2012 in a Nutshell

It's been a while between posts - and I'm sure you've all missed my witty ramblings (or missed laughing at me bumping my head) in the interim.  This blog was going to be a cleverly drafted  sales pitch for Christmas, rich in Google loving keywords and search engine friendly tags.

But I missed the boat.

Why did I miss the boat you might ask (I just know you wanted to ask that)?  Well, I'll tell you.  It was because I was actually too busy selling jewellery and other pretty beaded things that I had no time to spare for a blog. Consequently, you will be pleased to hear that this blog is now not going to try to sell you a single thing (unless you're interested, in which case click the link somewhere on this page to go to the website...).  Instead, a brief summary of the year that was 2012 - the first full year of business for MinzBeadz - from the MinzBeadz viewpoint.

(I actually started this as a month by month thing, which quickly fell into disarray - you'll just have to pretend the months are in there somewhere. There's only 12 of them, you can manage!).

I've taken at least 10,000 photographs of various beads, charms and jewellery - as only 525 are currently available on the website (and you'll have to take into account a random 100 items that have sold out and can't be seen anymore), you'd think I'd have it down pat by now. I'd love to say I do, but certain things continue to defeat me.  I'm sure a photographer would know exactly what to do to make pale pink and pale purple show up as something resembling the real colour, but I still don't.  And there are a few where if you look closely you can almost see my reflection - but hey - up until now you probably haven't looked that closely.  I'm hoping for defective memories in you all too, so next time you visit my humble store you will have forgotten to look for me in the pictures.  (But if you remember - I'm waving at you, so wave back).

I've sworn at Facebook approximately three and a half million times and invented a few new strings of swear words that make no sense, but feel very satisfying to say to my computer screen.

I've most recently lost my blog posts 'behind the scenes' and Mr Google decided that I no longer existed, despite the fact I'm fairly sure I do - although first thing in the morning there's this weird old lady looking out of the mirror at me which is kind of freaky.  (For those of you who read my Facebook posts, you might recall that a certain government department also decided my name wasn't really my name, despite the fact it is - conspiracy? I think so).  As you might have guessed - the blog issue is now sorted, or I would be yelling this instead of typing.  I wonder if I typed everything in capital letters whether I wouldn't need to publish the blog...

I've seen my sales grow from a single one in the first month of business, a single one in the second month of business, to, well, LOTS pre Christmas 2012.  Despite the fact that a business should actually make a profit at some stage, I can't tell you how exciting it is to open your emails and have orders fill the inbox instead of requests to help out some poor African woman whose husband has died and left her so many millions she just doesn't know how to keep them. (I think this woman might have won an email lottery or two to get the millions - how lucky can you get really!)

It is also quite exciting to not stare at a computer for 2 months with nothing much happening except the occasional swear word with "facebook" thrown in the middle of the sentence.

I've had a few tussles with the business end of the website, with the result that having international shipping options readily available, or even the facility for direct deposit, enables you to bypass clicking an option for postage!  Now that's clever - if I had knitted my website from the beginning like I wanted to, my pattern would have included a row for postage charges and another for direct deposit.  These tech people aren't as smart as they think they are when a simple K1 P2 and a couple of cable stitches would have done the trick.

Facebook, while aggravating at times, is a great way for small businesses like mine to market themselves and their goods.  Like any microcosm of society, people are people and you get all sorts.  I've come across some really horrible human beings, who think they're clever but if they were, well they'd be doing their own thing instead of copying other people's and trying to get any type of information you have worked hard for, for their own uses.  It can be fun though, to give just a hint of misinformation and watch them use it! Not that I would do that of course, but I've heard of it happening (picture angelic look - and I thought the weird lady in the morning mirror was freaky...)

At the other end of the spectrum are the wonderful people who give freely of their time and expertise, occasionally products, and operate at all times in a very helpful way to someone like me just starting out.  A really big thumbs up in particular to Kim from Fairy-Licious & Goblin-grunge, Linda from OzFeathers, various members of Flying Solo, Susan from Bookmark Corner, Robyn from The Horse Stall and Jacqui from Mark My Words Trademark Services, who have gone above and beyond. If the generosity shown by these businesses to someone who isn't spending any money with them is this great, I can only imagine the type of service you might receive if you were a client or customer of theirs.

Earlier this year I expanded into making some basic jewellery.  I've now dropped and picked up (or lost forever in some cases), beads and crimps and bits of chain and god knows what else nearly every day for a number of months now.  You'd think finding a bright pink bead on a limewashed colour floor would be relatively simple - think again. They apparently all carry a cloak of invisibility which they throw over themselves on the way to the floor - and they think it's funny, because occasionally I hear them snickering from their little invisible mouths.

Hopefully 2013 will see my skills start to catch up to my ideas, and some fabulous bling will result!

Hopefully 2013 will also my ability to hang on to a bead and not drop it improve too.

During 2012 I managed to work out how to do one thing in PhotoShop (yes, one - not a typo).  I'm reasonably cluey (not brilliant, just reasonably cluey) when it comes to using computers and different programmes.  Except PhotoShop. It's like they've got this great programme and they don't trust us mere mortals with it. What do they think we're going to do with it - run naked down the street shouting "I get PhotoShop!"?  Oh... yes, hmmm I see where they're coming from now.  But it was only that one time, and it was a very short street really.

And so much reading this year.  Sometimes I think if I read another marketing article, or how to improve your SEO or SEM rank I might scream.  (Oooh, look at that - how to make page one of Google by tomorrow morning.  And why are these people spouting this stuff never on page one?).

And the title of this blog relates to the fact I've munched my way through a tonne of pistachios this year. They make a great late night snack (full of vitamin E, anti-oxidants, ... who am I kidding? They're so yummy I can't stop!) to keep up your strength for swearing about Facebook, or good comfort food when the beads snicker behind your back or the freaky lady is watching me.

So that's my year in a pistachio nutshell.  My very best wishes to you all for a happy and safe Christmas season, and hope to see you back here in 2013.