Archives for "Crafting"
Thoughts on bureaucracy
Firstly “bureaucracy” is hard to spell, which is damning enough.
I have mostly kept out of government-y things…I did what I was supposed to do: registered my business, got my insurance, pay my taxes…all of the normal business stuff. I figured if I kept toeing the line, they would leave me alone.
“They” would be the government. Look, I’m not a radical anarchist…I fancied myself one in college but really I’m too lazy…ANYHOW…I’ve kept my head down and just kept chugging along. There was a very real threat I could be shut down with a bill called the Safe Cosmetics Act. Atleast I think that’s what it was called…long story short it got cut, which I am incredibly thankful for. That bill would’ve had crippling consequences on small beauty companies like mine; it was about creating fees of outrageous amounts (hundreds of thousands) and heavily favored large conglomerate companies, though they would have suffered along with me…they still would’ve been in business at least.
And now there is a new bill, and it has passed. The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 does…well actually I don’t really know what it’s going to do, I hear conflicting things and my brain shuts off when I start to read it.
The gist of things I’m getting is that there will be required testing for products (cool) and user fees (not cool). Many are stating that this bill will shut down small companies, but I also heard that those making less than $1 million would be exempt…so who the hell knows.
My opinion is this: I am all for consumer safety, I am thankful that the government said “no” to lead in products and enforced it. I am NOT glad that I have to jump through hoops held by an unknown person for an unknown reason. “Safety” is such a blanket word that it’s meaning has become so jumbled. Do I create a safe product? Of course I do…if I didn’t I would have lawsuits and liability claims that would bankrupt me. Do I need to prove that to someone who has a hard-on for justice because it’s election season? No and fuck you for asking.
My problem with this whole thing is that there is no concerned group of voters pushing for this. This bill was created by either A) someone who has an agenda B) someone who wants to push out the competition C) someone who has a controlling interest in these “user fees.” D) all of the above.
Will it shut us all down? I doubt it but we’ll see. If we DID get shut down I would love to see an underground handmade soap movement, wouldn’t that be fun?
Stay tuned.
Further Reading:
Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010
Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild weighs in on the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010
Meeting with a business adviser
Today I went to meet with my new small business counselor. Although it was only an hour it seemed like it went on much longer than that…I learned so much! I have to admit I was a little apprehensive; I never had luck with this sort of thing before. I had used SCORE.org 3 different times, and felt frustrated all three times…one person actually told me to stop what I was doing and just buy a franchise! What? No thanks.
We talked about what my goals are and what I need help with to get there. He was very helpful and gave me lots of acronyms that I have to research (I remember things better with acronyms so I was pleased that he was using them!). I actually have to develop a marketing plan, which I’ve never even remotely come near to doing. It’s a wee bit daunting but my adviser gave me the motivation to do it.
It makes me think of this interview I watched with Jerry Seinfeld once. He was talking about the episode where Kramer went on the show Murphy Brown…he talked about how they went there thinking “wow this is what a REAL show is like” and how they never considered Seinfeld a “real” show…more like they were just a bunch of people playing around on television. I definitely feel that way now…I’m doing things “real” businesses do and not just playing around on an 8ft table at a street fair.
fear of success
What a strange concept…being afraid of success. I always thought it was a silly notion but I have a little bit of it right now. My PDX sales rep is at a show right now and I won’t hear back from him until later this week. I know it’s a long shot but I’m totally terrified that he’s going to sell me like hotcakes at this show. What if Whole Foods wants an order? What if Sephora is there and loves my stuff? How totally awesome and terrifying that would be. Where would I get the capital to buy supplies (obviously these are net30 companies), would I be able to fill these orders in my usual 1-3 weeks? What if I couldn’t? Soap usually takes 6 weeks for a full cure…what if my stock is depleted and I have nothing for the shows in April?
Once again, it’s a long shot and I told him that I would be happy if people just took my postcards, and that’s true. Im hoping for an easy transition into the west coast markets rather than my greatest fears. Would I be disappointed if none of this happened? Probably immediately but that would wear off and I would keep going at my usual pace.
Here’s hoping (for what Im not sure).
how much stock is worth it?
I’ve read numerous times on Etsys forums that the more stock, the better! I guess it makes sense…offering something for everyone. But it’s a dangerous way of thinking, for me at least.
My old company was stocked out to the max….I had mineral makeup, perfume, bath salts, bath milk, soap, lotions, scrubs, body butter, lip balms, lip creams, lip glosses, bubble bars, body washes…the works! It all came with me to shows, too, so my tables were always crowded. In the beginning I thought it was a great idea to show off how “talented” I was, how much stuff I could offer, etc.
It became a slippery slope and in the end I closed the company because it got to be too much. I wanted to start new, fresh, and more importantly, small. So being on Etsy puts me in a little bit of a hard spot. I would love to offer more products but the need has to be there for me to make them. It becomes the old catch 22: need the customers to make the product, need the product to make the customers. I don’t want to fall into the rut of overstock like I did last time but I also don’t want to sell myself short. Right now Im at 36 items on etsy, more than on my website but just because I’ve got some old inventory I need to get rid of.
I’ve been eyeing up some other products I could make just to get myself out there but it would involve buying more packaging…is that a step Im willing to take? Meh…
who needs crazy things like “money?”
apparently not I!
Today was pretty exciting, monetarily speaking. I got my professionally printed labels in the mail…which cost a LOT but was totally worth it. They put anything I’ve done on my Epson printer to shame
(sorry for the bad lighting, we need new light bulbs)
Then I spent another $200 today finally getting my catalogs printed. I’m getting 450 as my first run…and my reps only want about 290 so that leaves me with A LOT of catalogs to stash around here. Sigh. Oh well, means I’ve got to run around and give them out right?
For those who are interested, I got my stuff printed at docucopies.com and can’t recommend them enough.
Me + You = Friends?
