Happy 2015 to You!

2014 was a wonderful and exciting year. New shows in new cities, a rather large project for some friends at a magazine, beautiful wedding invitations, and fun, custom orders. I also learned about the Wonderful World of Employment Taxes; boy are those fun... Oh well, the price to pay for self-employment!

And please excuse the following short hiatus from blogging as I work very hard behind the scenes, prepping to make this year as amazing (and as sane) as possible. I'll be back on Monday, January 12th. Until then, may you have the most wonderful start to this new year and save 15% on boxed stationery orders on our website using code AGOODYEAR (expires 1/12/15)

Cheers,
ashley 

Task on My Dislike List

When inviting grows up a bit and can hire outside help, one of the first things to go to outside hands is product photography. Even with my set up of light box, lights, Photoshop, etc... Oof, such a pain.

Most of last week was spent not blogging, obviously, but updating photos:

I removed all the old, tan-pattern background photos, and slid the styled photos aside, making clean, white backgrounds as the featured photos for all. Still having issues with keeping the light unvaried, but overall... better, right?

Cheers,
ashley

My Six Month Anniversary

It's been six months since I quit the Day Job and took inviting full-time. Six months, I can't believe it!

Things I've learned:

• Having a schedule is good. Tuesdays and Thursdays are designing days; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are printing days. Blog posts get published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Newsletter updates go out Fridays. Lunch break is at 12:30, quitting time is 5:15. But flexibility is important, too:
• If the weather is good for a run, I should take advantage of it and go.
• But if the weather is gloomy, it's just as hard to get focused to work as when you're working on the 30th floor in a law firm downtown; I want to close the laptop, grab a novel and curl up on a sofa.
• Netflix is probably the reason I don't get Cabin Fever. When T worked from home, he'd get lonely and tired of being in the house. I don't get that way, probably because i have my ipad streaming conversations for most of the day (except when designing, then it's Pandora radio only.)
• No snacks in the house. Seriously, no crackers and chips allowed.  I know myself. Apples & green tea are good. Only buy things that take time to cook. (Sadly I've mastered quick stove-top mac & cheese; makes an amazing breakfast on cold mornings. Bad Ashley!)
• Frustrated with a project or feeling creatively blocked? Clean house or tackle a domestic project: it helps get out nervous energy or take your mind off the project for a bit.
• To remember that when I get to that point of extreme anxiety about not being able to cut myself a paycheck, things get busy again. It's really hard, and maybe the anxiety helps (might be a little getting superstitious there) but work does pick up.
• Taxes suck. Seriously. That Employer's Quarterly Tax Return seems insanely high for such low pay. That on top of personal taxes? Oof.

Things I'm still working on:

• Making time to exercise every day. Not there yet.
• Developing systems to improve efficiency. 
• Social Media. I think that's one of those never-ending tasks, since things are always changing & evolving. 
• Designs & Printing: I've noticed great improvement with those skills these past months, so it's pretty exciting to think of where they'll be in July, as these are both areas where there is always room for growth and experimentation. 

It's been a great six months and I can't wait to see how things change at the one year mark.

Cheers,
ashley

Taking Advantage of the Slower Times

While it's always to be busy creating and printing, it's best to take advantage of the slow periods and get caught up with admin work. Last week, I did just that. Printed a small order of Merci flat cards and a reprint of earring cards for our friend at Curare Sweets, but in between (and possibly a few evenings and maybe even, embarrassingly, all day Saturday) I worked on the more boring projects that come with owning a business...

Quickbooks / Financials:
Errors re: check deposits, fixed! These were from 2011 and 2012, when I wasn't nearly as QB savvy as I am now. Also, completed December's financials, prepped storage box and binder for 2014, and am ready to go.
Still to do: Q4 sales tax, self-employment tax things (for 2013; absolute DREAD!)

Inventory:
Complete inventory checked, double-checked, and adjusted on QB. That was a BIG project. But, now I can say, proudly, that every packaged product in the cabinet, card spinner, peg board & overflow boxes in my office are accounted for in Quickbooks and on Square.
Still to do: online listings. Make sure quantities are correct for those listed (reprints have happened this month and I restocked at Sanctuary) and that all styles are listed on the website. (They're not!)

This a peak inside the little cabinet I store boxed cards & coasters in.
Ugly labels speed up time searching for items to ship for online orders.

It feels so good not having five boxes of randomly collected cards behind my desk- I know what they are, how many I have, and they're all ready to sell. (Save the date, Austinites: Feb 8th is the next Austin Flea!)

Cheers,
ashley

Job Love and My Thanks

Can I just take a moment to express how amazingly overjoyed I am to have the job that I have?

Seriously, some days, while I'm printing, I honestly stop and say aloud, "I can't believe this is my job!" Sitting in front of my computer in my tiny office responding to emails, editing product photos, creating new designs, I love it. Getting frustrated with a business card set up or the registration on a two-color job, I still love it.  Trimming paper, cutting plates, mixing ink (and the messy fingers that it brings, cleaning the press), standing for hours in front of the old press with it's cranky motor, digging through lead type, I absolutely love it.

Vera the Press

Sure, it was a huge pay cut (not that I was paid that handsomely before, but it was comfortable and definitely above minimum wage) and there are no benefits aside from a) the option to work in jammies (which I don't do past noon), b) the stellar commute and c) the stationery collection made from the imperfect/un-sellable prints, but I do not miss my corporate job. The people, yes. But I'll take the solitude of this path over the coworker friends any day.

It is still amazing to me, the trust that complete strangers have in me to print their wedding invitations, business cards, and stationery. People in the opposite hemisphere, whom I will likely never meet, trust me to complete the job that I say I can do.

And sharing my random designs, designs that I think are fun or charming- some of you agree and choose to share them with your friends and family! Designs like the You're My Favorite and I Love You, which is something that I tell Mr. Inviting on a daily basis. And that card was our top seller for Valentine's Day last year!

So thank you. Thank you for your encouragement, for your support, for letting inviting take up space in your stationery/card stash, and for sharing our printed products with your people. Thank you for helping me quit my corporate day-job at the end of July and pursue my dream and passion for printing.

I love it. Every second of it. And I hope that love shows through into the products that I create and share. Looking forward to an amazing 2014 with you.

Cheers,
ashley

2014 Goals, Ready for an Amazing Year

Did you have a great time welcoming 2014? We had a nice day, visiting friends and family, and eating. Always eating. :)

Coaster to use as a reminder for your resolutions.

Our list of goals for inviting is completed, finally. Took some sobering number crunching and optimism, but I really think I can make those numbers happen. Aside from sales goals, there are so many books and articles I have saved about running a small, creative business that I want to go through and learn from. Like most things, there's more to learn, so I will set aside time each week to read (and implement). And designs, like I mentioned in Tuesday's post. I started designing more in the last quarter, but that died down with the holidays. I'll get back into that rhythm, starting today!, so be on the look out for new designs in the Shop Updates (on the first of every month).

How about you? Got any professional goals or milestones for this year?

Cheers,
ashley

Settling into a Routine

I'm sure some of you are self-employed / work from home, so you probably know this already, but it takes a while to get into a routine! Even though I started doing this full-time on 7/29, it seems I've just now got a routine set.

One reason it took time is that T wasn't working when I first started working from home, then he had a contract job for almost 2 months, and then when that ended, he was home again- it shakes things up! (Starting on Monday, he will be working again.) That made it difficult for a while, but in October, I think I finally got it.

So, my routine:

Work from 9-5 with a 30min lunch break. (Sometimes that would go long, like if T wanted to take us out for Tacos. Can't beat yourself up about a long lunch, right?)

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Print until lunch. If i wrapped up a project early, that's fine, but I have to start those days in the studio. If the project continues into the afternoon, that's fine, too.
  Once I decided that those days were printing days, I printed up a schedule with two columns: My Projects and Client Projects. October was mostly My Projects (aka things for the shop/shows: greeting cards, holiday cards, stationery...) but November is filling up with Client Projects. This sheet is SO HELPFUL with scheduling jobs, very glad I made it. Schedule goes until 12/20 which is when my "vacation" will start.
  
• If store work was printed, package, price and photograph new items.
• Client work- emails, prepping files for platemaking, gathering materials for orders.
• If there's still time, there's always more to do: Quickbooks, social media, prepping for the next print day, order supplies, etc.

Tuesday & Thursday

• I start each day with a design. Last week I made two new wedding designs! One is the couple under the parasol. (The shown silhouettes are stock images but are meant to be swapped out with custom ones for the couple! Very excited about it).
  
  
  The other one I created might be really challenging to print, so I want to test it before offering it. This week I started Valentine's designs.

• Blog posts, twice a week.
• Prep listings for the monthly Shop Update.
• Thursday is Errand Day, so after designing go run errands- grocery shopping, bank runs, paper/ink pick-up, things like that.
• And Client work. 
• If still time, take care of the little tasks that pile up.

Now the challenge is, add exercise to it.
Tues & Thurs, I will do my Zombies, Run! after designing. Monday, Weds & Friday, maybe in the afternoon, when done for the day, do shorter runs? And add Ballet Beautiful again? MWF will take some time figuring out what is best; we'll see how my days work with T's new schedule, but I'm looking forward to it.

How do you squeeze exercise into your days??  Leave a comment, I'd love to hear it!

Cheers,
ashley