Making the site transactional

Thanks to Roman May

My furniture store had always had a website, but it was only last year that we decided to make the site transactional. We knew we had to do something to take business to the next level, and allowing our customers to purchase online just made sense for us. We did a lot of research about online credit card processingand I think we've chosen one that works really well for us. Business has nearly doubled since we opened it up online and we now have clients from as far away as California! I never imagined we would be a national business, but it looks like that's exactly the way things are heading. I don't care who buy our product as long as someone is buying, so making it easier for customers to find us online was definitely one of the best decisions we've made yet. Things are looking up, and only going to get better from here! Who knew that 2011, in these terrible economic times, was going to be the best year yet?

cleaning up from the storms

I am so thankful that we have not had serious damage from the recent storms in the midwest. Between the tornadoes and floods, there are a LOT of homes that need a LOT of repairs. I can't imagine dealing with all the work they will need- from repairing water damaged floors austin to professional odor removal austin to rug cleaning and repair austin. Just lots and lots of things to fix. Not to mention the HUGE number of things that will be totally destroyed. I can't imagine losing everything like that. So difficult. I try not to be materialistic but there's something comforting in my "stuff".

self employment

Owning and operating my own business is certainly a challenge but I wouldn't trade it for the world. There are so many decisions to be made, some harder than others, but always something- everything from small stuff like Address Plaque to big stuff like major bills and insurance payments. It's a whole new unique kind of challenge, but it's a good challenge too, and I love it.

morning yoga

I had an early morning today, as I usually do on Tuesdays. I went to a yoga class at my gym that started at 5:30. As usual, I woke up between 4:15 and 4:30, then dressed and drove to the gym. After the class, I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast, then picked up the dog for a walk. The early mornings usually mean I don't get much sleep the night before, so I get pretty much nothing done in the rest of the day, but it's worth it. I mean, I've given up trying to find diet pills that work, and this keeps me healthy.

insurance

My car insurance will be coming due pretty soon. I'm thankful that I have a good insurance company and a quality car. Insurance is expensive enough as is; I can't imagine if I had to pay for, say, motorhome insurance or some other huge expense! Shoot, I wouldn't have a larger vehicle like that just because I simply would not be able to afford it!

numismatics

The other day, my grandfather was telling us that he sold several pieces from his large coin collection. Some of the pieces were simple; quarters and dimes and nickels and pennies, perhaps from many years ago. There were a few morgan silver dollars and other silver dollars, as well as some gold coins. He didn't become a millionaire or anything but he got a respectable amount for those coins!

outdoors

I am not really an outdoorsy person. Lately I've been running and doing more and more outdoors stuff, but overall I prefer to stay indoors in a pleasant, climate-controlled environment. Even stuff like four-wheeling, where you're still in some kind of technology environment, is not my kind of thing. I don't like to worry about maintenance, like ATV Tires and stuff. Plus, if I am going to be outside, I like to enjoy nature and the environment. Nothing more than an mp3 player for me!

cameras

I've been thinking about getting a new camera for a long time now, but it is a HARD decision to make! There are so many options available- everything from SLRs to point-and-shoot, Kodaks to Canons to even fuji finepix. Plus there's so many applications for all those different types of cameras. Quality is great- you can take really good photos with reasonably cheap cameras. It's nice to have so many choices, but it's also a little overwhelming!