Hopefully you are not like me and have all of your presents bought and/or made, all wrapped up and you are just sitting back, relaxing and waiting for the big day next week?

It's been such a busy time for me in December with craft fairs, making gifts and then the little task of moving house and still no way near unpacked and as such my blog has been a little quieter than I would have liked. This will change in 2013 when I hope to blog a lot more frequently and about some (hopefully) interesting ideas!

I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year for 2013. The online shops will remain open over the festive season but orders will not be mailed until January 2nd.

With Christmas a little over a week away are you all prepared with your gift buying or like me - rushing at the last minute to make gifts and think what to get people? Im not normally this under-prepared but I have recently moved house and so my priorities have had to be juggled.

If you have a few people to buy presents for and are short on funds then why not make something personal. Believe me, giving and receiving a handmade gift is far better than something which will only be put in the back of the cupboard until the next charity shop bag comes around.

I thought I would take the opportunity to share some handmade gift ideas with you - just click on the image to find out how to make the gift




 

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about time management and ways that I can work more efficiently with Butterfly Crafts whilst also commuting to work in London, moving house and well, you know, having a bit of a social life.

I got to thinking about how easy it is to waste time "researching" on Pinterest or checking out Facebook and how those five or ten minutes can really add up and if combined what could I have achieved in that time?

I set myself ten minutes to think of different things I could do to help my business in the space of ten minutes, or whilst drinking a really lovely mug of coffee:

1. Write a blog post - If you are going to have a blog then you really should keep it up-to-date and that doesn't mean you need to write lengthy essays, even just posting a picture will keep content fresh. A friend of mine Colt Pixy has her Work Table Wednesdays which is purely a picture showing what she is working on.
2. List a new product -  If you have regular visitors to your website they will get bored of only seeing the same products for sale or that you have not created anything new. Adding a new product a day or a few a week will keep them interested but also be really good from an SEO point of view.
3. Send a meaningful tweet - Have you read a blog post lately that you loved or a news article? Seen a fab new product that you are dying to share with the world? Tweet the link to your followers as its good to break up "promo" tweets with more meaningful content
4. Edit some photos -If you're like me with product photography, you take a bunch of photos and then they just sit there until you have time to edit them and that means you also don't have images for new listings (see #2), so whilst you mull over a mug of chai, edit a few photos so they are ready for when you have a few minutes to make a new product listing.
5. Tidy up! - This could be your work space or your kitchen surface but spending ten minutes tidying up will help free the clutter of your mind. A tidy work space will help you be more productive and also protect your materials/supplies and if you're sitting there trying to find inspiration but all you can think of is the dirty dishes in sink, that's not going to help anyone now is it?
6. Respond to emails - have a dedicated time of day when you will check your emails and respond to enquiries, you dont have to respond within 33 seconds of receiving the email, that may indicate that you are just sitting on the computer/ipad/iphone etc but within 24hours maximum is courteous.
7. Update your profile - If you are a savvy business person you will no doubt have profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and goodness knows where else for social media. But how up-to-date are your profiles? 
8. Send out an e-newsletter - Do you have an e-mailing list? When was the last time you communicated with people? If you have a new line of products out or have received an award, send out a bulletin to update your customers.
9. Brainstorm - Ever feel like your inspiration has run dry? If inspiration strikes sit down and sketch out an idea or write notes for something in an ideas book that you can come back to another time.
10. Go outside - Getting some fresh air is good for your business and for your health. Taking a few minutes break will help your mind and in turn keep you focuses so you don't become so bogged down in the minute details of everything. It is important to see the bigger picture, its also important to get away from the computer screen and give your eyes a rest.

So, if you only have ten minutes to improve your business - what would you do?

(Oh - see that lovely picture up there? Thats taken by a very talented photographer at Hudson Photographic)