue, really. Obviously there are times when my shop is busy, and times when it’s very very slow. The few months around the holidays are always going to be busy for my original shop, since I sell items that are more suited for cold weather. And the summer is always going to be busy for my second shop. But the in between times? I can go months in between without making more than $100. Thankfully I know how to save my money, and I have my “day job”, but if I didn’t I’d be screwed. Or homeless. Probably both.

8. My ass hurts.
No, not like that. Sickos.

I sit pretty much all day, every day. I’m really good at sitting. Sitting doesn’t burn a whole lot of calories. But since I’ve lost all that weight, I’m not so much worried about the calories anymore. I am, however, worried about how badly my bony butt hurts after a long day of sitting on it. And how stiff the rest of my body gets. This is where my “day job” becomes a benefit because I’m very active there, and I try to go to the gym after my shifts to balance out all the sitting I do during the day. If I didn’t have to leave though, I’m not sure I would ever get enough activity. I’d probably end up weighing 600lbs. It’s a vicious cycle.

9. I have no boss.
Other than myself, of course. It’s great, really it is. But as awesome as being my own boss is, it becomes hard to keep myself on track at times. Again, the distractions are numerous. And finally…

10. I have no schedule.
This one is an upside and a downside. I have a lot of freedom. But when does it become too much freedom? I try to schedule my days as much as I possibly can, because I need the structure. But if I don’t get that pair of yoga socks done by 7pm? Oh well. It’ll get done eventually. I develop kind of a “meh” attitude about things sometimes. Not good.

Anyway, I’m not the only one who feels that there are both upsides and downsides to working from home. Apparently The Oatmeal agrees with me. How about you? What do you think are the worst parts of working from home, or being your own boss?