Why do I paint better when my desk is clean?

Ok, here is one for the books- I seriously paint better when my desk is clean and orderly. Now I don't mean clean from the 'just Windexed' sense of the word, but I mean straightened up and orderly. Clearly I have issues here. The problem is not that I don't have enough space to paint, it is just that for me a clear desk, offers me a clear piece of mind, and a calm sense of well being.

How crazy is that?! And just to explain it all a little clearer, when my desk is messy, I find it very difficult to focus well on creative tasks, or even just to embark on new tasks. I shouldn't need much space to paint my baseballs, they are relatively small and I work on very tiny details, but this goes well beyond space issues.

My desk is very orderly, stacked with papers in different levels of 'things to do piles'. But by the end of a very busy day, the piles will start to blur around the edges, and until they are all back into some level of organization, I feel very uneasy thinking about continuing to work. Now, make no mistake, the piles don't need to be completed for me to feel organized, they just need to be straightened, and I have to feel that I know what is in each pile so I feel 'on top of them'.

So there is my crazy confession for the week! My goal is to organize my desk every day before I leave it, so I can come to it in the morning with a bright outlook and sense of calm that only organization can give me! For all those other organization suffers out there- take care- you are not alone!

www.unforgettaballs.com

How do you let people know you are out there?

What is the best way to find customers who would be interested in your product? How do you get them to know it exists? In the age where there are fifty gagillion websites, how do you find the people who would want to know about you?

Products don't get much more unusual then mine- artistic baseballs for the baseball fan, or collector of all things unusual!(unforgettaballs.com) But if no one ever sees them, it doesn't matter how cool they are!

There a two main ways I work to get my baseballs seen: PR and Advertising. Lately I have been debating which I think is a more effective way to reach people.
Advertising is great b/c once you pay a specific amount, and then know you are going to get something out there for the public to see.
PR on the other hand, Is much more of a risk. It can cost much more, and at the end of the day you don't know for sure if anything will be written on your product or not. From a money standpoint, it almost seems to make more sense to just pay to have the advertisement, b/c it is a guarantee that people will see something. Unfortunately, you can not deny that it is always more humble to have someone else write about how great your product is then to have you do it!

Small business advice for the day:
Decide how much you would like to spend per year on getting everyone to know what you do. Then take this number and divide it between PR and Advertising. Track for your self which helped more. (Use analytics on your website through google, etc. to track-if you don't know how to do this- get a web master to do it for you.) Don't put your whole budget in just one of these- it is just to risky.


www.unforgettaballs.com

Do men like receiving gifts?

Can't decide on this one. There seem to be a lot of gifts men receive that they tolerate with a polite smile, and then stick under a stack of papers on the chair in their bedroom. What are the gifts that make it out of the stack?

The first factor is something that is useful or purposeful. Clothes are a good, safe bet as a gift. Of course it needs to be something they would actually wear, but this is a completely passable gift. But it won't be the most exciting thing they will open. An improvement would be team related clothes (if they are a fan) as a step above the average sweater, b/c now you are putting more of their heart into it, and it is still useful.

To create a meaningful gift that is not clothes, but more of a decorative item for a man is much harder. But what if you began with a play item, such as a baseball, then covered it with art work that was about their favorite team, you could then create something with a great deal of meaning. An artistic baseball can sit on your desk or shelf, and have meaning just representing whatever team is painted on it. But it also has the dual purpose of something that you can pick up, play in your hands while you are thinking or talking on the phone; it has multiple uses and meanings.

We believe creating a gift for men, or anyone for that matter, can be a much more interesting if it has many purposes. Our decorative gift baseballs for example, have images of a favorite stadium on them, which then evokes a memory, but it is also an unusual decorative piece, while also acting as something to play with! (Something about walk around an office with a baseball in your hands to play with just makes you think better!) Also anything that is a throw back to your youth is a good thing.

Small business advice for the day:
How many purposes does your product fulfill? How unusual is it? Know your audience, so you can offer the best product possible to meet there needs.

www.unforgettaballs.com