Mind Your Business

A Summer Retreat at Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday July 2nd 2010 as we present "A Summer Retreat"

Once summer arrives, I know it's time to plan a visit to my favorite summer retreat. That's where I go to enjoy all the simple pleasures of summer in the ideal setting. Whether I stay for a few days or for a few weeks, I always feel like I've traveled back in time to my childhood, to carefree days that ask nothing of me except to be enjoyed.

Here I don't have to follow the rules of decorating. I can put all my favorite items together, in whatever fashion I wish. Old pieces of furniture and accessories that no longer fit into my décor at home combine perfectly here. Somehow they make everything look welcoming and homey. On lazy afternoons, I love to stretch out on an old couch, now slip-covered in white, surrounded by cushions that would be called "mismatched" anywhere else. Here they're the perfect accessory for long summer days with nothing on the schedule. A summer breeze coming through the open window makes the lace curtains sway and I take a deep breath of the fresh summer air.

The shelves and tables are filled with my favorite summer things. Glass vases filled with flowers I picked on my morning walk. Vintage framed prints that remind me of a quieter, gentler time. My favorite books and magazines close at hand. Each carefully chosen because of the peace and comfort it adds to my summer sanctuary.

Mealtimes are always casual occasions, served on pieces of mismatched china. I don't even set a table when company comes. We carry our dishes - some vintage pieces with pink rosebuds and some more modern - out to the patio table. As the evening cools, we linger over tea and pleasant conversation.

A summer retreat should be an escape from your everyday cares and concerns, filled with all your favorite summer things. However you envision your summer retreat this year, you'll find everything you need to create one of your own at Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1:|  istock photo

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Maintain Your Marketing Momentum.

According to Chase's Calendar of Events, June is Entrepreneurs "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month. At Make Mine Pink, we've talked a lot about the different ways we can market our businesses by ourselves. You probably are already using some marketing techniques that are working well for you.

But are you maintaining your marketing momentum?

Here is what I mean... When we first open for business, we are usually highly focused on our marketing. We know we need to get that first paying customer. Then we have to find the next customer, and the next one after that. And that means we need to be continually marketing ourselves.

But then we start to get busy keeping up with our customers and looking after other aspects of our business.  With so many new customers contacting us, we suddenly no longer have the time to market our businesses like we used to. We might even believe we don't have to market ourselves as aggressively since we have all the sales we need... for right now.

Then the pendulum swings the other way and, for whatever reason, our best customers no longer need us. The phone calls and emails from potential new customers stop. And we're back to having to market ourselves intensely to find that next customer.If any of this sounds familiar to you, know that you're not alone! This trap is easy for any business owner to fall into. In fact, most of us do.

With so many balls to juggle, we sometimes tend to focus just on what needs our attention NOW and put off what we think can wait. So when business is good, that means we might neglect our marketing.

But if you can maintain your marketing momentum, you will avoid these feast or famine cycles in your business. Because you are always marketing, your business will always continue to grow steadily, not in spurts and stops.

One way you can make marketing a regular part of your routine, even during busy times, is to set a marketing schedule. Schedule time each week for various marketing tasks.  Let's say your blog is an important part of your marketing strategy, but when times are busy you neglect it. Break the task down into manageable pieces and schedule time each day to work on them. So, you could schedule time on Monday to brainstorm blog ideas. On Tuesday you could set aside some time for writing a rough draft, and so on. Whatever marketing techniques you like to use, set aside a little bit of time each day to do them.

Another approach to maintaining your momentum is by using marketing checklists. Break each of your marketing tasks into small steps and turn them into a checklist. Then, when you have a few spare minutes for marketing, refer to your checklist to see what you need to do. This saves you time because you don't have to remember what you did last week, or wonder what you should do next. Even if you have limited time each day for marketing your business, you will always be moving forward.

June might be the official "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month. But if you plan how you'll market your business every day, your business will continue to grow year round. 

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Along The Garden Path at Make Mine Pink

Please join us Friday June 25th for our weekly PINK FRIDAY event.

Along the Garden Path

Taking a stroll  along the path of a beautiful garden filled with spring and summer blossoms is one of my favorite things to do. The soft sweet smell of honeysuckle, the delightful scent of different roses, each unique and just as sweet as the last. The rainbow of color and fragrance sooth away even the most stressful day.

Some of my favorite flowers greet me as I stroll– purple coneflowers, multicoloured morning glories, my favorite English roses and majestic angel trumpets. A young vine ever so gracefully winding its way up a Victorian trellis catches my eye.  As the path leads me back to our front stoop, I’m greeted with overflowing vintage planters and baskets that have been filled with some of my very favorite flowers.

I don't often have time for a leisurely stroll like this, but the floral accents I’ve brought into my home awaken the same sense of calm. A handmade cushion sewn from floral fabric is tucked into the corner of my favorite rose-patterned chair. In the bedroom, I've brought out a light floral bedspread for the summer and set a heart-shaped pillow covered with pink blossoms. On the hall table, I've put a bouquet of freshly cut roses in a cut-glass vase and above it a beautiful wreath covered in silk hydrangeas.  Whenever it catches my eye, I feel for a moment that I'm back walking through the garden.

Pretty floral-shaped soaps are piled into a rose-covered berry dish on the bathroom shelf. I told always tell myself that they are just for company, but I can't resist their luxurious fragrance for myself. In the kitchen, the tiny buds and leaves encircling my vintage china tea cups and plates remind me of the flowers waiting for me outdoors. When I sit down with a cup of my favorite tea on a busy day, it refreshes me almost as much as visiting the garden outside my door.

When you surround yourself with beautiful floral accessories, you can re-create the feeling of a stroll along your own garden path throughout your home. If you need some help creating this delightful garden space, you'll find all the inspiration you need at Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

www.makeminepink.com/pink-friday

How to stay positively focused on your business when a confidence crisis strikes

How is your confidence holding up? 

If you were to say that it's a little bit shaky at times, I wouldn't be surprised. The course of entrepreneurship is a bumpy one, filled with speed bumps and potholes that can make the most confident among us question our abilities.

A better question might be, how are you going to avert your next confidence crisis?

A "confidence crisis" is when a sudden lack of confidence creeps into your business and you lose your momentum and focus. It might keep you from taking an important step. You could start second-guessing yourself, even if you know your first instincts are usually right. Even if the crisis lasts for just a short time, that's time you could have been moving forward instead of standing still, wondering if you really have what it takes.

You probably already have myriad achievements and accomplishments to prove, even to yourself (because we're usually our harshest critics), that you truly are successful. But they're easy to forget, especially when you're under a cloud of self-doubt.

The next time self-doubt looms, take action by creating a board that records all your achievements and successes. Much like a vision board or gratitude board, an achievement board is a reminder of your successes to keep you positively focused. A folder, box, or a file on your computer can serve this purpose too. I like the idea of a board because I can hang it on my wall so it's always within view when I need a confidence boost.

Here are some of the things you can include on your achievement board to remind yourself of your successes, your talents, and your creativity:

Positive customer comments and testimonials. Look through your email for all the positive things people have said about you. If you haven't been in business long enough to have a collection of these, it's never to early to start building it. Ask your favorite customers or colleagues if they could write a testimonial for you.

Pictures of your favorite projects. Do you remember how inspired you felt while you working on them? How much pride you felt in your work when they were finally completed? 

Awards you've won and positive reviews you've received. If you've been featured in a magazine, the article should go on the board too.

The profit statement from your best day, month, or year in business. That's a tangible reminder of your success and an encouragement to make it happen again.

It’s natural that there will be times when we question ourselves and our abilities. The key to averting a confidence crisis is to take steps, like creating an achievement board, to remind yourself of everything you've accomplished so far and to keep yourself positively focused in your business. It's time to be your one woman/man cheer-leading squad.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Shades of red, white and blue at Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 18th 2010 as we present "Shades of red, white and blue"

When I think of the colors red, white and blue, I'm reminded of Fourth of July parties, picnics and fireworks. Our annual Independence Day celebrations are always filled with family, friends, laughter and fun. My favorite summer foods are cooked on the barbecue, almost as delicious as the company I'm in. On that day, I feel like the whole world is celebrating with me.

Everywhere I look, I find so many beautiful combinations of red, white and blue. Whenever I come across them, they make me smile with fond memories of those celebrations and family times. There's the vintage apron hung on a hook and waiting to be used when company comes for dinner. Its cheery red roses are still bright against what used to be a vivid blue, but has faded with time. When I open the linen closet, blue and white checked linens – once my mother’s finest picnic linens, still bearing traces of childhood Fourth of July picnics – always catch my eye. In the kitchen, white vintage china decorated with tiny red and blue rosebuds sits elegantly on a shelf I've painted white.

Even when I don't intentionally plan to decorate in those colors, red, white and blue find their way in, catching me by surprise. I've hung a white canvas with big red roses on a wall that's been freshly painted in a pale robins egg blue. It just seemed right to put it there. My red and blue glass sun catcher, floating in a window framed with white lace curtains, sparkles in the sunlight. On the table, my treasured velvet strawberries inside a  vintage blue bowl. The tiny cracks in the glaze, giving away it’s age.

What is it about the shades of red, white and blue that tells us they belong together? Maybe it's the history behind them. Or maybe it's our own memories of the happy times. All I know is, when I'm surrounded by shades of red, white and blue, everyday is a celebration of life, freedom, and love.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1: The Quilt Shoppe |  Photo Contribution 2: Cameo Kids Boutique |  Photo Contribution 3: Esprit de Joie

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The first blossoms of summer at Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 11th 2010 as we present "The first blossoms of summer"

I know that summer has officially arrived when its first blossoms appear in my garden. Although I enjoy every season, there is something about the beginning of summer that makes me feel "this" is what I have been waiting for all year long. The world is suddenly awake and alive, and every inch is filled with bright colors and a deep sense of contentment.

I can almost hear the flowers in the garden outside my window, calling my name. It seems like they want me to come celebrate the start of their season with them. In each corner, new blossoms in gorgeous colors are popping up. Soon their petals will open and my yard will be an explosion of color. Bright birds flit from the bird houses that we hung, to the sweet tea cup bird feeders filled with seed, their own shades blending in with the rainbow that's already growing here.

Inside the house, I'm preparing for the start of summer too. My dining table is covered with an antique hand made lace tablecloth in a pretty floral design. A few blossoms from the garden are proudly displayed in the crystal vase that's been passed down in my family through generations. When I set it on the table, I can't help but remember my mother and grandmother filling it with flowers from their own gardens.

In the living room, I tuck needlepoint pillows stitched with dainty flowers into the corners of my slipcovered couch. Perhaps a few on the chairs in the summer porch. They add the perfect summery touch. Rose-shaped soaps that smell as beautiful as they look rest beside my bathtub. I've placed a few of the same soaps inside a vintage berry bowl and placed it on the bathroom counter. In the bedroom, I bring out pillowcases embroidered with blossoms as brightly colored as the ones growing outside.

When the first blossoms of summer appear, I know one of my favorite season has begun. It may not stay for long, but you can enjoy it year round with the blossoms and flowers you'll find at Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution: Hydrangea Home

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Girly Finds at Make Mine Pink

Make Mine Pink's Friday Shopping Event

Please scroll down for a list of participating boutiques!

 

MMP Friday Shopping Event June 4th"Girly Finds"

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Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday June 4th 2010 as we present "Girly Finds"

I remember looking at decorating magazines from the 40s and 50s when I was a young girl and thinking that when I had a house of my own, it would look just like that. Carpets were sculpted with beautiful roses , dressing tables were layered in ruffles and tulle, bathrooms were tiled in pink and modern kitchens proudly displayed pink appliances and accessories. As I got closer and closer to setting up my own home, feminine and girly styles were pretty much a thing of the past. Not only were they a thing of the past, but suddenly we had to downplay our feminine side to be taken seriously. Thankfully things have changed and in a wonderfully positive way. Having a fun girly side is part of who I am, and I’m so glad to be able to express it in all aspects of my life.

These days, it's not only OK to show your fun and feminine side, it’s easier and easier to do. Wherever we look, girly accessory are readily available. Soft pastels, shades of pink and all things white, have become a mainstay in many styles of decor. From large department stores to specialty boutiques, it’s easy to find fun and feminine pieces to add to your decor. Expressing your girly side has once again become more of the rule, rather than the exception. It’s become more and more of the norm to decorate in a girly and eclectic style. It's so much fun to add little touches here and there and watch everything around become more girly.

For instance, a length of vintage French velvet ribbon is such a simple, versatile way to make something seem more feminine. It might become a pretty hair tie or an elegant belt. You can use the same piece to tie around a special gift or to hang a favorite vintage frame. Pieces of vintage jewelry can make anything feel more feminine. Whether I've put a handful of mismatched pieces in a bowl on my vanity, or a special piece pinned to my summer purse, it adds just the right girly touch.

I've discovered that adding a single feminine touch is all it takes to change the ambiance of any room. A few fun and feminine pillows added to a sofa, makes a room more inviting. When I pour tea from a pot painted with delicate roses, my simple tea for one becomes a relaxing getaway. A plain box covered with vintage wall paper and antique buttons becomes a treasure chest to hold old love letters and photographs.

Showing off your fun-loving girly side by adding feminine touches to your life and your home is easier than ever. You'll discover girly finds in all shapes and sizes at the boutiques of Make Mine Pink.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1: Esprit de Joie | Photo Contribution 2: Sweetheart's Nest | Photo Contribution 3: Celestina Marie Designs

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