Got it

Thanks to Lemuel Craft

There were so many Texas Electricity Providers in my area I had no idea what to do so I called up a hotline one day to see if I could get some help. Wouldn’t you know it but I ended up on the line with the nicest man I’d ever talked to – I think at that point I was just so happy not to be talking to an automated machine I would have thought he was nice no matter what, to be honest with you. But anyway, Greg and I started up a conversation and it was just great – he was so sweet and we found out we lived only minutes from each other (he definitely broke protocol by telling me so many personal details!) Anyway, by the end of the call he gave me his email address so we started talking that way – next year we’re getting married! I know it sounds crazy but I guess true love really does find you in the way that it’s meant to. Just ask Greg and me!

Get your website ready for 2012

Over the next few days is a great time to take a look at your business website and ask yourself some questions about it.

Is it easy to navigate? If you were a first time visitor, would you be able to locate what you are looking for easily enough that you would stay and browse, or would you leave the site in frustration at not finding what you were looking for?

What might a first time visitor want to find? Why would someone visit your website and browse around it looking at the information it has? Would they be able to find everything that they want to know? Is there something you could add that would help first time visitors?

How about clutter? Is there something you need to remove because it is just cluttering the site and not really of any actual use to anyone that visits your site? Things that have little to nothing to do with your business that might confuse visitors?

Are your social media links easy to find and navigate?

This is by no means a complete list of what you need to do for your site, but it will give you a easy to work with starting point from which you can at least say that you made the effort to improve your business website as the new year started.

Tax Season Approaches - do you know where your reciepts are?

It is almost that time of year again, when the taxes are going to be due and everyone needs to think about just where their business receipts are stashed away. Old shoe boxes of stacks of receipts are the nightmare of everyone facing tax season, but they are at least a step above frazzled small business owners that scrabble through drawers and cars and old coat pockets trying to locate the receipts for the year.

If you are frantically trying to find your business receipts, then make a resolution this year to create a single file box with 12 folders in it into which you will drop all of the receipts for you business as soon as they arrive. Your tax accountant will thank you next tax season.

Internet Marketing for Small Businesses

Something that every small business owner wants to see is their business doing well as they move into the new year. There are some things that can be done to help make 2012 a success for your business. Thing such as establishing a firm online presence through the use of a website and social media.

One of the most talked about online tools at the moment is social media. For those who don't know, social media refers to those sites where you create a profile to help you connect with friends and family, and soon you have a whole bunch of people that you never heard of following your posts (which are usually very short notes about what you are up to). One person might talk about what a great product or service they received from a company, and everyone on their social network will see it, perhaps someone else needs something like that and will check the mentioned business out. That is why social media optimization is a key component to small business success.

Another important element that should be familiar by now to anyone with a website, is search engine marketing (SEM). It is essential that any small business owner have at least some level of familiarity with SEM, or that their website designer have one or more search engine marketing experts that can make sure that they not only have a great website, but (often for a little more cost) are ranking well in the search engines.

You do not have to hire a search engine marketing firm to be able to get the word out and rank your business in the search engines, but if you can afford one it might be a good idea. The best, in my opinion, would be to have a website guru that knows not only how to make you a great site, but that knows more than a little about search engine marketing and social networking. I say this because who is better equipped (in terms of knowing your website) to get the word out about your website to the search engines and social media networks than the person who designed the website for you?

Five great Holiday Craft Fair items

Looking to make some money to help pay the bills and thinking that local holiday craft fairs are a good way to make some? When you take into account the cost of reserving table space and gas to get to the fair and everything else, it adds up quickly.

Here are five great inexpensive ideas for craft fair items.

1. Greeting Cards

Get some card stock weight art paper and some art supplies at the craft store.
Don't forget to buy a box of invitation envelopes.

Let your imagination flow and create one of a kind holiday cards. Remember to put a little coordinating design on the lower left or on the back of the envelope, but don't decorate the places for the names and addresses or the stamp area.

2. Gift Bags

Making fabric gift bags is a great craft fair item going into the holiday season. Use heavy weight stabilizer in between the liner and the outside to give the bags a sturdier structure. Buttons, small ornaments and jewelery supplies are great for decorating the outside of bags.

3. Hobby Horses

Search online, there are lots of sites that explain how to make hobby horses based on your own preference for crafting style. Sock headed horses, wooden horses, knit ones and sewn ones.


4. Rag Dolls

Going into the holiday season, rag dolls are a great idea. You can make basic rag dolls intended for children to play with, or you can make more fancy ones that are intended for collectors and decoration.

5. Scarf, mittens and hat sets

Rather you knit, crochet, or sew, you can likely find patterns online for how to make warm scarves, mittens and hat sets. Create coordinating sets and package them in appropriately sized gift boxes ready for someone to give them as gifts.

There are many more ideas for things that you can make, so look around online, find some craft ideas that you would enjoy, and create an assortment of items that you can take with you to a craft fair.

Shop local this holiday season

I see all sorts of talk on the local crafter sites about the local holiday bazaars and craft fairs.They are a great way to not only sell your crafts, but an excellent alternative to spending lots of money in those large box stores this holiday season.

Many of the people you will meet at local craft fairs are your neighbors, and some are there to make ends meet for their own family this season, so by purchasing your holiday gifts from a local craft market, you are helping your neighbors to stay warm and have a happy holiday season.

This year, think small and local when you do your last minute shopping.  Pick up a copy of your local newspaper and sit at a local coffee shop to enjoy a warm cup of coffee or tea while you plan out what craft fairs you till shop at this holiday season.