Certainty

There is nothing more certain than change. I have recently been thinking a lot about my business, what I want to do with my website, how better to advertise, what exactly I wanted to sell. I love looking for new products and new ways to display art, I love trying them out, but it all costs money. I have been reading about business practices and advertising strategies, as well as continuing to read the book Thinkertoys. As I have pondered, coming up with new creative ideas, a new idea struck me – Simplify.

This past week I have been looking at my stats, what sells, what doesn’t, as well as marketing and advertising ideas and strategies. I have come to the realization that I don’t have a very clear objective when it comes to products. I find something I like, and I just jump in with both feet, adding to everything else I have, but never really looking at the stats, the market, etc. So many different products make it hard to pinpoint one market and advertise. So, this coming week I will begin thinning my products, my website being the beginning of this thinning process. I will still have all the same items I now have for local markets, at least until those items are gone. But I am not going to order new products, and I am going to cut out some of the things I make and do as the items sell out.

So, what am I going to keep? I love painting, and that is what started me out on my business journey. I will still be selling prints and originals of my artwork; however, I will be removing from my website older, less popular pieces. Any prints that I have left of these pieces will be sold at a discounted rate. I will be removing the stickers from my website, although, they sell well locally, and I wholesale stickers to a number of gift shops, so those will continue to be available in person, but no longer on my website. Note Cards are my number one best seller both online as well as in person. Those will continue to be available across the board, however, I am still thinking about the ways I want to sell on my website. We’ll see what inspiration comes as I proceed. Fabric is another great selling item both locally and online, so that will remain on my website as well as sold in as many stores as I can get it in to. I am still trying to figure out the best market for my books. I am not sure if I will keep those on my website or simply try to get them into the bookstore markets. That will be a process all on its own.

I will be adding one component to my website however, and this will go along with my YouTube channel. With many of my videos I have been adding a blog post with written instruction. I feel that it is cumbersome to try finding a single recipe or page of instruction in all of my blog posts, so I will be adding a page for YouTube instructions so that they are easier to find. I will also maintain my YouTube channel button for easy access.

Change is constant, and sometimes uncomfortable. But it is through change that we grow and become better. I am excited about these changes. I don’t look forward to the tedious process of revamping my website, but I do look forward to the finished product, at least for the time being.