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The Year In Review
Nov. 11th, 2007 11:26 pmWell, it's been a little over a year since I left Red Hat and opened the picture framing shop in Natick. I look back on an eventful year, and look forward to an uncertain future...
A year ago most days at the shop were rather like the old Maytag Repairman commercials. I could go days without seeing another soul in the shop. I busied myself with setting the place up, doing some demo projects, and sweating blood over how I was going to get the word out and start getting business. I tried all kinds of things: Yellow Pages ad, postcards, letters to local businesses, trying to make networking contacts, craigslist... very little happened at first. I spent many months anxious over the lack of business.
Still, I did not consider my efforts to have been wasted. I considered every outreach, every contact, every promotional piece, to be a seed planted in the field of commerce. Hopefully, a few of them might sprout and begin to provide sustenance.
One at a time, a few of those seeds did indeed germinate. The local gallery owner came to me needing LOTS of glass and mats. He came back to get some printing done. We have since become friends and he sends business my way whenever he can. I hosted several artists in my gallery, and they have all come back as customers and referred more customers to me. I continue to remind my online friends of what I can do, and people bring me work :)
Perhaps the biggest boost to my business has been to volunteer for the Natick Open Studios. I attended the planning meetings (wearing my logo shirt, of course!) and volunteered wherever I could. A number of the Open Studios artists have since become both friends and customers.
I am beginning to develop a reputation as someone who is clueful, intelligent, friendly, and resourceful. People love my framing and printing work, and they love even more that I have an eye for color and design. I am also known for being a resourceful problem-solver.
So in short: I'm settling in to the business, I've made an impression, and people like me.
It's not quite enough, though. I'm still not doing enough business to support myself -- indeed, this year I have not paid myself a dime out of the business. It's all been invested back in equipment, promotion, marketing, and now an employee. I've been living off of savings, which are now dwindling. I'm starting to look for tech contract work in case the money runs out and I have to backfill my income by other means.
I'm hoping I can ride it out until business picks up to the point that it sustains me... we'll see. I really really love what I'm doing, but I also rather enjoy financial solvency.
It's been quite a year... we'll see what next year brings.
A year ago most days at the shop were rather like the old Maytag Repairman commercials. I could go days without seeing another soul in the shop. I busied myself with setting the place up, doing some demo projects, and sweating blood over how I was going to get the word out and start getting business. I tried all kinds of things: Yellow Pages ad, postcards, letters to local businesses, trying to make networking contacts, craigslist... very little happened at first. I spent many months anxious over the lack of business.
Still, I did not consider my efforts to have been wasted. I considered every outreach, every contact, every promotional piece, to be a seed planted in the field of commerce. Hopefully, a few of them might sprout and begin to provide sustenance.
One at a time, a few of those seeds did indeed germinate. The local gallery owner came to me needing LOTS of glass and mats. He came back to get some printing done. We have since become friends and he sends business my way whenever he can. I hosted several artists in my gallery, and they have all come back as customers and referred more customers to me. I continue to remind my online friends of what I can do, and people bring me work :)
Perhaps the biggest boost to my business has been to volunteer for the Natick Open Studios. I attended the planning meetings (wearing my logo shirt, of course!) and volunteered wherever I could. A number of the Open Studios artists have since become both friends and customers.
I am beginning to develop a reputation as someone who is clueful, intelligent, friendly, and resourceful. People love my framing and printing work, and they love even more that I have an eye for color and design. I am also known for being a resourceful problem-solver.
So in short: I'm settling in to the business, I've made an impression, and people like me.
It's not quite enough, though. I'm still not doing enough business to support myself -- indeed, this year I have not paid myself a dime out of the business. It's all been invested back in equipment, promotion, marketing, and now an employee. I've been living off of savings, which are now dwindling. I'm starting to look for tech contract work in case the money runs out and I have to backfill my income by other means.
I'm hoping I can ride it out until business picks up to the point that it sustains me... we'll see. I really really love what I'm doing, but I also rather enjoy financial solvency.
It's been quite a year... we'll see what next year brings.
