New Stuff for a New Year

The obvious news is that I've been a bit distracted from this blog.  The better news is that I've been building a following at my poetry blog and have been crocheting while I write.  I also finally caved in to a life long desire to learn to make jewelry.  I've only created a few rings so far, but I look forward to making many more beautiful things.

Sales this Christmas came from unexpected places, which was nice because my two longest running wholesale customers didn't order a thing.  Despite all that and an only mildly fruitful craft fair in Santa Ynez, I found a way to make a profit.  The best advice I can give you from my experiences this winter is that the more you make your products available, the more often you will sell.  Friends came by my house and others shopped the selection I stocked in the back of my car despite having to sheild themselves from a winter storm to do so.  Another friend put in a good word for me at Santa Barbara Winery and I sold a very respectable amount of candles there.  Right now they are considering adding my soap and/or lotion to the shelves as well.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I hope you like my newest creations.  They are calling me now...  gotta go play!  I hope you're having a great day!

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Winter Preparations Part 3: Samples, Etsy and Interruptions

The past few weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I only have two to three weeknights free lately which I can devote to my candle business. The stress knots in my neck and shoulders are proving to me that it's not enough time. I'm working on figuring out which regular commitment I can cut back or cut out, but for now... It is what it is.

The good news is that I'm a little more busy than expected because a few of my friends have been out there promoting my candles. Despite being delayed by an apartment covered in roof gunk (fell through the ceiling cracks during re-roofing), I managed to make enough candles to keep up with the amount I want to post online for Christmas and to hand out samples to a few local store owners who heard about my candles from friends. I got the information printed out for the store sample bags just moments before my computer was overtaken by a virus. Thankfully, none of my files were destroyed. I just had to live without a laptop for a few days.

I cheered myself up about the computer virus by saying the timing must have been good luck for wholesale candle orders. I still haven't gotten any call backs, but will try ringing them in a few days if I still haven't heard.

Winter Preparations Part 2: Introducing Crochet Mug Cozies

For the first time in forever I feel like I accomplished a heck of a lot of stuff in a week!  The most exciting part was the discovery of a crochet item I can make fairly quickly... mug cozies.  Aren't they cute?!  I feel a bit bad about copying someone else's idea, but there are patterns published all over the internet and I think there is room for me in the cozy market.

I've also made quite a few candles to add to my online inventory this week.  The rose petal candles really do smell better than a dozen roses.  I highly recommend them to any man who needs to buy a romantic present for a lady.  The green colored black tea candles also smell amazing.  If you want something clean smelling with a hint of spicy, you should give these a burn.

Happy Labor Day!  I'm off to relax, watch TV, and possibly crochet some more cozies!

         

Update on the (hopefully no longer) upcoming 1099 change.

I haven't had time to photograph or post last week's candle batches yet, due to a very busy last two weeks of summer, but did want to take 5 minutes to post a little update on the 1099 reporting change I wrote a blog post about in May. I read an excellent summary of the current status in this article today. It seems that nearly all business owners are in agreement that the increased reporting requirement places a ridiculous burden on small business owners. How do you get the tax information of businesses where your employees spend money while on the road? How do you figure out who to contact from a national chain store? How can you add the added cost of all that tax reporting time into your product without loosing all your customers? But, probably the most pertinent question is... how is the IRS going to handle the millions of additional papers they will have to process each year and make money to pay for the health care bill? Thankfully, the IRS's own National Taxpayer Advocate is in agreement with business owners' objections and included her opinion in her midyear report to Congress. Thanks to this report and the many questions and complaints received by government representatives, two amendment options are now being considered.

Option #1 (Republican): an amendment to repeal the 1099 change and eliminate it all together.

Option #2 (Democrat): this measure would scale back the upcoming changes. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees would be exempt from complying with the new requirements. Businesses with more than 25 employees would only have to send a 1099 to retailers who sell them $5,000 or more in goods (instead of $600) and they would be allowed to exclude credit card charges because the credit card companies would report the information directly.

I don't know about you, but I would be happy with either of these options. As a sole proprietor, I'd be exempt either way! The issue (as usual) is how the government will make up this lost revenue. The Democrats want to eliminate an income deduction for the five largest oil companies. To me, this sounds like a suggestion the Republicans will never accept and, furthermore, one which will directly effect the pocketbook of every American. I'd hate to see health care finally become affordable at the same time that fuel costs double. The Republican amendment claims it will be paid for with money from health care programs created by the reform law. Uhm... wait... I thought the 1099 change was supposed to pay for the health care. Now it can pay for itself? Hmmm...

The House and Senate are in recess right now, but will continue trying to tackle this issue after Labor Day. I'm glad it seems they are making progress, but hope they are able to come up with a solution that could be accepted by everyone.

My Newest Best Friend in Marketing

July hasn't been the most productive month of 2010 for my candle business. I got distracted by a new project of mine... poetry. At least once a week I post a new silly rhyme to my blog about something I saw on the internet or TV, in magazines, or better yet, in real life. Once I had my first 5 or so poems, I decided to send one to my favorite local newsletter, edhat.com. They send out a free newsletter every day with links to pertinent news, questions & comments from readers, event photos... all kinds of fun stuff that (for me) makes it feel like the new millenium version of a little old town meeting. And, ever since I sent my first blog link, edhat has been sharing my poems with their readers each Sunday. Thanks to blogger stats, I know that quite a few people have clicked through to Rhyme Me a Smile from edhat links.

This week I decided to finally getting around to sending out those prizes I displayed in my last blog post. I had intended one for edhat and one for someone else, but in the end decided to offer both to my new best friend in marketing. This week's newsletter already has a fantastic free ticket opportunity, but soon you shall see Homemade by Hoyt products being given away. It has turned out to be an even better marketing strategy than I expected. In exchange for the prize donations, edhat made me an advertisement for free and posted it to their website. It popped up earlier today at the top of the browser page while I was trying to figure out why the sheriff's hellicopter was flying around the Noleta neighborhood. It was pretty exciting to get answers to my breaking news question and see my brand new personal advertisement simultaneously! If you live in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, or Ventura Counties, I highly recommend signing up for your local edhat newsletter and advertising through them if you are a business owner. If you don't live in the area... well, start searching for your best friend in marketing. He's out there.

Today's Forecast: Scattered Creativity

If someone had read me a forecast on how much progress I would make in June for the various "to do's" I have planned for Homemade by Hoyt... it would have predicted scattered creativity. I have made progress on a few ideas, but nothing has truly been completed. Thankfully, I did complete the candle inventory, so I was able to place it back in storage instead of having it spewn all over my only table / work surface.

The first thing I have been working on is... I plan to offer up gift sets of my products to two entities that have giveaways in my community. I'm not really sure how they choose the prizes they currently offer but think there is a good chance they would be interested in my handmade crafts... and I wouldn't mind getting my name a little exposure in front of their "customers". I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to reveal the complete details of my idea yet. However... hopefully, sometime in the near future, two lucky someones in the greater Santa Barbara area will win the two gift sets shown here. Both contain sage green colored, tibetan black tea scented candles and a bar or two of my vegan hemp soap. It definitely wouldn't be the largest prize either place has given away, but it could be one of the most unique.

Tonight I started a different project... going through all the magazines and other stuff I have stacked around the house and picking out what I want to save for collaging onto recycled jar candles. Things have definiely piled up since I last did any decopaging... and maybe I'll do more soon. I could use a bit more inventory online and my tub of jars is overflowing! If that isn't a sign, I don't know what is... of course, that won't help the July "forecast" be any more focused than June, but any progress is good, right?