Advertise My Stuff through HMN? (sewing)

Crazy Daisy is thinking again. Uh-oh. I am a member of the Holistic Moms Network, a nation-wide group of, well, holistic minded moms. Every year, this group has a big conference in NJ. I have never been to it, but am very hopeful to be able to attend this fall. I have been receiving emails about it recently. One such email listed ways for people who sell items that might appeal to the holistically minded to advertise their businesses. There are a few ways, but one particular one got my brain moving. A person can pay ($75.00) to have certain items placed in the "goody" bags that each participant at the conference will receive. Now because these folks are environmentally minded, no paper (including business cards) is accepted. (How cool is that?) But people can put logo items in, such as pens, magnets, and so forth. And that got me thinking that I could do something like that with my shop's email address on them. And of course that would mean that I would have to stock the shop with something that such minded folks would be interested in. And THAT got me thinking about ideas such as........ a Go-Paperless Kit. I would, I figure, have to stock the shop with kits that cost something. I'm not going to be able to repay myself for the up-front costs if I'm selling individual items at a low cost. That would take a lot of sales. But if I put together kits that maybe cost $50.00 each, or a variety of kits, ranging from $25.00-$50.00 or more, perhaps I could make it work. Hm. Am I nuts? There is something to lose here. For one thing, money. I could lost the cost of having the items placed in the bags. I would have to order them, of course, and mail them, too. Then if I had any sales, it would take a few to break even, then start to earn. And so forth. So it's a bit of a risk. However, I also have the regular Etsy shoppers to market to. And I have ways of promoting my shop around too. I dunno. It's also a lot of time commitment, and history has definitely shown that I lose interest in making the same item over and over again. However, that is what I had planned to do with fleece hats for a fall craft show anyhow. So. Hm. Maybe the thing to do is to take a month or two, make up a couple of kits, and see how easy it would be to make a bunch up before October. Or maybe I'm overdoing it. Maybe I should make a kit or two and see how they fare in the shop, before I invest a bunch of money in advertising something that won't sell. That feels like the place to start. I've got time. If they do well, I can proceed from there.

It keeps me moving.

Holistic Moms Network - local chapter

This past Tuesday, the new local chapter of the Holistic Moms Network held an open house at the local library. Being a new member of HMN, I have been looking very forward to this open house. Here's what it was like:

I walked in to the room, and saw a circle of chairs in the center, all facing each other. (oh no!) I am timid by nature, and this sort of set up is very intimidating to me. Oh well, I was going to stick it out. I signed in, donned a name tag sticker, and grabbed a seat. After a few minutes of waiting as others arrived, a young woman introduced herself as the group's leader, and gave a brief outline of her plan for the evening. I had figured the open house was going to be drop-in, but the leader actually had a 2-hour meeting planned. Wow. Ok, so ... She began by having us do a minute of "centering" when we sat quietly, while passing around a small bottle of rose oil. She then discussed her reasons for wanting to be involved in this group. She then asked us to introduce ourselves and discuss our reasons for seeking out HMN. I hate this sort of thing, being very self-conscious, but regardless, I prattled on about my desire to feel better and more centered. I talked about my blog, and how my friend saw it and recommended the group, etcetcetc blahdeblah. After everyone finished, the leader asked that we all give input as to what we want to see the group do, and so forth. I left after about an hour.

It's hard to know what will become of the group, but I am hopeful that after a few months we'll get into a groove. Oh, and I am under the impression that I either am the only local member so far (other than the leader) or at least the only one at the meeting. Hopefully more will join. Play dates may come out of it, which would be ok. The next meeting will involve a visit by an herbalist, who will prepare foot baths I believe? Sounds lovely. Anyhow, I will update in the future.