As I sat musing about personal resolutions for 2012 this past weekend I couldn’t help but melt in Pierogi Picnic’s as well. Naturally, during this season of reflection, all of us our contemplating our dreams for the next year. But how do we keep these goals sorted while still retaining a passion for our creations?

Last year I compiled a set of questions for indie business owners to answer following the end of a fiscal year to help center their goals for the next twelve months. Keeping the 4 Ps in mind, product, presentation, passion, and plan, the queries below help to structure ideas and ambitions into bite-sized pieces. To help keep my own business resolutions focused, I’m going back to these questions to help me frame my thoughts for Pierogi Picnic in 2012.

1. Before anyone can take on the arduous task of planning 365 days of their future, one has to look back to see what worked and what didn’t in the recent past. What were your greatest successes of 2011? 

One of my hopes for 2011 was to really streamline the creation of items for the Pierogi Picnic Etsy shop. I was tired of making items in multiples, be it colors or sizes, only to find that the online audience was not receptive to that particular design. What I started to do instead was make ‘samples’ of new items, take photos in multiples, and then list the items as custom orders. A shift within the Etsy listing structure helped to enable this further by providing a ‘made to order’ field in which to categorize a listing. The result was fantastic! I was able to come up with basic designs like the “Green Girl” bathing suit, and then let the customers choose their hue via a color wheel. One of the biggest surprises was that many Pierogi Picnic shoppers chose a color I least expected – green! I wouldn’t have had the insight to make the swimwear in advance in this shade – so having the custom listings available proved beneficial to me and fans alike! Continue reading →