Business Matters - Part 5 - Building a website

I've just spent part of the last week or so building a website for a non-profit organization I am involved with. I've built a few before - but they were all on mac using iweb. However this time, we needed a website that other members of the non-profit organization could use and update and change and so is not restricted to only mac users or only pc users, nor is a program like rapidweaver that has a huge learning curve.

After a little searching, I came across these three free website builders - Google sites, Weebly and Synthasite. In the end, we chose Synthasite and our website is just about ready to publish.

I mention it here because it is a great illustration of just how simple putting together a website can be nowadays. Synthasite lets you choose from one of 30 or so styles and then you don't need to know any html - you just type what you want, where you want.

We put a blog on the site, we've got photos, you can link to flickr or picnik, pdf's of the newsletters are linked through........It gives you a choice of web-friendly fonts, colors of fonts, you can upload your own banner or logo....like this one I made for it:


Yes, it has a few little foibles that you have to fiddle with to get things how you want - but really, it's a great way to get your own web presence.

It's a great way to get a site up and running in just a few hours. So you could start off with a simple site created on Synthasite and see what happens..... Then change and develop it as you want and need to. Maybe you'll end up wanting a professionally designed site in the end - but this is just a great way to start. I find having built my own site so advantageous because then I can update as often as I need, without having to get someone else to do it for me (and paying someone else!). Sorry I can't show you the new site now but we can't publish it until the Board have seen it. Maybe in a couple of week's time.

Anyhow - for now - here is my (mac built) website www.birdlandcreations.com ,

and also a website I built for my sister for her vacation home www.heronslake.co.uk (Sorry her place is only available for family and friends......). Get building!!!!

Business Matters - Part 3b - No man is an island

Continuing on from last week with the subject of "No man is an island" and who are the people that support us.......I then spoke of face to face support and the support of my family and friends.

This week I'd like to talk about the large group of people who sustain me in what I do, yet I have never met them and may never meet them. We have only "met" on the internet. This group has been the biggest the surprise for me as I never imagined such friendships would develop.

Two such people from this group, who have become wonderful friends I met online through the Dawanda marketplace website. They both contacted me initially and offered to translate my product listings for me into German and French for my Dawanda website in Europe. Marion and Fabienne have become such important supporters for me. They are often the first to comment on a new piece as I send them the text to translate and offer great feedback. But our correspondences are now much more than jewelry specific - we share ideas and experiences about many things, we share our lives... and also laugh a lot through our emails! They are precious friendships that I would never have imagined would have come about from online selling.

Then I am a member of a couple of yahoo groups for metal clay - one international and one local. Through these groups I keep in touch with what other artists are doing throughout the world with metal clay and hear about new books and classes and competitions etc.

I am also a member of the Etsy Metal Clay group which is a new group of other silver clay artists who sell on the Etsy marketplace. That group I find continues to push me in things like improving my photography, and helps with practical advice on casting and wholesale work and "the jewelry business" at large.

Then through this blog I have gained a lot of support: - from you - reading this now; from those of you who comment; and also from my merry-go-round group of blog posters ( our next merry go round is this Friday - so look out for a shared topic). It's nice that we all "jump on the merry go round" once a month and write on the same subject. It feels like a community.

And finally, through the websites where I sell I also feel part of a community through comments on my products and of course, from feedback from my buyers.

I feel a tremendous amount of support - and am so grateful for this. Thank you. It makes me think of the little saying I include with my "missing piece" bracelet:
"You are an important piece in my life’s puzzle.

You may never know precisely where you fit in my life or others,

but just know that without you, there would be a significant hole."

So what about you? Who are your supporters? And remember, don't be an island - you can find supporters in many different places - including people you'll never meet. Take a look......reach out.....You never know where that support will lead. And remember, powerful alliances are no longer bound by geography.