Painter Girl

The Importance of Having a Work Family

Do you know I have now been in business for myself for sixteen years? I just realized that at the start of this year.  I don’t often give that much thought.  The years just seem to fly by.  Of course, business-wise, there are one or two years I’d rather forget!  I did learn very early on, the importance of networking and having a good support system in place to brainstorm ideas, troubleshoot difficulties and share information.  Over the years I have belonged to a wide variety of groups: women’s business groups, Chamber of Commerce, decorative painters groups, networking groups, design groups, artists groups, etc. 

I have also been part of an online Stencilers Group for probably a good ten years now.  This group formed as a subgroup of a much larger online group when several of us became disenchanted with the politics of the larger group.  This Stencilers Group has about twenty active members now, from all over the country.  The group has evolved from avid, professional stencilers (back in the day), to a group of women who share what’s going on more in our personal lives than our work lives. I’ve met some of the members at conventions and other’s I have never met.  Whether we have met or not, this wonderful group has stayed so connected throughout the years that we all know each other very well.  Some members have retired, others have moved on to other types of work.  Although the focus has shifted to our personal lives more than our working lives, this group remains a great resource when I’m seeking input about a work project or situation. 

Now, with the presence of Facebook, I have another network of decorative painters I am “friends” with, although not friends like my Stencilers Group.  This Facebook network of like minded business friends, provides me with feedback when needed, but mostly they inspire me with postings of their recent works and enlighten me with news about products, workshops and resources.

On a local level, I am a half-hearted member of a Design Salon group, which I vow to be more active with this year, and a founding member of a small group of decorative painters who try to meet every few months to share new techniques and information. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about all of these groups lately because when you do not get up and go into an office each day for work, you really do need to cultivate a work family. And, unlike going into an office environment each day and interacting with the same group of people, when you work from your home, you have the advantage of choosing which members will belong to your work family. Recently, my good friend and fellow decorative painter, Chris Smith, lost her husband very unexpectedly.  I reached out to our local group of decorative painters to inform them of this tragic loss and they all responded with such kind words and support for Chris.  At the wake and funeral both, I saw several past and present decorative painters and designers, all who have worked with Chris over the years, there to offer support and comfort.  When I read Chris’s facebook page, I saw post after post from all her fb “friends”, the same decorative painters we both interact with from all over the country, expressing their kind words of sympathy and collectively, as an extended work family, giving her a virtual hug.  I’ve always known the importance of having a work family, but recently saw first hand, just how valuable this family truly can be. 

KidMats and PetMats

I have been struggling to find the time and right venue for my KidMats and PetMats.  While I love creating them, they do take a significant amount of time to do so, and then of course, there is the marketing piece.  I have taken down my Etsy Shop for now because I found I did just not have enough time to devout to maintaining and promoting that site. 

I am excited about a new home for KidMats and Pets in beautiful Rockport, Massachusetts.  Rockport is a year-round seaside community, north of Boston.  For me, it is about an hour commute.  I recently signed a year long lease with a quaint craft/antiques/collectible shop, Joncien, owned by Leslie Asare.  Joncien is located in the historic Bearskin Neck area of Rockport, which is lined with very quaint shops and eateries.  As you walk to the end of the street, there is a breath taking view of the ocean.  After exploring options for promoting KidMats and PetMats, I happily found Leslie and her wonderful shop.  I am leasing a small space in her shop where several other artisans also display their works.  It's low maintenance for me, as I only have to replenish my booth when stock runs low.  Leslie and her staff are there year round, greeting shoppers and answering any questions.  I have always loved Rockport and dreamed of owning such a shop myself there some day, so this is a great way to test it out and a good excuse to visit Rockport more often!

Here are some of the new KidMats  (placemats for kids) designs:

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

Paint It! is now on Yelp

In an effort to get with times, I am spending some time trying to get the hang of all of these social media/networking sites.  I now have a listing on Yelp here and would appreciate any and all reviews if you would be so kind to take a minute and write one.  Other businesses have told me this has helped to increase their visibility on the net when prospective clients are doing a search for their services, so if your business is not already on Yelp, you too, may want to look into this free advertising venue.

New Website!

I am very pleased to announce I finally have an official website!  http://www.paintit.biz

After years of using my Picture Trail site, http://www.picturetrail.com/carolpaint, Julie Krefta came to my rescue and created this wonderful new site for me.  Now I am able to link this blog, as well as Julie's Stencil Talk blog and StencilSearch site to my website.  Not to dis the Picture Trail site, because it served me well for many years, but this new site will allow me to do so much more.  Thanks for all of your hard work, Julie!

Promotional Work

A while back, I had my business checking account hacked into.  One of the positive things that came out of this not so positive experience was connecting with my local bank personnel.  Typically, I do 99% of my banking at the outside ATM, rarely setting foot inside the bank.  I found the people at my local Sovereign Bank to be very helpful, friendly, and a great resource for promoting my business. 

Every month the bank features two local businesses on display tables they have set  up in the lobby.  Here they set up any promotional materials you provide and have free coffee for their customers.  They urged me to bring in a display that I could then leave with them, telling me they like to rotate their customers displays throughout the year.  So, this week I worked on pulling together my display and dropped it off yesterday.

I stenciled this scroll pattern on the back and side panels because you will see a portion of the side panels when it is standing up on the table.

Road Trip and Taxes

Wednesday I spent most of the day with my friend and fellow decorative painter, Chris Smith, meeting with a designer about a job we've been proposing for the past few months.  I will go into more detail IF we actually get this job. 

I am still fighting a head cold, so am not at my best this week.   I decided to scale back the remainder of this week a bit to relieve some stress, rest a little more and work a little less.  Today I finally finished my tax prep and was able to sneak into my accountants office without him seeing me, to drop it all off.  :-)

This afternoon, a fair amount of time was spent cleaning up my desk and opening lots of mail.  I also put in an S.O.S. call to a friend of mine to see if she might be interested in taking on some of my office work a few hours each month.  It has gotten to the point where I feel I spend too much time doing data entry tasks and computer related tasks that someone else could be doing for me.  I think my time would be better utilized doing more creative work and this would generate more business as well.   I'm feeling stretched in too many directions.

Tomorrow I will return to finish up in the Laundry Room and Back Hall, but still have one more new project to sort out in the Back Hall.  If I did not have to spend so much time opening mail and pulling tax info together I would have already sorted out the details of the new project! 

Promotional Work

This week I was determined to get my promotional materials replenished.  I am almost completely out of business cards and postcards, plus one of my magnetic signs came off of my car door on the Massachusetts Turnpike a few months ago.  I have been using vistaprint.com for a few years now for my cards.  They have great prices, the color is incredible and the service is wonderful.  They offer several free products on a regular basis.  I decided I would replace my 1 lone magnetic sign with 2 new matching ones. 

As mentioned, I was also in need of a re-order of my business cards.  I did not have my email address on the last set I had printed, so added it to this one.  I have to say, my only complaint with VistaPrint is that they are not Mac compatible.  Since I only have a Mac, I have to go elsewhere to make any new documents or changes to previous orders.  They always apologize about this, but do not seem to be making any real attempt to be Mac-friendly.

Since I now have 3 Learning Zone day care centers with my decorative painting on their walls, I decided to make a special postcard, just for the parents that use these centers.  The three centers combined, add up to almost 200 families.  That's a nice target market for me.  Once the new additions are complete for 2 of the centers, the numbers will only increase.   I have been giving Melissa, the owner,  a very good rate in exchange for placing promotional materials in each center. 

This is the front of the card.

This is the back side of the card.  I no longer use the postcards as mailers.  I tried this a few times, with no results.  It's too costly when you add in the postage.  Instead, I keep the front side the same on all of my postcards and just change the blurb on the back side to suit the market I wish to target.  Even though this particular card highlights children's rooms, once prospective clients go to my website, they see that I do a variety of finishes for all rooms and surfaces. 

I can't wait until my new magnetic car signs arrive!  Next up, I need to tackle my PictureTrail site and get that updated.  I have started to make some changes there, but have a long way to go.  I am adding some new photos and a new album or two. I have deleted some albums and photos and will continue to do more over the next week or two.  I've have gone back and forth a million times about switching to a real website.  I have always used this PictureTrail site for my website.  Finally, I've decided that it works, so why change!  Also, all my clients know that site since I've had it for years AND all my promotional materials spell out that site. 

Last year I made the decision to stop printing out the photos I take of  jobs and to just keep them on my computer.  Constantly printing out the photos and taking the time to update a portfolio to bring with me on consults was costly in dollars and time.  Now I just refer all clients to the PictureTrail site before I visit, then bring my laptop along that has all of my portfolio pics.

Networking

I have to say, it was an "off night" for me, as far as my networking skills go, Wednesday night at the New England Home Magazine event in Harwich.  This event was to give the companies who advertised in their special Cape and Islands issue, a chance to meet each other.  I was there as Marc's guest, since Bordet Interiors has a nice ad in this issue.  It was a hard room to work.  Although a beautiful setting with ocean views, the room was too big for the rather small sized gathering and people were a bit cliquish, not all that approachable.  I did manage to make a few contacts and greet some new faces, but I was just not "on" that evening for networking.  Marc and I left around 8 p.m. and stopped to visit a friend of mine in Centerville on our way home.  I ran into some major construction at midnight on the highway after I picked up my car at Marc's house and did not get home until almost 1 a.m.!  Gee, it's bad enough I find myself stuck in traffic most days with my work commutes, but to be stuck in traffic at midnight is just sad.  I got up at my usual 6 a.m. today and was off to work on that ceiling with Denise's help.  We got a late start because we both had commitments earlier in the morning, so we were not able to finish today.  We will return tomorrow to complete and I will post some pics of the ceiling that is killing me!

Networking

Last evening I attended the NEWBO Awards of Excellence Gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston.  NEWBO is celebrating their 30 year anniversary!  It was a very fun filled evening, with Jimmy Tingle serving as master of Ceremonies.  Jimmy had all of us laughing from the moment he stepped up to the mike.  He is one very hysterical man and should you ever have the chance to take in one of his shows, I highly recommend doing so.  Congratulations to all the Quest Award nominees and winners.

I have mentioned NEWBO here before, and I do so again to encourage any women business owners in the Boston area to join this wonderful organization.  Each time I attend an event I connect with the most amazing women and come away truly inspired.  Two examples of great connections from last night were meeting Jennifer Smith of Color Express and Kristi Andrews,  owner of The Barkery.  I am talking with Jennifer about helping me out with some one time use stencil materials, such as the Modellos I so often feature here.  Kristi, has to have one of the most fun businesses ever!  She runs a bakery for dogs!  Even if you are not local, Kristi ships all over the country, so let your dog browse her site and drool a little. 

E-newsletter

I am working on the May/June edition of my e-newsletter so cannot spend too much time blogging today.  I really love doing this newsletter.  Most of my clients are not into reading blogs, but they do love to receive the e-newsletter.  It's been a great way to keep them informed of new stencils I have, or to show some new uses for my older stencils.  Many of my clients follow up with an email to tell me what caught their eye or to just say hello and re-connect.  For those of you with small businesses, I highly recommend giving Constant Contact a try.  They have a 60 day free trial period, which allows you to send out mailings to 100 addresses during this free trial period.  They also have a great referral system!  For every friend you refer who becomes a Constant Contact customer, you'll both receive a $30 credit to your Constant Contact account.  If anyone should decide to go for the free trial, just email me and I'll send you a referral post so we can both receive a $30 credit, should you decide to sign up after the free trial period.  :-)