The holidays are over and we finally get to take a breath and let out a longgggggggg exhale.  Whew!  I don’t know about you, but I’m tired!  The holiday race from Thanksgiving to Christmas always takes a lot out of me. So, when the new year rolls around, I’m more open to taking time to rejuvenate myself and relax.

Since I’m taking the time to reach a relaxing state of mind, I thought you would enjoy it, too.  That’s why I’m excited to announce I am having a 12 Days of “After-the-Holidays” Relaxation Giveaway!  Yayy!  For the next 12 days, I will be giving away products that will help you relax and tame your post-holiday fatigue and stress. It’s easy to enter and you’ll have five (5) ways to win.

To make it even more exciting, I will have a few guest bloggers to share tips that will help get you mentally and physically back on track. 

The Giveaway will take place on the Simply Clesha Blog
You are allowed to enter up to five times, by following the guidelines below and leaving a separate post for each entry.  Psst…you can also enter everyday of the giveaway.  An awesome way to roll in a relaxing new year right?  I know, that’s what I said!

To enter, simply do one or more (more is better sometimes you know) of the following:

1. Answer the daily question, at the end of each post, in the comments section.

2. Go to Twitter and tweet the following:

I just entered to win a handmade bath and body product from @simplyclesha. Enter at URL.

Go to the Simply Clesha Blog and leave a comment letting me know.

3. “Like” Simply Clesha on Facebook. (The Facebook heart can be found in the right sidebar).

Go to the Simply Clesha Blog leave a separate comment letting me know.

4. Sign up for my Simply Clesha email subscription. The sign-up can be found in the right sidebar.

Go to the Simply Clesha Blog and leave a separate comment letting me know.

5. Sign up for my FREE Dry Skin Relief email course.

BONUS ENTRY: Sign up for email subscription on my new site In Your Secret Place, where I explore the sacred side of aromatherapy and I show you how to create sacred time and space in the midst of chaos.

You can sign up here: http://inyoursecretplace.com/. The sign-up box can be found in the right sidebar.

Go to the Simply Clesha Blog and leave a separate comment letting me know.

That’s it! 12 days of giving and five great chances to win!

A Little Fine Print
The giveaway is open to US residents only and will run from January 1-12, 2011.  Comments must be made on the Simply Clesha Blog.  Winners will be selected using the random number generator and notified via email for a shipping address.  The winner will have 24 hours to respond before another another winner is selected. The list of weekly winners will be announced on January 6 and 13th.  (Yeah, I know it would be fun to announce it everyday, but who am I kidding. I’m supposed to be relaxing too.)

The giveaway starts tomorrow morning.  Good luck!

Plastic bud vases are available. They are made of a lightweight plastic and are 8 inches in height. I have 50 pink and 50 red available.

If the colors don’t appeal to you, you can always spray paint them to the color of your choice.

They are $10.00 for each group of 50 or, $15.00 for both.

Shipping cost will be emailed to you after items are purchased. The BUY NOW buttons will be removed once sold.

100 Plastic Bud Vases in Red & Pink

50 Pink Plastic Bud Vases

50 Red Plastic Bud Vases

Ever wanted to start a bath & body or gift basket business? Well, I’m overstocked and need to let go of inventory. This is the perfect opportunity to buy supplies below the retail cost.

I’ve created a Bulk Buy section on the Simply Clesha blog listing all of my non-advertised supplies sale. The list will include items for bath & body manufacturing, as well as, gift basket supplies. Sale items will be posted when there are new items available for purchase. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Already in business? Stock up on your foundation items at great prices and save some $$$$.

To make things easier, items can be purchased directly from the blog post using the Buy Now button. Payment is accepted using Paypal and shipping costs will be calculated once you place your order.

So check out the Bulk Buy section on the Simply Clesha blog or get on the list and save big on supplies!

http://www.simplyclesha.com/pages/supplies-elist.php

A few weeks ago I had my first meeting with my SCORE mentors. They were, of course, friendly and very knowledgeable about all things business.  

I laid out everything I wanted to do, what I was doing now and how I wanted to build a stronger foundation. I felt like a grown up business woman when I sat back in my chair and waited for their responses. Boy, I was in for a 45 minutes wake-up call.

After answering a barrage of questions, one theme emerged. I was trying to do too much, too soon.  There were a lot of gray areas I haven’t thought about or explored with one major project I’m working on and no real roadmap to make it all happen. I have a very viable idea, but I need to implement it in stages to do it right.

My homework from this meeting (yes, I was assigned actual homework) is:

• work on a business plan
• go to the library to research changing the business status (that was an actual same day assignment!)
• research organizations that could use my services (I was given a nice list of suggestions)
• start holding workshops

There were other things on my list, but that’s the top four. I’m slowly going through the list, and I know it’s going to take a bit of time to do it all, but I’ve gotten started. That, to me, is the important part. I don’t have to meet with them again until I’m ready, so the ball is completely in my court.

If you decide to meet with the folks at SCORE, do yourself a favor and bring an open mind, pen and paper. It’s also a good idea to have some sort of workable idea of what you want to do. They can’t help you unless you’re able to tell them what you’re trying to accomplish. 

Whether you’re trying to get up and going, or already in business, SCORE is a great, and FREE, resource for the small business person.

You may remember me mentioning that I’m restructuring my business. I didn’t believe it would be this hard and take this much time to get that accomplished.

The reason for the turtle-like restart is that my business is changing focus. I’m shifting from making a gazillion aromatherapy products, to teaching what I know to you and making only a few really good aromatherapy products. In the past I would had this baby back up and going, while making products, designing packaging, creating formulations, and saving the world.  Not this time. This time God has me moving slower to my mark so that nothing is left out of His plan.

So far, I’ve realized that I can’t start 2 online schools at the same time, create content for 3 blogs, maintain an online shop, start an online  group for Christian women, handmade aromatherapy products and expect to keep my sanity. And, that’s just the short list.

In light of my new found revelation, I’ve decided to focus on one thing at a time. Yeah, I know. This is new to me too, but I gotta do it. Since I’m pretty much starting over, I thought sharing the process with you would be good in the event you ever decide to take the plunge into the wonderful world of Entrepreneurship.

First things first

This time around, I’m going to utilize some old and new (new because I knew about them, but never used them) resources. My goals to get me on track are:

• Start, and complete, a business and marketing plan
• Figure out how to use QuickBooks once and for all so I can do a better job of managing the business finances
• Learn how to better manage my business.
• Oh, and I also plan to put myself on payroll for the first time (major step!)
• Change the status of my business from sole-proprietor to LLC.

I think this short list is pretty do-able, don’t you? These steps will give me a pretty good foundation to build from and get me moving with purpose. If I take them one at a time and build off the lessons learned in each, I should be able to set up organizational systems and be good to go.

SCORE

So, my first stop on this journey is the SCORE office. This is a free organization that’s been around forever (well, not ever, but a really long time). It’s an organization made up of retired business owners with a variety of different business skills waiting to help you succeed in your business…for free.

SCORE "Counselors to America’s Small Business" is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Philadelphia Development Partnership

SCORE is nationwide, but if you’re looking for something specific to the Philadelphia area, you should definitely contact Philadelphia Development Partnership. I have used this small business resource for years and they offer a wealth of great information, workshops, and a peer-to-peer lending program. Whether you’re thinking about starting a business, or already in one, this organization is one you want to keep at the top of your list.

Have you ever thought about starting a business? If yes, where did you begin? If no, what’s holding you back? Share it in the comments.