nail art contest image
banshera20
My husband died 2 years ago. We were in the middle of having a house built. I used what money I had to try to finish this thing. Got ripped of by shoddy worksmen and "friends". Now I look at a bare house and just have no creative flow or ambition. Where can I get ideas that won't cost me a fortune?
Answer
You could apply to Extreme Home Makeover but your chances of being chosen are slim to none, considering it's popularity.
Gosh, there are lots of things you could do that wouldn't cost anything. Shop at thrift stores, ebay, yard sales. You can find all sorts of things if you really look for them, at very low prices.
Buy some cheap fabric (Walmart has a great selection of fabric and great prices0 in a color or pattern you like and cover dining chairs, sofa, chair, etc. You can also create swags with the material and without buying those expensive things that hold the swags. You can use really long nails...tap them in on either side of the window. Take a length of fabric (make sure you have enough to account for the "twist" around the nail) and drape it down one side, wrap it loosely around the first nail..."swag" it over to the other nail and again loosely wrap and then let fall down other side of window. You can manipulate the fabric to hide the nailhead.
Go to your local hardware or home improvement store and purchase "Oops" paint. This is paint that has not been mixed to a customer's satisfaction and so the store sells it at a very, very, "below retail" price. You are bound to find a color or colors to suit you.
Paint your own border around a room, even if you lack artistic skills. You can buy craft paint, look for a sale at a arts and crafts store, some cheap brushes and create a border. You can even cut out your own stencil, using those styrofoam meat trays. Find a design you like and using a sharp utility knife carve the design from the tray and there you go.
Watch those decorating on the cheap shows on HGTV, they create stuff from nothing and can show you all the neatest tips and tricks for just what you need.
Rearranging furniture, moving items from one room to another, etc. can give you a new and great look.
Search Google, there are lots and lots of great ideas out there. And let your imagine go wild..if you like it do it, even if it seems unconventional. Good luck and I'm sorry to hear that you husband passed away.
You could apply to Extreme Home Makeover but your chances of being chosen are slim to none, considering it's popularity.
Gosh, there are lots of things you could do that wouldn't cost anything. Shop at thrift stores, ebay, yard sales. You can find all sorts of things if you really look for them, at very low prices.
Buy some cheap fabric (Walmart has a great selection of fabric and great prices0 in a color or pattern you like and cover dining chairs, sofa, chair, etc. You can also create swags with the material and without buying those expensive things that hold the swags. You can use really long nails...tap them in on either side of the window. Take a length of fabric (make sure you have enough to account for the "twist" around the nail) and drape it down one side, wrap it loosely around the first nail..."swag" it over to the other nail and again loosely wrap and then let fall down other side of window. You can manipulate the fabric to hide the nailhead.
Go to your local hardware or home improvement store and purchase "Oops" paint. This is paint that has not been mixed to a customer's satisfaction and so the store sells it at a very, very, "below retail" price. You are bound to find a color or colors to suit you.
Paint your own border around a room, even if you lack artistic skills. You can buy craft paint, look for a sale at a arts and crafts store, some cheap brushes and create a border. You can even cut out your own stencil, using those styrofoam meat trays. Find a design you like and using a sharp utility knife carve the design from the tray and there you go.
Watch those decorating on the cheap shows on HGTV, they create stuff from nothing and can show you all the neatest tips and tricks for just what you need.
Rearranging furniture, moving items from one room to another, etc. can give you a new and great look.
Search Google, there are lots and lots of great ideas out there. And let your imagine go wild..if you like it do it, even if it seems unconventional. Good luck and I'm sorry to hear that you husband passed away.
How would one go about establishing a small business that makes custom bumper stickers?
Brian
My friend and I want to go into business together making custom bumper stickers for people. For example, someone sends us what they want on it and we make it happen. We know all about the materials needed, and we're raring to go.
The only thing is, we don't really know how to start. How do we make ourselves known? How should we advertise? Will we need some sort of license or permit to sell them? Is there anything else we should know?
All advice is appreciated!
Answer
For a business like this, volume is the only way to make a profit. Custom work is, by it's nature, low volume.
While you are waiting for those determined customers who are willing to pay serious money for vanity bumper stickers, you need to look at some regular and repeatable volume jobs to pay your salaries.
That said, in order to sell to the public, you need to charge sales tax. Go the State Comptroller on your state website and see what the requirements are.
The very first thing is to develop a web site that talks about your custom capabilities, show samples and gives people a way to design and order their own. No matter what other marketing you do, make a point of driving people to the web site.
As for marketing, talk to booster clubs of local schools, all levels, and see if they would contract with you to make their stickers and then they can sell them for you. If their sports teams get to the playoffs, and you can turn them out quickly enough, you might be able to get weekly orders until the seasons are over. (This would be a low margin portion of the business, because the boosters will be selling these for a profit for the teams.)
Talk to small to medium sized local businesses about providing regular customers with bumper stickers. (They, in turn, might offer their clients a small discount for services in return for displaying their stickers. Car washes, nail salons, etc.)
Talk to local radio stations, the types that do contests and promotions to see if you can provide stickers that could be incorporated into their contests. ("I listen to Ray in the morning...")
Talk to the local Chamber of Commerce about getting a list of other new businesses who might be open to this as low cost marketing.
Contact the local conventions bureau and get a list of upcoming conventions and trade shows. Contact those planners and see if you can provide custom stickers for their events.
Contact local event planners and ask if your stickers could be incorporated into local charity events, ("Geezers Fundraising Ball 2009.")
Talk to local live music venues and clubs about producing stickers for upcoming shows.
If you have any local success, talk to the local TV morning shows about getting on their new product segments. Have some samples made with the hosts' name or the name of the show, plus some other designs that show civic or school pride. You will need to have several talking points ready and memorized, because the amount of time you have to talk in these segments can be as short as 60 seconds. The most important thing is to lead people back to your web site.
Go to the library and get a list of all the magazines that cater to hobbys--sports, crafts, nature, gardening, cooking, arts, anything at all. Send a press release to their new product editors along with a sample or two of your work, preferably a sample appropriate to the hobby and/or magazine or editor, ("I think Jane at Cooks Anonymus should get a raise.") (There will be hundreds of these magazines.) With follow up and luck, you may get published as part of their editorial coverage (which is free to you.) Again, the goal is to push people to your web site and that should bring in customers from outside your local market.
Keep a file of any media attention you get and samples of each job you produce. This will help build your reputation and give the company credibility.
Keep your day job in the meantime.
For a business like this, volume is the only way to make a profit. Custom work is, by it's nature, low volume.
While you are waiting for those determined customers who are willing to pay serious money for vanity bumper stickers, you need to look at some regular and repeatable volume jobs to pay your salaries.
That said, in order to sell to the public, you need to charge sales tax. Go the State Comptroller on your state website and see what the requirements are.
The very first thing is to develop a web site that talks about your custom capabilities, show samples and gives people a way to design and order their own. No matter what other marketing you do, make a point of driving people to the web site.
As for marketing, talk to booster clubs of local schools, all levels, and see if they would contract with you to make their stickers and then they can sell them for you. If their sports teams get to the playoffs, and you can turn them out quickly enough, you might be able to get weekly orders until the seasons are over. (This would be a low margin portion of the business, because the boosters will be selling these for a profit for the teams.)
Talk to small to medium sized local businesses about providing regular customers with bumper stickers. (They, in turn, might offer their clients a small discount for services in return for displaying their stickers. Car washes, nail salons, etc.)
Talk to local radio stations, the types that do contests and promotions to see if you can provide stickers that could be incorporated into their contests. ("I listen to Ray in the morning...")
Talk to the local Chamber of Commerce about getting a list of other new businesses who might be open to this as low cost marketing.
Contact the local conventions bureau and get a list of upcoming conventions and trade shows. Contact those planners and see if you can provide custom stickers for their events.
Contact local event planners and ask if your stickers could be incorporated into local charity events, ("Geezers Fundraising Ball 2009.")
Talk to local live music venues and clubs about producing stickers for upcoming shows.
If you have any local success, talk to the local TV morning shows about getting on their new product segments. Have some samples made with the hosts' name or the name of the show, plus some other designs that show civic or school pride. You will need to have several talking points ready and memorized, because the amount of time you have to talk in these segments can be as short as 60 seconds. The most important thing is to lead people back to your web site.
Go to the library and get a list of all the magazines that cater to hobbys--sports, crafts, nature, gardening, cooking, arts, anything at all. Send a press release to their new product editors along with a sample or two of your work, preferably a sample appropriate to the hobby and/or magazine or editor, ("I think Jane at Cooks Anonymus should get a raise.") (There will be hundreds of these magazines.) With follow up and luck, you may get published as part of their editorial coverage (which is free to you.) Again, the goal is to push people to your web site and that should bring in customers from outside your local market.
Keep a file of any media attention you get and samples of each job you produce. This will help build your reputation and give the company credibility.
Keep your day job in the meantime.
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