Why Blog? Why Not Just IG Story!
I know it sounds insane, especially from a person who hasn’t updated her blog since 2020! So for the title — Why Blog? Why Not IG Story?
The truth is, I have a significant attention problem. While writing is not my forte, I have so many things I want to express to everyone! Far more than an IG story can accommodate. My Red House IG has been quite personal; you'd be able to see my daughter’s face, my warehouse, even my rants about various things. I absolutely won’t keep this platform the same! But for many of the things I’ve been doing, whether it's my day job as a founding designer at an ed tech startup, my life as a new... er mom’s life, or my Red House business life, I really want to document them! It stems from the thought that I want to be helpful, rather than solely focusing on branding myself as a small business guru.
How Has It Been for Red House in 2023?
Businesses often have their ups and downs. Who would have known that after the highs of 2020-2022, 2023 would be a downturn? In February 2020, I attended my last trade show in New York. Upon leaving, I thought, “How lucky I was! It was a great show.” Why? Because we actually received a $20k order from one of the chain stores. They were particularly impressed by the quality of our washi tape, noting that it was different from MT Tapes. However, that order, along with nearly all the other orders I secured at NYNOW, vanished following the infamous shelter-in-place order in March. I also left my day job, thinking, “Woo hoo, I made it!” , Also my day job at that time was very toxic.
When shelter-in-place hit, things seemed doomed for perhaps two weeks. Then, as we all know, for online introverted business owners, maybe it was ideal. In general, it was good, very good. Extremely good, until 2023 arrived.
my booth at NYNOW Feburary 2020
In 2023, interesting things were happening! Shows began to occur, but they don't accept me :> Renegade Craft Fair, West Coast Craft, Urban Craft Up Rising - these are a few of the events that you used to see me at! I wasn't in them, not because I didn't apply, but I just kept getting put on the waitlist. Online sales have been quiet! I would have been happy if my new product drop could bring in four digits! What we relied on was mostly wholesale! We even moved our studio from San Jose Japantown to an actual warehouse at the end of 2022! We incorporated ourselves... so we ended up paying lots of taxes :'(. We expanded at a time when I thought my future was so bright (whisper: just like how I left my day job in 2020 :P). PLUS! I gave birth to Arley, my daughter.
installing shelves at our current studio
I vividly remember in August, September, Oct, November before Thanksgiving, I felt SO SCARED! It was the second time I felt so scared and screwed up! Wholesale was quiet, Retail was quiet, IG algorithm changed, and so my IG also went quiet! Until Thanksgiving hit! We finally turned back to positive. However, with the sweet holiday season past, right now we somehow reached back to the lowest point in August 2022 again. This brought me to think… What did I do wrong? Or, more importantly, what did I do right in 2020-2022?
THE RIGHT! THE WRONG! THE UNKNOWN!
The Right !
Lean in on social media! with daily live painting every-night at 10pm
Lots of new product drops
Lots of new categories
Switch back to be a one man band in the first 6 months to cut budget
our usual shipping volume in the pandemic, and its all shipped by me!
The Wrong!
I gave up social media because of no mental load
we sent a lot less email
we did not gather more email, basically no email marketing!
our business and product direction is unclear, and its still unclear
we expend too fast, still too fast!
can’t figure out the right person for the right things to do! or a lot of the task I do just have no one can replace
our double booth at San Jose Made Holiday show
The Maybe?
maybe social media is not my forte? I need to find my media
maybe I didn’t expend at the right time with the right hire
maybe doing frequent drops is THE WAY
maybe I didnt have the right tool to scale
Now we have the right, the wrong, and the maybe! So, WHAT IS NEXT? What should The Little Red House do next?!
Maybe this is the easiest part of them all! In the following months, I should try to do lots of audits! Audit our process, audit our inventory, audit our productivity tools, and audit our people! Then, TEST, TEST, TEST, TEST! While I cannot figure out WHY craft shows don’t accept me anymore, I can definitely figure out email marketing, IG marketing, TikTok, or what I am doing now - blogging! ...or maybe even turn this content into YouTube videos!
At my day job, and in any scenario where we are trying to problem solve, I often tell my teammates to just list out the pros, the cons, and then list out a plan B! Many problems in the world are unsolvable, but I never believe business is the case! IF we believe in our own product - and I do! Better yet, I know many people are on the same page as I am, believe in The Little Red House, and love the illustration style! Therefore, our revenue is a solvable problem. I think at least I have to end it with a good note!