Marketing is a Bitch, but I Love Her

Are you a small business owner?

If you are then you’ll be able to relate to this post. Or at least 99% of it.

Marketing is one of the most crucial aspects of being an aspiring entrepreneur. It’s how you get the word out to everyone outside of your immediate circle that you’ve got a hot product on your hands.

These days marketing has completely shifted from the olden days. And social media is to thank. Or blame.

So my Etsy shop has been doing excellent, especially considering I work a day job. I’m working on really ‘branding’ the shop — inventory, packaging, and marketing. I’ve learned it’s truly an artform.

When I was in college I took Marketing as an elective because (deep down inside) I always knew I would be an entrepreneur, not an Early Childhood Educator, but wishful thinking doesn’t pay the bills. And Early Childhood Education barely does. LOL.

I’m working towards the day when I can wake up in the morning, get my soon-to-be 3 year old up and off to school, drive or walk back home with a smile on my face because I know I’ve got some creative ideas up my sleeve for my business (as opposed to drudging through morning traffic with a glare of “get the eff outta my way you’re driving too slow” look on my face blaring my beloved Emarosa), arrive home, open my laptop and see several orders waiting in my Etsy shop to be shipped.

This daydream fantasy has massive potential. It can undoubtedly become my reality. I know this with every fiber in my being.

But first I gotta get a grip on this marketing bitch….               Um.           I mean bit!

I try to post regularly to Pinterest, Twitter, and my Facebook page and I even just bought ad space at JulieAnnArt.

But it’s still only the beginning. The beginning of attempting to market my business. And the beginning of my business period. 2020Vision Vintage (my etsy shop) is still in it’s infancy. So I’m remaining patient, yet diligent.

Speaking of businesses in their infancy, I found this kick ass site that I’m intrigued with — Brickyard Buffalo.

It’s a cool site developed by 3 women who feature small business owner’s one-of-a-kind product. Think “embryonic Etsy” without all the inventory. Brickyard Buffalo is small and relatively new. But they are already doin’ the damn thing!

So kudos to them. And kudos to me.

And be sure to swing by 2020Vision to see what new vintage finds I conjured up this week. Like these ultra-cool, never before worn, Stride Rite 1970’s dress casual shoes. *wink*

Until next time.

Etsy Vintage Gone Wild

So I CLEARLY have ADD. Undiagnosed, yet still very real. And that’s OK. I’ve come to grips with this.

This season I’m using my ADD for good (rather than evil) and have a new Etsy shop.

It’s called 2020Vision Vintage.

I started the shop in the summer of 2011 doing tarot readings for my divination practice. But I didn’t feel Etsy was the best venue to cultivate my tarot talents.

So fast-forward two years and here she is 2020Vision Vintage.

Business is going great.

Have a look at some of the quality vintage finds I personally love and would totally keep for myself, but I love selling much more than hoarding!

1950’s Velvet, Leather, & Satin Two Tier Jewelry Box w/ Gold Embossed Embellishment

Vintage Etienne Aigner Brown Leather Tri-fold Woman’s Wallet

Vintage 1980s Pixelated Flowers Yellow Silk Rayon Scarf

PELLE STUDIO by Wilsons Leather — Double Strap Genuine Leather Handbag

I’m amazed at the magnitude of Etsy’s ‘brand’. Just having the best quality photos and great tag and descriptions will get an item tons of likes, views, and even being featured on treasury lists.

Let’s just say… I’m enjoying my Etsy success while it lasts.

Who knows, maybe one day this will be a full-time business venture 😉

-Daydream Mom

Lather Yourself with Joaquin, Your Spanish Querido

When my son was an baby he had eczema patches on his wee little infant calves. It was dry and look really irritating. The doctors made some well-meaning suggestions like use Vaseline. But as a crunchy type of gal that I am, I opted for more natural methods.

All-natural shea butter (fat from the shea nut) and melaleuca (tea tree essential oil) was just the cure for his nasty little skin condition. I also started making our own soaps and found that really help keep both our skin really nice and smooth.

Throughout the years (he’ll be 3 in Autumn) I’ve continued to make these awesome all-natural products for him and have gotten requests here and there for me to make larger batches for interested parties.

So today, I decided to whip up a wonderfully exhilarating bar of soap for my Etsy shop, Like My Body.

The back story to Like My Body is quite a hilarious one, which I’ll share in a future post. But for now here’s a tutorial on how to make your own bar. Or head over to LikeMyBody‘s shop and get one from the soapmaker herself. ME 😀

Let’s begin…

First gather your supplies:

Melt and pour soap base (I used 1 pound Aloe M&P soap base for this particular project).

Gold Mica (for color)

Aura Cacia’s Sweet Orange essential oil

Rubbing alcohol in a spritz bottle

Heat safe measuring cup (I use Anchor because well.. I really like the anchor decal!)

Double boiler or microwave (I use a double boiler on a gas stove because microwaves are not all natural and Like My Body uses ALL natural ingredients and processes)

Spatula or something to stir with

Knife

1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon

Small cup for mixing mica and alcohol

Soap mold.

Lay all of your supplies in front of you and double check that you have everything. You don’t want to have to run around looking for supplies and risk ruining your soap base.

Begin by cutting the soap base into small chunks. The smaller the quicker they melt.

Place chunks in heat safe measuring cup.

Melt the soap chunks on the stove in a double boiler OR a microwave. If you use a microwave melt in 30 second increments. If you use a double boiler beware the process takes around 15 minutes to fully melt your soap chunks.

While the soap is melting, get your small cup for mixing the mica and rubbing alcohol together. Put 1/4 teaspoon of Gold Mica (available at Brambleberry.com) into your small cup. Then pour a dash of rubbing alcohol into the cup on top of the mica. Mix them together. Pour more alcohol into the mixture until the mica resembles a liquid instead of a powder. And you definitely don’t want it thick like a paste. If it’s pasty, add more rubbing alcohol.

Also, grab your soap mold and spritz the entire mold with rubbing alcohol.

Once your soap chunks are COMPLETELY melted down and the soap base is clear of any chunks, take it off the flame (if you’re using a double boiler).

Pour the mica/alcohol mixture into the melted soap. Stir with spatula.

Then pour .25 ounces of the Aura Cacia’s Sweet Orange essential oil into the melted soap.

Point two-five ounces of an essential oil is generally 1/2 of the bottle. Essential oils typically come in 15mL bottles, that’s .5 ounces. And for every pound of melt and pour soap base you want to use .25 ounces of fragrance.

Now it’s time to shape your soaps!

Grab your freshly spritzed soap mold. Carefully pour the melted soap into the mold. 1 pound of melt and pour base will make around 3-4 bars of soap depending on how many ounces your soap mold is.

Lastly, spritz the tops of the melted soap with rubbing alcohol to eliminate those crazy looking bubbles.

And now you’re all done!

Easy… right?!

Just wait for them to cool (around an 2 hours) and pop the soaps out of the mold. You can even refrigerate them too if you’re in a rush.

Look at how beautiful and sparkly these soaps are! I just love ’em. And they smell AAAAAMAZING! Like you just walked onto an orange orchard. YUM!

Take on deep luxurious inhale and this soap will instantly remind you of a that sexy Spanish man Joaquin who you met in Granada last Spring. The one who pretended to be your tour guide, but all the while he wanted to make you his ‘querido’!

Joaquin is available at LikeMyBody.etsy.com.

Do You Etsy?

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. A break was necessary as I was finishing up the last couple weeks of school (graduated Summa Cum Laude, bitches!!) and just really wanted to take time to find direction.

And direction is exactly what I found.

Since leaving Daydream Mom last November, not only did I obtain my much-desired degree in Early Childhood Education, but I moved to a new neighborhood, had a 4 month platonic-yet-highly-sexualized fling with a virtual love interest, hired a life coach, and found my purpose in life.

I’ve also started to work on a couple Etsy shoppes I have — Like My Body (natural, handmade body care products infused with Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade doTERRA essential oils) and 2020Vision Vintage (freaking awesome vintage and antique finds)!

As you can see, I have a TON of interests, which is why Daydream Mom was born in the first place. It’s a way to catalog my ADD and make it functionable.

Anyway… So yes.. To add ONE MORE THING to my ever-growing list of ventures, I am in Life Coach training as well. I have my first legitimate, registered business — which essentially ALL my business are umbrella’d under, so to speak. Your Powers Defined, LLC is my primary business where I help spiritual women identify their soul’s purpose. You’d be surprised how much clarity and direction you’ll obtain from hiring a coach.

So that’s about it! Busy busy busy! AND I’m a mom on top off allll of that.

It may sound like A LOT going on to the typical person, but I’ve always thought of myself as a mogul in training because I was born to be an entrepreneur and I’m always going to be a Jill of all trades, and I can master a few too.

I’m sure this will not be the last Daydream Mom post as I am intent on getting this blog off life support.

Stay tuned 😀

Weigh-in Wednesday: Time to Get My (Curvy) Arse In Gear

Yep… That’s me. Pre-pregnancy. About 4 1/2 years ago.

Several weeks ago I made a somewhat conscience decision to get serious about losing weight. However, a day turned into weeks and I still hadn’t lost  a pound. Not one friggin’ pound!

I consider myself somewhat active. As a toddler teacher I’m CONSTANTLY lifting 30 pound children, bending down, standing up, running around, etc. Then I come home to my own 2 year old and have more cleaning and lifting to do.

So basically my life is not sedentary. By any means. But I do need to step up the workout game.

When I was pregnant I worked out EVERY SINGLE DAY! I would throw on my mp3 player, a shirt, and my sexy tight leggings and got to trekking.

I enjoyed it thoroughly. I’d keep a steady pace. And I’m pretty sure that’s why I had such an incredibly easy labor and delivery.

But once my son was born my workouts waned. And I couldn’t drop the baby weight. And I even breast fed!!! I still do!

So the problem is NOT my workouts. Not really.

The problem… My horrible eating habits!!!! I didn’t realize I was such a glutton until I signed up for MyFitnessPal.com’s free weight loss tracking system.

One of my old Torrid co-workers hipped me to the site. She has two children AND a husband and still somehow managed to lose 30 pounds. She told me her secret: MyFitnessPal AND diligently tracking her cals.

OK.

I can do this! I’ve lost weight before. Granted I was 25 and not a mom. And I was a starving artist so I pretty much lost weight because I was poor and worked out 2x a day.

I don’t have time for that mess now.

But I am very serious about losing this weight because I miss my flat tummy. I miss my smaller waist. I miss being able to wear my jeans UNDER my love handles!!!!

I miss me.

Here’s to day one. To eating better. To being active. To pushing myself. And setting goals. Here’s to weight loss success!

                                                                                        Created by MyFitnessPal – Free Calorie Counter

Sinful Sundays: I’m SO Over School

Hey Daydreamers!

It’s been A WHILE… I’ve been very busy. And I’m trying to not use that as an excuse. Because realistically, we’re ALL busy. There are plenty of mamas that work full time, parent full time and STILL make time for blogging. Full time.

Ideally I’d love to be one of those mamas. Who am I kidding?

I’d love to get paid for putting my ideas and creativity out there. Full time.

But life has to be lived. And life is busy.

Since the last time I’ve blogged I’ve moved, finished up a term at school, celebrated my son’s second birthday, and gone through enough emotional bullshit to drive anyone to drink. And I’m not a drinker.

Nevertheless…. the show must go on.

My confession for this Sunday is I HATE school. I’m SO over it!!! I know it’s November — the month of thanks, right? And I am thankful. I am grateful that I don’t have to pay for school out of pocket. As of right now. I’m grateful for maintaining a 4.0.

I’m grateful that I graduate in exactly 2 months! But that’s just with an associates.

And that’s where the disdain for school seeps in.

I don’t know if I want to go BACK to school to complete a bachelors. I don’t necessarily know if I want to be a teacher in a school district. I know I don’t want to be confined to daycare for life. But I have dreams. And they don’t ALL revolve around being confined to a contract in someone’s school, capped off at the highest salary possible in 10 years, working on a Doctorates because a Masters is no longer good enough.
Fortunately, I enjoy my job. I love early childhood education. But I just have big visions.
Bigger.

So there… I admit it. I’m over school. Thank God I’ll be finished in 2 months because Lord knows I need a break.