A few months ago I had this brilliant idea to start blogging.  Yep, I was going to blog at least once a week.  Yeah.... that hasn't happened.  Truth is, I don't really have a whole lot to say.  And the things I do have to say are not that interesting.  So why would any one want to read about it or why would I even want to write about it??

A lot of big changes have been happening over the past few months.  I started selling my jewelry and other handmade items at another store.   It was only for a few months.  Things went very well and doors opened up for me.  I now have moved away from the two stores I was in and now have opened my own store in Brenda's coffee shop on Main Ave. in Roseau, Minnesota.  There are still some changes in progress and if things keep moving along how they are suppose to I should have everything smoothed out by mid February.  Over these past few months I have learned a lot.

1.  Not every one is going to be happy for you.  They may say they are, but the truth is that some are not.  And then there are some who will tell you right to your face that you are not going to succeed.  And the sad part is, these are people who claim to be your friend.  But yet these so called friends cannot stand the fact that they cannot control you.

2.  People are quick to try to steal your customers or ideas.  If they know that you are having great feed back on something new you have made be ready for them to start making and selling the same things.

3.  Do not hire some one to work at your store if you are not going to be there.  The reason for this is, no one can sell your product better then you. When I am selling my product sales are always good.  No one can answer questions about your work.  No one can help your customers the way you can.

4.  I am doing this with out taking out a loan.  Not gonna lie.  It hasn't been easy.  It hasn't been that hard either.  I get frustrated at times, but when it comes right down to it I know that I can walk away and not be stuck paying for it for years.

5.  Even when it seems like a lot of people are against you, if you really listen and pay attention you find that more people are rooting for you then you know.  It doesn't always feel that way, but it's true.  For every 1 person who tells you are are going to fall flat on your face, there are 10 people who are truly excited for you and want you to do well.  It is hard to remember this at times, but it is true.

6.  Don't force things.  No matter how hard you work at something and everything seems to be going against you, (in real life and not just in your head) maybe you should not be doing that.  You need to work hard, but if you feel like you are constantly hitting road blocks then maybe you need to move in a different direction.

7.  Listen to your inner voice or your gut feeling.  If something doesn't feel right don't do it.  More then likely it will be a BIG mistake.  A few times I didn't listen to that voice and the outcome was not good.  When I listened to that voice everything went great!  Things fell into place and my business has never been better.  I wish I would have listened to that voice a long time ago!

8.  You have to do marketing.  I hate doing this.  It takes a lot of time/money.  Money and time I would rather be directing towards something else.  But if I didn't do marketing no one would know where to find you, what you do or what services you can provide for them.  Word of mouth is great, but that only gets you so far.  Facebook has been wonderful, but some times you have to do more.

9.  This is the most important!  Surround yourself with upbeat positive people!  This has helped me so much!  It helps you stay positive and not dwell on the negative.  You might have had a bad day but positive people will help you remember that it's just one day, or even if it stretches out to a week it will pass. 

10.  Learn to laugh about things that are frustrating you.  In the past months I have learned that if you really think about the things that are making you upset or angry are actually pretty funny.  If you step back and look at it from the outside it usually is not as bad as you thought.  There are those people out there who live to get under your skin.  By learning to laugh at these things you are taking away that power they have over you.  That in itself is a very powerful and freeing thing.

So there are a few of the things that I have learned and had to deal with over the past few months.  It has been a crazy ride at times, but I know it is all worth it.  I have a lot of hard work ahead of me and I am looking forward to it.  My hopes are that over time my business will grow and I will be able to expand into a few new directions.  For now I am just going to take everything as it comes and see what happens.

Moving into Bella's Boutique. 

 

I think it is time to give this another try.  Maybe this time I will have better luck keeping up on this along with everything else.  I have a lot of exciting changes coming up and the plan is to keep every one updated through here on my upcoming events, new products and all the crazy exciting changes that are about to take place.  You can also stay updated through Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pyro-Beads/142697335799129 

These are available at Annie's Trading Post....

A few more pieces you can find at Artist on Main

Arrow heads are also something new I added the past few months. They have been very popular. I think there are only 3 or 4 left right now. And those are available at Artist on Main.

We have a new store here in Roseau. It is called Artist on Main. I am not sure how many of us are involved in this store at the moment, but we have a nice variety of different artist and a lot of very interesting items. So if you happen to be in the Roseau area come and check us out.

These are the Christmas ornaments I am making this year. The bird is a handmade lampwork bead, and the cage is made of silver plate wire. All handmade by me. These were a lot of fun and I hope to make some for the shows I plan on doing this summer. They look really cute as fan pulls or just hanging around the house.