Monday, February 03, 2025
January 2025 was one of the coldest January's I ever remember. There was snow on the ground almost every day of the month, and only because it was that cold and not because it snowed on a regular basis.
I was warm and happy I did not have to leave the house, however, for some reason did not get as much done as I wanted.
I had a surprise expense associated with my real estate activities. I am a referral agent and up until this year only had to worry about license renewal fees and the fees for courses I needed to stay up to date with new or updated Maryland real estate laws.
Now I have an annual referral agent fee. It is under a $100 and allows me to keep my real estate license active, so I will pay the new annual fee. I studied for that license and I want to keep it.
In January, I also ordered a new sweater. Most of the items I order these days are related to research insofar as products I want to offer through my shop. I love the new sweater and think it will pair nicely with pencil skirts or high waisted baggy dress pants.
Since Christmas, I feel I have been looking older and more tired. I think
part of the problem is related to my diet. I maybe trying to lose weight to
quickly. Below photos I took yesterday, February 2, 2025.
How is my diet going? I am not losing a lot now, however I am also not gaining it back. When I was younger I used to fast so I know my appearance can sometimes appear too gaunt because of quick weight loss. My older age is not helping. I do not use botox, nor have I had any type of cosmetic surgery.
Another concern of late? Ensuring I have all of the tax information I need to complete the tax returns I am responsible for. Not sure why this year I ran into problems.
Sunday, December 01, 2024
I have no big plans this holiday season, however, I have been thinking about holiday inventory I would have wanted for my shop. Of course, this year it is way too late in the season to try and order inventory or offer styles that are shipped directly from the source. I also have a number of legal issues which are more the reasons preventing me from stocking inventory for my shop.
That said, since most of my personal holiday shopping is complete and Thanksgiving went off without problems, today I began thinking about styles I would have wanted to offer for the holidays via my shop.
In this post, I discuss a sweater style I love which I believe is versatile enough to dress up or down. Below, I paired the slate gray version of the sweater with a jacket and fur trimmed cape, which in both cases added a more festive look to the sweater.
I love dressing up for the holidays. The styles shown in the post are more for my office holiday look, however I continue to look through my closets. I am excited about trying on my old gowns and cocktail dresses as I lose more weight.
Not sure why none of the tripod shots were in focus. Thought I used autofocus. Did not have my readers. Used one of the photos anyway to show the full length style.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
On September 9, 2024 I submitted my first order to Temu and yesterday (September 17, 2024) the package arrived. Below a redacted copy of my purchase order.
I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience and very happy with the items I ordered. Below photos of the items I received.
What led me to try Temu? I used to own a velvet/velour corset that had hidden snaps in the back. I could pair the corset with business suits, dress slacks, or a long velvet/velour skirt I had that went with another top. The original velvet/velour skirt and top are shown below along with other top options and the new corset I just ordered from Temu.
Somehow the black velvet/velour evening top (corset) was stolen and though I have searched over the years for something similar- could never find a replacement until I ordered the new one from Temu.
No the new corset it is not velvet/velour, and not as deep in color as the one stolen. In addition, the new one zips rather than snaps in the back, however it will work for the look I want.
Examining the purchase order shows I received quite a few discounts (first time buyer), so I am not sure if the same deals are available for existing users of Temu. If you are a new user, you may be able get a good deal too, here is the Temu link.
I always loved the idea of a simple classy corset as an evening top option so when I noticed a wholesaler offering a similar style in different colors I thought about also offering them as women's accessories via WiredShops.
Still thinking about it. What do you think? Again the above tops are not the same as the new corset I ordered via Temu.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Yesterday, before the dishwasher installer arrived I quickly snapped photos of me trying on the two sweaters and caramel jacket I recently highlighted in this post.
Unfortunately, after the dishwasher installer left, I was too upset to re-shoot the photos with a tripod and more lighting.
I like the way these pairings turned out.
I also decided the new lip color I have been playing around with, works with my new Fall wardrobe additions.
I would love to offer these items for sale, however, not sure the wholesaler would be onboard with this plan and the sizes may be problematic.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
I ordered and received most of the shipping supplies I will need in the coming months for shop promotions I want to start.
Supplies shown (above) include:
- Flash drives for digital products
- Cellophane Self-adhesive plastic bags for digital products
- Tissue paper
- Thermal shipping labels
- Thermal sticky labels
- Jewelry card holders & outer plastic bags
- Small jewelry shipping boxes
- Thank you bags for local business
My plan is to add new products to the shop and my Paypal social media listings.
I plan to promote new products on blogs and social media using my own photography and videos, however use product sourcing photography and videos on the WiredShops site. Wholesalers do a great job of providing digital content to help sellers promote products, however, I want to provide personal content on my blog showing my use of specific products.
This is where I am running into issues. I spent a Saturday morning trying to find the right lighting, makeup, and pose to shoot photos of one of my new knit tops, to only stop in frustration. I never changed my biking shorts & sandals to the pencil skirt & heels I wanted to use for the shots.
I cannot figure out if I need more lights, space, or just need to hire professionals. That said, this is only for blog promotion of shop products, so I will continue looking into this until I come up with a solution.
One good note, I did find closet space for the new shipping supplies.
Thursday, June 06, 2024
In November 2022, I received a brand new Tordorday Thermal Printer at no cost because I opted to open a Amazon Rewards Visa Signature account through Chase, received a $60 gift card, and had several other gift cards already in the account.
When the printer arrived, I tested it and installed the driver on most of my devices, however, other than printing a Costco return shipping label have done little else with the printer, until today.
Awhile back, I ordered 750 two-inch white round thermal stickers so I could
print my shop logo 
and use the sticker to seal a package or envelope. Recently, I ordered
colored stickers, so today I decided to create a Microsoft Word template to
use with the printer.
I did a little research and noticed that most shop owners use Canva to create similar templates, however whenever possible I create products and templates using Microsoft Office Tools.
Why am I only now getting around to projects like this, since my shop has been online for awhile? I have many projects. Simply not a priority, however happy I have my template now- if I need it.
I have watched several shop owners demo Canva and understand it is a great online tool. I simply love my local versions of Microsoft Office Productivity Tools.
Wednesday, June 05, 2024
I have been looking into a number of business related issues, including the renewal of my Maryland business entity, QiSoftware, which is due to expire in September 2024.
A new Maryland law and the change of address for my business, made this a little more complicated than the renewal process five years ago. I think I have finally ironed out all of the problems.
My other business related projects of late? Working on my e-commerce shop, WiredShops. I have placed several orders to my wholesaler, including the fashion earrings shown below (now available) and sweaters and tops I want to add to the shop in late August.
The sweaters were ordered more to research the quality to ensure they were what I expected and I am very pleased.
In addition to the orders to my wholesaler, I also ordered the dress shown in the following images from Amazon.
Here again, very pleased with this purchase. Wish the photos showed more accurately the features of the dress.
Saturday, June 01, 2024
Over the last several weeks I have ordered more inventory and supplies for my online e-commerce shop WiredShops.
The problem? Though I have most of the tools I need to run my online shop, the organization of the office space is not what I would hope for. The following is a short video without audio explanation of my home office.
I currently use the office for the following tasks:
- Zoom meetings
- Online Virtual Courses
- All Printing & Faxing
- Some Photography
- Content Creation (Dubbing & Editing)
- Setting My Hair
I actually do most of the daily work on my sites, software
development/updates, and
all other business and social media tasks from my bedroom on one of two mini
PCs, a Samsung Android, and an iPad Mini. Shown one of the mini PCs setup on a
breakfast tray sitting on my bed. The other mini PC (software
development/update) sits on a bedside table in my bedroom- not shown.
Also not shown the shipping equipment (scales, thermal printers), labels, and packing material I began amassing when I first started my shop (November 2021).
Because I want to go after online sales in the form of digital products and shop inventory I really love (shown below), I have been preparing my e-commerce site and home office.
I purchased an inexpensive mirror from Lowes two weeks ago to help with inventory and affiliate marketing promotion.
Now, I want to install shelves and baskets to hold printers, packing material, and inventory. I have been researching several options, however feel the re-utilization of my home office could become more costly than I originally intended.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
I took care of several chores on Thursday, May 16, 2024 and decided to wear my new dress.
I did not take a photo with the dress on, however, did take a head shot showing hair and makeup. I think I am going to use more of the new red lipstick I recently purchased. I paired the dress with an old shirt that was almost a perfect match. I also wore the tan heels shown.
It was rather windy Thursday, so while out I picked up the headbands, also shown. In the photo I am wearing one.
That evening, I took several head shots trying to create new ads for the crystal earrings. The crystal earrings work (for me) with the style shown, however, none of the photos taken worked. The earrings I have on in the head shot (brass knots)- I do not sell in my shop.
My hair? Thinking about options, however, for now hoping the new headbands will help.
What else is going on? Software problems, site issues, creating new legal disclaimers for my online shop and brochures for new products. Also received the flash drives I need for the digital products I wish to make available.
Friday, September 01, 2023
When I first decided (September 2021) to go online with my own ecommerce shop WiredShops I was very excited about the prospect. The entry I posted as a new shop owner.
I had several limiting factors:
- Website cost
- Domain Registration Costs
- Hosting
- Custom Site Design
- Listing Products
- Inventory Costs
- Time Available For This New Business Activity
I cannot say this online shop is a failure, because I love the fact I own it and my cost to own is/was very low.
The time it took to populate the shop was expensive and I use the API service offered by my drop shipper which is not as straight forward as I would like. I did not use a service like Shopify, which in most cases has an associated cost, whereas the API does not- other than my time. Coming up to speed on the OpenCart software was not as time consuming.
That said, I have only had one sale and that- because I asked a relative to ensure my cart/payment hookups were working. They are.
I also tested with the Paypal sandbox cart however, sometimes the results seemed to vary, the reason I tested with an actual sale. I believe there is unlawful interference with this business venture. I have asked DOJ to look into this.
- I registered the wired-shops.com for about $10 a year. wiredshops.com was available, however a lot more expensive.
- I installed the custom OpenCart site design myself.
- I decided drop shipping- at the time, was a more cost effective solution.
- The actual inventory acquisition costs were low.
So why have I decided to revisit my efforts in this area?
Lately, I have made a lot of garden salads and decided I needed a salad spinner.
I checked with my drop shipper and found a spinner I thought would also be
perfect for my online shop. Now, keep in mind, I have done some research since
the pandemic and knew shipping costs had been affected by the global issue and
then more recently- inflation rates. So I was sort of prepared for the new
shipping rates. Are you, if you are thinking about opening a shop?
