The few remaining Christmassy wares have been delisted and packed away. A good old tidy of the shelves in a manner of speaking:)
I've been pleasantly surprised and more than a little chuffed at how well this year has gone for See the Woods Designs. I've been told over and over again that all new businesses make a loss in their first year. I'm very pleased to say that mine didn't, not even close:)
Even discounting my sales in December I think this has been a pretty good year for a fledgling business. I now have all of my different little processes in order so it's no longer a case of pure panic and "where in all of feck did I put the sticky tape last time I used it" when a sale comes in, which is nice!
This year has really brought it home for me that in order for this business of mine to continue to do well and to grow from what it currently is, I really do need to put the work in. I need to make sure that I never miss a beat or an opportunity.
The sales in December came so thick and fast that I sometimes felt that I wasn't having the chance to do anything else. My shop lay forgotten for weeks in the run up to Christmas because of my need to fill orders locally and now it is looking a little depleted. Of course it would be all too easy to look upon December's sales and think "oh yay, happy days everyone has found me on Folksy. I've put in the work promoting and now I can sit back and relax" but of course that's not going to be the case. Sales in December are all too easy to come buy, especially when half the UK was snowed in but still in need of Christmas gifts.
I'm sure that the next month will be an altogether slower and much much more relaxed period and I'm hoping to spend the time listing a few things and working on some new ranges which you will see popping up in my shop over the next few weeks.
I hope that everyone's expectations for this year have been met or exceeded and I hope for an even bigger and better 2010 for each and every one of us.
Happy New Year - onwards and upwards!
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