Whither Goest BeadEnCounter?

I'm going to write this once and then distribute it, because I've had some inquiries and I've been contemplating myself where the program has to go from here.

We're nearly 4 weeks into launch for BeadEnCounter, and sales are...disappointing to say the least.  Tragic would be more like it.  Like any new project, one hopes for that miraculous "crash the servers" response from the public. It's quite deflating to realize we're going to have to settle for the normal "build over time" business curve.

But it is early days yet. I've found in other ventures that three years is about the normal time to get a new business established.  I don't have the capitalization to hold out quite so long on this project, I need the cash flow in order to pursue the future I'd like to see happen for the software.

Since I was pushing so hard before and during the beta testing program, and then to get the whole website up and store revamped and installers made, etc. I kind of got used to a frantic pace and constant work on the software. Now I feel a little at loose ends. But I continue to fine-tune the website, and to seek optimum marketing opportunities.

So here's what I see happening:

1. Marketing drives the universe. This is my entirely new and original thought. Yeah. Right. I had thought print advertising was the way to go, in national publications.  Well, perhaps I'm being way too impatient, but I expected a better response. Turns out that repetition drives people to be aware of ads, and for print ads in monthly publications, the repeat rate is realllllllyyyyy lowwwwww.  So we'll be redistributing some of our long-term money commitments from print to online venues.  I've got one lined up, others will follow.  Repeated viewings happen a lot faster online. Hopefully click-throughs will happen faster as well.
2. Refine the website. I'm working on photos/images to convey the concepts in the software to the visitors to the website. Something that shows how using the product assists in organizing, and creates productivity and profitability.  Abstract concepts conveyed in concrete images. Any suggestions to improve the website are welcome. 
3. New features in the software. As has been noted by testers and commenters, the Consignment area is particularly underdeveloped, and the Inventory process needs fleshing out. Currently we don't have true inventory management. I want to add much more functional Vendor tracking features, and incorporate some very clever feature requests by early users.  As with any software product, there comes a point where you have to freeze features and just ship the darn thing! Otherwise you just develop eternally and never get a product out the door.  Once again, suggestions on features are welcome at any time at the forum we've set up for just this purpose. You can see what others have suggested, add your own, and discuss with other users how they use the software. Some of our users are very clever.

So that's our future focus. I had expected that after our launch, work, meaning marketing,  would continue. I didn't anticipate that it would be nearly full time!  

If anyone is considering buying BeadEnCounter but is hesitating, or has considered it but rejected the idea, I would dearly like to hear about the reasons why. I want to make BeadEnCounter the best product it can possibly be, and offer an irresistable bargain to artists, beaders and crafters everywhere. My testing group can tell you I take criticism well, and am very willing to listen and adapt. 

Visit us on the forum, and join the conversation!

Beads in Unexpected Places

Claremont is a small town in the great sprawl of Southern California. It's upscale, clean, and beautiful and has more "gee, I'd like to try that place" restaurants per square foot than anyplace I've ever been.

Necklace at
Tibetan Artcraft
Imports

We visited Claremont for the second time today, and walked through several blocks of the downtown shopping district looking for our lunch place. This is the kind of foot-traffic friendly shopping area that has been largely killed off by mega-malls and Walmart in so many places in the US. I'd love to know how Claremont has maintained the vitality and health of their central district even in the face of bad economic times.  There were very few vacant storefronts...in fact, I saw a couple, but they had "Coming Soon!" signs in the windows. Contrast that to many towns around our house, like Bellflower, where about 80% of the available storefronts are vacant.

There is a bead shop in the Claremont Packing House, which are both worth a visit.  International Glass & Bead has a fine selection of Swarovski crystals, glass sculpture, and other interesting items. Don't go there for seed beads or tools. The Packing House is a converted, you guessed it, packing house, with a wide array of community-serving restaurants, shops, and places for kids to learn and explore cooking, art, and music. Great space, and everyone there seems to be genuinely friendly.

Similar Tibetan turquoise

But that's not the big discovery of the day. In walking back to the (free) parking next to the Packing House, we passed Tibetan Artcraft Imports, a small shop tucked on a side street.  It's filled with exotic goods you'd expect in an import shop, but this link to their very basic website doesn't begin to cover what's there.

There is also case after case of imported jewelry and stones. Although it totally busted my budget, I fell for a strand of antique, natural Tibetan turquoise stones in greenish shades, and had to have it. It's similar to the one in the picture, but the beads are oval, not irregular. 

There are more pieces in the store I want to go back for, if I can get some cash together. (sell, software, SELL!!) But I'll have to hurry. The very sweet and helpful old gentleman who owns the place is slated to retire in January.  Oh, and I expect the very cute and friendly little dog who keeps him company will retire too.

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. You won't be sorry.

We are Live!

Yesterday, I got my issue of BeadStyle magazine, with our ad on page 27. Wow. Right there where the magazine falls open because of a blow-in card. 

Today, I finalized the new webstore so that people can purchase the software with little or no problem. I was afraid the old method was too complicated.

So now it's a matter of waiting until people read the issue, have their curiosity piqued by the ad, and visit the website. Oh, and decide to buy.  Boy oh boy do I hope they decide to buy!

Advertisers link page!

People can find us in the advertisers links on the Beadstyle website as well.  And next month, the ad will appear in Bead & Button, with a much larger subscription base, so that's exciting as well.

Not too surprisingly, my creativity has been sidelined by all the stress and business of trying to get a new business launched. I sit down to bead and do a little of this and a little of that and not much of anything in particular. Not too long ago I was bubbling with ideas of what I wanted to next. I have to recover that and it may take awhile.  I hope not too long.

The Day Arrives, Sort Of. Software Soft Launch, Spotlights in the Sky

For the last several months, I've been focused on moving my new software to market.

This has involved countless hours of programming, to get it right.  Then I recruited a group of testers, to make sure.  This involved setting up a feedback forum, distributing build after build as we all worked to find sticky interface and functional points, responding promptly to each concern, and learning all the spots where my brilliant ideas were exposed as not quite as brilliant as I had thought.

After I got through rebuilding the whole structure (those testers were thorough!) during testing, it was time for the next part.

Build the website. So I had to download and learn a new tool, Rapidweaver. I haven't built a website for over 10 years, and technology has marched on. Heck, I started coding HTML by hand back in 1994. 

Rapidweaver is a marvelous tool, but it's structured with lots of bits and pieces of add-on programming that each cost a few dollars. It adds up.  I spent...well, I can't even count the hours I spent researching online, downloading, testing, learning the software and tweaking on the website.  It was a very intense two weeks.

Then I had to add the e-commerce component. More downloads, more learning, more tweaking. I'm using a plugin called Cartloom that connects my website to Paypal, and then downloads the file to a purchaser.  Wow, what a tangle to implement. It works, now, but nowhere near as elegantly as I'd like.  

I set up a forum for users to communicate with me, and with each other. I connected the website to this blog, and the blog to the website.  I set up accounts hither and yon...I swear I can invent new passwords in my sleep. My password database got about 12 new entries. Yes, I am a geek. I have a password database. Doesn't everyone?

Oh, I almost forgot. I had to research, download, and learn to use installer programs on both Mac & Windows. How can you sell software without installers? More money, more time, more accounts & passwords. Whew.

The website and the webstore are both works in progress. They'll be evolving as I continue to find new and better tools and designs.

The software is now finalized in Version 1.0. That means no new features until I roll out the first upgrade.  But I'll be alert to user-feedback in case there are errors that must be fixed in order to have the kind of solid, robust program I want my company to sell. 

We've placed an ad in BeadStyle and Bead&Button magazines, which alternate each month. Six months at an amazingly high cost. But it's national exposure and this project is not going to fail for lack of marketing.

No sales yet, but the magazine will be rolling out to consumers in the next few days. Then we'll see.  It could all still be for naught. Or it could hit big. Some of my testers have been very complimentary.

Needless to say, beading has somewhat fallen by the wayside. But I did finish one piece the other day, which I will post soon. 

WOW Great News and Hurry Up, Right Now!

I've just been made aware that our first ad in BeadStyle Magazine is out in advance copy. I don't know if that means the first subscribers are getting theirs today or not.

But if you've read an ad in Beadstyle and ended up on this page looking for BeadEnCounter software, we will be live for sales as soon as possible. 

What does that mean? Please check back. Tomorrow. Over the weekend. Monday at the latest, because I will work as quickly as I can to test out our e-commerce and get the website functional. 

BeadEnCounter is an exciting new product and we want to make it available to you. The magazine jumped their promised publication date by more than a week, so we have to jump to make it up!

Hold on, more news as it breaks!  Thank you for your patience in the meantime!

Might be some disruption in service....

I've got the website for BeadEnCounter about 75% built.  This is good news. Tomorrow we wrassle with the e-commerce area of the whole thing.

But the URL, the web-address is going to undergo some changes. Beadencounter.com will become the main site, hosted at someplace I haven't decided yet. This blog will return to www.blogspot.beadencounter.com, and become a link from the main website.

I just wanted to warn everyone not to worry if the blog disappears for a day or so during the transition. 

We're under construction. Excuse our dust!

Fine Birthday Visit to Ocean Sky Beads

There's a danger in visiting a bead store on your birthday. The "Oh heck, it's my birthday, why not!" danger of seeing wonderful beads and having to have them and really, there's no reason not to, is there? It's my birthday, darn it!

So the visit to Ocean Sky Beads in Oceanside, California on Tuesday was fraught with peril. Peril to my budget, that is. The score is Beads, 1, budget, 0. 

But I found some lovely amber and brown garnet, along with a bunch of other things. The store is handicap-friendly for a person in a chair, and the staff generous, helpful and willing to work with someone who is buying a whole lot of beads.

You can't dislike someone who laughs when you comment that the entire city of Oceanside, on a sunny summer afternoon, smells like sunscreen. Which it does. Fresh ocean breezes and sunscreen. A fine combination.