I received a letter in the mail today from the State of California Board of Equalization that for some reason struck me as really funny...here's the heading and first paragraph:
"Review of Accounts Reporting No Sales"
"Our computer record of your account indicates that, during the year noted above, you had no sales or other business activity which requires you to hold a seller's permit. Therefore, this letter is to inform you that we are considering cancellation of your permit to reduce costs both to you and the State."
Considering I've been rejected by (fill in the blank) number of greeting card companies during the past week, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that even though I wasn't trying to sell the State of California greeting cards, even they rejected me. I'm just really glad that my sense of humor never fails me :)
By the way, State of California, the reason I've had no sales is because I changed my marketing tactics and I'm leading the business in another direction...and I do have some promising leads, so there!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
YAY! NO MORE TWITTER!
Lucky for you, you will no longer be able to see any Tweets from me on Twitter. For the past two or three weeks I have been unable to Tweet. Personally, I think they must have decided that I am far too boring to take up precious megabytes or whatever technology it takes to post tweets. I could say it was their loss but, unfortunately, I think I would have to agree with them :)
Don't worry, Twitter...I'm not offended. I never liked to Tweet anyway and never fully comprehended how to use it to build my business. So, instead of me quitting you...you quit me first. C'est la vie!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS...
Since you’re in the greeting card business, learn how to:
1. Put the stupid card stock in your printer so you don’t have cards that consist of just two pieces of paper folded together.
2. Learn how to resize images without totally disfiguring the person.
3. Learn how to use Photoshop instead of a greeting card program with a little dog who wags his tail when you get things right. (Just kidding…this is the program my partner uses and I’m actually one step above her in terms of graphic design.) :)
4. Quit being stubborn and get a “real” website instead of the dorky one you designed.
5. You’re smart! You know you need a business plan instead of just plodding along doing whatever you feel like doing that day. Develop one!!!!
6. Quit Tweeting. You are the most boring Tweeter around even though you have over 500 followers. They’re just too lazy to “unfollow” you.
7. Keep blogging. Even though you have only 12 followers (and probably half of these are family members and don’t read it anyway), it’s kind of fun.
1. Put the stupid card stock in your printer so you don’t have cards that consist of just two pieces of paper folded together.
2. Learn how to resize images without totally disfiguring the person.
3. Learn how to use Photoshop instead of a greeting card program with a little dog who wags his tail when you get things right. (Just kidding…this is the program my partner uses and I’m actually one step above her in terms of graphic design.) :)
4. Quit being stubborn and get a “real” website instead of the dorky one you designed.
5. You’re smart! You know you need a business plan instead of just plodding along doing whatever you feel like doing that day. Develop one!!!!
6. Quit Tweeting. You are the most boring Tweeter around even though you have over 500 followers. They’re just too lazy to “unfollow” you.
7. Keep blogging. Even though you have only 12 followers (and probably half of these are family members and don’t read it anyway), it’s kind of fun.
8. Most people would come up with 10 resolutions, but then again, you're not most people so you should stop right here :)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
O.K...I'M JUST A TAD BIT DISAPPOINTED IN MY CHEERLEADING SECTION...
1. My 84-year-old mother just informed me that she’s sending me an e-card for my birthday. I replied “Mom! I’m in the greeting card business and you need to support us!” Then, when I asked her if she wanted to see my greeting card online (the only one that actually matters lately-the Hallmark winner with a picture of her on the front), she asked “What card?” (Note to Self: Cut her some slack because you are 29 years younger than she is and you thought today was Wednesday instead of Friday.)
2. Since Bro #1 doesn’t (and never will) own a computer and I have to email him via his boss, he told me not to send him any more cards because every time I send him a card, his boss calls him off a job to come look at it. (I think his boss is a better cheerleader than he is!)
3. Whenever I send a card to Only Sis, she just says the same thing each time... “very cute!” It’s like when I get “forwards,” I always respond “very cute!” which means I haven’t actually looked at it. Shhh…don't tell anyone :) I think I’ll test her next time and send something really awful and then I’ll know if she even looks!
4. Bro #2 doesn’t respond. If there isn’t a question involved (and sometimes even if there is), he doesn’t see a need. It’s kind of like talking to him on the phone…one time I told him that I wasn’t paying long distance just to hear him breathe :)
2. Since Bro #1 doesn’t (and never will) own a computer and I have to email him via his boss, he told me not to send him any more cards because every time I send him a card, his boss calls him off a job to come look at it. (I think his boss is a better cheerleader than he is!)
3. Whenever I send a card to Only Sis, she just says the same thing each time... “very cute!” It’s like when I get “forwards,” I always respond “very cute!” which means I haven’t actually looked at it. Shhh…don't tell anyone :) I think I’ll test her next time and send something really awful and then I’ll know if she even looks!
4. Bro #2 doesn’t respond. If there isn’t a question involved (and sometimes even if there is), he doesn’t see a need. It’s kind of like talking to him on the phone…one time I told him that I wasn’t paying long distance just to hear him breathe :)
I think I'm just having a "bad hair day" because, in all honesty, my family has been extremely supportive of me in this endeavor...thanks Mom, Bro #1, Only Sis and Bro #2!
Monday, November 1, 2010
I'M A HALLMARK CONTEST WINNER!
Yep…after debating for days whether to enter the contest, 30 minutes before the deadline I decided to submit a card. I promptly forgot about it until a couple days later when, lo and behold, the phone rang and it was the Hallmark Creative Team notifying me that I was a winner! How cool is that for someone who always got a “C” in art no matter how hard I tried? (O.K., even though it’s one of my dad’s photographs and all I had to do was write the verse, it is considered artistic and, as anyone who knows me knows, I am NOT known for my artistic ability.) With all those “knows” and “knowns,” you might think I’m not known for my writing ability either, but that’s actually my forte :)
Thanks, Hallmark!
Monday, October 4, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!
Dear Dad,
Since today is your birthday, I thought I’d write you a letter to let you know that I’m thinking of you. I wanted to tell you how much I’ve loved working with all of our family images over the past year and have really realized what a truly talented and creative man you were. I find it kind of ironic that I am trying to break into the greeting card business because, unlike you, I am not artistic at all…remember, I’m the kid that no matter how hard she tried she always got a “C” in art? Well, I’m no better (and possibly, worse) now at the age of 55 than I was back then!
I was laughing with my friend, J, who is my “partner in crime” in this business, because we are so technically challenged with the greeting card design programs. I had to email some cards today to someone and for the life of me I couldn’t remember how to convert a PDF file into a jpeg…the end result being that the card has to be read upside down, which is easy to do if you’re about 5 years old (remember how great little kids can do this-like reading skywriting?) but not when you’re an adult and have a hard enough time reading right side up :) J had a card perfectly designed on her computer but couldn’t figure out how to email it, print it, publish it to the web or do anything with it…and she was using a kid’s program that has a little dog who wags his tail when you get it right :) Anyway, I was thinking about you and how you would have mastered Photoshop!
By the way, Bro #2 found an additional 2,000 slides in an old suitcase that he had forgotten he had! After an entire year of working on these I was talking to him a few weeks ago and, all of a sudden, he remembered that he had them. I shouldn’t have been surprised because, well, after all, he is Bro #2 :)
Anyway, Dad, I wanted to thank you for preserving all of our family memories. This project has allowed me to reconnect with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in ways that are immeasurable. Your images have brought a lot of joy to them as well as to total strangers who have contacted me telling me how much they can relate to your pictures and how they brought back some of their own childhood memories.
So, thanks again, Dad…I wish you were here.
Love always,
Tra
Since today is your birthday, I thought I’d write you a letter to let you know that I’m thinking of you. I wanted to tell you how much I’ve loved working with all of our family images over the past year and have really realized what a truly talented and creative man you were. I find it kind of ironic that I am trying to break into the greeting card business because, unlike you, I am not artistic at all…remember, I’m the kid that no matter how hard she tried she always got a “C” in art? Well, I’m no better (and possibly, worse) now at the age of 55 than I was back then!
I was laughing with my friend, J, who is my “partner in crime” in this business, because we are so technically challenged with the greeting card design programs. I had to email some cards today to someone and for the life of me I couldn’t remember how to convert a PDF file into a jpeg…the end result being that the card has to be read upside down, which is easy to do if you’re about 5 years old (remember how great little kids can do this-like reading skywriting?) but not when you’re an adult and have a hard enough time reading right side up :) J had a card perfectly designed on her computer but couldn’t figure out how to email it, print it, publish it to the web or do anything with it…and she was using a kid’s program that has a little dog who wags his tail when you get it right :) Anyway, I was thinking about you and how you would have mastered Photoshop!
By the way, Bro #2 found an additional 2,000 slides in an old suitcase that he had forgotten he had! After an entire year of working on these I was talking to him a few weeks ago and, all of a sudden, he remembered that he had them. I shouldn’t have been surprised because, well, after all, he is Bro #2 :)
Anyway, Dad, I wanted to thank you for preserving all of our family memories. This project has allowed me to reconnect with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in ways that are immeasurable. Your images have brought a lot of joy to them as well as to total strangers who have contacted me telling me how much they can relate to your pictures and how they brought back some of their own childhood memories.
So, thanks again, Dad…I wish you were here.
Love always,
Tra
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