Tag business plans

Planning in a Business

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So things have been a lot lately.

I have 19 days until the Isle of Wight County Fair, and a good chunk of inventory still to make.

I will be streaming tonight from 10pm until I either can’t physically crochet or until its time for me to get the kiddo ready for school tomorrow.  www.twitch.tv/octojellycrochet

All of of the blog series I have mentioned this year, will start in January of 2026. My plan between now and Decemeberr 31 is to get all the blog series posts (Cryptids, Lovecraft, Tea, Crochet Patterns) written and scheduled for January thu March.

Somewhere in the next 4 motnhs, I will also start recording YouTube videos and start recording podcast things.

 

I have a list, broken up by Quarter and Month, on what I want to get done and by when. I’m trying something new with business planning this coming year. I have hopes that it will help my stay on track better.

My list is on a note pad and in a paper planner. While I do make use of multiple google calenders, I find using a paper tracker helps me focus better.

I know there are people who swear by computer programs, but honestly, between the business, my day job and my child and his  school and scout schedules, I’ll stick to my white board/ gooogle calendar and paper agenda.

 

 

There will be a product update in the shop following the Isle of Wight County Fair.

 

 

Business Update

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So, the last couple of weeks have been a lot.

Streaming:

I took a step back from streaming, due to starting to process of fixing my teeth. The process will take a little longer than I first thought, but I know the end results will be worth it.

As a result, I will come back to streaming, I just won’t be showing my face, as I am missing a good majority of my teeth at the moment.

I’ve decided the next few streams will be making product and listening to audiobooks. Look for a poll on Facebook, Blusky and X to help me decide which book.

With Twitch’s Affiliate changes, I’ve decided to hold off building the newest lego set on stream for my first Affiliate stream.

 

Product

I am still working on getting product made. I have 2 fairly big (for me) shows coming up and I want to make sure I’m prepared.

I’m making a couple of large 1 off pieces and a good selection of my usual pieces. I do plan of adding some mini-Nessies and mini-Mothman back to the collection as well.

I’m also working on a large Cthulhu and a few Halloween inspired pieces, but more on those as it gets closer to October.

I actually have a few, large and wired pieces in the works, most of which probably won’t debut until after the holiday season.

 

Blog

Still working on various blog series, some of which will coincide with the offer product, some that won’t.

My day job has been extra chaotic, which is why I haven’t been about to get any of the planned series off the ground like I want to.

 

Fourth Quarter/Almost Home

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So, it’s been a minute since I’ve really done a good business update.

For that, I apologize.

I’m coming up on my last show for 2024, so if you’re a horror fan, I will be vending at the GalaxyCon : Nightmare Weekend in Richmond, Va October 11-13.

I’ll do a full rundown of all of the shows I did this year sometime in November. I had a couple of not so good shows and a couple of really great shows.

Due to things going on at my day job, I’ve been testing out allowing AI to assist with SEO and Social Media. I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but until things settle at the day job, I’ll keep testing it. Once things settle, I’ll take a look at all the numbers and decide if I’m going to keep using it or not.

There will be blogs just about everyday in October, and the WTF series will be posted on Mondays for those of you (like me) who enjoy the morbid side of fiber arts.

I’m delving into more pattern and stitch collection posts for the rest of this year. There will also be some new AI patterns as I test out the various AI programs and their abilities to generate crochet patterns. Still debating if I’m going to sell the pieces here or in my Ko-Fi shop.

 

I have some ideas for YouTube in 2025. I’m working on getting things organized for that, so that I can start recording soon.Since Quality Control is adjusting to his new school really well, I will actually have time during the day to record, since I am no longer homeschooling. I’ll make a post sometime in December about those ideas and when to expect the videos.

 

I’m also working on getting a regular Twitch stream going, but that probably won’t really get going until after the October show.

 

 

 

Upcoming Plans

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So, I touched on this a little in my monthly newsletter. If you haven’t signed up, I do ask that you do, as I announce sales and updates  there usually a week or two before I announce on Social Media.

2024 has been an interesting whirlwind of things (so far) for me.

While I have done slightly less (and yes I’m counting the 3 upcoming in this count) shows compared to 2023, I’m actually less than $200 away from what I made all of last year.  All but 2 of the shows I’ve done this year were new to me and larger (in visitor count) to the 2023 shows.

A side effect of this is that I’ve actually put more thought into my display set up for indoor shows. It definitely looks more cohesive and less haphazard now.

If you haven’t noticed the updated header on the website yet, I now have a Commissions page. It’s still evolving, but there’s now a form for inquiries. I do plan to add specific forms for Dragons and Chthulu in the coming months.

There will be one product update in November, once all the shows for 2024 are finished. I just have too much product to make in the next 3 months (plus a kid and a day job) and won’t have time to add product  to the website before then.

I’ve decided not to start posting on YouTube until after Jan 1 2025. This is before many reasons. A few of those reasons are because of the kiddo being under foot when I’m not at my day job. He starts school in a week, so I’m planning on getting some recording done then. Twitch streams will start back up then as well.

I’m going to be trying something a little different with the social media content starting Sept 1. Follow me on Insta/Facebook for more on that. I’m still working out all of those details, so I’ll share more on that next week.

If you need to find me on my socials, use https://linktr.ee/OctojellyCrochet

Is it August Already?

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So…with in the next 90 days, I will have 3 events.

These will be my 3 largest and 3 final events for 2024.

The September event will also be my longest event since I started doing events in 2020.

I am planning on using all of my free time to make a lot of products, some of which will be never before seen product.

I have also started experimenting with glow-in-the-dark yarn. Pictures are coming to the social media soon.

If you are interested, I’ll be streaming tomorrow (Sunday 8/4) from about 9:30 PM until  6 AM or  until I feel like sleeping, whichever happens first.

The regular streaming schedule will start back up after the 26th of August, as that is when Quality Control will be starting 1st Grade.

I also plan on getting a regular blog schedule actually hammered out before then, too. So far, I have the tea blog done to Wednesdays, and the Fact/Opinion days are on Fridays, but I’m debating moving those to Saturdays.

What do you think?

The Brand Overhaul Starts Today

Octojelly Crochet Studio,LLC 1 Comment
If you’ve been following me on any of the socials (https://linktr.ee/OctojellyCrochet) than you’ve seen whispers on what I am about to elaborate on.

Since October of 2023 I have been putting serious research into how social media works for small businesses. I’ve take all of that research and come up with a new marketing plan for the business. I’ll be introducing this plan in phases. Starting with overhauling this website , the Facebook page and the Instagram profile. Phase 2 will be the YouTube, Twitch and TikTok channels. Phases 3 will be new, steady blog series, some revived old ones, and a few new ones, and a steady Twitch schedule. Phase 4 plan involves YouTube videos and a posting schedule.

I’ve decided to open Commissions for late June and July. I may keep them open longer than that, but that depends on how the next 2 months go. I’m currently working on a form to streamline the process. The link for commissions will go live at the end of June. I’ll be sure to announce on all the socials when it does.

I have a couple of new blog series planned. The one I am most excited about is a Friday small business series where I’ll be talking about a fellow small business that I think will appeal to my readers. They  won’t always be a crochet business. If you know a small business that might be interested in this, please let me know.

I will be streaming on Twitch in June. The plan is to stream atleast 2 days a week. Not sure which 2 days, but I will send out a weekly email with the streaming schedule as well as post it on my Instagram.

I have IAWIA on June 2 at Tradition Brewing Company in Newport News, Virginia. There will be a product update in the week afterwards. There will also be a sale June 16-22. More details on that after IAWIA.

If you like the changes, or don’t like the changes, please let me know. If you have suggestions for me, please let me know. I am open to any suggestions.



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Mid- April Check-In

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So…how is everyone doing?

I started a new day job 2 weeks ago. As a result, I’m redoing a lot of my social media plans. Certain things (Youtube/Twitch) are going to be figured out on a week by week schedule now.

Everything else should be on a regular schedule starting in May, as I will be using the rest of this month when not at the day job, hanging out with the kiddo, or making product for the upcoming shows, working on the May social media posts.

In other news, the blog part of this site is now 5 years old. I got the achievement notification last week and didn’t realize it because of how insane the last 2 weeks have been.  Isn’t the notification pretty?

If you follow me on any of the socials, I’m sure you’ve noticed that some of the posts are more cohesive when I post them on a regular basis.

I’ve discovered Canva and how useful it can be. I do promise not to go overboard with it.

I do have 3 shows between May 4 and June 2.  If you are planning on coming to any of the event, make sure to stop by my booth to say hi.

Running a Business is Not for the Faint of Heart.

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I apologize for any rambling. As I write this, it is 1:53 AM EST.

So, for a while now, I’ve been planning blog posts. I have pages of research. What I didn’t have, was motivation to actually write them. Until recently anyways. If you want more information on that, see the 2 blog posts for this one in this category.

I just finished inputting 212 draft titles onto the site. I have roughly 50 more to add, but that can wait until I’ve gotten atleast a couple hours of sleep. I plan to actually write all the blogs over the next couple of weeks, and start posting them on a schedule before the end of the month.

I went to a small business meet-up tonight. I confirmed something that I’ve actually suspected for awhile. I am, currently, the only crocheter, in Hampton Roads, that specializes in TTRPG/Fantasy creatures. I really do need to figure out how to capitalize on that.

I’ve spent the last week or so, updating all of my social media research, and doing more research on YouTube videos. The last time I did YouTube research was 3-4 year ago, so I know what I have is severely out of date. I plan on recording/editing new videos (and re-record) existing ones this month so I can start posting those in March.

I will most likely be updating all of my social medias this month. I’ve sadly, neglected some of them. I am working on changing that and getting on a better update schedule.

If you are in/near Smithfield, Virginia this weekend, I will be at the Wharf Hill Brewing Co. both days selling product. There will be a product update, and a photo update on either Monday or Tuesday next week.

Changes coming

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Hey everyone,

So starting in February, I’ll be posting YouTube videos. I’ve started recording how to make the patterns from the granny square series (https://octojellycrochetstudio.com/?cat=729445598). I’ll also be re-recording the Crochet Tools video that is already up and the Yarn Types Video. With all of that, there will be 22 videos going up on February.

I’ve also been researching older crochet patterns to post on the site and working on posts about my opinion on the yarns in my collection as well ass the crochet books in my collection.

I have taken a small break from the tea posts, but those will be making a come back sometime in March, as I work to make this site more crochet/fiber art oriented. The Crafts around the world series will return in March as well.

I also plan on delving into writing my own patterns this year. I may post some of them onto this blog. I’ll be starting with DnD Monsters. 

What do you think?

Update Time

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Hi Hi.

So I added a newsletter sign up to the site. I don’t plan on having the actual newsletter go live until Feb. 5, but I figured I’d get ahead on getting people to sign up for it.

It is 100% free.

The newsletter with be weekly, on Mondays and contain information about what events I have coming up, and sales I may be planning and when the product updates will be happening.

I decided to have this information in a weekly newsletter, rather than a weekly blog because I don’t really enough going on at the moment to justify an entire blog post every week to it. There will still be a blog post at least once a month with all the business updates for the month though.

In reference to my previous (to this one) blog, Im restructuring my blog schedule as well as streaming lining the rest of my social media posting schedules. I’ve got my fingers crossed, that by doing all of this, it will help with my anxiety. After 6+ years (of it being this bad), you’d think I would have that handled by now.

If you’re going to be in, or near Smithfield, Virginia Feb 10 & 11, I will be at the Small Business Market being held by Wharf Hill Brewery Co. from 1pm to 6pm (Feb 10) and 12pm to 4pm (Feb 11). This will be my next in-person sales event.

My 2 in-person events after this will be in May.