For the first time in years, Minnesota had a very short winter! Spring is here and it's already mid-May! The grass is green and flowers and trees are showing their buds from the April (and early May!) showers. It's a fun time of year feeling the seasons change and the same feeling of change is happening to the FizzyArtist Glassware business.
Last fall, Bethany (the FizzyArtist) was at her busiest with painting glasses for weddings and getting ready for her second fitness competition. By November, business sales had made a major dip with Christmas approaching and many small business owners were feeling the same slump all across the nation. After Bethany came back from Las Vegas from competeing in the Fitness America Pageant (
read about her experience here) she quickly realized that some things needed to change in order to keep the FizzyArtist Glassware afloat for the next few months.
She decided to downsize her living space and move to a more affordable place to rent, found a roommate, and picked up a temporary part-time job working the front desk at her local gym.
"It was all a bit overwhelming, but I knew it was going to be short-lived. This helped me get through all of the changes."
Christmas came and went and now she was living somewhere new and working extra hours to help with the bills. All along there were orders still coming in and before she knew it by January sales were back up where they needed to be. Within a couple of weeks, Bethany couldn't keep up with the full-time demand of the orders coming in and the part-time job she had just started 2 months prior. So it was time TO QUIT!
By February, Bethany was able to hire on her new acting
MANAGER, Stephani Bloomquist. Stephani simply started lifting the load by answering e-mails to buyers with questions and requests. It's been known in some of FizzyArtist's reviews on ETSY that this is not one of Bethany's strengths. She is the ARTIST and excels in painting and dreaming about the business. Over time she has been able to grow as a business owner, but after this last year she desperately needed some help.
"Stephani has been exceptional with her new position and is always taking the initiative to take on more responsiblities! This is GOLD to me since I have been doing EVERYTHING by myself for 3 years. It's time to start delegating and grow the business!"
So, we're excited to add Stephani to the team. She's the one who will do much of the communicating with you about your orders and questions that may arise. Stephani does her best to respond to inquiries within 48 hours and will be the liaison between the artist and our clients.
We also quickly realized that we needed to add another person to the team, so we've added some testosterone with the addition of
social media dude, Eric Johnson. He'll be picking up with our social presence and lots of other tasks as they come up.
Check out our most recent features in
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
and Twin Cities Live!!
Things are finally looking up! Even though we are trying to figure out how to grow we have found some great exposure locally in the Twin Cities. In March, the well-known publication Mpls.St.Paul Magazine featured the FizzyArtist under their "We're Lovin" section. Within a couple of weeks after the issue in homes and on the stands Bethany received an e-mail from a producer from Twin Cities Live television asking to do feature on her small business from home.
"It was such an honor and cool experience!" - Bethany (The FizzyArtist)
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| Feature in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine |
The FizzyArtist on TV!!
"An Eden Prairie woman has managed to turn her love of art into a successful business. She makes custom glassware for all kinds of gifts. Thanks to word of mouth, she’s getting business all over the world. Emily introduces us to the fun and unique designs of the
Fizzy Artist."
We appreciate your continued patience with trying to get this business flowing smoothly so we can do what we do best . . . get you beautiful painted glassware that you're excited about! Please welcome our new team members—they are both ready to dive right in and bring the business to the next level.
