New Store: Kimi's Kustoms - ADULT

How bizarre that I haven't really announced this "officially" yet, and already people are flocking to our new store - Kimi's Kustoms - ADULT

I know what you're thinking... "But Kimi, I thought you weren't going to open that until next year?" Well, I wasn't. But through some poking, prodding, encouragement and some down right begging, I finally caved and said "Oh well..why not?" So, the adult store is open and has gained popularity through very little work.

But what I can't figure out is how search engines have it indexed already. I mean, that usually takes at least a few days, if not longer. I did upload my items to Froogle, but I don't know how people are finding my store so easily. I thought I was looking at the wrong traffic report, but I triple checked (I thought I was losing my mind) and I'm not.

Either way, I'm excited for this stores overnight popularity (wouldn't it have been funny if I managed a sale already? lol). It was much easier to set up than Kimi's Kustoms - FAMILY. Maybe it was because I had a very specific niche in mind that took me ages to figure out with the Family store. Or maybe it's simply because I know what I'm doing this time.

My next step is to somehow integrate the new store into my stand alone site www.kimiskustoms.com although how, I'm not real sure yet. I went in last night and at least linked the two stores together as sister sites, but the main website and blog both need some sort of integrated look. I'm thinking of making a Shop Family / Shop Adult button for my website. I dunno.. we'll see. It'll happen today - and that's all I know!

Labels: adult, advertising, affiliates, cafe press, cafepress, clothes, funny, gifts, goals, kids, life, marketing, money, shopping, stores

Darn Store Price Changer!

For the past two days, the feature on CafePress that lets a shop keeper change their prices store wide, has been broken. This is driving me bonkers. I know they are working on it, but it doesn't look good on my end.

My prices haven't been "sticking" for a week or so now. Instead, I've been putting in the new designs and products and simply hiding the sections until I got the prices fixed - by using the store wide price changer. With that broken, I now have a bunch of hidden sections in my store because the prices are all wrong and it would take me years to change all of that to the correct prices. Bleh.

So now, it seems like I haven't added anything new in the past few days - when I really have. I usually add new stuff every week..at least one new design. I'm trying to finish gearing up for Christmas and have several designs just sitting and waiting to be put on my virtual shelves. And waiting is costing me time..and money. Poo on you CafePress store wide changer thingy ma bob! lol

Labels: blogging, cafe press, cafepress, christmas, commission junction, goals, google, holidays, kids, marketing, money, Online, search engine optimization, shirts, shopping

Cafe Press Community Forums

In my short time at CafePress (well, short in comparison to many shop keepers), I've learned a few things exceptionally vital to running and maintaining an online store.

One of the most important things was to really listen to the veteran shop keepers, read the community forums and keep an open mind to changing things to make them work best for your potential customers. I've done all of this, and it has helped me so much and is honestly the secret to my success thus far. But, is there a time when you need to simply walk away for a while and do your own thing?

I wonder this, because being apart of the community seems to leave you open for criticism you didn't ask for. It's one thing to go in the New Design / Shop Feedback forum and ask for it.. but to be given it on a near daily basis gets old. Being told that you aren't doing something "right" or another shop keeper telling you that a design would "look so much better if you did..." just gets old. Well maybe my customers prefer it my way...and in any case, I'm not selling it to you anyways.

Another issue I've come across is that half of the community is extremely nosey. I've never really had the desire to check up on other shops to see what they had or what they may be doing. I don't have that kind of time! My time is better spent making new designs and getting them up in my store. But yet, every day when I check my counters for traffic, a good portion of my visits come directly from the Cafe Press Community Forums. Why? I mean, I understand affiliates looking for stuff...and I can usually tell it's affiliates by what pages they looked at. But why all those other people?

Yet another issue in direct link to the forums are shop keepers desperate to find another shopkeeper with a similar design so they can get upset. I've seen it far too many times. One week, I had complaints about a pink journal with the word "LOVE" and dog tags on it. This week, it's my Dare to be Different shirt with the penguins on it. Come on! Give it a break people. Six billion people in this world.. more than one is bound to run across the same idea at some point. If the colors, pictures and everything about it physically are different and only the concept remains, then why get upset over it!? Other shop keepers have stuff recently made that looks like mine and I really don't care! I'm more worried about what I am doing...

I've also seen quite a few shop owners get upset over customer criticism. Um..they are purchasing stuff from you. If they don't like your stuff or it comes out badly, they have the right to their opinions and can say so. If someone likes Shop Owner A's shirt better than Shop Owner B's shirt, then oh well. Better luck next time!

Now don't get me wrong.. I've really enjoyed the forums for the most part. There are some very nice people there with tons of useful information! It's been a great place to chat with people who have common goals and interests. But I wonder if there is a time when you need to simply walk away for a while and do your own thing and be original - maybe offer up something that not every single shop has done 101 times over.

Labels: cafe press, cafepress, clothes, crabby, gifts, goals, marketing, shopping

I'm Turning 22.

My birthday is coming up and I'm hitting the big ol' 22. Just five more days and we're there It's funny.. because when I was eleven years old, 22 seemed so ancient! And here I am, double that age now.

My birthday is throwing a lot into perspective for me. Staying at home with a child, running my CafePress store and being married, aren't exactly things I expected to be doing right now. Don't get me wrong..I LOVE my life. This just isn't what I saw myself doing.

I had plans. They are very different from my plans now..but I did have some. I imagine if life hadn't lead me down a new path four years ago, I'd still be in college working towards law school. Yikes. I shudder to even think of that. Law school is FAR from any plans or ideas I have for my life. Why in the world did I ever want to go to law school!?

What are the new plans? Well, I'm following a 5 year goal (it's more of a set of goals to accomplish in the coming years..not really a plan lol). Well, actually it's a 4 year plan since my husband and I came up with it a year ago. A lot of the plans hang in the balance. I have goals...I just have to wait for them. That's what makes being a military spouse so frustrating! The hurry up and wait is annoying. I want out of Georgia. I want my husband out of the military - two things that WILL happen.....it's just going to take a lot of time, surgeries, paper work, patience (something I have less and less of these days) and what have you in order to get there. I don't know if it'll happen in three months from now, or a year from now!

1. I want to go back to school. I don't even really need a degree. I don't care about that right now. I think that's why I wasn't very successful with college the first time. It was boring and I dreaded going. If I'm going to spend a fortune on education, I want to spend time learning what I want to learn. Right now, that's graphic and website design. Everything I know, I learned by tinkering around for the past 3 years. No one taught me any of that. If I can learn all that I know by trial and error the past few years, just imagine what I can learn in a class!

2. I want my own home - something that's probably at least a year away. I know I have to wait until my husband is out of the Army. That's a given. I know that we will immediately move up to Connecticut where he's from. We'll probably stay with some of his family for a little while until we're settled back into the state and he gets a job. I don't think we're going to bother with renting again. We've been renting our current town home for a year and a half...and it has definitely taught me the ups and downs of renting vs owning (owning coming out very much on top too).

3. We want more children. Actually, we tried to conceive for a little while, but some some physical issues weren't allowing for it (and still aren't). I'm not sure if we should even try for a while. I feel like this is a bad time..although really, is there a good one? I don't know when Joe's med board will be complete or when we'll be moving. Will I be pregnant then? Will I be waddling around 8 or 9 months along? lol What will Hailey think? If I were pregnant tomorrow, she'd be about 19 months old. Would she be ready then to take on the role of big sister? Would I be ready to take on the role of mommy to toddler AND baby? lol

All of these.... and I'm about to turn 22. lol Like I said.. not even close to the plan I thought I'd be following right now. Four years ago, I would have been content to just not be living under my parent's roof! haha I imagined I'd be living in my own apartment with a room mate or something right now. Well, I guess I kind of am..except I'm married to one of my room mates and the other one drools a lot.

I wonder what's to come for our family in the coming years. I wonder what my goals will be when I hit 25. Yikes!...25!? lol

Labels: babies, birthday, family, goals, Hailey, Joe, kids, Kimi, life