I’ve been looking for sources of grants for artists and crafters for a very long time. This week Dee Bishop the craft shop examiner for examiner.com contacted me and when I asked about grants she posted an article that I wanted to share with you. Grant and funding sources for artists

Posted using ShareThis

Shasta:  Tell us a little bit about yourself i.e. how old you are? Where you grew up etc.
David:  I grew up just outside of Hamilton Ontario Canada and I turned 44 this year.  Once you get into your 40′s time seems to pass pretty fast.

Shasta:  How long have you been doing arts and crafts?
David:  Ever since I was a kid I have worked with my hands. Most kids do crafts but mine quickly escalated into wood working with the available hand tools, electronics, and making rustic clothing. Very diversified interests.

I could often be found modifying something I had bought to make it work just the way I wanted.

I finally opened my business in 1987.

Shasta:  How did you get started?
David:  As you can see I have always enjoyed working with my hands. One day I was in a tourist town just being a tourist, and stopped in an artistic blacksmith’s shop. He was working on some project at the time but I was entranced with the fire and the ease of manipulating the metal when it was hot. I watched for several hours fascinated.

When it was time to leave I saw that he gave classes so I signed up for his basic course. That was followed by his intermediate course, then I ended up working for him.

At the time I was going to university to become a geological engineer, but working for the blacksmith to pay my way.

When I got my degree there were not a lot of jobs in my field where I lived but I still needed to pay my bills. The part time blacksmithing became a full time occupation.  A sink or swim situation. Fortunately starting part time I had narrowed down some selling products, and some craft shows that paid well for me.

Shasta:  What products do you make?
David:  Artistic blacksmithing is not your average craft. It takes a number of years to acquire the skills and tools to create really interesting work. The good news was I could make simple low cost items, and these are ideal for craft fairs and markets.

When I started I made 100′s of hooks and candle holders. These were my bread and butter items. In essence these were simple rods of steel shaped and forged a bit then bent into the required shape. Very functional and more esthically pleasing than what you buy from the hardware store.

Think of one man mass production.

Over the years my skills and markets evolved. I still produce some hooks and similar items but now I do more sculptural art pieces and home furnishings, and custom window grills.

Shasta:  What types of shows do you find work best for selling your product?
David:  There are three types of shows that work well for me.

The first is the common “juried” art and craft show. Juried is in quotes because I have found the non-juried shows pulled in a buying crowd that really didn’t want to spend the money for hand crafted items. In a juried show I at least stood a chance of not being set up beside someone who is importing their product.

Some juried art and craft shows were better than others. A lot depended on location and the education level of the people attending the show. I also use this type of show to advertise for my custom work and the blacksmith classes I teach. Usually lots of people through, giving maximum exposure.

This type of show was for not only targeting immediate sales but future sales. A cheap form of advertising and make money at the same time.

The second type of show I use is a wholesale trade show. For me this is the most enjoyable show to do. I only take sample products and only store owners are allowed to attend. These are well educated people who know exactly what will fit in their store. They don’t waste your time.

Qualified store owners order my product months ahead of time from my samples at the show. I take my orders home make the products ship them out. 30 days later the store sends me a check (called net 30). I don’t have to deal with retail customers have a huge inventory of stock and be constantly looking for new shows to do.

There is one day to set up and a day to tear down. I don’t have to do a show every weekend.

The third type of show I do is the high end art or designer show. This is completely different than the other shows. I take only a couple of high end art pieces. This show is not about sales. It is all about handing out business cards. Or now in some cases portfolios on CD’s.

Virtually no sales are made at this type of show. It is all about the contacts. Galleries, designers, architects, and knowledgeable end use customers. Things are discussed in abstract terms, such as can you do such and such. When can you complete this project. It is a lot of fun but there is a good deal of pressure to be polished and not how I am in the workshop.

Shasta:  Tell us some of the other avenues you use to market your crafts for instance internet, gift and specialty stores, catalogs etc.
David:  The internet has had a huge impact on my business. For literaly pennies you can have 24/7/365 advertising. The down side is there is a steep learning curve and the computer will use up a huge amount of time at first.

I strongly recommend to every craft person that they have a webpage. One that they pay for and either set up themselves or have someone build, not a free one. The most common question I use to be asked at shows was “Do you make all this your self?”  Now the most common question “Do you have a web page?”

What do we commonly do, when we want something or want to learn about something. The first thing typically is hop on the internet and go to google and type in what we are searching. I am guessing that if a person has internet access this is what they do first 99.9% of the time.

So if your craft page comes up in the search listings boom you are right in front of a potential customer. This customer could be anywhere in the world. Don’t be afraid of shipping things outside your country. It increases your market potential hugely.

Ebay is another vast source of customers. Easy to set up and sell an item in a few minutes. You can even set up an online store through ebay for your craft. No shows, storefront overhead, less staff to pay, works for you 24/7. All kinds of plusses.

Shasta:  If you don’t mind sharing how your income breaks down by percentages of income sources, in an average year.
David:  That is a bit tricky and it has changed over the years. When I first started 90% of my income was directly through craft show retail sales. The other 10% was custom work that was generated at the craft shows. This was my only outlet and only advertising.

After a couple of years things shifted a bit. I took on the wholesale trade shows and dropped a number of smaller craft shows. The wholesale shows accounted for 40%, craft shows 20%, teaching blacksmithing, 30% and custom work 10%.

Now with the internet there is a new mix. 20% from wholesale shows, 80% income from the internet. See how important a website is. Of that 80%, 40% is for custom work, and 40% is related to teaching.

I do very few retail shows now.

Shasta:  What tip do you feel has improved your business the most?
David:  Learn html and build your own website. If you absolutely dread learning code (html is not that hard) hire a high school student with the html ability. A web presence is so important now.

Shasta:  Tell us about the book you wrote and how it can help us improve our businesses.
David:  I wrote How to Be Successful in Your Craft Business to help people recognize when to get help and what they can do by themselves. It is not at all about blacksmithing.

When I was just starting out I was on a shoe string budget for everything. Remember I had just finished university with a rather large debt, and many other commitments.  Anything that cost money to do I usually shied away from.

This meant that I did everything with my business. Making the product was the work that actually paid, but I did the accounting, the photography, customer calling, advertising, product development…. the list goes on and on. Later I realized I would have made far more money (had I just done what I like the most, the smithing) if I had divided up these responsibilities and yes even paid for people to do them.

Over the years many good friends have helped me with suggestions from booth design to marketing principals to product suggestions. They just wanted to help out.  This book is my way of giving back to the community. I do believe that you need to balance things in your life.

The book covers many of the mistakes I made as well as areas I would still recommend people tackle themselves. I detail the different selling options I have used, areas for advertising, accounting, show planning, collecting overdue accounts, and much more. It is really the nut and bolts of everything that I didn’t get paid for.  The whole running of my craft business.

How to Be Successful in Your Craft Business is equally applicable for someone doing stained glass, stuffed teddy bears, or blacksmithing.

I am hoping to help a few people save their time and headaches by giving them my insights from over 20 years in this business.

Shasta:  As I said feel free to tell us anything else that you think is pertinent.
David:  Any sort of craft business is not the easiest business to be in. It is directly tied to disposable income. It can be profitable but there is often more behind the scenes work, than what you do that actually pays your bills. Many of us start our craft business for a love of the work. Taking a few moments every now and then to remember what inspired us in the first place helps keep our craft fresh.

David Robertson is an Artist Blacksmith who has been working in the craft industry for over 20 years. He
makes his living creating sculptural art work and teaching.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

In almost any store where you shop, you will be asked at check-out for your name or telephone number, or if you have a store card. Most people comply and whip out that card, because it entitles them to sale prices or special discounts. The requested information or the card keeps track of customer purchases, and the information is automatically entered into the store’s database. The collected data is used to determine and implement more productive marketing strategies.

Use your jewelry software to create an account for each customer. Along with the usual name, address and phone number, enter the following information:

· E-mail addresses
· Product purchased
· Purchase price
· Services, including repairs and appraisals
· Purchases of warranties and insurance
· Style preferences
· Special requests for items of information

With the jewelry software, you can assess relevant market conditions and sales data to determine your marketing strategies. You will see what items sell well, and which don’t. This will help you determine what inventory should be increased or decreased. The average price of items being sold tells you in what price range customers are most likely to make a purchase. Whether you make you own jewelry or purchase your stock, some items will have higher rates of return or need for repairs. If you make your jewelry and reports show that a certain brand or type of clasp or crimping bead breaks quite often, you will know to change to a more reliable brand. The same applies to brands or styles of ready-made jewelry.

Set specific goals for you business. For instance, you may want to increase the percentage of sales for a certain item, or phase out a product that doesn’t sell well to make room for a new line. Use the jewelry software to help you determine where to apply the correct strategies for attaining your business goals. As you become more experienced in using the software, you will be able to determine where to increase product investments and view your available assets, such as liquid assets, cash flow, equity and inventory. You may find jewelry software such a valuable tool that you’ll wonder how your business ever got along without it!

Gary Capps is the general manager of Beading-Software.com.  Contact us through our website http://www.beading-software.com for tips on jewelry making and setting up your own home jewelry business.

Determining which items will sell at craft shows is a very hard process.  Each and every buyer at a craft show will have their own individual experiences, styles, tastes, and needs.  Many other factors may also play a role in sales such as local economy, demographics of residents, what other events are happening in the area, etc…

So how can you know if your art or craft will be a profitable business for you?

First you have to determine if there is a market for what you’re making.  Be sure there is a large enough market for your specific product not for a broader category that includes your product.  For example…

While there is a large market for jewelry each buyer of jewelry has their own individual needs.

Not every jewelry buyer will buy EVERY kind of jewelry.

Jewelry buyers have styles as varied as Western, Oriental, Vintage, Classic, Contemporary, Magnetic, and many more.

You will only waste your time and money if you try to sell Vintage jewelry to every jewelry buyer.  Unless you’re extremely talented and have unlimited time and resources you probably won’t be able to create jewelry to fit every style.

If you’re making vintage jewelry you need to determine how many jewelry buyers are buying vintage creations and then you need to determine where they go to get it.  Remember that if they go to flea markets looking for vintage jewelry they will expect the price to reflect the “flea market idealism” which might make the product unprofitable.  Yet if vintage jewelry buyers go to up scale, high end boutiques in a classy area, you might be able to make the same product very profitably.

See the Thrive Website for more information on determining if there is a market for your craft at:

http://thrivestrategy.com/blog/

So how do you guarantee that the product you sell will be profitable.

• First do your research.
• Second choose a niche market.  Choose a specific group of people to serve and meet a specific need they have.
  • For instance: Meet the needs of women who buy vintage jewelry, create and sell vintage jewelry. Don’t just create jewelry in general and try to sell it to vintage jewelry buyers or create vintage jewelry and try to sell it to everyone.
• Third verify that the niche market you choose has a large number of buyers and a small number of competitors providing that service.
• Fourth sell your product to the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right price.
• Fifth offer a complimentary upsell to every purchasing customer at a small discount.
• Sixth collect your customers contact information (with their permission of course) and continue to contact them regularly with relevant product information, discounts, services, your show schedule, etc.
  • Don’t abuse this or you will do more damage to your business than good.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

by Shasta McLaughlin

The Extravaganza Craft Productions

copyright 2009

I’ve told you the things I did on My 30 Day Plan to Greater Profitability and I promised that I would let you know some things you can do to increase the profits your art or craft show business receives.

1.  Draw a marketing map that shows how the people you meet at craft shows are going to move from cold contacts, to warm prospects, to hot buyers.  Include on your marketing map all of your sales tools including your craft show booth, your fliers, business cards, website, blog, social networking, advertising, and more.

2.  Make sure each sales tool mentioned above (and any others you use) moves your customer through a process that leads to them buying your art or craft.

3.  Get a website.  Click here for easy instructions on how to build a website.

4.  Get your website search engine optimized.

5.  Arrange to take credit cards.

6.  Offer a payment plan.

7.  Get email marketing (auto-responders).  See my post on following up with your customers by clicking here.

8.  Create emails for your current customers.  Remember to follow the Can-Am Act for email.  Send your customers useful relevant information.  You want this to help your business reputation not hurt it.

9. Create emails for your warm prospects.

10. Create emails for your cold contacts.

11.  Sign up your customers to the proper groups above.   Ask permission before signing up people for your emails.

12.  Check if your business cards, fliers, etc. look professional and are updated.  Be certain they have current contact information.  Make sure they mention your website if you have one.

13.  Collect names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of the people who are interested in your product.  Ask if they would like to be signed up for your emails.

14.  Sign up for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Fast Pitch Networking or many others.  Let your customers and prospects know they can follow you there.  Post regularly.

15. Create a blog.  Post regularly.  Mention your social networking sites and your website often.

16.  Make sure your posts to your blog automatically post to your social networking sites.

17.  Pick up the phone and call a customer that you haven’t heard from in a while.  Renew your relationship with them.  Tell them the news from your business.  Offer to send them free information or ask if they would like to sign up for your newsletters.

18.  Send an email to customers that haven’t bought in a while.  Renew your relationship with them.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

It’s no secret that fuel prices are on the rise.  High fuel prices either affect the profits your #handcrafted art or craft business makes or you adjust prices and methods to account for them either way someone pays the difference.

FuelEconomy.gov will help you to make driving to and from shows more efficient by helping you maintain your vehicle for maximum fuel efficiency.

Some other ideas to help you keep your profits in your pockets where they belong:

Time your trips to see friends and family to correspond with the best shows in the area.  Attending shows while visiting nearby friends and family makes the trip accomplish two purposes.  It also makes the trip a business trip which is a tax write off, so save your receipts.  By staying with friends and family you will save money on hotels and probably food.

When traveling long distances to shows find other events to attend on the way to and from the show.  Increasing the number of shows you attend increases the number of people who see your product and hopefully your sales.  Reducing the distance between events reduces the number of gallons of gas used per show.  Also you will spend less time driving from place to place, giving you more time to see the sites and rest between shows.  Keeping the distance short between stops also helps you to plan ahead better, you won’t be caught looking for a hotel between 10pm and midnight when most of them are already full.  You can also make reservations further in advance when rates are better saving you money.

Do more shows close to home.  This is obvious but worth mentioning the closer to home the events you do, the less money spent on gas getting to them.  Tie a string to a pin and place the pin in your city on the map.  Use it to draw circles on the map at distances of 30 miles, 100 miles and 150 miles then check out which shows happen in the cities inside your circles.  In places where the population is dense you should be able to find quite a few shows happening in your area.  For areas where there aren’t a lot of shows happening consider starting one, pick up business cards of artists and crafters off of bulletin boards, at farmers’ markets, and at shows happening in the area.  Contact them and ask if they would be interested in attending a show.  Some of the most successful shows I’ve seen were held in a large back yard with 4-6 crafters participating.

Get a website.  I know some of you are afraid of computers and probably don’t even own one of your own.  Don’t let your fear of technology stand in the way of your profits.  Many adult education classes  offer all the basics of computer usage.  You don’t even need to know any special computer languages to create and maintain your own website anymore.  My website costs me under $100/year and came with a what you see is what you get editor with great tutorials.  Your website works 24/7 to sell your product and inform your customers.  You can’t get a salesman as dedicated to selling your product for a better price.  Include your website on your business card.  Give your card to everyone who purchases from you at events.  Have them available to anyone who visits your booth.  Use your website to inform your customers about your product, about where to find your product, and to sell your product between shows.

Create a mailing list.  Ask each of your customers permission to add them to your mailing list.  Mail a postcard to customers in the area you will be doing shows letting them know where they can find you.  Offer them a discount for bringing the card and a friend to see you at the show.  People who’ve already bought your product are more likely to buy your product than the average Joe by staying in contact with them you increase your sales and profits.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Taking the essentials to #art and craft shows is well… essential (excuse the pun).  Take these 10 things to art and craft shows and your experience will be much more pleasant.

1.  Enough merchandise-Take more merchandise than you plan on selling.  A booth that is not well stocked looks picked over.  Customers imagine that all the good stuff has already sold and won’t even stop to look.

2.  Tables and Chairs-Bring your own tables and chairs unless you’ve made arrangements with the show promoter to rent them (expect to pay for this service).  Choose sturdy displays, tables, and shelving you don’t want them to fall injuring customers or damaging your merchandise.

Cover tables with a table cloth or even  a sheet.  Make sure coverings fit tables properly and extend all the way to the floor.

3.  Professional Displays-I have seen displays ranging from totally uncovered falling down tables to artfully and carefully thought out booths.  Your booth should help your customer see themselves buying and using your items.  Help their imaginations by creating a theme that goes with your product.  Pack any tools you need to set up your display in a rubbermaid tote and keep them there at all times.

4.  Change-A secure coin box can be all it takes to discourage thieves at shows.  Have a jewelry artist make you a necklace/keychain that you can wear at all times.  Keep the key to your lock box and car on the necklace around your neck at all times.

Having enough change for your customers is really important.  Take at least $100 (maybe 2 or 3) in small bills and coins.  The exact amount needs to be determined by your prices and if you’ve included sales tax.  If you round your prices up to the next even number you will need less pennies or nickles.  If your prices are closer to $20 expect people to want to pay with bigger bills so include in your change box more 5, 10, and 20 dollar bills.  If you price your items at $19 instead of $20 so that customers perceive the item as being under $20 then you will probably need to take more $1 bills.

5.  Canopies/Awnings-For outdoor shows take a canopy or awning to protect yourself and your crafts from the weather.  All canopies will fly with enough wind, check the manufacturers recommendations for weight types and sizes.

Discuss with show promoters their philosophy on when to close up shop and take down canopies so that you know when it will be okay to close up early.  Use you common sense when it becomes dangerous to yourself or others it’s time to take down the canopy.

6.  Helpers-Take someone with you to shows who knows your product.  They can watch your merchandise while you unpack the car, watch your booth while you go potty or eat, run to get more change, etc.  If you can’t find someone to go with you offer to do these things for your neighbors and ask them if they will do it for you.  Offer them a small piece of merchandise as a thank you.

7.  Food and Water-Food at shows is often greasy, messy or expensive.  Take your own if this will upset your tummy or your pocket book.  You can still treat yourself if there is something you want in your price range.

8.  Emergency Phone Numbers and Cell Phone-Take a list of the places you might need to call in case you will be late, your car breaks down, or you have an emergency.

9.  Your Identification, credit cards, and wallet-These things might be necessary to check into and pay for hotels, gas, car repairs, extra tools or supplies, and food and water.

10.  Luggage and Medication-Take an extra pair of clothes even for local shows you never know when you might spill on yourself.  Take the clothing you need for each day plus a few extras.  Don’t forget your medications.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

by Shasta McLaughlin

The Extravaganza Craft Productions

copyright 2009

Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

Week one I worked on catching up on left over unfinished projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

Week two I learned new things about my email marketing to keep my messages from being flagged as spam.  I joined a networking site I’ve been meaning to join for months when they ran a special I couldn’t pass up.  I did a client consultation which was a new service for me.  I blogged about what I was doing and I did all this while keeping up with requests for information about my business.

Week three I mailed coupons to show promoters, had  a second client consultation, worked on facebook profile and group pages.  I created a profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there.  I worked on cleaning out my email box, and signed up for a MySpace account, and I blogged about what I had done to make my business more profitable this week.

Week 4 what I had a new member join my Linked in account and contacted her right away with other places she could get more informaiton.bbI found my friend that was already on MySpace and reconnected with her. I created an email I can send to all my customers and prospects reminding them that they can follow me on my blog, facebook, twitter, MySpace,  and Linked in.  I still need to finish formatting it and send it to everyone.   I remembered to tell a client over the phone that they could follow me all these places. I also worked on creating my profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there. I blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

This last week while checking my email and cleaning out my inbox I made a horrible mistake and downloaded a malicious file. I spent the whole last week trying to back up my files so I can reformat my computer. I didn’t accomplish many of my goals except blogging about this weeks experience.

What I learned over this 30 days is that although I didn’t always accomplish everything I set out to do by having a goal every day and working toward it I did improve my business. I am confident that my business will be more profitable in the future because of the efforts that I made this month.

Next time I will blog about the many things you can include on your 30 day Plan to Greater Profitablility.
Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

by Shasta McLaughlin

The Extravaganza Craft Productions

copyright 2009

Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

Week one I worked on catching up on left over unfinished projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

Week two I learned new things about my email marketing to keep my messages from being flagged as spam.  I joined a networking site I’ve been meaning to join for months when they ran a special I couldn’t pass up.  I did a client consultation which was a new service for me.  I blogged about what I was doing and I did all this while keeping up with requests for information about my business.

Week three I mailed coupons to show promoters, had  a second client consultation, worked on facebook profile and group pages.  I created a profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there.  I worked on cleaning out my email box, and signed up for a MySpace account, and I blogged about what I had done to make my business more profitable this week.

Week 4 what I accomplished.

• Power Pay contacted me but then never got back to me.  I guess I still need to call them next week.
• I remembered that I had a Linked in account and had a new member join there.
• I found my friend that was already on MySpace and reconnected with her.
• I created an email I can send to all my customers and prospects reminding them that they can follow me on my blog, facebook, twitter, MySpace,  and Linked in.  I need to finish formatting it and send it to everyone.   I remembered to tell a client over the phone that they could follow me all these places.
• Worked on creating my profile on Fast Pitch Networking.  Added a few contacts there.
• Worked on cleaning out my overly full email box which got even fuller despite my efforts.
• I  blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

Here is what I didn’t accomplish.

• I still didn’t get my accounting done.
• I didn’t call the people I just mailed free newsletters to in the last few weeks to ask them what they thought of the newsletter.  It is probably too late but I will try to fit this into next week anyway.  Call your prospects right away they are only interested about 7 days!
• I didn’t create any articles to send to show promoters that will encourage them to list their shows with me.
• Since I didn’t write the articles I also didn’t start calling my huge list of show promoters.  Obviously I didn’t sign them up in my email marketing system.
• I didn’t get the article written for my newsletter although I have some very good ideas to write about.

I hope that this series is inspiring you to work along with me to improve your businesses profitability by doing something each day that will make your business stronger. I know that I’m a bad example but I would really suggest that you write your goals down on a calendar.  This way you can truly see what you did accomplish and will remember what you didn’t get done so you can work on it in your spare time or in your next 30 day plan.

The plan for the next 8 days:

Day 24 -Write and send a quick email to all my customers from the past asking them how their businesses are doing?  Tell them how my business is doing and showing them where they can get more information from my business.  Sort of bring them back to take another look at my business.

Day 25-Write the article for my newsletter.

Day 26-Finish writing my book.

Day 27-Clean out my email box.

Day 28-Do my accounting

Day 29-Create articles to send to show promoters who haven’t listed with me yet.

Day 30-Call show promoters and ask them if I can send them free articles.

Day 31-Blog about my 30 days to Greater Profitability for my art and craft show business.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

by Shasta McLaughlin

The Extravaganza Craft Productions

copyright 2009

Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

Week one I worked on catching up on left over unfinished projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

Week two I learned new things about my email marketing to keep my messages from being flagged as spam.  I joined a networking site I’ve been meaning to join for months when they ran a special I couldn’t pass up.  I did a client consultation which was a new service for me.  I blogged about what I was doing and I did all this while keeping up with requests for information about my business.

This week I got less accomplished than I had intended but what I did do I feel good about.

Week 3 what I accomplished.

• I did mail  my coupons to show promoters.
• I had a  second client consultation.
• I learned something new about my facebook profile and group page.  Added links to my group from my profile page.
• Worked on creating my profile on Fast Pitch Networking.  Added a few contacts there.
• Worked on cleaning out my overly full email box.
• Signed up for a MySpace account.  You can follow our posts at http://www.myspace.com/extravaganzacrafts.
• I  blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

Here is what I didn’t accomplish.

• I still didn’t get my accounting done.
• I didn’t call the people I just mailed free newsletters to in the last few weeks to ask them what they thought of the newsletter.  It is probably too late but I will try to fit this into next week anyway.  Call your prospects right away they are only interested about 7 days!
• I didn’t create any articles to send to show promoters that will encourage them to list their shows with me.
• Since I didn’t write the articles I also didn’t start calling my huge list of show promoters.  Obviously I didn’t sign them up in my email marketing system.
• I didn’t contact Power Pay and get signed up to accept credit cards.

I hope that this series is inspiring you to work along with me to improve your businesses profitability by doing something each day that will make your business stronger. I know that I’m a bad example but I would really suggest that you write your goals down on a calendar.  This way you can truly see what you did accomplish and will remember what you didn’t get done so you can work on it in your spare time or in your next 30 day plan.

The plan for the next 7 days:

Day 16 -Call the people I sent newsletters to.  Ask them if they would like to receive free articles.  Sign them up as prospects.

Day 17 -Create articles for show promoters.

Day 18 -Call show promoters and ask them if they would like to receive free articles to make their businesses more profitable.

Day 19 -Call Power Pay and get set up to accept credit cards.

Day 20 -Find my friends who are already on MySpace and try to connect with them.

Day 21 -Do my accounting!

Day 22 -Write article for my newsletter.

Day 23 -Blog about my accomplishments this week.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.