Calling Card

I decided to get myself some mini-cards to include in my orders - and to give out (because somehow the skin care always comes up and peeps want to know more). The part of me that doesn't like to waste paper (or to spend money on meaningless advertising) is at odds with the part that is coming to realize that she will genuinely benefit from an easy way to supply a smidge of useful info about the brand.

I went with MOO cards cuz the company has a good reputation, the site is easy to navigate, the product is high-quality - and it's not absurdly expensive. I'm happy with the Kristin-"designed" outcome (even if it is a first attempt which I may modify over time):

It's simple and direct, like CURIO. But the luxe is in the detail:

Do you see that cardstock? Oh, these are so beautifully substantial. They're more than 3 times the thickness of regular business cards and it's tactile heaven. I'm assuaging my eco-guilt by having bought the mini-cards, which are half the size.

BTW, don't email me at that address quite yet - it's one of the many things I'm in the process of setting up! Y'all can always find me using the email address shown on the blog or via my Etsy store.

Now I'm off to make face cleanser for a bunch of testers (aka friends), some more shampoo and conditioner (the sample sizes from a couple of weeks ago are almost done) and to complete a couple of custom orders - one of which may become a regular offering because it's awesome. 

Remind me to tell you the story about how my kid is refusing to use my shampoo and conditioner - devised specifically with love for her, you might recall - because it creeps her out that it doesn't come from the store. Ah, teenagers. Let's just say her hair's about to get very grimy.

But about the cards, what do you think? Silly vanity project or smart marketing? Pretty cardstock or needless expense? Have you used MOO? Let's talk.

What's Up This Weekend?

At noon, I'm off to my local distributer to get batches of organic oils. This is always a trip and a half (Portlandia, peeps). Then, it's back home to make new Deodorant B, a couple of orders (thank you orderers!!), some new labels and some lip balm.

I've got to up my shipping game, so I'm researching the best mailer boxes I can find - in the smallest sizes to keep shipping low. This may increase shipping by a couple of dollars, but I think the end user experience will justify it. And on this topic, do you have any idea of how much kraft paper you can buy in bulk?! It's insane. And I'm also considering the best kind of bubble wrap.

Then, at 4, my friend, a graphic designer, is coming over to discuss thermal, water-resistant labels and what it's going to take to get me there. Natch, we're doing this with booze in the back garden.

Honestly, when I look at the list of things to figure out against the list of things completed, it's scarily inequitable. But there's nothing like crossing new things off a list to keep me motivated.

What's up with you this weekend?

Small Business Chronicles: What's to Love?

Let me just say that having a small business is serious fun. This is in no way mitigated, as far as I'm concerned, by one's relative inexperience or non-full-time status. It's a hell of a learning curve and work, work, work, but if you're one of those people who never sits still, you might as well do something challenging. There is NO shortage of brain gymnastics when it comes to this activity, particularly when the lever is one's own hand-made product.

There are some boring parts on the business scene, so naturally I'll gloss over those. (Yes, they involve spreadsheets.) This post is about the aspects which are most fun. If one's business is a metaphor for oneself (and I'm not saying it is), I'm a serious extrovert. (Actually, I am a serious extrovert.)

My extroversion has facilitated things tremendously. In the broadest sense, I love introducing people to terrific things that I've discovered. I have always loved doing this. I mean, I started a freakin' blog so I could get the word out to people I didn't even know - and I'm still doing it 8 years later (though happily now I do know many of you). With this biz, I'm simply introducing people to things I've made. Things I can vouch for. Now I can align my quest for quality and value with my creative spirit. And peeps, it's a TRIP.

I've always wanted to work in a shop (strange, I realize). Not a bland shop, of course, but the kind with treasures. I'm that lady (browsing) who somehow ends up selling you yarn at the yarn store and lingerie at the lingerie store, the one who tells you that you can do better in those blue pants that don't taper quite so much at the ankle. Having a shop - even a virtual one - is an opportunity to enrich the consumer experience, and that activity is utterly enjoyable.

Another thing I love, though I never would have imagined this, is the imperfection of it all. I'm a newbie and - in the way I never judge a novice for his or her relative inexperience - I'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt. I've decided to undertake this as if it were a craft, an extension of myself. I'm ok with evolution. Don't get me wrong - I strive for perfection in everything (even though the experts say it's a bad idea. What can I say? I'm a St. Clement's girl.) But perfection is unattainable. On the flip side, evolution is inevitable. My goal is simply to learn and improve - and to provide excellent product that appeals to purchasers, of course. Theoretically, there's no end to this project, just betterment through experience. (Note to everyone: Krissie of 15 years ago would never have had this perspective. So let's give a shout out to age. It's living those 15 years that's shown me what I can achieve in 15 years!)

My third fave element of the business process is refinement (dare I say, curation) of the collection. It's really creative and the grain of every new idea is entirely spontaneous. For example, when I started CURIO, Serum A was the keystone. I sensed I had a winner and it is my most popular item, so far. Having said this, I would never in a zillion years have imagined that Deodorant A was going to give the serum a run for its money. Deo A was developed organically (no pun intended!), almost accidentally, in discussions with my mother. And man, am I glad I went on that conversational journey.

Over the course of the last 3 months I've had a number of people (aka guys) ask me about creating a Deodorant with "manly scent". In truth, I feel that Deodorant A is unisex - I used lavender and frankincense for a reason, after all. However, apparently guys feel that "manly scent" is something like the woods. Full stop. And really, who doesn't love the woods? So, you know what? I'm going to start making Deodorant B (the one with cedar - and some other goodies to, maybe, remind one of pines and lakes - but in the most delightful and original way). It'll be a special edition product - made specifically for the askers - unless it takes off. Let's give it a go and see what happens...

On the topic of Serum A, the one you know from the shop is not actually Serum A, the first. It's Serum A, the second. The first was made specifically for my mega-oily skin (an outlier perhaps, or maybe not) with organic jojoba, not rice bran oil. I also used a different ratio of oils and different essential oils. Short story: While the rice bran version is exceedingly moisturizing and awesome for dry/mature skin, it's not best for me - at least not in summer. You'd be amazed by how efficiently the jojoba version absorbs into oily skin. It's pretty illuminating. Natch, this has compelled me to reconsider that the reason most lines sell a range for oily skin and another for dry skin is cuz these skin types have very different needs. I mean, I know this. As such, it's just sensible to offer Serum B (really, it came first, but let's not confuse things) for the oily-skinned like me. This one will be a continuity product because I want the option to wear both and maybe you (or your daughter or your mother or your brother) will too.

At any rate, I know I've veered a bit into the weeds, but the point is that there are always opportunities to consider how to make things better or to make new things or to package them in new ways to best suit the client. Cuz in the end, it's really only about the client.

A business is like a puzzle, a machine with moving pieces. Extroversion is the lubricant. Refinement is the maintenance. And being receptive to whatever comes, allows for lessons-learned and inevitable improvement.

But man, those spreadsheets are a bitch.

Small Business Chronicles: Starting a Start Up

If you're neither into skin care nor lingerie, it is not your month on this blog... On the plus side, if you can half get with either, it's fun times! Since I wrote about bras last time, today it's skin care. I did receive a new bra yesterday - one I haven't said anything about thus far. I'll review it for you tomorrow but the short story is that it's a winner.

I realize that I said my next skin care post would be to introduce Serum A (a creative end-result that I'm very excited to natter on about) but I've spent the last 2 weeks absorbed in the alternatively-creative, all-consuming act of setting up a small business and I simply must tell you about it. Look: I'm not one of those peeps who bravely quits her career to revel in the self-directedness of entrepreneurship. I'm deeply attached to my salary - which I am only interested to expand (and, no, not after accepting a cut in lifestyle prior to making it big). So you won't see me ditching my day-job anytime soon. As such, it means I'm going to have to be that much more efficient.

Given that I'm surrounded by entrepreneurs, I find it interesting that I have never embraced this path. Oh, I love selling things. I mean, I love engaging with people about things that interest them, that might improve their lives in some small way (whether I've made those things or not) - and I'm totally down with the transactional component. It's like participating in the beautiful cycle of commerce from every bar of beeswax to finished balm. I love R&D and creating product and marketing. Gotta say, though, the whole cost analysis / balance sheet part of the job doesn't exactly call to me. And since I've been mega-living that element of the small business experience, it's really sharpening my focus.

My husband has been relentless on this topic. If I hear the phrase: If you don't know every cost associated with your production model, how will you know how to price your product? one more freakin' time... I finally just decided to do it to shut him up. And wasn't he on the ball? I guess intuition doesn't improve profit margin after all.

I've also been setting up an Etsy shop. (Natch, I'll plug it when it's ready to roll.) OMG, people, I never knew how much I wanted an Etsy shop till I got one! I just stare at it all the time! This part of the undertaking has quickly brought me up to speed on ways that I can improve what I can offer to clients, how to realize discounts on shipping (yay for us all) but it has also made me aware of the steep hidden costs associated with peer-to-peer e-commerce as it pertains to the business beginner. Don't get me wrong, it's the way of things, and I believe the platform is a well-run necessity. But I'm starting to understand why everything I buy costs twice as much as I think it should. :-)

I sense I will not be able to keep myself from writing about all of this. You know I write about what I do and, for better or worse, right now this is what I'm doing. Plus, it's a major learning curve and who doesn't like to prattle on about that?! All I can say is that it's really illuminating to put your money (and your time and your energy and your creative-spirit) where your mouth is.

Today's questions are for the entrepreneurs (or part-time or wannabe entrepreneurs): Lord, people, how do you do this all the time? Aren't you tired?? Oh, and what do you appreciate most about having your own business? What do you sell? Stuff? Services? How did you get started? Is there anything I need to know like, today? Please, please - let's talk!