It’s been so hot the last few days that I’ve returned to the computer once again for a little ‘summer cleaning’. The kids will be back to homeschooling in 4 weeks so we needed to make more room on the computer for all of us. They now have their own desktop “creation” folders in which to save their work. We’ve also downloaded several ebooks, so there will be a library on the desktop as well. I’ve just go to figure out how to make cords accessible for 4 zens. Maybe I’ll knit or crochet some cord cozies. Something with a different animal head for each child, so they know who’s is who’s. Maybe a big flower for me with the cords in the center. That would be fun!

With Home School supplies coming around the bend, also, I need to find a way to get more advertisement for Buttercup Mercantile. It has been getting reorganized as well and filing is finally – well – logically filed. I’m sure the Tax guy will appreciate that! Business has been picking up steadily on certain holidays and with the Christmas season coming up, I’d like to streamline it more.

I’ve been working on some new product ideas. I’ve got five items that sell really well, while the others are just so-so. I’m not sure if it’s because of advertising, as most of my customers are purchasing for their parents, but I’m considering pushing items to a clearance section and add some new departments.

One I’m considering is a textiles section that would include yardage for both hand printed fabrics as well as fabric from my vendors. Most of them oriented around durability of goods and hand printed designs. There is also a redesign of the quilt section in mind.

Another big to-do is to make the site look fresher. I love alot of the ‘cleaner’ looks to other sites. So, I’ve started hunting templates and ecommerce solutions. One solution that I was looking at is Ashop shopping cart. It would be 39.95 plus a setup fee and a 24 month contract, but they are offering a free design setup and it comes with Inventory Control features that would be great if I go the yardage route. Kathleen was right, it takes about two to three years to gain acceptance into the design business. I’m on my third year and sales quadrupled the end of last year. So, it’s critical I grow with it. Hopefully, in a couple more years, I’ll be out of the red… That would be nice!