Yarn, Yarn Everywhere...

Design
I guess online yarn shops are somewhat taboo in the LYS industry.  I knew that, but I'm still plunging forward with the Midwest Yarn project.  I keep telling myself, "You're not WEBS, not Yarn Market, you're Midwest Yarn.  You're online to raise capital for the brick-and-mortar shop."  I'm hoping that this mantra will help me through the Grand Opening jitters.  This is a HUGE investment and I don't want to fail.  Small business profits go to feeding families, not paying for undeserved bonuses or padding the bank account.

I'll still be knitting, I'll still be designing, and at some point, maybe I'll be able to hire an assistant or bring on a business partner to allow me to be more involved in the industry.  My mission is to promote the longevity of needlecrafts like ours.  I don't want to step on any toes, I want to bring people my age and younger on board. 

When at the indoor playground with Peanut, I was asked by one little boy, "WHAT are you doing?!"  Of course, he saw me working on a bright pink pair of knit merino pants.  Another mom, who looked to be about my age, said she admired people who could knit and crochet and wished she had the time to learn.  C'MON knitters, let's do it!  Let's get my generation and the next into the mix!

In the meantime, I'll be promoting the heck out of Midwest Yarn's products (*wink* NORO) and website (*wink* Juniper Moon Farm).  You can also check out Midwest Yarn's blog for updates and if you follow the blog, the Ravelry group, Facebook page or Twitter (@midwestyarn), you'll get a discount.  We're still set to open within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Midwest Yarn is Almost Here!

Design

The hard work is just beginning, but I'm happy to report that Midwest Yarn, a Cherished Moments company, has filed its paperwork to establish it as a business!  To the right, you'll see the logo I designed, with the help of Vistaprint.

I'm building the website and meet with my first yarn sales rep in a week. The best part is that I am completely overwhelmed with excitement.  I also wrote a lot of the business plan tonight which is a combination of all the notes I've made for myself over the past several months.  I have not decided on a deadline for launch of the website, but I'm aiming for March 1st. 

Even with that deadline so close, I'm still optimistic that I can continue to design patterns, knit, and maintain the Cherished Moments website and etsy.com site in the process.  I'm pretty efficient when it comes to running a business, that's why I am able to keep those things in my life and not get burned out.  Once my website is launched, I'll also be working on setting up my husband's online vintage shop, also to be run as a Cherished Momens company.  You won't be able to access the shop's website yet, but I'll keep everyone posted as it becomes available.

Reboot
My reboot is going well.  I am on Day 5 and have lost almost 5 pounds.  On Day 4, I did have a lot of problems with lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.  While I do believe that it's because of the lack of sleep the night before (Peanut stayed up all night), I have decided to end the fast sooner than the 15-day deadline.  It's unhealthy to lose more than 2 pounds in a week and I definitely felt that yesterday.  The 5-day express program is more realistic for me, which means I'm done as of today.  I'll be repeating this program once every 3 months or so as suggested, just to maintain good weight and results.

With so much going on with the business start up, I don't want to make myself sick to the point that I cannot work.  Over the next few days, I'll be adding in nuts, legumes (beans), and whole wheats, slowly as to not make myself sick that way either.  I'll continue to juice and keep fruits and veggies as a main part of my diet, but I'm sure adding these things back in will slow down my weight loss.  My ideal weight is 125-135 and I'm already at 135!  Wish me luck!

Coming soon
Working on advertising for Midwest Yarn.  You may see ads on Ravelry and other places soon.  I'm also almost done with the test for pattern #2, so look for that on Ravelry as well!

Doin' The Yarn Thing

Green layette set, featuring
a version of the
Garter Stripes Baby Cardigan

Design



I am ecstatic to announce that my first pattern is available on Ravlery.com.  The "Garter Stripes Baby Cardigan" is available for $5 and also available to LYS shops on ravelry for purchase.  I had a lot of fun designing the yoked cardigan and even made a version of it as a layette set for my husband's boss (whose wife is due in February).

Green layette set
Hat, mitts, socks

I decided not to list the whole layette set so that I could be able to have some of my own "trade secrets" for posting on Etsy and taking to craft fairs.  I love how the layette set turned out, but I did have a dye lot problem.  When I initially bought the yarn, I did not make sure that it was all one dye lot.  I didn't notice until I was most of the way through the WHOLE SET.  I was not about to rip out a week's worth of knitting, but I have learned my lesson.  UGH!

Knitting Madness

Yes, I've been knitting (and working) like crazy for the last week and it absolutely paid off.  As mentioned before, I finished my first pattern.  I also finished the layette set.  While on my knitting breaks I made a lot of phone calls to yarn distributors, talked back and forth with some LYS owners, and worked on my business plan.  All that while attempting to keep Peanut entertained (he did have several temper tantrums, since we're apparently now at that stage).

With all this work, I came to the realization that I love designing, knitting, and getting feedback from other talented people out there.  My mother put it to me that I shouldn't sell myself short and proudly call myself a designer and a business owner...because I am!  So now, I'm working ten times harder to make this business a success.  The journey has its ups and downs, but I'm glad to put in 80 hours a week to be happy doing what I do and supporting my family in the process.  Stay tuned, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Coming Soon

Believe it or not, this yarn business is going to get off the ground.  I'll be working on the business plan and setting up the website because I'll actually have inventory for sale online soon.  *happy dance*

I'm also working on testing another pattern.  More details soon.

The Business of Doing Business

Design
I'm calling this entry a design element, mainly because the topic of business can be tailored to any industry, any project.  In essence, you're designing a business.  I'll be doing a few entries like this, mainly to show some of the process I'm going through to create my business plan.  Yes, I'm buckling down and writing a business plan.

Why talk about business?
Simple, I love the little nuances of running a business.  What you may not know about me is that I have a Master's Degree in Business Administration (aka MBA) with a concentration in Health Care Management.  I have done some business consulting, planned events, and even taught courses to business students.  I have been a manager, assistant manager, and a line worker for over a decade, and the actual idea of running a business is virtually the same in all sectors, except a few...  And with a health care background, I've seen a lot of crazy things!

When starting my own business back in 2008, I did not think I had what it takes to be an entrepreneuer.  I lacked a lot of confidence in myself, and I wanted to quickly make a lot of money.  I made the mistake of thinking that my degree inherently warranted that.  Boy was I wrong.  Starting a business is harder than getting a job and learning how someone else does business.  Why?

1. You have to set your own way of doing business.
2. You need to research all aspects of yourself and the business you want to go into and put it all down into a coherent plan (i.e., you have to write a formal or informal business plan).
3. You need to make sure that your idea is unique and viable for continuity of the business.

Craft businesses need a plan too!
In the early days of toying with the idea of starting a craft business, I thought I could just continue knitting, and just sell my products however I could.  Nope, nope, nope!  Even as a crafter, you have to pick your niche.  Ask yourself these questions:

• What market do you want to target?  (Men, women, children, all ages, etc.)
• What kinds of sales do you expect?
• How much can you realistically invest to start your business?
• Do you want a brick and mortar shop or want to sell online?
• Who is your competition?

and the list goes on... 

What does all of that mean?
You've got to do some good old-fashioned research on your industry.  Whether it's woodworking, knitting, painting, or any other craft, start with a simple Google search and see how many viable businesses you can find doing what you want to do.  Find out how successful they are.  Find out how popular they are amongst other crafters in that niche and go from there.

So what are you waiting for?  Let's get this business started.  If you'd like a little free advice on starting a business or writing a business plan, leave a comment and I will get back to you ASAP. 

Coming Soon
Some fall and winter design ideas!