It’s fairly easy to write about something you are passionate about, like dogs, adopting them, rescuing them, and about the great people who do this for a living. But, geez, it’s not so easy when you’re trying to write about your own business. So now that I’m minding my own business, I of course have to promote it. Tough stuff. And then I thought about the golden rule above – passion.
So what exactly is my business that I’m minding? My own designs now. My own illustrations of dogs, both artistic and funny, my ridiculous visualizations of puns, and actually some of my more artsy stuff. Yeah, I know, I should probably pick one idea first, build on it, and then start introducing others, but my head just doesn’t work that way.
I am passionate about animals and I’m passionate about art. Plus I’m a genuine smart ass who loves puns. Why not take those elements and combine them. As a result, Cold Nose Design was born. I created this online business a number of years before I knew anything about social media and now I’m coming back to it as my passion. Starting fresh from the beginning was a challenge. I have designs on CafePress, but now it’s time to market them and to start creating more. All this just before the holiday rush! Can I do it? We’ll see.
I started out with boosting my presence on Facebook, targeted ads, boosted posts, shop now boosts, web site boosts, etc. Okay, that was a huge help. My sales on CafePress went up and so did my followers on FB. What next? Crap! I have to build my own web site! Luckily, I already had purchased my domain, but now where to host the damned thing? Go Daddy? Yahoo? or any other of the million companies out there who promise that it’s as easy as pressing a button – right!!!
After lots of trial and error, I went with WordPress, because, of all the tools, that’s the one I knew the LEAST about! Great strategy! Actually, it turned out that it was. I’d never used WordPress, but after two days of poking and prodding, I managed to build my site. Yes, please visit it at coldnosedesign.com.
Stay tuned for more stories about starting my business and of course lots more stories about animals. I promise to make it interesting. In the meantime, you can check out my Christmas and holiday designs on cafepress.com/coldnosedesign
