Wow, I've done quite a bit since this afternoon when I decided to launch my on-line plans for selling arts and crafts. I mean, I probably spent several hours just trying to come up with a name for the business in the first place (the one I really wanted was already taken, unfortunately), but then the hours and hours after that have definitely accumulated quite a bit. First, I got myself an e-mail address with the name of the business to make it easier for people to contact me. Second, I got this blog going so I could post about progress and new projects here instead of on my personal webpage where I post about literally anything (I have posts about umbrellas and fish in addition to posts about my day-to-day life--all in all, very random). And besides, I'm sure my regular readers on my personal page probably get bored reading all about what crochet projects I've been working on for the past week or about yarn or about finding random patterns for unique things on-line.
Third, I went to Etsy.com to create a storefront. So far, my storefront is pretty bare and boring, but after about a week, I'm sure it'll look much more presentable. Technically, I already have a storefront for an item I'm selling on-line. It's a paperback copy of my Master's thesis over on Lulu.com, but that's where I plan on selling things I write, not things I create with yarn or thread. I alreadyhave some book ideas for publication there, but that's pretty much non sequitur. Long story short (too late!), I created a storefront.
What I did fourth is what took the longest. I got a PayPal account a long time ago (going on five or six years, I guess) and pretty much stopped using it a long time ago as well. I had a lot of problems getting my password for my account. My e-mail service was acting up to where I couldn't get the e-mail to reset my password. After about an hour of fighting with it, I finally got into my PayPal account and changed it from a personal account to a business one. There's a lot there that I still have to mess with, but at least it's started. I'm going to have to have my sister help me out a lot with both the Etsy site as well as the PayPal stuff. She's been doing this for a lot longer than me. She even has her own website for her business, after all, even if she isn't yet using it solely.
So it's now just past two in the morning and I've spent I don't know how many hours playing around with setting up my business. It's going to take a lot more work, but I've definitely got the time. The husband and I aren't planning on moving for another six or seven months, and if I find a job in this area before we move, it'll likely be part-time or temp work, leaving me the free time I need to crochet and manage my sites. I'd love to be able to make arts and crafts my livelihood, but that's still a long ways off. For now, I'm happy to say that Golden Snail Designs is off to a good start. :)
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