Return of the King

Hee, hee.

Our fearless family leader takes a break from educational pursuits and returns for the Memorial Day weekend. He will spend most of his time tending to his self-imposed chore list, but we expect to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends--

oh, my gosh . . . we interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging to bring you this very important breaking news . . . Harrison Ford is on Conan O'Brien. We'll pause for a moment. We're back. Funny, smart, good looking . . . flies helicopters! Definite correlations with real life. AND, he's a beer drinker! What a treat. But is it Harrison or Darren? Actually, both.

Okay. Enough of that.

So earlier tonight, Kendall, my sister and principal for BTR Designs, and I worked on my web site redesign until we were both cross-eyed. Now, in my defense . . . I realize this is incarnation 2,000,006 of a two-year-old web site, but understand that Kendall began her, now flourishing graphic design business, by practicing on my business. I really enjoy working with her and coming-up with new ideas. I'm very excited about our current direction. I was thinking about giving you a debut date, but--as I'm not new at this--I've thought better of that folly. I've watched a few other blogger/shopkeepers make and break those deadlines and felt their frustration, so suffice to say--it'll happen. Hopefully, this one will stick! Until, of course, Kendall learns a new trick and we want to try it out.

Which brings me to another, but related, subject. I was reading the blog of an extraordinary shopkeeper/blogger, Elizabeth Maxson, in which she was sharing information gleaned from a Country Living magazine conference for women entrepreneurs. She reported they advised:

"Go Ugly Early" meaning it is better to get it out and get it sold even if your site isn't really pretty. To which, she replied: I have to disagree with this piece of advice. Unless you are selling only spark plugs, duct tape, tires, or light bulbs, then maybe you can get away with this. Internet stores are popping up by the 1000's daily! After a while, they all look alike - unless you take time to make yours special. I really think it is important to not only make the site easy to navigate, but it must be eye-catching and fun to shop! I don't know whether to agree or not, but I do know that it's an important aspect of any 21st century business. I think there are definite benefits to getting out there early. At least buy that domain! If you've got an incredibly talented sister who will change things up at your whim, I guess it's okay to just get out there. I, fortunately, never experienced that "ugly" stage.

Well, this was a very random post. I hope you'll come back! Don't hold this one against me. It is almost 1 a.m. I promise it'll be a few days at least before my next post. Have a wonderful long weekend and remember the ultimate sacrifice made by those we honor this Memorial Day.

Thanks for your indulgence.

~Paige