If you’ve decided to count these newsletters and hold me accountable for what I said previously, Q2 doesn’t exist. 2023 has flown by so fast I jumped from Q1 straight to Q3. Welcome to CoH and thanks for visiting!   

Quick recap of Q1: Reflecting on 2022 results and feedback, I took action and updated my SKU system (again), created additional packaging inserts and instructions, streamlined photography, expanded package sizes (2, 4, 8, 12, 18, 26), transitioned to die cuts for new units, added alcohol wipes, and introduced glass bottles (2 oz and 4 oz Boston Rounds). 

In Q1’s newsletter, I said I’d have the above list implemented by March;  it’s June. I’m still working on it.  :D

How’s your 2023 going so far? We recently had some good rain here in KS and the weather has been warm!

Keep an eye out for new listings with Labels + Bottles. I was hoping to get some really fun bottles, but since I’ve never sold them or experienced 3D shipping yet, I decided to start reasonably with a small investment. 

Trust and believe my shopping cart was full of unique glass bottles for a few months before deciding to stick with classic Boston Rounds.    IF these even sell, THEN I can worry about more sizes and shapes. Seems like a reasonable assessment.    What bottle size or style would you like to see most? There’s even colored glass of blue, green, amber and more. Possibilities are endless. I could design and create for years!

MESSAGE RECEIVED - EVOLUTION OF THE CONQUEST

Celebrating my sister-in-law’s accomplishments in May, a few of us got together for food and drinks. While ordering my drink, I felt someone staring from the far side of the bar. I ignored it. I was with family and uninterested in what may be occurring at the end of the bar.

The gaze didn’t dissipate; after a few minutes, I turned my entire body to face the stranger, made eye contact, smiled sternly, and said, “Hello”.

Unfazed, they replied, “What do you do”?

I paused while maintaining eye contact, replying, “I make things”.

Inquiring, they said, “What kind of things”?

Unsure and wary of their intent, I replied vaguely but honestly, “I solve problems and make things that need to be made”.  Without hesitation, they insisted, "Write a book”.

My metaphorical eyebrow raised, (maybe my physical one too); I studied them and asked, “What makes you say that”?

“I’m clairvoyant. I get messages. Write a book", they said.

Amused by their assertive advice, I probed, “Does your clairvoyance indicate what this book is about?” 

“Start simple. You have a story; people need to hear it”, they stated definitively.

I grabbed my drink as the payment was completed, “Ok, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the message.”    Flashback to 2012, when my grandmother stopped by to give me a monetary contribution that she requested I put toward my first book. I told her I didn’t know what I would write about. She told me I’d figure it out.

Flashback to college when I contributed to the collegiate paper and studied advertising and public relations, but switched majors to graphic design because I didn’t enjoy writing on command and preferred art more.

Flashback to high school when I thought I’d be the editor-in-chief of Vogue or ESPN magazine in a corner office one day.

Flashback to elementary school when I’d written my first pick-your-own adventure book. I don’t remember what it was about. I think it was six pages long; I was confident it was award-winning.

Flash forward... What will my book be about? What is my story? Who needs to hear it? Does this type of scenario unfold naturally, or is it digging for buried treasure with no X marks the spot? I don't know, but I'm super happy for my sister-in-law and brother. I wish them the best, always! <3

I’ll add authoring a book to my list of future conquests.

I turned off my shops (Amazon Prime was still available since they ship it) while we were gone. We were away over the pond and it was an incredible experince... one that my daughter and I have day dreamed about since she was 6yrs old or so. She's 21 now.

Visiting Spain, Morocco and Portugal was a great opportunity to be inspired, experience other cultures and languages and appreciate the insane ability we have as humans to create the impossible.  My brain couldn't comprehend the art/architecture. Brilliance.

Back to life as I know it now, but hope to bring a little spice of life and the inspiration of the impossible to those around me. That includes you too! <3

Hello hello. We (you and I) survived another year. :). 2023 will be dedicated to cleaning and streamlining. 

I sell on Etsy, Amazon and now Walmart, but boy howdy... all three look like different companies. Well, I haven't even had time to load anything to Walmart yet (it's a different beast), but Etsy is the red headed step child, so she hasn't been updated in some time.

I'm taking all the feedback from 2022 and incorporating changes for 2023. 

For any poor reviews received in 2022, overwhelmingly they were due to people who ordered based on looking at one photo and reading nothing in the listing.

If a listing had a photo with labels on a bottle, customers would be mad they didn't receive bottles with their labels. 

Listings show a variety of different sized bottles as example of what labels look like on each. What size of bottle did they expect to receive?? I don't know, I just know they were mad they didn't receive any because the pictures showed bottles.

If a listing showed multiple labels in an image, although a customer ordered a "Pack of 01", they were upset when they did not receive an arbitrary quantity.  They expected a "Pack of 01" to be "one pack of (insert arbitrary quantity)".  Although a "Pack of 02", "Pack of 04", "Pack of 08", "Pack of 12" were interpreted properly as the quantity listed.

This was bizarre to me, but it happened often enough that it needed resolved or changed.

Another change implemented for one listing in 2021 will also be carried over to all listings this year.  A couple years ago there was an issue with people not reading size information for a 1" x 1.5" label. Overwhelmingly people would assume it was a larger label.  To resolve this, I mocked up the label next to a quarter.  The poor size reviews stopped immediately and they have all been great reviews since.

Meeting expectations is KEY to leaving you or any customer happy.  Even though I do my best to represent everything accurately, I cannot control individual interpretation.  I see my labels every day, so my knowledge creates a bias. I have to account for that, I have to be better.

I also didn't realize how many people make purchases without reading anything... at all.  All important info is in the title, short bullets, paragraph descriptions, and also in the graphic photos. It's wild to me how it's overlooked.

These are not complaints.  These are lessons.  Insights for how I have to adjust my communication.  Experience that teaches me to be a better business owner.  Keep it coming.  The more kinks I can work out, the better I can provide consistently good service.

That said... It takes a very long time to rework all the graphics that go with each listing.  Then it takes a long time to go through and adjust all the text that goes with each listing.  And because I care about people getting the best version of the listing, it takes time to go through and recreate all the A+ content to enhance the listings.

Eventually I'd like to introduce new products, but not in 2023.  2023 will be redoing everything I already did the past few years. Lol.  It's important though.  Can't build anything off of a wobbly base.  Stick with me.. I'll move forward eventually. :D

I'd love to start sewing again. I have wood working projects that need done after winter goes away. The SKU system will help with streamlining going forward. We'll see what kind of response the new packaging receives.  I updated that toward the end of the year so that I could implement it for 2023.  The first batch of FBA has just been received at the Memphis Amazon warehouse.  We'll see!

Hopefully one day I'll also make an actual website that's helpful and able to be purchased from. Til then... this is what exists. :D <3 - Terri

(I just realized it sounds like I'm spending the whole year poking around on the computer and moving a few graphics around (ha, ya)... Well, I mean, if that's all I was doing, ya, it probably wouldn't take long.  However, I still have to make the products for inventory, then pack product to fill my inventory, still have to fill orders that I ship, still work a full time job outside of CoH and still have to maintain my household as the only provider.  I am a go getter. I believe anything is possible. I'm never doing just one thing. I might try to see my family sometime this year too.. you know.. like my kid.  And my brothers, mom, grandma and other close family.  They all live in the same town, but I see them a few times a year. I'm trying. I'd say I'll try to see friends, but lets be honest, lol, I've neglected them all so much that they don't even try anymore.  I'm thankful for the ones who nolonger live near. Makes my guilt of neglect feel less. I do love them though, just never see them.)

I haven't been gone a full year, I promise. I've been prioritizing new designs and getting those print/cut/photographed/listed online.

There's at least 20 new products listed to date.  (100+ to go still.. woah.)

I haven't updated Etsy in forever, but Amazon has been getting the majority of the updates.  I will transfer the updates to Etsy when I have better organization on Amazon.

I'm finally updating the Conquest of Happiness storefront on Amazon, so check it out for the latest info.

I did hand out some goodie bags recently to the lovely ladies I see at my day job. I designed some volunteer gift packs in 2015...  I have continued to use the "You are Wonderful" artwork for projects here and there.  In return I was also gifted some cake and macaroons!!! Holy moly, they were sooo good. (Thank you Maria! <3 Shout out to Rosie too.. she's always letting me pick out a snack. <3)

Update on those notepads from last year.  I still haven't put them on Amazon, because I'm not sure if I want them with fridge magnets or not.  Amazon reviews for poor sticking fridge magnets are kinda brutal, so I was testing out different options.. and then life got busy again.

Also no one commented on the mini notepads I included with past orders as a fun little freebie, so.. maybe they're not as cool as I think they are?  I use them all the time though.  The "Ass LOL" one is shown on one of my TikTok videos.. lol.  To be fair, this is one my daughter designed... I use her notepads daily!

Yep. I'm currently in the process of making some notepads.

My recent orders have been filled with mini notepads that I made to test out a new project for larger pads.  

They have little sticker kits with them to hang up your notes or post them in fun places.  I really like them. They're fun, cute and make me happy... but I'm biased.

While working on my project, I also had my daughter create a few designs of her own, so we're currently printing, cutting and assembling all of the designs.  

(Fun fact, we both do graphic design. She's currently in her first year of college and I'm always blown away at her abilities. It's not often she decides to get in on a new project, so this one is a special treat! I'm excited to get them done.)

I hope to have them ready at the end of this month :)