I am sorry ladies and gents! It has been awhile since I posted, mainly because the beginning of the year is always so busy around here. I have also been working on the business blog http://www.thebeersoapcompanyblog.com, trying to separate business from leisure and all.

I am so happy its Friday!  Does not mean much besides not having to wake up early tomorrow andtake Bella to school. She will of course still awake at 7, so will her brother.  But at least no driving.

Its time to go and workout, so I will chat with you later!

Here is a little known black history fact for you:

Molly Williams, First African American Firefighter

List of official sites where you an help  http://www.afropop.org/news_flash.php?ID=644

Soon to open Etsy shop where sellers will be donating items to generate money for aid  http://www.etsy.com/shop/heartsforhaiti

100% of all profit made from our sales from now until January 14th at 7 pm
EST will go toward donations for Haiti. We will be splitting our donation between Unicef.org, Yele.org and Habitat.org.

http://thebeersoapcompany.etsy.com

Our goal is to sell every single bar in the store. This will help generate over $600 in relief for Haiti. Please stop by and show your support.

Here is a list of other Etsy sellers helping:

Viadellarosa.Etsy.com Donating 50% of sales
papermenagerie.etsy.com Donating ALL PROCEEDS. WOW!!!!!
CharitableCreations.Etsy.com Purchase and they will donate 10% to Haiti Relief Mention HaitiRelief when purchasing!
SugarandSpiceSoapCo.Etsy.com Donating 50% of proceeds to UNICEF!
ShaggyChic.Etsy.com – 50% of Sales 1/13 – 1/18
Midnightandlulu.Etsy.com – 50% of proceeds
bohoLUXEaccessories.Etsy.com – 50% of proceeds
prettylulubridal.Etsy.com – 20% through Sunday
Gleeza.Etsy.com – All Proceeds going to Save the Children for Haiti Relief
ElisabethSpace.Etsy.com – 50% to American Red Cross or Yele Haiti Organization
VintageTreasury.Etsy.Com – 10% of proceeds – NEW SHOP!
BeeBeeBee.etsy.com – 100% of proceeds
Yummyandcompany.etsy.com – 10% of Proceeds
Handjstarcreations.etsy.com – 10% of proceeds through Jan. 18
Delacy.etsy.com – 50% of proceeds
Thebeersoapcompany.etsy.com – 100% Proceeds

50% of all profits go to Haiti through Sunday
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Chuletindesigns

1000Markets is a gorgeous marketplace full of talented artists that just blow me away. Since it is juried, all the members are sort of hand selected. A lot of people have mixed feelings about juried sites, but I like them.

There have been a lot of merchants from 1000Markets in the press this past year (us included) and a quick look at the feature will let you see exactly why people are taking note.   Here is a nice splash of those merchants:

Sometimes I wish other sites were juried, it would save a lot of copying and commotion.  I also like the fact that 1000Markets accepts Amazon payments.  NO more chasing down people for money days after they place an order.  No fighting for fee refunds after a buyer fails to pay.   And no monthly listing fees and bills, fees are automatically taken out of the payment when a buyer pays via Amazon.

This chosen payment method has not been without scrutiny. Many who are used to using Paypal as their preferred payment gateway are upset that 1000Markets does not offer Paypal. However, most do not know that if they have ever shopped on Amazon (which most of us have) then they already have an Amazon account, with a payment option attached to it. So paying on 1000Markets is actually a snap, no account to set up, no emails to verify.  I actually prefer Amazon Payments over Paypal and will be adding it as a payment module on the website shortly.

I have been on 1000Markets for quite a while, and business picked up on there during the holidays. I am really looking forward to expanding our range by adding more to the site in both of our stores there, The Beer Soap Company and ZAJA Natural Handmade Confections.

When Susan Boyle sings, I get tears in my eyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I have been busy taking some new pictures for ZAJA Natural with my new Kodak Z980 and the lightbox I bought on Ebay so long ago but never used. I also grabbed a tripod on Amazon.  I am loving the pictures this cam shoots! Still working on the lighting (I think I will put it on Tungsten instead of Fluorescent tomorrow.) Gave my HP M60 to my mom, she is enjoying it up north.

I have a few examples of the pics below, with the Charcoal soap and the Dead Sea Scrub. The shop should be somewhat restocked by this weekend. There are so many new fragrances, its hard to decide which to bring out first!

12/27/09:

A word on new shipping rates- This year we will only be using USPS for first class shipping of one or two bars, per your request. If you would like to have your order ship USPS, you can purchase 1-2 bars here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37353042

Any order more than 2 bars will have shipping calculated to our new flat rate FEDEX rate of $7.95.  Canadian and overseas orders of 3 bars or more will be shipping with USPS flat rate international rates, but will be covered with full insurance to protect your package. This also gives us a sense of security in knowing that your package arrived safely.  Shipping to Canada will be $13.50, and shipping to any other part of the world will be $15.50.

You may ask why I am making these changes? Well, this past holiday season taught me that USPS is not the company we can rely on to deliver packages on time when they need to be. When a 2-3 day mail package takes 17 days to get from Miami Florida to Tampa Florida, you know there is a problem. My feedback and my company’s integrity has had to suffer because of late shipping. How can one explain to a customer that although their tracking number is not showing any updates, yes, they package has indeed been shipped out? How can a package be left to sit in a sorting facility for 8 full days before it is processed? I don’t know what happened.  The list goes on, and this has made this past holiday season extremely difficult.

There were so many emails, so many accusations, and it really felt as if all the hard work we put in this holiday and all year to get to where we are went down the drain once a package left our hands.

FEDEX will be our #1 route for delivering packages from now on. The $7.95 rate covers as many bars as you would like to order, and will arrive via FEDEX Ground or Home Delivery.  Fedex 2nd day air and Express Saver is also available at additional costs if you need a package super fast.

Shipping time frames is something we are working on to shorten, which is why your packages will now be shipping within 1 business day of your order.

Thank you so much for reading this, and understanding why our shipping rates have changes.  Customer service is very important, and this is a way for us to strengthen that aspect of our business.

Please feel confident that this is the best change we could think of for our company and the well being of our customers. A little peace of mind knowing where your package is and how long it will take to get to you goes a long way.

Dropping in to say a quick hello. We have been pulling all nighters for the past 2 weeks. This is the first night we are going to bed before 2. Its been a tough road, so many bars to wrap, pack and ship. Trying to be done with all Etsy, website and wholesale orders by this time next week. We’ll see if that happens!

Peaking in to say Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone had a lot of fun today!

Now that our 48 (well, 50 hour) stint on Etsy’s front page as Featured Sellers is over, time to get packing.  Our goal was to sell 1000 bars. And I was thinking to myself,  that will never happen! I can tell you now that we surpassed that! I would estimate that we sold close to 2300 bars!  In 50 hours!  *Runs around the room pulling at her hair!*  Ahhhh!  OH MY GOODNESS! I am seriously shocked, and so flipping grateful to all who came by our small corner of Etsy and supported us!  Thank you so much! It was a wonderful opportunity!

Ok, I have exhausted all the sit down time I have today, I will talk to everyone in a few days from now! Have to start the packaging frenzy.