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i’ve contemplated writing this post for a few weeks now, but part of the goal of my blog is to support/help other handmade business owners and i feel that it’s useful information to put out on the table.

shortly after i found out that i was pregnant, i got extremely sick and my main priority became trying to function at work for eight hours a day. my blog took a backseat, as did my shop. i assumed that once i was feeling better, i’d be able to pick up where i left off and everything would remain consistent.

WRONG!!! taking a few months off from blogging and the shop has been disappointing and defeating. as many of you know, running a handmade business is hard work promoting your items is not something that can take a break for a few months. i’ve found myself starting over at square one with promoting, creating new items and researching sponsors. additionally, i neglected a lot of my handmade friends, while i was busy trying to keep food down or curled up in bed (sorry, guys!).

some bloggers and shop owners may be able to pull it off, but certainly not me. i’ve been stressing myself out lately about making sure i’m stocking the shop with new items and coming up with new blog posts. the shop has been easier than blog posts. i have a serious case of writer’s block and i’m constantly brainstorming new items to post- but none of them turn out as i plan, so i trash them.

you’re probably wondering why am i venting?

i think overall my break will benefit my readers and customers. i’ve got some exciting things planned and am so excited to share new products and fabric combos with you soon. products have been sent out to photographers and i can’t wait to post pictures. i have a lot of tutorials coming soon and can’t wait to share the progress made on nolan’s nursery. guest posts? why not, is there anything specific you guys would like to see? i’m hoping for some studio tours and maybe a few “what’s in my bag” posts since those are my absolute favorite. giveaways? why yes, let’s schedule one of those shortly. would you prefer a shop credit or a big bundle of products?

i’m back and not planning on taking another break. i’ll certainly be planning ahead for nolan’s arrival and stocking up on products for the shop.

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creating a product line that is original is difficult, there are SO many talented handmade artists and it’s a challenge to make something your own. i really struggled with this when i started. i saw something i knew i could make and a few hours later, i’d replicate something similar. a few months into opening my shop i started to realize where i wanted my product line go and knew i needed to revamp things to be unique. i stopped producing duplicates of what was currently in stock and began playing around with a variety of prototypes. (literally) 50+ prototypes later i came up with the floral blossom.

i was so proud that i came up with something 100% myself vs. seeing something else i liked and making a “knock off”. i slowly faded out old products and continued to work on new designs, that i wanted to reflect the lovely poppy.

after getting in the groove i was able to start cranking out more original products, which were all based off my focus of the floral blossoms. i began feeling better about what i created, and less like a follower- something that i feel is very difficult to master early on. my advice to new business owners is always to take the extra time to mold things into something uniquely yours.

growth |grōTH|noun1 • the process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually

as a handmade business owner, growth is one of my biggest priorities. not growth in numbers or customers, but growth as a person, skills, and decision making.

part of growth for me is increasing my knowledge and learning to do new things.

over the weekend i focused on teaching myself how to sew a zipper. my entertainment during workouts recently have consisted of watching youtube videos on sewing zippers (iPads make working out SO much easier) and reading a few books on different sewing techniques. a few hours and prototypes later..i ended up with this:

some of my favorite posts for sewing a zipper are:

• installing a zipper- tutorial by michelle
• sewing tutorial- internal zipper pocket for bag
• fun with kids- zipper shirts

another thing i am trying to teach myself is html and css coding. i’ve really enjoyed doing a little bit of graphic design on the side and would love to design websites for other small handmade business owners. i’ve been indulging myself in coding books lately and can’t wait to share what i’ve been working on!

 some of my favorite design resources are:

• an illustrated plan for a web design project
• blog social buttons
• coddrop’s tutorials
• web tip: html & css basics

lately i’ve been feeling a little discouraged..

i keep telling myself when i’m putting in 70 hour work weeks that everything is going to pay off. lately, i’ve been so focused on numbers and getting down on myself if things don’t live up to my high expectations and goals. the shop is doing well, however lately i’ve been unintentionally comparing myself to other business owners. growing up i played basketball non-stop with the goal of earning a division one basketball scholarship, after winning a state championship and setting a state record- i was able to receive five years of college for free- something that i had been working towards since i was in elementary school. one of the main reasons why i was successful was because i continually made it a goal to work harder than those around me.

it’s always been easy for me to put in extra hours if i know it’s going to pay off, however lately i’ve been in a funk trying to compare myself to others. whether it’s sales, gfc followers, facebook fans, etc. i’ve been equating numbers to success and forgetting the reason why i started this blog. i’m working on getting back on track to share my passion for supporting other handmade business owners, sharing tutorials that everyone can do, and hopefully inspiring some of you to follow your heart. what makes a business successful? how do you keep your head up when things don’t go as you hoped?

i’ve been able to connect with a lot of other handmade business owners and consider a handful of them friends now. last week i got my first nasty blog comment and as much as i tried, i wasn’t able to not take it personally. i’m a pretty sensitive person and always try to please others. when i know someone doesn’t like me, i will go out of my way to try to please them and make a good impression. it’s been difficult for me to shake off someone not responding to an email or not being able to connect with someone.

moving forward i’m hoping to keep in mind all of the amazing people i’ve been able to form friendships with. i’m removing my gfc widget and focusing more about the goal of sharing my passion with others and not turning it into a competition. i’ll be trying to close the laptop or turn off the sewing machine earlier to spend time with my family and rejuvenate.

have you been in this funk? how did you crawl your way out of it?

google recently announced that they will be retiring google friend connect for any non-blogger sites on march 1, 2012. as many of you know, increasing your followers isn’t easy. i’ve spent many late nights and early morning reaching out to bloggers and connecting with them, coming up with new projects or features to share with readers and sadly have ditched plans with friends to concentrate on growing my blog.

now what? google is suggesting that everyone switches over to use google+, which i looked into and am not impressed. i’m nervous to build something new up with blogger anyways, chances are they will do the same thing with google+ once something new and better comes out.

do i regret switching over from blogger to wordpress? no, even though google is currently keeping google friend connect for blogger accounts, i highly recommend switching over to wordpress for multiple reasons. i wouldn’t be surprised if google announces in the next few months that they will be retiring google friend connect completely, to get everyone to switch over to google+.

i’m hoping.. that you decide to continue to follow me by connecting with me on facebook (i post links to all blog posts here) or by subscribing to my rss or Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

you can read more about google’s upcoming changes here.

if anyone has any suggestions or plans on what they will be doing come march 1st, i’d love to hear them!

that’s right.. buy one headband from the shop and get another headband for FREE.

just write in the comment section which headband you’d like for free. happy shopping!!