Christmas in July Sale!

This year I joined many other Etsy sellers in the Christmas in July Sale Event. Each participating shop has their own sale, but collectively we are working together to spread the word.

Sakura Bath & Body is offering FREE shipping for the rest of July! There is no limit - so get those stocking stuffers now!

Sakura Bath & Body Etsy Shop

It's Baseball Season!

It's that time of year again! I have a love/hate relationship with baseball season. I thoroughly enjoy watching our boys play, but our life becomes so hectic I am always forgetting something, which admittedly, isn't difficult for me. I tend to forget where I set my keys 20 seconds after letting them go. My parents used to tell me it was a good thing my head was attached or I would forget where I put it. Unfortunately, this is one of those traits that does not get better with age.

My goal this year is to get the family into a routine. I'm pretty sure this is much easier said than done or I would have figured one out already.

1. Work/School
2. Homework
3. Dinner
4. Baseball practice/game -> The picture is Brennen with his coach in the newspaper today!
5. Baths
6. Bed (kids)
7. Work (my shop)
8. Bed.

Ideally, this is what it should look like, but we all know it never works out quite like you plan. Hiccups like picking up groceries, mailing packages, going to the bank, and attending after-work meetings really throw me for a loop and once I'm in that loop, I tend to spiral around for days.

If anyone has any suggestions for this absent-minded wife and mother of three, feel free to leave a comment.

My Very First Blog Post!

I have been putting this post off for at least a week now. Writing for the world feels a little overwhelming for this anti-writer! I contemplated my topic for hours trying to figure out what I could possibly say that would interest someone. Well, here it is - My First 2 Months as a Business Owner - Setting up Shop!

My First 2 Months as a Business Owner - Setting up Shop!

If you don't already know, I opened my bath and body shop, Sakura Bath & Body, in February. It was both exciting and overwhelming to put it mildly. There were so many little things to consider - written descriptions of the products, pictures, and promotion to name a few. For this post, I am going to briefly describe my experience with these completely new aspects of my life.

Writing Descriptions
As you have probably guessed, writing my descriptions has been one of the more difficult aspects of selling my products online. I am not a "fluffy" kind of person, especially when it comes to writing. I must have missed the discussion on creative adjectives in high school. I will keep working on my descriptions, but if anyone has tried one of my products and would like to take a stab at writing a description - feel free! I will send you a full-size product if I use your description!

Taking Pictures
Producing quality pictures is yet another obstacle and one that I will be working on for a long time to come! I made a simple light tent using this tutorial before I opened my shop. It wasn't difficult to make, but it is difficult to get pictures as good as the ones shown! I also have a great camera, but I have no idea how to use it. I keep seeing posts in the Etsy forum to read the manual. Now that sounds like a brilliant idea, unfortunately, I have tried that and have no clue what any of it means! The good news is that I am getting better - mostly because I am taking 20-30 pictures of each product rather than 5-10. Somewhere in that 20-30 are 3-4 decent pictures.

Promotion
I currently sell my products on two online venues, Zibbet and Etsy. Although they are both similar, Zibbet is a much smaller online market, but it is gaining ground quickly! I also use Twitter and Facebook to help promote my new products. Promotion is the area I have neglected the most. With a full-time job and 3 kids though, I can only do so much! My hope is to increase my efforts as summer approaches - 3 months off baby!

I spend more time on those three aspects on some days than I do creating and making new products! Hopefully, as I learn a little more and have a few more months under my belt, they won't take up so much time.

One last point I'd like to make. I have met some great online business owners through Twitter and the market forums. The forums have been a great source of information as well as a time-waster (I need to stay away and get more work done sometimes!) I have included two great shops today, if you have a chance, you should definitely check out their shops as well!

Mimi's Babies - my very first customer!
A family run business that loves to create very special gifts for very special babies and more!




Portable Graffiti - a fun and energetic business owner!
Over 1,000 buttons -badges - pins - Something for everyone!