Hootsuite 2.0

So, I was once again browsing the forum pages of Etsy.com and came across a woman that mentioned a third party twitter application called Hootsuite 2.0. She said that it was a huge lifesaver when it came to her advertising her shop on twitter. In usual fashion, I had to go and check it out. I went to my trusty Google search page and typed in the word “hootsuit” and was immediately taken to a result list that had the application’s home page listed right on top. I clicked and was on my way …

My first impression of the page was that it was very professional! It was very evident that time had been put into the website … there were even very nice tutorial and tour videos. In my opinion, if they put that much time and energy into the website, then the quality of the application itself should be comparable. At this point, I felt it was worth my time to continue looking around the website — there were functionalities that were very useful to business people such as myself looking to promote on twitter. It looked like it was a well organized and easy to use platform … and best of all, it was FREE.

I signed up and started using. What I have to tell you I use the most is the “pending Tweets” functionality. Every morning, I take about 30 minutes and set up all of the promotional tweets I want sent out for the day and the times that I want them posted. This saves a lot of time for me during the day and helps to ensure that I have a very steady stream of posts that link back to my products. Some of the other features that are included are a fuctionality to allow you to update multiple twitter accounts with the same tweet all at onece, the ability to allow other users to post tweets to one or more twitter accounts, and the ability to customize columns and gather statistical data.

This is truly a twitter application for those that are trying to move forward with a business. I suggest it for all of my fellow Etsians and many, many more!

Here is a link to the site: www.hootsuite.com

Let me know what you think. Until then, I’ll see you at checkout!

One month in and I have my first sale!!!

At the rate I was going, I thought it would never happen! I was creating new pieces of jewelry and posting them on Etsy, and then crossing my fingers. I got a lot of views … I even got a few people to add me as one of their favorites. But no sales!

I was so determined to find the secret to success on Etsy.com, so I started to patrol the forums in the “Business Advice” section — let me tell you,

it was a treasure trove of information. There were experienced sellers that were just handing out information, all you had to to do was take it and run with it. And that is exactly what I did. There were psts about having a blog to advertise your pieces and give potential customers insight into who you are as a person and a designer (enter this blog: Confessions of a Dreamer); there were posts about regularly updating your status on twitter and getting a following there to advertise your work (enter my twitter persona: morethanwordsll); there was information on how to take good photographs of your jewelry; there was information on search engine optomization and how you can make your pieces easier to find using a search function … I learned so much over the past month from the men and women in that forum that just saying “Thank You” wouldn’t be enough.

So, after all of that learning and hard work, I have something to show for it. On october 6, I made my first sale … the Britne Bracelet (featured in this blog, actually). Hopefully this will be the first of many and the start of a very good career. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Until then, I’ll see you at checkout!

Small Business Accounting Software: The Good and The Bad

The first part of this article discussed the things that needed to be a part of a small business accounting package, and what help the existing software in the market typically needs, and whether or not a small business can actually do without the help of an accountant or book-keeper. Let’s put all of that aside, and now simply talk about the accounting software available in the market as is. The packages I have used, and most of my clients use, and ones that are available almost globally will be the subject of discussion here.

Of the four packages mentioned here, QuickBooks and SAGE are scalable from small business to medium business. So before I dwell into which is superior and which is not, if you think you have a business that will grow or develop at a rapid pace, and will outgrow the circa definition of a Small Business, maybe you’ll have to stick to one of these. That’s not to say that Peachtree or Microsoft Office accounting cannot support medium size business. It can, with intelligent, creative (but legal) accounting.

Quickbooks Pro 2009

QuickBooks – The Good

In my opinion, QuickBooks is probably the most comprehensive of out of the four packages (QuickBooks, Peachtree, Sage & Microsoft Office Accounting). It provides relatively efficient functionality, with a standard interface, customizable reporting, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Feature-wise, it probably contains more than any of the other three pieces of software; it will do the basic accounting, invoicing, payroll subscriptions, credit card transactions, GL, PL & SL, prepaid (well, sort of), customer statements, financial reporting, etc. etc. etc. Quickbooks ALSO has some concept of drill down functionality, which can be relatively insightful at the click of a button.

Another area that QuickBooks has a big plus in its wide market area and availability of support. It is relatively easy to find QuickBooks consultants (certified or not). The support network is out there, and their own web site can guide you on where and how to find support. Plus, if you’re in the US, QuickBooks is the software of choice for many US Universities, making most accounting graduates QuickBooks literate, if not experts.
In addition to the friendly interface, QuickBooks is relatively self explanatory. The titles in the menus, the screens, the interface, the ease of use, all makes it a very efficient piece of software, especially if you’re a computer literate accountant. Even if you’re not, the learning curve is not too high.

QuickBooks – The Bad

From my position, I really don’t have much bad to say about QuickBooks. I’ve been using it for several years, and functionality wise, there’s really not much wrong with it (in comparison with other accounting / bookkeeping software in the market). The only possible drawback is that it’s ultra feature richness may make it confusing for the not so computer literate accountant/bookkeeper.

Technically, QuickBooks has one pitfall. From year to year, newer versions come out, and compatibility has been an issue in the past. If you upgrade, you have to convert data, and although it’s not that tedious with the new version, it would be much simpler if Intuit simply made Quickbooks backward compatible, which it probably doesn’t for reasons of profitability.

Sage Instant Accounts

Sage – The Good

Really, I don’t have much to say here. In the near future, you will see me as both a QuickBooks Pro advocate. It’s an okay piece of software. The interface is relatively standard, and it can pass off as a bookkeeping / accounting software, although all the others will give it a run for the money, and probably beat it.

Sage – The Bad

There’s a lot to say here, but I won’t bad mouth them too much. No drill down functionality, unfriendly interface, unfriendly usability, restrictive, poor layout, etc. etc. Clearly, you can tell that this is my least favourite software, so I’m going to stop talking about it now.

Peachtree Accounting 2009

Peachtree – The Good

Peachtree is a fantastic piece of software. Although I trained on QuickBooks Pro in university, the first piece of accounting software I used on the job was Peachtree Accounting. I was pretty reluctant about it first, but as it turns out, Peachtree is a wonderful piece of software.

It’s a less dull, less serious looking version of Quickbooks, and offers virtually all the functionality of QuickBooks. There’s less gray (unlike Quickbooks & Sage); the interface and layout are very clean, the different templates are customizable (as they are in QuickBooks), and it offers all the supplementary functionality (credit cards, good journal layouts, invoicing, POs, SOs, etc. etc.). All in all, this is a great piece of software, and is a wonderful place to start for any small business. It’s not to heavy on the pocket, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how it works. Oh, and Peachtree offers some drill down functionality like QuickBooks (unlike Sage).

Peachtree – The Bad

Peachtree is only US compliant. The software is not available for purchase or use outside the United States, and it doesn’t support multi-currency. What’s worse is that Sage has bought Peachtree from Best Software, and it has become Sage’s way into the US market. As long as they don’t make drastic changes to Peachtree, it is a fantastic piece of small business accounting software.

Microsoft Office Accounting 2009

Microsoft Office Accounting – The Good

Okay, this is Microsoft’s first step into the Accounting domain. Originally termed Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006, the software was renamed to Microsoft Office Accounting, and rightly so. It’s a sharp mixture of QuickBooks and Peachtree functionality the Microsoft Way. What’s good here is that this is one of the very few small business Accounting Packages on the market that will support multi currency without any issues, and it can probably pass off as a software that doesn’t necessarily require you to be very accounting literate. Why, you ask? It shares a striking resemblance to Microsoft Office, hence the name Microsoft Accounting. The idea here is that if anyone can use Microsoft Office Products, they should be able to use Microsoft Accounting.

Frankly, I have been impressed with Microsoft’s first try at Accounting Software. It may need some bug weeding, but all in all, this is a good starting point for Microsoft, and after months and years of using QuickBooks, Peachtree & Sage, it didn’t make much for me to get comfortable with Microsoft Office Accounting; just a couple of hours. This is a very affordable software for most small businesses, and provides the BASIC functionality of Quickbooks & Peachtree, without passing off as a complex, confusing or difficult to use accounting/bookkeeping package.

Microsoft office Accounting – The Bad

At this point, since this is something that is actively being developed my Microsoft, credit card processing, payroll etc., though existent, are slightly limited. Although most small businesses don’t use these features from within the software, they are useful considerations, as a small business truly sees the use and efficiency of the software if functions like payroll are managed from within the software. This software is certainly scalable, but at this point it’s a very good basic package for small business, and scalability is yet to be seen.

Announcements: New Blog Series for the Etsy Artisan

I just wanted to announce a few new blog series that I am going to be doing from now Through December:

1. Featured Etsy Artist — Every 2 weeks I am going to be posting a new Etsy Artist Feature, showcase some of the unknown artistisans. I want to give you, as potential customers and new fans, an opportunity to know who the artist is behind the work as well as give you an opportunity to view some of their newest work.
2. Weekly gift buying guide — Ladies and gentleman … the holidays are a comin’! I want to help all of you get prepared by showing you some new and unique gift ideas and where they can be purchased. I want you to be able to WOW your loved ones with things they never expected, never thought of, or never thought they could ever afford to get. Check back often to stay up-to-date.
3. Business resource seminar series — for all of my followers that are trying to start their own business, I will be posting a monthly article that features at least one business resource that you will need in order to be successful. Topics will range from accounting software to help you keep your finances accurate and in check, to lists of state and goverment agencies that should be kept in your contact list.
4. Product revierws — I will also be periodically posting product reviews for business software as well as advertising and billing websites and hardware.

The next couple of months are going to be great and filled with useful information to get you ready for the holidays and the new year. I hope that you mark this page and come back often for the updates and new posts.

Until then, I’ll see you at check out!

This is just a side note …

Last week on monday I was in a pretty scary car wreck on the interstate. If any of you out there are in the Nashville, TN area then you know about the several, rather unusual, days of torrential downopour that we got. Tennessee roadways are not prepared for this kind of extreme weather event! As you can imagine, the interstate was an accident waiting to happen — apparently waiting for me. I hydroplaned on one of these massive puddles and after trying unsuccessfully to regain control of my car, ran right into the concrete retaining wall at 56 mph. OUCH!

I managed to walk away. $28,000 in emergency room bills later (I, unfortunately, am not one of the ones that makes enough money to afford a place to live AND health insurance) it was determined that the only damage that was done was to my back — 2 vertebrae were fractured. I spent last week confined to my bed, not allowed to move. I had all the time in the world, it seemed, to devote to my blog and Etsy shop. My stats were through the roof!

Yesterday, however, was my first day back in the real world. I woke up as usual at 5:30 in the morning. Struggled to get dressed and ready for work … moving at the waist is agony and will be for the next month or so. Woke up the boyfriend and headed out the door for a 10 hour day at the front desk of the Nashville Airport Courtyard (you can tell that my supervisor really appreciated having to cover my shifts last week). And at 6 pm, I went to my public speaking class. I had no time to create new jewelry, update my shop, post on any forums, or give my blog any attention — I only had 5 views the entire day. 😦

Maintaining my status on the internet is a full time job in itself. I really cannot wait until the day that I have a loyal and regular following of viewers. Sigh!

C’est la vie … i guess. Back to the trenches for me.

Tweet Tweet: I heard a little birdy calling

It’s official guys, I have joined twitter. I was a little apprehensive at first … I kept thinking,”who in the world would be interested in something like that.” But then after reading a post on the Etsy forum (my newest home away from home) about a woman who dramatically increased her sales from her twitter followers I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a spin.

So, if you are already on there or thinking about joining yourself, look me up:  morethanwordsll

Look forward to seeing you at checkout!

The Great Debate: How much should I charge for my handmade items?

You wouldn’t beleive the amount of information that is flying around the Etsy forums every day … here is another piece of very useful information that I managed to drag out of the crowded masses. It is a website that helps you determine the profit you will get on your Etsy products if you set it at a certain price. But it doesn’t stop there, if you are reading this post and you aren’t an Etsy artisan, this website also calculates the profit you will get if you sell your products on eBay, through paypal, on half.com, on overstock auctions, and on the amazon marketplace. How absolutely fabulous is that?

To the seasoned Etsy sellers who are reading this, you already know what that means … to the rest of my readers that are, at this point, scratching your heads and scrunching your faces, let me break it down for you a little bit. This fee calculator lets a seller (or even a buyer) see where all the money is going. Let’s say, for example that you ake this out of this world gold chainmaille bracelet (very much like the one that is featured in this blog) and you spent $10 on materials … with just that in mind you choose to price the item at$20 … seems fair enough, right? WRONG! this pricing has failed to take into account the money that etsy will collect when you make your sale, the money that paypal will collect when your new customer pays for their items, the amount of tax that should be applied (if you are really operating as a legitimate business), and the amount of shipping and handling you will spend to get this product to your new best friend … the customer. By this point your $10 profit has slowly been whittled down to almost nothing and while I know that the sole purpose of an artist is to create beautiful work … but we need to make a decent profit off of our work in order to continue crafting another day.

So … now do you think this is a useless tool? I certainly hope not. Get ready to copy and paste … here is the link:

http://www.rolbe.com/etsy.htm

Go forth and be profitable, and I hope to see you at checkout soon.

Children’s Miracle Network and Social Vibe

I have added a new widget to my blog’s home page! SocialVibe has created badges that can be displayed on webpages to allow readers to get involved in causes that need help and to make a donation. I have chosen to use my page to support the children’s miracle network.

How do use that badge, you ask? Well, anyone that clicks on “help now” will be given the opportunity to engage with my chosen sponsor, L’Oreal Paris, thus helping me to raise money for my cause … It’s that simple. Afterwards you will have the opportunity to leave a comment. Additionally, by clicking on the cause logo you will be able to see information about the Children’s Miracle Network and view real-time goal progress.

Please help me to raise money for this very worthy cause.