****I'm In Bootcamp****

Well, not your traditional boot camp but rather Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp

One thing about Etsy that I truly love (besides their extremely reasonable listing fees and easy-to-use site) is their community-oriented business.  Everyone wants to help everyone, its amazing.  The other shop owners all offer their help and support, and when you are a lonely crafter just trying to create a small blip in the "made by me" world it really means a lot.  But anywho, on to my reason for this posting.  This up and coming Holiday season brings a slew of different emotions.  First is the overwhelming feeling of chronic tiredness.  I work in fashion on a retail level so with Christmas comes long days.  I love being busy but my does it come with a price tag....my pour eyes and the bags that they keep.  The season does bring a lot of joy. Family, food, a certain crisp smell in the air, fall/winter clothing, warm and cozy beverages, scented pine cones, snowy mornings.....the list goes on but this year in particular, I am looking forward to a few happy people being able to unwrap a well decorated present playing keeper of a beautiful Naughty Baubles pieces.  Some may say it sounds easy, but trust me it really isn't. 

Not to say that I have in anyway lost my drive and passion for making jewelry ( in fact by having an Etsy store it has increased) but with the vast amount of options available on the site and with everyone making jewelry these days trying to break through seems daunting.....and the bags under my eyes are darkening just with the mere thought.  Luckily, I will have help with the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp that started last week.  It may sound very Maury but I never turn down help when I need it.

Every week Danielle, Etsy's Seller Education Coordinator, will discuss important topics that all sellers need to know in order to survive this Holiday season.  Week 1 started with some of the key basics for survival: Web Analytics and Mission Statements.  Since Day 1 on Etsy, I had my google analytics site up and running..I even use it for my blog..so I had the first part of my homework already completed.  As for the mission statement, well, not so simple as punching in  few URLs and watching someone else do all the hard work.  I mean seeing as how important it is for any business creating one should really take some time right?  Completing this task took some real deep thinking.  Why did I create an Etsy account?  Why do I constantly send out alerts about new items I have created?  Why did I start making jewelry to begin with?

The last question is the easiest to answer.  After getting my Associates Degree in Fashion Merchandising I moved back home with my Grandma.  Partly because I really just wanted to go back to my comfort zone after 2 years in a completely different world and partly because I knew she could use the help.  It originally was only for the summer and a semester and then I planned on starting college again to get my Bachelors.  However the small break turned into a year off from school which turned into 2 years of commuting from CT to Boston.  In the meantime I really began to loose my mind in such a small town.  Coming from Boston with something always going on, my hometown seemed like jail on most nights and without a car I had to improvise.  So I began hitting up local craft stores after one day realizing how simple some of the jewelry was to make and with me on limited funds I figured why not.  Lets just say I took to it like a fish in water.  It was so relaxing, so much fun and once my best friend began making jewelry as well the enjoyment doubled.  I didn't have to worry about what to give as gifts anymore, I never once wondered what to do when I got out of work and I never had to worry about what jewelry to wear with an outfit.  That was back about 5 years ago and I still enjoy every moment making necklace or pair of earrings.  Unfortunately you need direction to succeed in an overcrowded market....which is where the mission statement comes in, it is the direction.  And now I'm back to exactly where I was a paragraph or two ago....what is mine?

Kind of a randomly placed fact but did you know Coco Chanel never left the house without some piece of costume jewelry on?  I'm quite sure you did but I really like that idea.  In fact I do very much the same thing.  Even if I am going grocery shopping and wearing less than appealing attire, I still have either a necklace on or a wrist full of stretch bracelets.  And, going along with this idea, I want everyone to do the same.  Even the smallest piece of jewelry can really brighten your day and add an interesting element to an ordinary outfit and since I tend to keep my looks simple, a nice necklace can really take it far from boring.  So, with that said.

Naughty Baubles sole purpose is to provide its customers with fun, quirky and affordable costume jewelry of the best quality so that everyday provides you with a reason to add some spice to your outfit.

In particular, this holiday season is my opportunity to

• increase traffic to the site
• create standards for site updates and item photography
• make a sale

Not only did this take me an hour but after countless school exercises where I was graded on my ability to create mission statements and business plans for fictitious companies I had no vested interest in, you would think this would have been easier but it wasn't and I can't say that I am thrilled with what I've come up with.  I guess, since its my first week in boot camp, I will be given some leeway.  Stay tuned as I progress each week through another task and hopefully at the end of this, the statement above will get better.