Flourish & Thrive Academy Multiply Your Profits

The following is an entry for a contest.

Flourish & Thrive Academy Multiply Your Profits

Where are you in your jewelry business now?

Even though I've been casually making macrame for over a year and a half, I feel closer to the 'just starting out' level of entrepreneurship.  I'm just now starting to get serious about my passions and am branching out and experimenting with a variety of materials.  When I feel that what I've made is close-to-perfect enough to sell, I create an Etsy listing for it and try to promote it as well  as I can (without an advertising budget).  I do a lot of research online and that is how I found your site.

What’s holding you back in your business and your life?

Honestly, finances hold me back quite a bit.  If I had a greater pool from which to draw (or  any), I'd be able to promote what I have made and promote myself a bit more as far as what makes me different from other jewelry designers.  I've seen Facebook ads work wonders and I've also found a company called StoreWoot that promotes your Etsy products through Pinterest, and have had some small success with them after using a free trial.  I realize this is a bitter cycle, but the more sales I make, the better I can do, but I can't make that many sales without having some recommendations/advertising first, and so I end up being stuck somewhere in the middle, without enough sales to promote myself but needing the promotions to get the sales.

Other things that hold me back in a very general basis are my disabilities.  I'm psychologically and physically disabled and my treatments for them, as intensive as they are, don't quite work out.  I have rapid cycling bipolar disorder and arthritis of my spine, and I feel these two things, above all the rest, are what make getting things done the most difficult.  It is extremely difficult for me to focus my mind on one task - but I'm frequently able to beat the beast and do it.  It is generally excruciatingly painful to do just about anything, but I suck it up and push myself anyway.  It's funny how doing something as small as photographing my work or hunching over a tree of life pendant I'm working on can hurt so bad, and how some days it's the smallest things that are the most daunting.

What is your vision for your business? Where do you want to go? What are your biggest dreams and desires?

I want to carve out a unique niche for myself.  I have a goal and a vision but have not yet had access to the materials that I really need to branch out.  My biggest dream would be to have a few thousand fans on Facebook, and hundreds of reviews and sales on Etsy.  It's not much, but it would be so much to me.  I want to be known for my attention to detail and dedication to using eco-friendly materials.  I need to increase my skills to be able to get there.  I want my own website with a ton of unique hits, and fans who admire and respect me and my work.  Even if the sales don't quite 'get there' yet, I'd still like to have a name and place for myself.  I need more training, like the kind you provide, to be able to become successful in the jewelry world.

http://flourishthriveacademy.com/MYP2014Scholarship