Winter Passes, Now it is Time for Business to Begin!
Well, we've had another fun filled month of coughs, weezes, fevers, and chance to try out new and interesting (proscribed) drugs this month! Seriously, I am going to be very glad to see the end of this Winter season, which just seems to have been full of nasty little bugs, most of which seem to have found it necessarily to visit our house. However, the days are getting longer, the air a bit less wet and dank and people are starting to feel like spending less that 12 hours in bed, so I would say that things are on the up and up.
Meanwhile, we are having all the fun and games of starting up a new family business with all the paperwork, tax forms, and details you never think about until you are in the middle of something, often 10 minutes before you are supposed to have a project finished. House-mate and Business Manager, The Lizard, always the wiz at such thing; has a wonderful chart of possible advertisers - how much they charge and how big the advertisement. They all look great until you realize that the 2,000 plus dollars is for one issue or that the ad in question is on page 43 and 1 inch high. But never fear, there are more small publications that an up and coming traditional hand-crafted silver jewelry business with an Irish bent can explore for possible customers. I didn't even know there was an entire journal dedicated to World Wide Irish Country Dancing...or a publication called "New Witch" for smart young witches 15 to 25 demographic...reading these write ups is an education in itself. You would be amazed just how many magazines will tell you everything you didn't want to know about them in glowing detail but try to omit telling you their circulation - which might be anything from 20,000 to the editor, his cousins and 200 close friends...this makes a big difference when you are decided where to buy your first few precious ads. I'm sure other readers who have started small businesses have had the same problem, decisions decision...and whatever you do you just know that 90 percent of people are going to bin the magazine without reading your ad anyway. Unless you can target it very carefully.
OK so we figure we will start with our main social organizations magazine, which shall remain nameless but is targeted towards people in a certain world wide club that appeals to folks who like to dress up in pre-1600's clothing..Those in the know will understand exactly what this magazine is. Unfortunately, even though they supposedly started taking advertising a few years ago in order to help members find "services" it turns out that they have a rather high opinion of their worth and are priced as high as some other magazines which a much higher circulation. Sadly, we will have to give them a miss for now, since we can advertising in the local newsletters for less than half the cost of the magazine itself; at least now we know why we keep seeing only the same three or four companies issue after issue. Someday we will probably use them, but not just yet.
Then there are all the free sites for merchants to list on, the web has really changed the face of advertising really quickly. Several times I have to clarify to The Lizard that I'm not talking about the magazine rate, but the web site rate which seems to have little or no connection to the hard copy issue. I half jokingly suggest we try radio and make both the Lizard and my husband (the Wolf) start making gaging noises when I deadpan in my best radio voice "Remember, Everyday is St. Patrick's Day with blankity-blank Irish jewelry Company!" I don't get any further with this before I hear comments like "Over my Dead Body" and other encouraging reactions to my performance. Oh well, a great career in radio dead before it is started, until I can think of another tag line at least.
In any case, since we just started getting our website up, we are in fact a bit too late for St. Paddy's day for this year so the guys are safe for now. Meanwhile, I only need to take several dozen pictures, re-size them, formulate ads and get them up in the website. I have a feeling that St. Paddy's day sale or not, March is going to be a busy and interesting month. I just hope it does not get too interesting in a Chinese sense of the word....
Disaster Cat...on a foggy moonlit Irish night..trying to think of Irish ad copy...