2022 certainly has been memorable.
I started the year with a rebranding. All new logos and labels. It was a refreshing change to the branding Starlight had had for five years.
We changed things up with the shapes on offer, and limited scents were topped up on the website (which also had a redesign) rather than a market night.
I'll be honest, this year had some of the worst sales months I've had for years, which is particularly hard now I am full-time self-employed. I really rely on those sales.
In September, my mum fell seriously ill and everything changed. I was back and to the hospital pretty much daily, so my business took a back seat. Luckily, she recovered enough to return home after a few weeks, and continues to recover.
Towards the end of the year, after a lot of requests from my customers, Market Night was brought back. This helped boost the much-needed sales in the last quarter.
Last year, I had so many advents unsold so this year I was more cautious and only made up so many and they did sell out! It was nice to end the year on a more positive note.
Moving forward for 2023, I have some changes to make. I want to streamline processes and be much more organised. I plan to time-block my week out and on certain days, I'll do certain tasks.
One big change is how I deliver the Full Moon boxes. I usually hand-deliver my local subscriptions, which takes me a good couple of hours! After many many months of doing this, I'm retiring my delivery services (just for Full Moons) and sending them out with the non-local customers' boxes via Royal Mail.
I'm also looking at custom moulds for the Full Moons, so the round melt has our logo on, or something related to moons at least.
My stock system needs a good sort. I find myself making orders as I go, when I want to have everything in stock. This means orders get sent out faster. I will then have set making days, leaving other days free to do other tasks, like admin and social media management.
I've struggled some days this year, feeling deflated and demotivated. I don't want to give up on this business I've spent almost six years building, making products my customers love.
So, 2023 will be a fresh start to inject that passion and love back into it, focusing on the products.
Thanks for supporting us again this year, I honestly couldn't do it without you. Here's to an amazing 2023. Merry Christmas and I wish you health and happiness.
Amy x