Starting A Small Business

Afternoon Coffee & Switching Up Poshmark

It’s 2:30 & I just made coffee in my camera mug. These days, the inspiration to get up early is dwindling. This social distancing has become so isolating that I’m about to forget humanity is even out there. I’m thankful that I do have pets that bring comfort during this time of absolute confusion as to what to do during the day. In 2.5 hours my husband will be off of work and we will venture to Walmart to get some containers. The amount of items that I have to donate is turning into a pyramid. I’m about to dig a big hole and throw it all in. Hence, why I need containers.

A few days ago I came up with the idea to change my direction in Poshmark. Recently, I have switched from selling clothing to home decor. This was a big decision in and of itself. Then before I can really get going on that, the Corona Virus hits and I end up shutting my selling platforms down. I will tell you, it has given me a lot of time to think. A challenge I face is whether or not a reseller should actually like the items they sell. I’ve come to the conclusion that it really just depends on the person.

I can only speak for myself (obviously) but I need to sell items that I can relate to. Be that in an artistic, spiritual, emotional, etc, kind of way. Ive decided I’m going to really focus on self care because it is something that I’ve recently become passionate about. America as a whole seems to stay burned out. Whether it is from stress, financial trouble, or other things. When you forget to do kind things for yourself (mind, heart, body) you forget to love yourself. I have an opportunity with my Youtube channel and selling apps to help with this. This idea totally sparked in the darkness. But I currently feel led to sell self care items. Let us see how it goes.

Before I go any further, I want to put out this one piece of advice. Everyone can see what you write, post, or upload on the internet. Therefore, if you have any really good business ideas, you may want to invest a $1 in a notebook that only your eyes see. I love that people share & I’ve personally gotten so much inspiration from others. But when it comes to selling, you want to try to think outside the box a little. Poshmark, Mercari, and Ebay are such large platforms that you are literally selling alongside millions of resellers. Basically, if you find your edge, hide the hell out of it.

I do have a business notebook that I am going to be utilizing more to build this business vision that I have. The other day I wrote a list of items that made sense for me to sell, involving self care. I’m going to work on trying to make that list longer. With this new idea, I realized that the majority of things I am selling in my Poshmark closet will not work. This is not devastating, considering I really need a change. There were some items that could stay though, thankfully. Things would look a lot more promising if thrift stores were actually open. This challenges me to get creative though and see what I can find inside my house.

If you would be interested in checking out my Poshmark closet, Farm N Sunflowers, please click here.

This is completely random but I want to try making faux stained glass window art. I have been seeing some really beautiful stained glass on Instagram lately. It inspired me to get a book on the real thing. Off I went to Amazon to order a DIY stained glass art book. A week or so later, after receiving this book, I realized making stained glass is way harder than I thought. After putting that idea on hold, I saw someones stained glass on Facebook the other day. I realized that the artist used the faux stained glass art technique to make hers. Off I go to Pinterest to figure out how to do this. Thankfully, faux stained glass is way easier to do than the real thing! If you are interested in faux stained glass, check out thewhoot’s blog on the topic here. Hoping to find these supplies at Walmart tonight.

Goodwill Story: Can I Be Rude?

Today, my husband and I went to Goodwill after church. I used to enjoy this particular thrift store a lot more. It is now over run with resellers that are quite aggressive. A crowd of people literally follow the bin of new items out and grab the items off the shelves as soon as the touch it. It’s definitely intense. We still go though because, clearly, I continue find things. The majority of the items in this buggy I ended up leaving the store with. When I first got there, I found this “Home Sweet Home” sign rather quickly. It was laying on the shelf with all of the frames stacked on top of each other. Though I did not know at the time, this farmhouse crochet sign was going to become a prime topic of my blog at 1:30 AM.

Long after this sign had been added to my buggy, a random customer came up to me. Her exact words were “Can I be totally rude?” How in the world am I supposed to answer a question like that? What kind of question even is that? I thought for a moment she was going to correct or criticize me in some way. The awkward thing is that competitive people are often so polite so it throws your expectations of what is about to occur off. The customer continued with this question: “Are you buying that home sweet home sign?” Once again, how do I answer this? This item is in my buggy. I didn’t put it there to give it a stroll. I told her I was considering it but that if I didn’t, I could let her know. She explained that she was leaving soon but could she take a look at the sign. I wanted to say “I have no idea who you are, you are trying to buy by items, and now you want to hold them.” I let her take a look at it though because I am not good at being mean to polite people on a mission. She continued to educate me on the kind of crochet that it was and complimented the frames that I had picked out to go with it. I told her the type of style that I was going for and she agreed it would work well. Before she left she told me that I should definitely get the sign. Looking back, I am trying to figure out if I was in fact in the twilight zone, not Goodwill. This is one of the reasons I made this blog though. I’m going to look back and have a good laugh one day.

If you are interested in the other items in my buggy, as long as you don’t want to take them, I will tell you what I purchased. (Just Kidding). The light pink shabby chic vase I picked up. It has nice weight to it and the color was appealing to me. I paid $3.99 for the vase which I think was fair. The Green Bubble Glass Murano Style Ruffled Bowl/Vase I found in the vase section as well, for $2.99. I got it originally to sell, however, the more I look at it the more I want to keep it. I’m going through a phase where I really like glass, which has not happened since I was young & collecting tiny glass animals. The white shabby chic votive candle holder I found on an end cap. I’ve found that candles bring me peace and like books, I tend to collect them. I could see this piece in our new house, so I decided to add it to my growing collection of items. Art is a category which I have no business buying right now because I already have so much of it. It’s in our attic & storage unit. However, today I felt the strong urge to get another large piece. I loved the scene of the woman and little girl with dog. The colors were beautiful and I was just drawn to it. For $2.99 I had to bring it home. If I have a little girl, I can see it going in her nursery. Just like I can see the elephant canvas and world map that is stored also going in there. The struggle with art is real.

I almost forgot to mention that I bought a barn while I was there for $2.99. Yes, you heard that right. I am now the new owner of a barn. It is actually a barn display shelf that is great need of a face lift. It was sturdy though and inspired me. I can see repainting it, adding floral, and displaying some of my breakable items on it. When there is potential, it is worth it to give it a shot. If I am being realistic, when am I going to have the chance to purchase a barn again? Especially for $2.99!

My husband found some good items too. He got a pair of jeans, collector Donkey Kong Jenga Game, and fun long sleeve top. My husband is actually incredibly patient as I look around at the thrift store. He looks for a chair & plays his phone game. I greatly appreciate him for this and for guarding the buggy when I leave it next to his chair to shop more. Nerf guns and hats are his favorite things to find. He’s very particular though about the type of hats he likes. They need to have 5 panels or are no good. I ordered him one with hot dogs for Valentine’s Day off of Poshmark that he personally picked out.

While I have been writing this entire blog, my gray cat named Snuggs has been sitting posted on one of my legs. He always wants to be next to me or on me so that he does not miss out. I’m sure he is wondering what in the heck I am typing about. He is also trying to levitate my cereal bowl over to his face. Snuggs is incredibly loyal and invested in Poshmark. He takes his percentage of the business in soft cat treats.

Unicorn Plush Haul

Today is Valentine’s Day. I should be feeling more romantic than ever considering the amount of conversation hearts I stuffed in my mouth last night. I was having killer cramps & trying to find some form of sugar in our house at 1 AM. I’m sure my PMS greatly affected my mental stability when it came to thrifting items yesterday. I clearly had sweets on the mind when I went to Goodwill because the largest plush I found was a Peeps Candy Bunny. My friends, had he been marshmallow filled, he would have been eaten before I got to the register.

I’m assuming that the previous Peep bunny owner also donated the other plushes I found. Each stuffed animal I plopped into my buggy was unusually soft, sparkly, and multicolored. If you ever find something you like, always look for a second. I can’t tell you how often I find matching items if I take the time to look. This is what happened when I discovered both of the mini llamas. I knew immediately I wanted to sell them together, as they were basically twins. Unicorns also still seem quite desirable. I’ve learned that animals, other than horses, can be unicorns too. I found a sparkly owl and pig in this category. It’s confusing but I have learned not to try to make sense of anything in life. Sweet purple Easter egg looking hippo also had to come along with us. Just because, how often exactly do you see a pastel hippo plush?

The last two items in the buggy are Chocolate Lab Pillows. The ladies that worked at Goodwill joked with me as I considered those pillows. There was a Poo Poo pillow that one of the ladies recommended going along with the two puppies. I definitely knew that was going to be a nope. I have never understood the trend with fecal matter. Who decides what becomes popular and plastered all over every retail item possible? I mean really. The puppy pillows are very sweet though. I am selling them separately but am hoping they will be sold together. I’ve definitely sold throw pillows on Poshmark. If you take a quick trip over to Marshalls you will realize how insanely priced one single pillow is. I bought a Christmas dog pillow there last year and still cannot believe I paid what I did for it. This is why everything I own is from a thrift store. It keeps me from having a life threatening anxiety attack when I go to the register.