It's time for me to eat some crow. Remember the jon jons I mocked a few posts back? They are by far the most popular item in my store. The listing has 26 favorites, or roughly 30% of all the favorites from my store combined.
Okay, no joke- I just went to get my stats for the store, and I had another email about the jon jon! That thing is going viral.
But my point is that even though I made fun of the thing, it sold fast and I've sold 4 so far. So that means every time I get another sale, Colleen (Roughie) calls me up to sing "Time to make the jon jon!". It would be annoying if they weren't selling so fast.
And to give Roughie her props, she manages my store and Abby's store and whatever Rough tells us to make sells well. So after I make these next 2 jon jons, I'm getting on those Winnie the Pooh shirts and dresses because they might be my next goldmine. And Jen, I haven't forgotten about your jacket- I'm fixing the crooked ruffle while I'm making the jon jons and sending it out soon, I promise!
But here's something Bobby brought up tonight that's made me think. And you know how I don't like to think when I'm off the clock. He said that I could probably make more money for my time if I pursued the mural painting instead of the sewing. If you haven't seen the murals, take a look at the top of the blog and you'll see the 3 different pages for the owl, mermaid, and the almost finished Lake Tahoe murals.
But I think Bobby is right. For the amount of time I spend sewing, I think I might be cracking minimum wage. But I've sewn exponentially more than I've painted so I'm a lot more confident with marketing myself for sewing. Although I would never attempt a mural that I didn't think I could do well, I would be pretty nervous about painting for someone I don't know.
On the other hand, I was browsing through Etsy last night and owls are still pretty popular so I was thinking I could put up a listing on Craig's list to paint exactly what I've already painted and see if I get any takers. The owls were easy and fast and so damn cute! With my luck though I'd get some creepy dude with a bunch of blow-up dolls just trying to lure me into his trailer. They caught the Craig's List killer, right?
So I'm indecisive tonight. Opening up VaVaVaVoom has definitely given me more confidence in my creative abilities so I'm more open to putting myself out there for painting but I'd have to choose one or the other- sewing or painting- because I can't do both and work full time. It's like Sophie's Choice! I have so many more ideas for VaVaVaVoom but this afternoon Shrimp said she could just pick up a princess dress at Disney for $39.95 so that kind of burst my bubble. Way to go, Debbie Downer! And here I just got my business cards and personalized clothing labels.
Any thoughts? Advice? I'm on the fence about this. Should I pursue the painting? Keep on sewing for minimum wage? I don't know. For once in my life, I want someone to tell me what to do! No, I'm serious. I'll even keep the mocking to a minimum.
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| I guess this guy croaked out 'Nevermore' one too many times |
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| Raise your hand if you want a jon jon! |
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| This is going to be my 'after' picture by the time I get through the jon jon craze. |
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| Jen, you aren't by any chance naturally an inch shorter on one side, are you? |
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| I ain't paying for that sucky mural! |
But I think Bobby is right. For the amount of time I spend sewing, I think I might be cracking minimum wage. But I've sewn exponentially more than I've painted so I'm a lot more confident with marketing myself for sewing. Although I would never attempt a mural that I didn't think I could do well, I would be pretty nervous about painting for someone I don't know.
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| Um, sure, I like owls.... |
On the other hand, I was browsing through Etsy last night and owls are still pretty popular so I was thinking I could put up a listing on Craig's list to paint exactly what I've already painted and see if I get any takers. The owls were easy and fast and so damn cute! With my luck though I'd get some creepy dude with a bunch of blow-up dolls just trying to lure me into his trailer. They caught the Craig's List killer, right?
So I'm indecisive tonight. Opening up VaVaVaVoom has definitely given me more confidence in my creative abilities so I'm more open to putting myself out there for painting but I'd have to choose one or the other- sewing or painting- because I can't do both and work full time. It's like Sophie's Choice! I have so many more ideas for VaVaVaVoom but this afternoon Shrimp said she could just pick up a princess dress at Disney for $39.95 so that kind of burst my bubble. Way to go, Debbie Downer! And here I just got my business cards and personalized clothing labels.
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| "I've seen nicer shirts at the Dollar Store" |
Any thoughts? Advice? I'm on the fence about this. Should I pursue the painting? Keep on sewing for minimum wage? I don't know. For once in my life, I want someone to tell me what to do! No, I'm serious. I'll even keep the mocking to a minimum.
10 comments:
I like the sound of "manager" :) The only problem with the painting is you'd have to do it on the peep's time.... right now you sew on your time and terms, so timewise it really might not be in your best interest.
Also,if you are working in a strangers home they might want to make sure you have liability insurance....you'd have to look into that.
I always loved the dunkin donuts guy! Wow Anna, what a nice dilemma to have :) Do you enjoy one more over the other? painting vs. sewing? hmm... From a business perspective, I think that you would sell more units per $$ with the sewing... Any chance you could do BOTH and downgrade the 9-5 grind down to part-time or zero? (Hope Bobby doesn't get me for the X-mas exchange *wink)
p.s Personalized clothing lables rock!
Which one do I enjoy more? That's a good question. My immediate response is sewing but when I actually think it through, sewing is so tedious that sometimes that wears on me. With painting, I get to see the results quickly and on a large scale. But the sewing has proven (via Etsy) to be reliable. I don't think I'll get to the point where I can quit my day job just because I don't think I could generate the same income from sewing and/or painting but I'd like to have some sort of side biz for extra cash. I looked on Craig's List and the people who paint murals on there are pretty professional so it's a little intimidating.
Well then, might I suggest trying to trick the neighborhood kids on vacation into thinking your "sweatshop" was a summer learning camp... Mwhahahahaha
I vote for the sweat shop! I need a few 'workers' myself!
go with the cash flow. Bobby forgot to mention how long it took him to build his own business & that he worked for a lot less for a lot longer. Tell all the Debbie Downers to go shove it. You have a ticket to Maine for your efforts so far. It's not for nothing. You don't know where it could go next. you'll evolve this store & make it more profitable in time. Just take a breath & don't expect the BIG pay day right this sec.
Your scary after jon jon pic cracked me up..as well as Debbie the Downer..who does not love to have a downer in the bunch. I have always thought the same, wanted to make and sell stuff on etsy but would my time and frustrations really pay off? But I do love the end result of something I sewed. I just checked out your murals...and UM Fantastic!!! Can you sell those on etsy or too large to ship? What about purchasing a tent at the local farmers market or festivals when they come to town and selling your murals??
When I was talking to Bobby about it tonight, he actually persuaded me to leave the jon jons up and maybe raise the price a few dollars so that I can make a little more on fewer orders. I just don't want to get burnt out on the sewing. Tiffany, thanks for the compliment on the murals! They are actually painted right on the wall in a kid's room or play room but I hadn't thought to advertise those at the Farmer's Market. We have a big one in St. Pete that's really popular so that's a great idea. I'd like to see what happens.... if I ever put myself out there. I thought about listing it on Etsy but my 'inspiration pictures' came from Etsy artists and I don't know if they'd notice that I painted their paintings or even care.
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