Misc. Writings

One Year in Business

Written by Ellie Steltz on 02/26/18

Last Wednesday marked the one year anniversary of my first sale in Misc. Delights Co. I can’t help but take a moment to look back over this year and reflect on how my first year of business has gone. It has been a pretty big life change to have a business to keep up with. I had no idea what I was doing, but I wanted to dive in and give it a shot. It has been so much fun, and so exhausting. So exciting and so disheartening. Name an emotion and you can bet that I’ve felt it.

There were definitely hurdles I didn’t expect when I opened. For example, when I first opened my shop, I didn’t register it correctly for my state, so I had to shut it down for a few months at the end of the summer (much longer than I expected) and simply wait for applications to go through and for things to get approved. It was embarrassing, and trying, and a good time to step back and reevaluate my goals. Also, I’ve had to learn how to balance my time so that David doesn’t become a lower priority than my work, as awful as that sounds. When your work is always at your fingertips, it is hard to shut off work mode. I’ve had to work through pricing for custom work, having to figure out what my time and skills are worth. This was A LOT harder than I ever could have imagined. To be able to recognize that what I design has value to people.

Those are some of the challenges I’ve faced, but there has been so much good as well. I’ve also had such encouraging feedback from customers that has just filled me to the brim. People actually buy things that I make! That in itself has just blown me away. I got to work with an amazing candle company, Candelles, to design a candle, which was a dream! I’ve been able to work with clients to create something special as a gift or for their business. It is such a treat to help bring to fruition something that matches what someone had envisioned in their mind. And it is just so much fun dreaming up new products.

Overall, the shop has been growing much slower than I thought it would while at the same time I am simply amazed that it has come so far. I love creating products that can be used to encourage others or simply to bring a touch of beauty into their lives. I’ve gone from selling only greeting cards to offering calendars, notebooks, mugs and candles! All of which I hope to continue to add to. I just finished up my first custom business card design for a client, which was so stretching and rewarding.

I see a lot of exciting things in the future. I have big dreams for this little shop of mine and I am so thankful to every one of you who is here, listening to my story, supporting and encouraging me in many different ways.

All my love,

Ellie

Misc. Delights Co. is focused on encouraging personal connections and using environmentally friendly resources so we are loving on the earth while we love on those dear to us!