Building a New Website!!!

Oh what fun we are having, I thought spanish was hard to pick up but html well thats a different matter entirely. Got a fab new bit of software and are (hopefully) going to have a fantastic new website very very soon.

Watch this space!!!

We've been shortlisted in Worthing Business Awards

Artifax is very very excited to have been nominated and shortlisted as retailer of the year in Worthing's Business Awards.

After years hard work we are realy proud that our customers think we are good enough for this award.

So saturday nigh me and my left and right hand ladies, Anne & Marie are off to the Pavilion Theatre in Worthing for a posh do to see how we do. Fingers very crossed.

It is a fitting end for Anne who after 6 years of being with me has decided to retire, so it will be a fabulous celebration and send off for her. She will be deeply missed.

We are in the middle of preparing some exciting things for Christmas and working on a new shiny web site! so keep checking and I will post next week with hopefully some very exciting news!

oh dear, i've been slacking...............

Well it has been a while since I posted, ive been doing my best to find my next rooftop, but have to confess that i've struggled a bit of late. I need to re-focus and find my path again. I have been to a couple of networking events but haven't really shouted about myself. I have had orders from the previous events so get a grip Tracie springs to mind!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a busy week this week and I am working Saturday so this is my chance to get back into the swing of things.

I WILL report back with some much more positive news very soon!!!

Happy Easter to you all

facebook

i've just been looking at my facebook thread, I do use it for business to communicate but I just wondered what your thoughts were about businesses using it as an 'in your face' marketing platform? I personally don't feel it sits quite right. Would love to know what any of my followers think??

Thanks Google

I work 1 in 4 Saturdays and its my turn this week. Saturdays for us are the quietest day and I was trying to get myself motivated this morning and wondering if those busy fairies would be coming my way today.

Then came a phone call from someone needing an urgent leaflet order, nothing strange about that you may think, but he was in an airport in France about to board his flight to Gatwick desperately needed leaflets printing, so he googled and found us!!!!

I am now printing his order as we speak for him to collect this afternoon.
so thanks google and thank you to Ian from www.wikivorce.com for the order.

Happy Saturday to all you lucky people chilling at home!!!

I'm twittering!!!

I am now on twitter, all this social networking stuff gets verrrrrrrrrry addictive!!

I have this evening decided to follow jason bradbury from the gadget show - only on twitter i'm not stalking him ;-) and guess what he is now following me!! I have absolutely no idea what it all means but I am VERY excited to be followed by a celebrity, a gadget master :-)

well maybe just maybe he might need t-shirts for some important event, see my glass is floating around again!!!

back to twitter ............ see ya

you get out what you put in

I am such a huge believer in 'you get out what you put in' I try every day to put this in to practise in my business (and personal) life, its great when it comes together.

I had heard of a new business opening in Worthing who was on facebook - which I have become a bit obsessed with!- I sent her a message to wish her luck with her new business and offered her support, I think all of us small businesses should stick together and help each other, I also introduced her to my business. Well today she needed one of my services urgently and we were delighted to be able to help.

So a HUGE good luck wish to www.vintagegowns .co.uk who are soon to be opening in Worthing and a big thanks for supporting me. :-)

I must say one last big thank you today to team grasshopper the organic porridge girls who inspired me to do this, I am going to send them an email to say thanks.

Happy weekend to you all

support the travelplaces tigers

I've just sponsored some t-shirts for the lovely Kerry from Travel Places in Worthing, she is doing all sorts of mad things to raise money for comic relief, so please please support them at http://www.justgiving.com/travelplaces

I am getting better at this!!!

well what a busy time I've been having, the busy fairies have been to see me and I have signed artifax up to facebook. I am now busy inviting people to 'be friends'. How statisfying when you log in and have 'friend requests' :-) I am going to use that as another rooftop to shout from, its amazing when you discover how many other local businesses are registered and are using it really well.

I have just got in from another networking event (i quite enjoyed it but don't tell Tina my boss at the chamber!!! I am always banging on about how much I HATE networking I'll never hear the end of it) We started with the workshop I mentioned about blogging, facebook and twitter - but thats still a bit of a mystery to me learnt a few things, mainly not to be boring so that put the pressure on a bit!

The business cards with sweets in were still a huge hit - Sam you are a genius people just love them, any one who's planning on networking I urge you to try it is fab! Even Vicky Vaughan - The Brand Surgery was impressed and she's streets ahead on these sort of ideas, one for you to use their Vix ;-) Oh and Sam the plumber loved them and may want some t-shirts done, so I think thats another roof ticked off. Where's the next??????????????

Well ramble over

Have a Happy Week :-)

end of a fab week

hello cyberworld, well its been a busy week, for the simple reason that I have been taking an hour out each day to ice skate. In sunny Worthing we have a temporary outdoor ice rink. I used to skate when I was much much younger and bounced a whole lot better. However, I have had a fab week, a blissful hour each day of freedom. I had forgotten how much I love it and I've also met some fab people. So come on Worthing lets get behind a proposal for a permanent rink.

I have to kick myself into action now as rooftop number five needs some serious attention, I have followed up from my networking episode, but need to do more...............soooooo much more.

So on that note I put my trust in ...........well something............. the busy fairies will visit me next week and I have another networking event to bravely attend on wednesday. We have a training session first on BLOGS!! twitter and social networking, so I am looking forward to learning loads.

have a happy weekend :-)

I've been networking!!!

I have another hat I wear for a few hours a week - I also work for the Worthing Chamber of Commerce, we had a huge networking event this week, I was there doing the signing in as normal.

Now I would usually run a mile after I have finished my tasks, networking is NOT my idea of fun and I find it incredibly hard. However today I was aware of rooftop number 4 needing my attention so I thought here goes - bull, horns and grab. And grab I did, I made a couple of fantastic contacts for my business which is all you can wish for from these events.

I was soooo chuffed that I had faced my demons and went for it. It certainly helped that I had pinched a great marketing idea from a colleague (thanks Sam from balloon wrap!) and presented my business cards in a little bag with 2 everton mints, that went down really well and wasa great ice breaker.

So now I need to make sure I follow those leads up, and then onto the next challenge.

Bring it on !!!!!!!!!!

very pleased with myself

i was sooo excited this afternoon, I managed to find a way to link my blog to my website - an easy feat for many of you I am sure but not so easy for a newbie like me - so my fabulous new blog is now proudly linked to my web site. I now have to do a bit of work on my site to make it sparkly and new. may take some time :-)

one week on

well its a week since my last blog, had a fantastic couple of days after posting, i guess you put positive thoughts out and good things will come to you. I am the extreme optimist my glass is not only brimming but its floating around somewhere!! I had a lovely email back from grasshopper who inspired me to do this so thanks girls, and asked me to keep in touch, which I will, and I thought it was very lovely of them. We all need to support each other in business it helps to know that there are other people out there in the same boat. If I can inspire someone else that can only be a good thing., I am classing that response as roof number two, now on to roof number three.............

well, after reading a blog from grasshopper porridge in the Daily Mail, which incidently made me laugh lots, I thought I would try one of my own.

I have decided today is the first day of a new era for artifax in worthing. we will fight the credit crunch and blossom through it.

So I now need a plan............i will shout about us from the rooftops, we are the best and we will continue to be the best, and everyone will know we are the best.

So let the shouting begin this is my first rooftop, for anyone remotely interested we do t-shirt printing and personalised gifts.

I do get cross when I see groups of lads on aeroplanes in their matching t-shirts knowing full well they haven't bought them from us, the fact that they probably live 50 miles away is irrelevant they still should have come to us :-). Why didn't they - because they don't know we exist, that is to change as of now.

so next time you are having a holiday, stag night, hen night, party, remember this first rooftop of mine and remember artifaxonline.com. I'm off to discover rooftop number 2, maybe santa can help me find it ????? he's not so busy at this time of year.