Well it is official; I opened my Etsy Store and website. I am hoping that when I retire that I might be able to have a small business selling the bounty from my yard. I was so excited this week to see everything come to fruition. I know this is just the beginning but everyone has to start somewhere. For years now my friends have been telling me I should open a business. I have been thinking about this very seriously. Many years ago I really wanted to open something having to do with a doggy boutique. I have watched many doggy boutique businesses come and go. Owning my own business just seemed like something I would be good at and so with each product that I create from my yard the more I thought that an Etsy business connected with Reeny’s Butterflies, Blooms, and Bees might be a great idea. I have totally been consumed recently with the idea of making soap and using my honey and beeswax in many of the products. I am trying to create a niche.
Anyhow, I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, but plenty of time to learn. I think the pressure from my job to always perform has been really getting to me lately. You are only as good as your current performance; forget the fact that I have been a top sales performer throughout the 15 years with my current company. I also just turned 58 years old. Not quite ready to retire for at least 4-6 years. I figure a girl needs to plan for the future. Why not take my talents and biosustainable gardening practices and try to create a business. I have given so much honey, wine, soap and lip balm away it is time to see if I could sell a little of the fruits of my labor.
I had my first sale the very first day!!! I couldn’t believe it, although it was from a lifelong friend! I hope she enjoys the honey! I really appreciate her support and will always remember that she was my first sale. Thanks Trisha!
Sunday I spent the day entering different products to my Etsy site. I tried to stage the products so they looked attractive. Just mailing and packaging the honey was slightly overwhelming, I have never had to figure out shipping etc. Of course, I am a perfectionist and wanted to make sure that I packaged the honey creatively. That is one of the feature of Etsy that I like the most, is that many of the owners are very creative in the delivery of their products.
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Sunday I also made two new batches of soap. One is a repeat because I gave away most of it to friends and family. So I made another batch of my Honey & Oatmeal Soap. The honey is from my hives. I scented it with Lavender Essential Oil, and Tea tree Oil. It smells terrific and I love the way it feels in the shower. I hope you agree. This new soap needs to cure for 3-6 weeks. It should be available by the end of October.
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I also made a Caffeinated Coffee Soap. I will try to keep many of my products as natural as possible, but I would also like to be able to create a more artisan handmade soap. I will still try to keep it as natural as possible, using herbs etc. from my yard, but may use fragrance oils instead of essential oils. I will be sure to always list the ingredients that I put in any of my products. This soap does have some coffee fragrance oil, along with peppermint essential oil. The combination smells amazing. I also added fresh coffee grounds to the soap. This soap turned out really nice and smells just like a morning cup of coffee. So if you are one of those people that can’t function until you have a cup of coffee (many mornings I am one of those people), then this soap is perfect because you can bathe in your coffee too! This soap will be available sometime the end of October also.
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