Goals!
I've been thinking quite a lot about new goals for 2012. I always struggle with goals, because I think that I should be able to attain them if I list them. Kinda like they are not real if I don't attain them. Anyone else like that?Goals shouldn't be like that. They should be what you would like to see happen, even if you don't know how you are going to do it. They should inspire you to work for the goals, inspire you to try new things, and inspire you to keep on going!
So what would I like to see? Well, since I have three Etsy shops I had to approach them differently. (You got your cup of coffee handy? This may turn out to be a long post!)
First, I am closing my Pruitt Design shop in two days. I have tried to sell jewelry, but really don't have much luck, no matter what I do. Last year I changed the look and emphasis, but still had no luck! Just too much jewelry out there to flood the market and jewelry making is not my passion. So, "C'est la vie" and "au voir"--I took French in high school! (BTW-everything is 60% OFF for these last two days.)
Goal: find another venue for my remaining jewelry, maybe a consignment shop or second hand store. Maybe even a charity fund raiser!
My oldest shop, which got a new name this year, called Pruitt Handcrafts, was changed to Pruitt Creations. It is kinda like my overarching brand shop, especially since my Supply shop sells my leftover fabrics, new fabrics, estate sale vintage fabrics and destash jewelry supplies and other craft supplies.
I looked carefully at the hearts (favorites) this year. Many Etsians click favorites when they find you in a treasury, sometimes not because they actually want your item, but as a favorite to put it in the activity feed for others to see you. That is nice, but it does not give me an accurate gauge of which items are really favored. So I looked at my shop favorites verses my sales ratio. This ratio was not as high as I would like to see it even though I am getting lots of views. So--
GOAL: Find a way to raise this ratio to about 75%. (A blogger friend of mine has a 93% ratio.) This is a huge goal, since I will have to Check my sold items for favorites, eliminate some items that have never sold, and generally get downright brutal with my inventory and then be creative!
This getting pretty long, and I bet your coffee is gone, so I will continue tomorrow, when I will wrap up and add a few of my personal creative goals!
See you tomorrow!
P.S. Do you know what my best selling item was in 2011? I'll share that tomorrow too!
8 comments:
I agree that goals are something to reach for. I made a couple of my goals "stretch" goals because I have no idea whether I'll meet them or not!
I bet your best seller was either your coasters or your cozies! I love both :)
I remember writing all the things that I wnated to do over summer vacation with my kids. I probably did about 10% which made me feel bad. But actually, writing down goals (hopes) can be a good exercise to remind you of what you would like to accomplish. kind of like a wish list. They can be reassessed as the year progresses.
I've been inspired to make 2 booklets--one for my house projects, the other for personal projects including my crafty business.
I haven't totally decided if I will reopen my Sparkly Park shop.
This is a great goal. Best of luck! I am curious to learn about your best selling item.
I am a list maker. If I can put my goals in writing, then it makes it easier to sort them all out and break them down into bite sized pieces that I can accomplish. Hope your sale goes well!
I like your attitude about goals--they should encourage you to do better, not discourage you! Any progress you make, in other words, is positive.
Oh wow..I am right where you are now....considering closing my first shop which is mostly jewelry and going nowhere fast. My second shop, only opened since October is much more popular. I am second guessing myself about the closing because what am I going to do with all that stuff??!! I wish you much success with your goals...thanks for inspiring me to maybe change some things!
It is a big step to close a shop but now you can focus on the other two. I have been thinking of what is in my shop and what needs to go so I know how you feel with that task.
Great goals! Working with your inventory is always a good idea. I may just have to look at the fabrics in your supply shop! Hopefully I will have a sewing machine working in a month or so...
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