Category Archives: Business Tips

The Roadshow Antiques South Market

Posted by thenewcollector in Antiques / Vintage Shops, Business Tips, Collectibles and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

collectivatorrasouthThis summer we took a sunny drive to The Pickering Markets for the first time. This large building is situated just east of Toronto off highway 401, and encompasses a farmer’s market, flea market, food court and antique market. There’s plenty of free parking and multiple entrances so it’s easy to navigate. We didn’t spend much time in the flea market but headed straight to the antique section that anchors one end of the building. This is home to the Roadshow Antiques South location. It’s a smaller sister market to the Roadshow Antiques North market in Innisfil Ontario. I’ve never been to the other location, but based on the website it appears quite similar.

The Roadshow Antiques market is sectioned off into aisles and most of the booths are filled with items. I’d say only 5 – 10% of the booths were either unoccupied or very under stocked. The staff were friendly and I had a few people ask me if I needed help finding anything. It was also easy to simply roam the booths without feeling watched or rushed. For convenience the front cash has cubbies so they can hold your items while you browse.

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In terms of general quality of stock, I’d say it’s a mixed bag. I had no problem finding cool vintage items at fair prices, and a truly great selection of Pez (more on that later). However if you’re looking for strictly older antiques or furniture you may be disappointed. This market weighs more towards collectibles and nostalgia of vintage (or newer) age. There were a few booths featuring vintage jewelry and fashion accessories, toys and advertising. Some dealers specialized in popular collectibles like cameras and records. There was some good antique and vintage furniture scattered throughout, but the emphasis was on smalls.

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The Roadshow Antiques market is not going to wow you with every booth, but with over 150 dealers it has something for almost everyone. If you’re looking for classic collectible items like bottles, tins or china you’re in luck. Of particular interest to me were a few stalls full of classic vintage kitchenware. There was diner styled plates, glasses, cake stands, and Pyrex at good prices. I even found a small Tiki display and picked up a new mug for my collection. Speaking of Tiki, if you’re the type of person who finds kitcsh irresistible, there were plenty of “bad art” paintings, cutesy 1950s figurines and odd decor to catch your eye.

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Finally, as I mentioned above, there was Pez. So much Pez. I was in the last aisle of the market, ready to pay and leave, when I turned to see a towering Peter Pez display filled with older dispensers. I literally gasped like a Southern lady with the vapors. If you’re a Pez collector this is a GREAT place to go. The Pez dealer, Darlene, was there and we had a lovely conversation about her collection (some of which can be found on her website Pezopedia). She also sells Lego minifigs, Hot Wheel cars and other collectible toys.

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In the end, I think most people would enjoy checking out the deals at the Roadshow Antiques market. Many of the booths had sales on all regularly priced items, and I imagine stock gets replenished quite often. The rest of the mall offers a food court (the Italian and Mexican food was good), a large section of discounted toiletries and clothes, as well as a great British booth with cheap tea and crisps. We enjoyed spending a few hours comfortably browsing and we left with a bag of interesting items. I look forward to visiting The Pickering Markets again.

The Collectivator Upgrade is Here!

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips, Collectivator and tagged with , , , ,

I’m back! Greetings friends! First I want to say I’m sorry I dropped off the face of the Earth. I missed writing this blog and I never intended to be away from it for so long. I got swept up in an exciting project and I knew I couldn’t write until I was done…

The Collectivator upgrade is here! It’s finally here! After nearly a year of discussions, plans, timelines, testing, feedback, bug fixing, and giant leaps of faith, we are finally here. None of this would have been possible without a Toronto based company called Qaribou, and the amazing talents of developer Joshua Koudys. I am so excited about this new chapter in our enterprise. We rebuilt Collectivator from the ground up, and I can honestly say it has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects of my working life.

I invite you to visit Collectivator, and click around to see what all this fuss is about. Just gaze upon the loveliness of our shiny new homepage:

The fabulous new face of Collectivator!
So what’s the big deal about a website redesign? Everything. Literally everything. We completely changed not only the design, but the back-end CMS (content management system) that supports all the new functions. Josh wrote code for new interfaces, new posting procedure, new search… there was basically no part of Collectivator we didn’t take apart and put back together. Designer Denise Pinto made us look oh so cool with a bright, coherent theme that expertly showcases the items. One huge improvement is our touch-based mobile support. We finally look good on a tablet! Swiping through thumbnails feels natural, and it definitely makes browsing antiques more fun.

I’m not going to bore you with details about every little thing we’ve done (explore and find out for yourself!). But to give an idea of the hours put into this upgrade here are some notes I still had lying around my desk. Yes, I have a computer, and yes, I still write everything down like it’s the turn of the last century:

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Who needs emails when you can write large format, rambling notes? Developers love ’em!

Diagrams of possible webpages, notes from feedback, and my own pearls of wisdom like “maybe less white space but still have some?”, “people are circles, items are squares” and “I like dots”. In the end a lot of it was changed, or rejected, but the big vision was realized. Again, I am so grateful for the people who helped get us here.

As we begin a new phase at Collectivator, I look back with pride on our original concept and design. Eight years ago my husband Anson Chan originally created the site for my dad, Phillip Ross. The three of us working together honed our system through concept, design and good old trial and error. The bedrock of the site has always been quality stock and it continues to this day. We’ve been able to attract some of the best antique dealers around who are experts in their fields. We’ve had encouragement from established collectors, and random strangers on the street. We’ve been able to grow a professional solution for one antique dealer into a vibrant selling platform for many. The most important thing I want to say is thank you. Thank you to everyone who visits the site, and everyone who has joined us on our journey to becoming an antiques and vintage destination.

The new tagline for Collectivator is “Seeking the Authentic” and that’s what I am committed to do. Real antiques, real art, real vintage. I want to make Collectivator a vibrant community not only for selling, but for education and encouragement – especially for new collectors. It’s exciting to think about what is possible now! If I had to encapsulate all our work into one image (having used the exciting pile of papers image already), I think it would be this screenshot from one of our many meetings:

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That’s Josh in front, Anson and I in the little boxes, and Josh’s cat Sebastian performing a classic photo bomb. Every meeting should be interrupted by adorable cats.

I welcome your comments! Thanks for reading this self-congratulatory post about my business (next time I’ll get back to cool old stuff I promise). Cheers!

My Biggest Problem with Facebook Timeline for Pages

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips, Social Media and tagged with , , , ,

Normally I’m pretty open to Facebook’s endless tinkering with their system. They give us a powerful and free service, so who am I to complain when my personal profile looks a little different? Sure, my home news feed is still a bit confusing to me (and it seems to change the day after I’ve finally figured out where everything goes), but for my casual banter and Gardens of Time addiction, Facebook serves my personal needs quite well.

Professionally, however, I have a gripe. I have a Facebook company page that serves as Collectivator’s official Facebook presence and it uses the new (now mandatory) Timeline format. As the site administrator it’s my responsibility to create content as well as encourage others to post their ideas, questions and opinions. In the old non-timeline days, people would sometimes post a photo of an antique just to show it off or ask a question about it. This post would be displayed with as much space and importance as anything I would post. I liked this. It was democratic and it gave more spontaneity and surprise to our Facebook page. It was also frankly easier for me because I had other people fueling the discussions.

My biggest problem with Timeline is that it forces all posts by others into one small box in the top right corner of the page. The comments are abbreviated so you need to expand the window just to read them, as well as see any pictures or other media. My theory is Facebook did this because they thought companies wanted to limit the impact of other people’s content on their brand page. If I was getting a bunch of “you suck!” messages, I guess I would want to limit that too. The fact is, however, that even negative feedback is important for companies to hear, and many companies like Collectivator actively seek opinions and comments from others. We are trying to create a community for our fans – not just an official Facebook wall for our press releases. More input is more entertaining and interesting for everyone! Where is the discussion? A good conversation is not just one person making all the announcements and everyone else nodding politely. It feels like on the new timeline I get the podium and everyone else is sitting on the floor.

In my quest to find any way to give posts by others more prominence, I did find a work-around (of sorts) on Alaina Wiens blog. The only option is for the site admin to change each individual post (one at a time) to be “highlighted” on the page. This puts the post across both columns of the page and right at the top. However, even if I take the time to do that to every post other people make, this elite status will still not show up in the default view of the page. The only way for posts by others to show up with any prominence is for each person who views the page to change their own viewing preference from “Highlights” to “Posts by Others”. So the options are really either see all me or all everyone else, but not both together. Default is always going to be the most popular view and I’m going to guess fewer than half of all Facebook users even know how to change their viewing preferences! This slight concession by Facebook to give us flexibility is really a weak solution.

So that’s my gripe. If you have any experience or thoughts to share about Timeline I’d love to hear your comments. Facebook is still a great tool but I think until they give equal space and importance to everyone’s posts their new Timeline has made pages less interesting, less vibrant, and ultimately less social.

Very Pinteresting – How Pinterest Can Help Your Business

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips and tagged with , , , , ,

This week we launched new social media buttons on Collectivator. At the bottom of every item webpage are “Like” “Tweet” and “Pin It” buttons. Now anyone looking at an item on Collectivator (including the sellers) can use these buttons to easily share an item to their social network. I’m very excited about this improvement, but social media does raise some questions. One seller asked me to explain Pinterest in particular, and how the “Pin It” function works. The seller questioned if a pinned image of their stock would remain credited to them. Unlike Twitter and Facebook which display obvious links, Pinterest is all about images. The seller was unsure if an image of one of their items would benefit them or potentially lead to a sale. Basically, would people know where to go if they wanted to buy something they saw on Pinterest?

These are excellent questions but I want to start with a basic description of Pinterest for those that haven’t been formally introduced. Pinterest describes itself as an online pinboard for things that you love (you “pin” things of “interest” – see what they did there?). It is a free social media website that focuses entirely on images. Users create “pinboards” that they populate with images they find online. Pinterest makes pinning images easy using their “Pin It” button that you can add to your web browser, or (as we did on Collectivator) to individual web pages. You can also “repin” an image already posted on Pinterest to use on your own boards. When you pin an image it becomes public for your followers, and anyone on the Pinterest homepage, to see. As a way to organize and curate collections of things you want to share, Pinterest works really well. It has a nice clean design and it’s very intuitive, so it’s no wonder it has already captivated 10 million users.

Now let’s get back to the question of links and image credit. The general rule of posting an image online is that you should always credit the image and link back to the original source. Pinterest makes it easy by automatically linking back to the webpage where you found the image. This link is a part of the image and remains unchanged even if your image is repinned by someone else. Easy breezy right? Well, not always. What if the webpage where you found the image didn’t own the image in the first place? Hypothetical situation: You googled “McCoy Pottery”, and  found an article on Bob’s Blog that had a nice image of some green McCoy pottery. Unbeknown to you, Bob had found that image on my blog and used it without giving me credit. If you pinned the image, the link Pinterest would use would go back to Bob’s Blog, and not to me (the original source). This situation happens more than it should and it can be a major problem for people who make a living from their intellectual property. It’s a reason movements like Link with Love started, and why I recommend if you do use Pinterest to always pin the image from the original source. It makes the internet better and it’s much better karma.

So keeping in mind that anyone could take an image from Collectivator and use it on their own website without credit, why do I think Pinterest is good for my sellers? Because most of the time people will be pinning directly from Collectivator and therefore creating links directly to the item listing. Take a look at this screenshot from my personal Pinterest account. This is an image I pinned from an item listing on Collectivator:

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It’s a little hard to see because I had to shrink the image, but it shows the basic elements. At the top there is the image with a caption I wrote saying “Flamingos” by 6 Nations artist Chief James Beaver. Captions are required for all images on Pinterest and are usually quite brief. Below the image you see it was pinned onto my board “Great Folk Art”. Below that it reads “Originally pinned by Cassandra Ross” and (most importantly from my business point of view) “Pinned via pinmarket from collectivator.com”. Finally, below there is 1 repin from another user onto her pinboard “FLAMINGOS”.

The image is the link so if you click the image you go directly to the item’s webpage on Collectivator. Anyone who repins the image is now essentially promoting the link to their social networks, and as it gets more exposure and repinned it always links back to the original item listing. Pretty good free advertising, right? Also, note that the little thumbnails you see as pinned from collectivator.com were not pinned by me. These were pinned by our visitors. So now we’re getting more awareness for those items in particular, and our website in general. Win win all around.

Hopefully now you see some advantages of Pinterest from an online business point of view, and might be ready to start pinning. Great! Here’s some pointers to get you started:

  •  Pinterest is free to use but it is invitation only. Don’t worry – they’re not snobs. Just follow the clearly marked “Ask to Join” link on their homepage and give an email address. Within 24 hours you will receive notice that an account has been created.
  • If you’re a seller on Collectivator posting images of stock, remember to first post the item on Collectivator, then “pin” the image from the item’s Collectivator webpage.
  • When you create your pinboards, give them good descriptive names and be specific. You can easily make more boards as you go along.
  • Don’t be shy! “Follow” other people (either all their images or select boards), as well as “like” and comment positively on any image that strikes your fancy.
  • Even if you’re using Pinterest to post images of stock, remember that Pinterest is a place to get inspiration. Create pinboards dedicated to gardening, cooking, decorating, art, fashion or anything else you want to share.
  • I assume all my readers are proper ladies and gentlemen, but some people on Pinterest leave rude comments or post inappropriate images. It’s rare but it happens.
  • Finally, image is everything. Even your loveliest item will go unnoticed (and unpinned) if the image looks bad. Spend the time and effort to properly photograph your items. If you need some examples, just look around at what other people are pinning. Pin images of items that are visually interesting, and don’t feel obligated to pin everything. A little editorial discretion and effort will pay off when the selection of items you share are admired and repinned by others.

If you’re interested you might also want to check out my earlier post on social media for business. Enjoy exploring Pinterest & if you have any questions or tips please share them!

Social Media for Your Business – An Introduction

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

This week I’ve been working with a Drupal developer to make some improvements to Collectivator. One of the changes we will soon implement is the addition of “Like” “Tweet” and “Pin It” buttons to every item webpage. For some of you, these buttons are familiar necessities for any online presence. You expect that every bit of information you consume online – no matter how serious or trivial – will be easily sharable with your social network. For others, these buttons are internet fads connected to websites that waste time at best, and promote group think at worst.

As a small business owner you have to be aware that social media takes time and effort to maintain. If you decide to promote your business through social media you will be bombarded by new websites, and every time you turn around a social network will be demanding more of your already divided attention. Is social media really worth the effort? In my experience, yes. You must educate yourself but with a few rules and limitations, you can make social media work as a tool for your business. It is not a strategy, and it is not a solution, but it can be a great tool.

So let’s start with the basics. Social Media is all online media that connects people together and promotes dialogue and creation of new content.  As opposed to old styles of media, for instance television, you do not just receive information. You receive information, respond to it, and create your own. Social Media is everywhere and includes websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, WordPress (the very website I use to write this blog!), and Delicious. Social Media for business works in two ways: it promotes your business for you and it facilitates interaction with your customers. The first part of that equation, promotion of your business, is as easy as putting a button on each webpage you want to promote. Look at the bottom of this blog entry and you’ll see I’ve enabled a selection of social media links. Why wouldn’t I? It’s free and easy to do. If enough people “Like” this article I could even go viral across different social networks and become as popular as an adorably hilarious LOLcat!

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It is my dream to one day be more popular than monorail cat.

The second use of social media for business is to facilitate interaction with your customers, and this is more difficult. This side of social media would include your company’s Facebook page, your company’s Twitter feed, and any other site you monitor and build that promotes your business on social media. Many businesses do not know what to say in these forums. They create accounts only to ignore them for fear they won’t use them correctly. It can feel too personal from a traditional business standpoint to use social media. What should a plumber tweet? Why does a consignment shop need a LinkedIn profile? Who wants to spend time maintaining these pages when there’s real work to do and real bills to pay? These are all good questions! When contemplating social media for your business consider the following:

1 – Social Media creates personal introductions to your business: Think about all the ads we see everyday across all forms of media. Most ads are ignored but we place higher priority on those messages that come from people we know. It used to be we trusted brand names but we’re moving towards trusting individuals who share our values. If my friend “Likes” a business on Facebook, I might see it on my Facebook wall, and the connection between my friend and that product becomes an implicit clue that I will like the product also. An introduction has been made between me and a business by someone I trust. That’s very valuable advertising, and it is free on most social media websites.

2 – Use Social Media not just to find customers, but to keep them: This is crucial. Most people do not return to a company’s Facebook page after the first introduction. This is because many companies do not fully realize that the point of social media is not to sell, but to create and encourage dialogue. This is “social” media. It’s supposed to fun and interactive. Ask people questions, answer inquiries, and find creative ways to make your visitors create content themselves. People want to communicate on social media, and if your business does not facilitate communication people will quickly look elsewhere. Encouraging this type of communication is a challenge in Collectivator’s social media. It is where I place most of my efforts, and where I need the most improvement.

3 – If a particular type of Social Media doesn’t fit your customers, DON’T USE IT. Your time is valuable and social media is not free because it takes your time. The best question to ask yourself is “will my customers want this?”. Will a plumber’s clients want to read his or her tweets? Probably not. But they will want to see reviews of that plumber’s work on a social media website like Homestars. Google your business and see what forms of social media your competition uses. If you simply cannot understand how a website could help you, no matter how popular it is, don’t use it. Spend your time on those sites where you see the best return for your efforts.

4 – Link your Social Media together for greater strength: When you have decided to embark in this strange new world of social media, remember the cohesive business image you will be presenting to the world. Business website to Facebook page to Twitter account to Pinterest photos to blog (plus or minus any number of other social media sites). Try to keep the branding consistent, create links between the pages (which will in turn help your search engine ranking) and remember that different social media sites have different levels of professional etiquette.

These are my tips for dipping your toe into social media for your business, and I am happy to share my successes and failures in future posts. You might be surprised how many people want to engage with you, so feel confident to introduce yourself and get started!

Painting the Office

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips and tagged with , , , ,

I bet you thought I might not write an entry this week, and then where would I be in my New Year resolutions? Truthfully, I might not reach my goal of two entries, but that’s because I spent my week working hard to realize my other resolution of improving my workspace.

Next month we will move into our new office on the Danforth. To help us get ready, my amazing dad came into the city and helped me paint the two rooms that I will be sharing with my husband’s consulting company. It was hard work with long hours and nothing but a buzzy iPhone for entertainment. Have you ever heard the hits of ABBA through speakers that look like glowing ice cubes and buzz every four seconds? No? I envy you. Anyway, my dad was such a trooper (not to mention an expert painter) and in the end our efforts really paid off. Check out the space before we got our rollers on it:

Tangerine Dream. I meant Nightmare.

Burgundy and orange. Together at last.

Quite the colour pallate for a work space. I’ll admit the orange is somewhat stimulating, even if it burns your retinas. We bought the best darn primer we could (at our local Benjamin Moore store – they were really great help) and got down to work. Here’s my dad mid primer:

Ahh. It’s getting calmer already. The white was tinged green to match our final colour, but we still required two coats of primer.

The view from the door. 1st coat paint on the walls.

Finally, to skip to the good part, we finished two coats primer and two coats paint, had the carpet replaced (by local merchants Citi Flooring – also very helpful), and had the two way mirror replaced with clear glass. The end result? FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS:

Oooooooh. Aaaahhhhh.

Oh yeah. That’s the stuff. Hard to tell from these iPhone pics but the green manages to be calm but cheerful. The carpet is an oatmeal colour with flecks of brown and white. Designer favourite “Cloud White” on the trim. I only remembered to take pics in the evening but during the day the window in the front office floods the space with sunlight.

No words. Should have sent a poet.

My arms still ache and there are some touch ups at the bottom of the trim, but otherwise the office is ready to move into and start using. I’m really looking forward to spending time here. Just goes to show how much difference a little effort (and paint choices) can make!

10 New Year Resolutions for The Self-Employed

Posted by thenewcollector in Business Tips and tagged with , , , , ,

I’ve been self employed for a number of years. Although I’m getting better at it, staying organized and productive every working day can be a challenge. New distractions are always coming up, and life outside the office can intervene. To put it simply, without discipline and a clear plan of action I can be a great boss but a crappy employee.

Being the New Year, I thought it might be good to take a look at my work habits and see where I can improve. These are my resolutions but I think they can apply to many self-employed people. It doesn’t matter if your business if a full-time affair, or a few hours a week to supplement your day job. I work mostly on my website Collectivator, but I also do administrative, book-keeping and creative contract work for income. These tips are about finding the right balance when you wear many hats. I hope you find them useful 🙂

My 10 Resolutions to Be More Productive, More Organized and Even More Awesome in 2012:

10. Make My Work Space Work Better. The space you work in is very important. I’ve learned that mess on the desk equals mess in my work. Everything from the comfort of my desk chair, ambient light levels, visual clutter and colour of the walls can elevate or depress my mood. It can make me sit down and think “I can do this!” or it can just make me want to start another game of Bejewelled Blitz. This February we’re moving into a new office space, and I resolve to make this space as inviting and organized as I can. Once it’s set up I will dedicate a few minutes after every work session to putting papers away and leaving it clean and inviting for the next use. As Martha Stewart so eloquently said “Don’t agonize, organize!”.

9. Get Regular Exercise. So after I make my workspace clean and organized I’m going to run away from it. I’ve found a small gym nearby and I want to take Yoga and Pilates classes (it hurts my squishy stomach just to type those words) and walk at least 30 minutes a day most days. Sometimes I need to get some fresh air, especially when I’m feeling tense or stressed. If I’m going to sit and not do work, isn’t it better to walk away? As my own boss I can and will allow myself to get moving when I need a break.

8. Limit Email and Facebook Checking. I’ve actually already started doing this and it has made a HUGE difference! Facebook is obviously pretty counter productive from a work standpoint, but I am surprised by how effective it is not to check emails. I can’t imagine how people who have constant messages coming in on their smart phones get any work done! I check my email about 3 times a day and when I’m not actively reading and writing emails the program is closed. It also helps to have a set period of time – say 30 minutes – to answer all the emails at once. I think it has made me more productive both with emails and with other tasks!

7.  Blog with Regularity!* I am a fan of fiction writer Harlan Ellison. One thing, among the many things, that Mr. Ellison rants about are all those people who “want to write” but never actually do. The simple fact is that if you want to be a writer you have to write, and if you want to be a better writer you have to practice. I want to write because it helps organize my thoughts, allows me to express myself creatively, and learn through the research on my subject. I therefore resolve to up this whole blogging enterprise to twice a week.
*Exclamation point for added optimism!

6. Harness the Power of Social Network Marketing. I’ve noticed that roughly every third person who contacts me is a “Social Marketing Expert”. No matter what your business it can be confusing to know how much to tweet, pin, like, post, zipideedo and zort on the internet. This year I’m going to educate myself and explore how every new social networking website might help my business. I am also going to improve my company Twitter feed and Facebook Page. I’ll share some of my experiences, success and failures on social marketing in this blog – two resolution birds with one stone!

5. Stop Trying to Do Everything. When you have a small business you often have to do everything at first. You are the accounting, customer service, and advertising departments, as well as the CEO. I’m lucky because with Collectivator I’ve always had partners, but I’ve also wanted to keep control of all the day to day operations. With a little realistic assessment of my abilities I see it is imperative that I learn to delegate to others. I need to better rely on the partners I have and seek out experts in areas where I know little or are unwilling to learn. I resolve to improve my strongest skills, while at the same time allow others to help the company in their areas of expertise.

4. Set daily, weekly and monthly goals. For monthly reminders my computer’s calendar program is great. For my changing “to do” lists, however, I know that I am a Luddite who needs to put pen to paper. I have a new weekly paper calendar with a cat motif that is embarrassing to look at but surprisingly effective for my work habits if I keep it up. Among the cat related quotes I basically write my to do lists, appointments, and all the stuff I want to accomplish each day to meet my goals. You might be cool enough to use your iPad, but I enjoy my work mixed with photographs of kittens emerging from various containers.

3. Set a Big Goal and Work Backwards. When you have big dreams sometimes it can be the sheer enormity of the goal that derails your confidence and productivity. I’ve read that good advice is to work backwards and finish small tasks that eventually lead to your larger goal. You don’t have to know every step towards your goal – just the next one on the path. I resolve to take each small step while keeping the big goal firmly in mind. I will tackle my dream goals as small steps with deadlines and in that way stay motivated.

2. Follow my Passions and Be True to Myself. Dear Lord that sounded very “special workshop at the Yoga retreat” didn’t it? Sorry. I mean to say that I started Collectivator, this blog, and my own growing collection of antiques because I have a true and honest interest in them. I like that I know about this stuff and I want to learn more and promote antiques in general. I’m going to refocus my energy  on that, and keep it positive. There’s a good reason why I’m self-employed and that’s because I like it.

1. Prioritize Prioritize Prioritize. There are so many things I do for work and I like being creative. I like to be inspired by others and that requires lots of clicking around on the internet, reading, and general wayward thinking. I resolve to allow myself this freedom but to also prioritize my work hours for income activities first. Every business has a bottom line and it is imperative that I remember to prioritize my time. If I can make this resolution a hard and fast rule, I know every element of my business will improve, and I will feel great about my work day.

So there are my resolutions to improve organization and productivity. I know I’ll have off days and I won’t do everything right. If I have to I’ll just walk away from the desk, make some tea, and try again after a break. There’s always room for improvement and I am always interested in what works for other self employed people, so please share any tips or comments!