We have been in the store downtown now for a week - and hopefully things are going well.  I haven't been in since Wednesday to see how things are going, because I guess I just wanted to kind of let it happen.  The ladies in the store are selling the products for us - we have a system set up with our own color coded tags, and our own invoice books so that we can all keep track of what we sell.

The response has been really good - and we have ended up getting a following on a Facebook fan page we set up for the store we have affectionately termed, the "Country Corner Shoppe".

We have the domain name, and eventually we will have a website set up - but unfortunately, I am so busy right now with all of my other work at home activities, that it is kind of on the backburner.

Lisa and I were fortunate to have an article in this week's local newspaper about Inspired By You Treasures, which is a pretty nice way to get some exposure.  The article was great and talked about how we were focusing on personalized gifts - and gave a bit of a background on us too.  So, other than the fact that neither one of us thought we looked very flattering in the picture, we were pretty thrilled with the article.

Tomorrow I am off to the shoppe to see if we have sold anything - fingers crossed!!

PS.  Only 3 more people until we are at 100 fans!!  Once we hit that mark, we are doing a draw for a set of coasters....

Lisa and I have been busy these past couple of weeks getting everything ready to go into the shop downtown.  It is pretty exciting, but a bit scary at the same time!

We have been getting all the final products done up - and trying to price everything, and figure out a way of keeping track of inventory - all that fun stuff that is WAY over my head!  Luckily, Lisa and I each have our strengths that we bring into the business.  I can do the internet work, and she can take care of the numbers and books....all of the things that are just way too complicated for me.

It is good to have a business partner that compliments you.  (I don't mean one that is always telling you how great you are....those kind of compliments - although, come to think of it, it would be nice wouldn't it?)  I mean who has strengths in other areas from what you do.  That way, you aren't having to learn everything yourself.

For those who don't already know - we are moving into what was the Dollar Store downtown in Minnedosa, where we are located.  The Dollar Store will still be in the upper half of the building, but the main street section is going to be made into a little gift shop area - and we are hoping to achieve a "country market" kind of feel.

We have even named it the "Country Corner Shoppe" - and it is going to have all unique items, many which are handmade by local crafters.  There will other gift items too - basically, a smorgasboard of great, unique and fun gift items that you won't find anywhere else.

I think it is going to be wonderful for some of us smaller businesses that are operating out of our homes to have a place to network and showcase our products.  I am really looking forward to it - not only for all the reasons I have mentioned, but also so that I can have some space in my basement back!

Keep your eyes open here - I will let you know once we are in.  And, I will hopefully get some pictures to put up of our little shop too!

Marie

Today, I just wanted to post a bit about photo books.  I just got back 2 books that my daughters had worked on, and I just can't express how much these kinds of books can mean to someone!

My daughters and I worked on these little books together (they told me what to put in them, and I typed it), and I have to tell you that this is something I am going to love forever.  And, they are so proud of them!  The things that are important to them are so obvious by looking through these books.

My youngest is 4, and the oldest is 6 - so to be able to someday go back and read through them - to see what they believe they will be doing when they grow up, what their favorite colors are, who their friends are......it is going to be amazing.

And, I plan on letting them do one every couple of years, so that I can watch them evolve and grow through these little books.

We offer photobooks through Inspired Treasures.  We have a licensed software for creating the books working through our sister site, www.YourStorybookLife.com  This software is incredibly easy to use, there are no membership fees - and you don't pay for anything until you are finished and ready to publish your book.

The prices are incredible, and there is a huge selection of sizes and options.

Do yourself a favor - if you have kids, get them working on their own little book.  It is such an incredible keepsake!

I have been working more hours than I care to think of on getting everything listed on our main site.  What fun that has been!  (A touch of sarcasm should be noted there....)  I realize that a website will always be changing when you are adding new products, and taking down the ones which have sold - but in this case, I was having to add all the extra's which we are selling from our site as well. 

And, trying to sort out some sort of fair system for shipping has been one headache after another!

We are hoping we have some fair options set up right now, but sometimes the shipping costs can really eat into any amount of profit you are hoping to have with a product!  It will be something we will monitor and keep an eye on to see that it is fair for everyone.  While some people choose to add the shipping into their costs, and just increase their prices to take that into account, we thought we would try it this way first to see how it works.

We are getting the newsletter set up and hopefully there won't be too many kinks to work out on that!

What I am really trying to do is get everything set up and going nicely before we move into the shop downtown.  We are so excited about that!

In a month, we will be setting up a space in a shop downtown with some other home business owners, and creating a sort of "Country Market" kind of feel - with a whole lot of selection, and all of us working together to help cover advertising costs and marketing.  It is going to be so much fun!  But, I want to try having all the loose ends tied up online before getting things set up down there - and it is nice to kind of see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Only a few more products to add, and we should be caught up to a point where I feel we are really ready to start promoting ourselves!

And so - I guess it is time to get back to work! 

Marie

Well, after months of already creating products to sell, and taking part in craft shows and marketing our business, we have finally got around to publishing a blog!

A bit about us:

My name is Marie, and I am a mom of 2 wonderful little girls.  I was working as a nurse, but decided to stay home after my first daughter was born, and I have taught myself how to build websites and have discovered a real love for marketing online.  I also have always loved crafts of all kinds - including scrapbooking, and learning all kinds of new crafts.

I decided to take both of my passions, and put them together into a business I could truly enjoy.

Lisa is the other one in this endeavor - while I am hoping to get her posting eventually, she just lets me do all the internet "stuff" at this time;-)

Lisa has 2 children too - and even though she was already working a job from home, she wanted to try pursuing a business that would allow her to do the things she enjoys as well, while still letting her have the freedom to be at home for her kids.

So - that is how we started our business - by taking our enjoyment of creating treasures for people, which we hope they can really appreciate.  We love trying new projects, and are always looking for new ideas to try out!

We create personalized gifts, and are hoping to try building a nice business doing something we truly enjoy - making crafts which can be marketed and sold.  We try to create products that are personalized with pictures, or with special quotes that have meaning behind them, and we are always trying new things to see what people like.

Right now, our main products are personalized marble coasters (which have been a huge hit!), French Memory Boards, glass pendants (which can be personalized with a picture), canvas prints, fridge magnets, wooden signs - and many other little items we are working on!

We also are authorized resellers for a huge company which sells personalized gift items for special occassions, such as weddings, anniversaries and other events.

So - we hope you will check out our site - www.InspiredByYouTreasures.com and that you find something you like!

Be sure to bookmark us, as we will hopefully keep up with posting to this blog regularly as we start building our business up.

Thanks for stopping by!