I got an email this morning with the day all planned out by astrological correspondences. (As many of you know, or will soon figure out, I'm very much interested in metaphysical phenomenon and "freaky stuff", as my mom calls it.) I found today to be particularly interesting regarding not only the work I've been doing on the shop, but also with Halloween being tomorrow.
"Last night at 1:45 a.m. the Moon moved into its void of course motion. It will remain in this... until 6:41 p.m. this evening... During this time you will feel a difference in the energy... It will be a great day for re-collecting the experiences that you have had over the last couple of days. It will be a great day for organizing your office, re-covering materials which may need further investigation, gathering your ideas and drafting them. This will be a great day for examining the changes which are occurring in your life."
I thought this was interesting, as this is exactly what I plan to be doing- not only working on the shop, but trying to reorganize my life as well. I have a lot of paper work and research to be doing today, and it seems like its the perfect day to do it.
It goes on to say:
"The Moon's path through Scorpio has a way of reminding you how important it is to transcend, transform and move through the fears which can keep you hiding from yourself and from moving forward in your life or simply just living life... I am here to remind you that Scorpio energy has
the power to influence you to take back your power... Scorpio energy can change anything. This is the most important thing to remember... as you step forward onto this new path...! Today will be another great day filled with opportunity to let go of the past and to draft out what you would like your future to look like!
At exactly 6:42 p.m. this evening the Moon will shift her gears and move into the zodiac sign of Sagittarius. You will feel the influences of this truth bearing, free spirited and happy go lucky energy until early Sunday morning. You may find this energy is fun loving. You may feel the
most fulfilled when you are discovering new things, sharing your philosophy with others and most of all discovering the truth of what you believe... This positive energy has provided opportunities to surface around you so that you would take actions to restructure things in your life."
It looks like today is the perfect day to be doing what I plan to do. Over the next few days, I need to dedicate myself to having fun and releasing some stress (yay Halloween!!!) so today is the day to buckle down and get enough stuff done so that I can take the long weekend off. :-) (If you want to get personal, there's more about this topic in my personal journal.)
Anyway, enough theory. On to today's official topic: concept.
When you're starting a new venture, whether its opening a store, starting a business, creating some work of art, etc, its important - probably the most important - for you to have some sort of concept before you begin the project.
This was especially tough for me when I first started. I knew I wanted to make things and sell them. Okay, so the first step was: what things? I decided on homemade crafts, things that could be useful. Spa products are easy, so I started with those. It grew from there. I wanted to make magical items too, to play into my spiritual practices, and because all the magical stores in my area charge so much for handmade items. I didn't want to do the same, so I had two ideas now: spa stuff, and magical stuff.
I can sew, and I make costumes for myself and my friends for parties, faires, and games. I do a pretty good job, if I do say so myself, and I knew I could make money off of that too. Now it seemed like things were getting a little out of hand. The list so far was:
- spa products
- magical tools
- clothes and costumes
Could I really come up with a concept to fit all these ideas? On top of all that, I didn't want to limit myself to just these items when thinking of a concept. What if I wanted to sell jewelry? Or picture frames? Or personal artwork? The list was growing and I was sinking under the weight of finding a concept, a thesis, a business statement to fit all these things.
In fact, I'm still tweaking and perfecting the concept. I know that I want my products to be as natural, organic, and homemade as possible. I know that I want my shop to be green and eco-friendly. I know that I want my products to be funky and original and unique. I want to offer both homemade products and personalized services. Its really important to me that everything I sell be affordable and wallet- friendly too, since I know what its like to be living beyond your means and still need to purchase things. I want to be a community for people to gather. I know that one day, I want to have a physical, brick-and-mortar type store. And I know that I need to keep my concept open enough for change and growth later down the line.
Sounds like a lot? That's because it is. I know I'll probably need to trim things at some point, but the good thing about the above statements are they aren't all part of the concept - or at least they don't have to be. Some things, like being green, are just store practices and policies. Others, like having a physical store in the future, are goals but not necessarily concepts. So I do still have some work to do, but at least I have a picture of what I want to do with this project. Its always better to have too many ideas, versus not enough.
Astrological information came directly from Andrea Klim of Turn To The Stars. Credit goes to her for the interpretations in the quotes. I only cut things out, I didn't edit what she said at all.
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