I wanted this blog to be about how to start and run a small biz, but realize that I haven’t been posting much on that subject… Here’s an update on what’s going on with HappyGreen:

I have been working like crazy lately, to get “the line” finished. I put the quotation marks there, because I don’t feel like it is an actual line. I have plenty of design ideas, some realized, and some yet to develop. The designs that have made it through for sale are my personal favourites, and I have tried to be consistent in terms of keeping to a limited numer of themes. There’s still a lot of design ideas to explore, and I don’t want to limit myself at such an early stage, therefore I can’t say that my current selection can be labeled as one line. I want to get my work out there, try out different designs and media, see what sells and what doesn’t, and take it from there.

Searching and shopping for supplies has been an ordeal. I cannot count the hours I have spent surfing the internet and checking out paper sources. One problem has been to find local suppliers with the products I need, to an acceptable cost. I have been checking out suppliers overseas as well, as the US especially has a lot of opportunities. An obstacle with overseas shops and manufacturers, are very often the cost of shipping, if they ship internationally at all. Another problem with US suppliers are the sizes of paper and envelopes. They have a whole different system over there, and it’s difficult, nigh on impossible to find european sized paper, cardstock and envelopes. Buying from overseas is also not a very “green” option. It has been a long ride, but I’m finally content with the suppliers I have found.

So, I have the designs, I have my suppliers, now on to production. I cut, print, score and fold the cards inhouse, and it has taken a lot of trying and failing to get it right. As a perfectionist, I want my cards to be of high quality, even though they are handmade. At the moment, this work takes a lot of time, and quite an amout of ready printed paper has not made it through the quality control. Some of this can be made into other items, such as gift tags, and I might sell the rest in scrap packs. I’m trying to be both environmentaly and cost concious in this business.

The cards are printed and ready, and the next on my to-do list is to set up my Etsy shop. I’m going to have a web shop on my own, but I’m starting out at Etsy. This is partly because I don’t have time before the launch to set up an independent web shop, and partly because I want to test the waters. More on that later.

When I’m finished writing this, I’ll get on with product photography. I have had a first photo session, but it didn’t turn out good enough. Product shots are key, in my opinion, as people will be buying my products without the possibility to see and touch them first. If you are looking for info on product photography, I wrote a post a while ago with some good links that can be worth checking out.

Also, banner design (for Etsy), packaging design and businesscards are on my agenda the next few days. So far, I must say that setting up business is a lot of work, more so than I thought when I started all this. I think part of it comes from the fact that I have had to learn how to navigate in Illustrator to do my designs. This has been very time consuming (but fun!). There’s also a lot of small details that have to be figured out, that are boring, but necessary. Like what to charge for shipping. Where to find good shipping materials.

If you are considering starting up yourself, I highly reccomend that you don’t underestimate the time that goes into getting everything ready for your first sale! I started this process when I was pregnant with our second child (she’s 5 months now), and working full time on the business with a 3,5 year old and a newborn to look after has been impossible. But, I’ll get there in the end! :)

Through all this, I have been a repeat visitor on a lot of business related sites. I especially reccomend Make it blog, the business category at Five and a Half, and Paper Peeps, a forum for paper/cards/stationery businesses.