2013: A Retrospective

The past is prologue.

In this 2013 retrospective, I will review my 2013 Resolutions, assess my progress, and use the past year's experience as a springboard for my 2014 Resolutions (which I'll post tomorrow, so stay tuned).

PERSONAL

Keep a daily gratitude journal.   I'd give myself a B+.  

Finish Erin’s graduation quilt.    Big fail. D--.

Eat more veggies.  I did pretty well, but could do better.  I'd give myself a B.

Walk more.  I'm a fair weather walker, but I've definitely increased my walking time and distance. B+.

Read at least one really good book per month.  Check! A.

Drink less Diet Coke.  I gave it up entirely while on the Slim Down Challenge.  A+.

Visit my sons, Tim and Jeff.  Done! A.

Not on the list, but a noteworthy personal accomplishment -- I lost 35 pounds. 

With one exception (not finishing granddaughter Erin's graduation quilt), I did reasonably well in meeting my personal goals for 2013.

ETSY

300+ sales.   I had 301 Pasque Flower sales and 36 Aunt Pheba's Vintage sales, so 337 total. A.             

Create 5 items per week, at least 1 “new” item.  I did pretty well, but many "new" items are cut out but still waiting to be sewn. I'd give myself a B-.

Do at least 2 seasonal promotions.   Check!  I participated in Christmas in July promos, and I had a 25% off coupon code, CYBER25, from late November through Cyber Monday.  I'd give myself an A.

Find creative uses for scraps. I am accumulating ideas, but I haven't turned them into listings yet. C.         

Keep blogging.  I hit a creative dry spell and took a semi-sabbatical during the holiday rush.  C-.                

More Facebook posts.  I did more posts, only about 1/3 directly related to my shop, but I still have relatively few followers.  B.

Limit computer time to less than 1.5 hrs/day.  Another fail.  I significantly reduced Pinterest and Facebook time, but reading blogs, posting comments, writing blog posts and participating in Etsy team  activities still takes way more than 1.5 hours per day most days. So much precious time spent. So little return on that time investment. D.

Other noteworthy Etsy accomplishments for Pasque Flower Creations in 2013 included:

My aqua chevron oven mitt made the Etsy front page!

My bright leaves with orange oven mitts were a prop for a TV commercial shot in NYC by NOLA Films.

I created a special line of oven mitts for the Neighborly boutique in Chicago. 

I had repeat wholesale bib orders from Cambric Lawn, a boutique in Toronto, Canada.

I became more active in posting  "real" Favorites to Pinterest (while limiting time spent browsing on Pinterest), and I began Tweeting many of my new listings (also limiting time spent browsing on Twitter).

AND…

I opened a second Etsy shop, Aunt Pheba’s Vintage on June 1, 2013.

I had 36 sales in 2013 (about 1.5 per week)  so I’m off to a faster start than I experienced with my primary Etsy shop when it opened back in February of 2011.   I currently have 68 items listed in the vintage shop. 

Even though I had a pretty good year on Etsy, I didn't make the Honor Roll.  I still struggle with how to maintain a social media and blogging presence without negatively impacting my productivity. The computer is, as one of my blogging buddies noted, a real "time suck."

My Shop Stats show that way more than 90% of my shop traffic comes from Etsy, Google and Yahoo searches.  (I guess that means my SEO is holding its own.  I'm not lost in the crowd.)  A teeny tiny percentage of my shop traffic is linked to my blog, Facebook, and treasuries.  Last year I had 26,062 views in my Pasque Flower Creations shop.  Only 65 were linked to my blog.  Only 57 came from my Facebook page.  230 came from Pinterest.  

And...I need to improve my photography skills to spiff up my listing photos and add a little more class to the blog.

TTFN

LeAnn