Beam me up Scotty!

When I was a teenager, I had a boyfriend that was a MAJOR trekkie - long before we even used that term. He would come over to the house to pick me up for a date and next thing I knew we were plopped on the couch watching Star Trek - ugh! All he talked about was Star Trek, Captain Kirk, Spock, etc. If I heard "Beam me up Scotty" or "Space, the final frontier" or stats on the Enterprise one more time, they would have put me in a straight jacket long ago.

Oh, wait - we're not talking about THAT kind of Enterprise!

I recently purchased the "In Voice" program from Paul of Enterprise Solutions. To quote from his Etsy Profile, Paul is a "Microsoft Certified Professional and a Senior Software Engineer for a major public safety company. I am also the owner operator of Enterprise Solutions which allow me some additional diversity."

I am far from a computer geek (no offense Paul ;), but this program made me feel like one. What I mean by this is, it is very simple to use and it comes with a user friendly instruction manual. Oh and the program is sent to you via computer, so there is no mailing involved!

"In Voice is a lightweight invoice application which can store, in addition to invoices, clients, vendors, raw goods and materials and items which your company sells. I also provide the ability for some basic reporting." You can also upgrade and have your Etsy Avatar added to the program, which I did and I absolutely love it!

So far, I have used the program for invoicing, which I send in my packages, and am getting ready to use it for inventory for my supply shop. This program has added a more professional look to my business and being able to create reports from it is a plus!

If you are in need of a little more organization, check out Paul's In Voice system, you won't regret it. Plus he is very convo friendly, so any questions, simply ask him and he'll have the answser.

Beam me up Paul!

Rocki

p.s. I trust this new Etsy seller. He is not only a very intelligent guy with an awesome new software program, but he is also my brother-in-law :)

Taking the day off!

There are perks to owning and running your own business:

- don't have to wear nylons (yuck!)
- can work in my pj's, house robe, shorts & tank or sun dress - even in the nude (if I wanted to)
- don't have to clock in and out
- can eat & drink at my work station
- don't have to worry if I'm running late
- can take breaks whenever and as often as I like
- lunch can last for hours
- can play any type of music I want without hearing complaints
- can take the day off whenever I want - like TODAY!

Yep. I'm taking the day off!! I worked extra hard this week in order to make this happen. I guess that's one of the downfalls of owning & running your own business - if you're not there, nothing gets done. As long as you plan it right, it will work out.

My brother Chris is taking us & Jeremy to Lake Pleasant today on his boat. I'm looking forward to soaking up the sun, feeling the water spraying on my face and watching Jeremy zipping along the lake in the big water tube!

I'll be back Monday with a very cool spotlight on a fellow blogger buddy & Etsian :)

Enjoy your weekend and remember to smile!

Rocki

Portable Mini Portfolio

Mark surprised me for Mother’s Day and bought me this cool digital photo keychain! (It was a total surprise because we had celebrated it on Saturday with some friends and I already received my gift). If you know me, you know how much I love photos, especially of my kids, Mark, family and friends. In fact, my house is full of pictures: walls, tables, albums, computer, fridge, shoe boxes, etc.

I don’t collect many ‘things’, but I admit that I do have a thing for unique photo frames. I’m pretty easy to buy for. Last year for my birthday my son Jason bought me a table top digital photo frame that is perfect when doing craft shows and events. You can showcase your work, studio, work in progress, etc., all at your table. Most people are drawn towards animation and that makes this one the perfect ticket item for your table – instant crowd!

Oh, back to the keychain. Mark knows that I’m not big on expensive items and am a frugal shopper. So, after he told me how much it was, I told him that I have to share this with my friends! There is a big variety of photo keychains to select from ranging in price from around $13 - $50, with the average price around $24 or so. There are different shapes (even hearts), sizes, colors, etc. This one holds 60 pictures and is super easy to download from your computer – I mean SUPER easy.

After downloading some pictures I had an idea. Now I know this isn’t a new invention and I’m sure others are probably doing it, but I wanted to share my idea all the same...

This would make a fabulous portable mini portfolio! It’s kind of awkward to carry around a portfolio and/or your creations while hiking through the zoo, jogging through the park, grocery shopping with the kids, and so on. But with this handy little gadget you can download your work, clip it right to your purse, jogging shorts or baby’s pacifier (well, scratch that one) and have it ready to show in a flash! When you hand out a business card you can give them a little taste of what you do, right there on the spot! This could make them visit your shop sooner than later. You know what they say: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

I think I’m going to treat myself to a belated Mother’s Day gift and pick up another photo keychain. This way I can have one for my family & friends, and the other one for my mini portfolio.

Make sure to have plenty of business cards on hand!

Happy Monday everyone!

☼ Rocki

p.s. I think I'm going to embellish my keychain a little and add a few rocks n beads ;)