My 15 Minutes of Fame!

Check out my 15 minuets of fame on That's Life with Robin Swoboda. I talked about my metal and my other internet adventures.

Here is how it all went down!

I met Robin this past fall at a marketplace that I had a small store in... She wanted to interview me then, but I was leaving the market because my online busy season was coming up. I talked to her, her producer and the camera guy for about 15 minutes, and that was the end of it.... Then the producer from the show emailed me and said they wanted to do a spot on me and my work.... So they came to my house and filmed the interview. They also got a bunch of footage of me welding and working on some projects! After they left my wife called the local newspaper and they are printing a story in the next few days on the show!




Here are some pics from the filming of the show! They came out to my house and filmed me working and filmed some of my finished products!

Be sure to click on the pics.. they are very detailed! My wife took them!

Check out more updates over on my Twitter Channel @timothyadam
Check out all my designs in my Etsy shop! 

The 2011 Etsy Sales Goal Tracker Spreadsheet (Free Download)

2011 Etsy Sales Goal Tracker Spreadsheet

With the arrival of 2011, it's the perfect time to start creating
goals for your handmade business.  Creating a sales goal helps you
know where you want your business to be and make adjustments throughout
the year to arrive at that destination.  This spreadsheet is designed to
help you see your sales goal written down, visually track your progress,
help hold you accountable, provide sales data insight, and encourage
you to succeed in 2011!

It's easy to set up and use through out the year.  You simply enter the
number of sales you want to make during the year and type in how many
sales you make each day.  Automatically, graphs are updated to show your
progress and provide insight into your sales trends (most popular days
of the week for sales, and an annual trend line of your sales volume).
It's a fun way to stay connected to your goals throughout the year!

The 2011 Etsy Sales Goal Tracker Spreadsheet is a FREE download brought
to you by the Handmadeology team.

Check out more about how to get your FREE Etsy sales tracking spreadsheet.

http://www.handmadeology.com/grab-your-free-2011-etsy-sales-goal-tracker-spreadsheet/

The Ultimate List Of Craft Show Tips

{photo credit: OneFineDae}

The holiday craft show season has launched.  Having done done a number of shows in the past, I know that preparing for a craft show can get a bit nerve racking.  I have scoured the web for the best articles on preparing for a craft show. Enjoy and good luck this season!

• Preparing for a Art or Craft Festival
• 119 places to find a craft show
• Lessons learned from my first craft show
• Craft Fair Check list – 30 things to bring
• A guide for first time craft fair vendors
• How to vend at a craft fair
• Craft Show display tips – must haves
• Making the most of your Craft show experience
• 160 things to bring to a craft show
• Craft show check list
• Craft show check list #2
• Craft show check list #3
• What to bring to your show
• Craft show tips
• 63 Questions to Choosing the Right Craft Show
• Should I enter juried shows?
• How to set up for a craft/art show

 25 more Links!  HERE

Interview with Irene Suchocki - Top Etsy Photography Seller

I had the privilege of interviewing Irene from  Is Photography and asking her a few questions about successfully selling photography on Etsy.  Irene is the top selling photographer currently on Etsy.  I have included a few of photos in the interviews, so please take the time to check out her amazing work and learn from what she has to say.
1. When and how did you become interested in photography?
I first became interested in photography in the mid 1990s. I started traveling and wanted to learn about photography so that I could take decent photographs on my trips. I took a night course at a college to learn how to use my camera. I became much more serious about photography in 2005 when I purchased my first digital SLR and found flickr.
2. How did you find Etsy, and why did you start selling on Etsy?
I noticed that a couple of my flickr contacts were selling prints on a site with a weird name: Etsy. I wasn’t even thinking about selling prints at that time, but a seed must have been planted and the idea began slowly percolating in the back of my mind. About a year later, in early 2007, I opened a shop. Initially it was simply a means to make a little extra money to pay for all the photography gear I was coveting.

Read the rest of the interview HERE on Handmadeology!

Check out over 100 tips for Etsy sellers : Etsy Tips 

Be Productive This Holiday Season

{photo credit}


Here are some links to help you be more productive this Holiday season!

Holiday Selling Tips ( From The Black Apple)

Do You Have a Handmade Business Plan?

Getting up Early = Super-Productivity  

Promote your Etsy Coupons on EtsyCoupons.com 

Over 100 Tips for Etsy Sellers
http://www.handmadeology.com/handmade-business-plan-why-you-need-one/

Do You Have a Handmade Business Plan?

Meet Lauren - Writer for Handmadeology
Having collected 47 stamps in my passport during a year-long volunteer experience around the world several years ago, I am now on the next leg of my journey: Stamp 48.  Part blog and part consulting company: I can work with you to achieve the financial goals of your Creative business, so you can focus on your creative passion. My blog focuses on business tips for handmade sellers, featured artists, interior design, DIY ideas, art & inspiration, and hosting/entertaining ideas.
I spend my days working for an international development firm in Washington, DC developing forecasts and budgets with my head buried in Excel spreadsheets. It’s true: spreadsheets makes me giddy with excitement. However, not being limited to exercising my left-brain, I spend my nights (and lunch breaks when possible!) reading design and craft blogs, designing and sewing handbags, experimenting with new recipes,
connecting with friends from my church, snapping photos of Our Nation’s Capital, and concocting DIY endeavors.


 Handmade Business Plan: (from Handmadeology)

Do you have a business plan for your handmade business? You should. It helps you wrap your head around each step of your business. You can’t plan for the future success of your business if you don’t know where you want it to go.
While I was visiting my mom in St. Louis over Thanksgiving, we began to reminisce over childhood adventures: school plays, soccer tournaments, cookie company order fulfillment, etc. Wait, you weren’t a co-owner of a chocolate chip cookie company as a 10-year-old? I suppose that is a little odd. Let me explain.
I’ve always been entrepreneurial at heart. Lemonade stands didn’t quench my thirst for business. I wanted to create something more. When I was 10, my best friend and I started the Sweeties Cookie Company. We took orders by the dozen from neighbors and family friends and spent our Saturdays whipping up quadruple (no joke) batches of my mom’s recipe of chocolate chip cookies, which may or may not have been the Toll House recipe, but don’t tell! We packaged the cookies in plastic wrap, then snuggled the stacks of cookies into brown paper lunch sacks tied with raffia. If my memory serves me correctly, we sold them for $9/dozen or. Not bad for a 4th grader.

Writing your own business plan helps you to think and analyze how all of the elements of your business come together. Every business, even a one-woman run handmade business, should have a business plan. It doesn’t have to be extensive or have fancy charts and graphs. You probably won’t be presenting this to a bank to obtain funding, but if you are at that stage of the game, you will need something more elaborate. The Small Business Administration is a great resource for more detail, but the general outline should have the following elements:

1. Business goals and strategy for achieving them: What is the mission of your business? Will it be eco-friendly or will it donate a portion of proceeds to charity? Whatever your goals are, spell them out here. Be as clear as possible.
2. Market Analysis: Who are you selling your products to? Why should a customer choose your product over a competitors? Are there regulatory restrictions in your industry? If you’re selling bath products, what laws do you need to adhere to for your state/country?
3. Marketing Strategy: How are your target customers going to find out about your wonderful products? Will you buy advertisements on blogs or other websites? Will you use social media such as Twitter or Facebook? What is the minimum number of followers/fans that you want to have? How will you track prospective sales? Once you collect prospective customers, how will you continue to interact with them? Will you have an advertising budget or use completely free techniques?
4. Products: Will you have one line of products or multiple lines? What is your value proposition (why should your customers buy your product)? Do any of your products require patents or trademarks? Who are your suppliers? If your supplier goes out of business, is there a comparable supplier? What is the cost of your product and what is the appropriate price?
5. Financials (my favorite part!): Include both historical and future data (Profit & Loss Statements, Balance sheets, and Cash Flow Statements). If this freaks out out completely, try to plan out how much profit (the money you earn from selling your products minus the cost of your products) you want to make each year. What do you need to do to achieve this? If this still freaks you out, contact me

 Find more article to help your handmade business GROW over on Handmadeology!

Creative Social Media Boost with Timothy Adam

Come join me for a live blogging event all about social media.  I will be teaching a few ways you can get creative with your social media marketing.  I will also be taking questions… so get those questions ready!  The even will start at 8pm EST on December 7th 2010.  You can find more info over on Handmadeology!

Handmade Cutting Boards

Handmade Cutting boards from Gray Works Design. 

Find more handmade decor on Handmadeology.com.