What stood out from Courses 1 to 7

 In doing this course with the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, there were some things that stood out to me. I have completed courses 1 to 7 and the first thing that stood out is the elevator pitch.

The elevator pitch is a short 30 second informal pitch for your business, it should spart interest about your venture and can be delivered within the time it takes someone to ride the elevator.

For those that know me I speak fast and sometimes my speech is not clear. For me to be clear I have to stand, pace myself or fiddle with something whether it be with my feet or hands.  So for me doing it was a task. I can give the pitch in the time but the challenge was sounding clear and excited about my venture.

Wow, I wonder if other business owners have tried it?

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Another thing that stood out was the course on Marketing. Our presenter was Dr. O'Mard, she gave us inciting and interesting facts about Marketing. What really stood out for me  was the different ways in which one can use social media for marketing. 

It really have me thinking and now I have to review and think through what I thought was my marketing plan.

 

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Something else that stood out was  the topic Selling your dream.

During this one I had to think about customers who have had a bad experience.

I had my first bad customer review, I made a bridge fold card for a customer's birthday. She was disappointed with her purchase. When I asked for details as to why she was disappointed, she responded that it looked like a child made it. I felt hurt and I know that a child cannot make it. That crushed my spirit the same time and I stopped pushing my Valentine's Day promotion. 

My husband and daughter cheered me up the best they could. He said the not everyone will appreciate your creativity. I still feel bad about it and plan to do something to make it up to the customer.

I had to pull myself together and remember that all of that is a part of life and now it has happened find a way to deal with it. I have had constructive criticism about my products already and also people who have loved their purchase but it was my first bad review.  

I am always researching different things, so some were not new to me bit others were an eye opener, the key thing that I struggle with is because I do handicraft so figuring out how to keep your current customers is a work in progress along with dealing with bad customer reviews. 

Also in this course I had to do a sales projection, in doing this I realized that I was selling myself short and not really making money only on special occasions. I would make a little bit of something for Mother's and Father's Day but Birthdays are celebrated everyday so I have to tap into that market. 

The funny thing is I use a scissors, quilling tool, embellishments, adhesive, ruler, metallic pens and paper in my work. In the different crafting groups I am in, most use a Big Shot or a Sissix or a Cricut or a Silhoute or even a brother scan and cut. I cut everything by hand so it is a bit tedious. As I acquire more I will invest and get one of the cutting machines that was mentioned before along with other tools that will make my work easier and appear more professional. 

I will get there and this new venture that I am on will assist me to get to where I need to go.