My Monday Routine

When having my own business from home I try to keep the traditional Monday through Friday hours alive. I enjoy my weekends very much and try to have time to myself on Saturday and Sunday but during busy times (Christmas, Valentines, etc.) downtime is nonexistent.

The best part of working from home is creating your own schedule. Being my own boss means my Mondays are very, very important (and I never argue with my boss…hehe.) You may have your own routine throughout the week, but this is my Monday routine.

1. Answering E-mails

Emails gather up during the weekend. Though I am available 24/7 for customers needing answers for product requests and so on, it is nice every now and then to just not have any e-mails to tend to for the weekend. This is the first thing I do in the morning after waking up. Sometimes I will still be in bed answering a couple of e-mails from my phone before I even brush my teeth. Don't worry, you cannot smell I breath through the e-mail … thank God!

2. Supply Orders

Some of you that have your own business or work for someone else may order supplies on different days but I usually have my supply check on Mondays because I do not go to the post office on Mondays. The orders I craft on Fridays usually make it to the post office Saturday morning so with the extra time that I have with not making that errand to the post office I order what I need from my wholesale vendors online. From time to time you'll catch me at my local craft store getting extra beads and jump rings but that's usually when I cannot wait for the orders to come in. Being a business, I need my wholesale orders vs. my retail pricing I get from bead stores. (By the way, I go to the post office everyday Tuesday through Saturday as to compared to most online shops who go once or twice a week. I like my customers getting their order right away.)

3. Writing Current Orders Down

I usually limit myself to a certain amount of orders I do every day. This keeps me from getting tired and messing up. I find the oldest orders and tend to them first. I go down the line, first come first served. Every now and then you will see a listing on my Etsy that I am accepting rush orders. I do not accept rush orders on my Main Shop Website but I do offer priority shipping there so it's a win/win situation. I go through notepads like crazy and I love cool vintage notepads that keep my eyes entertained while I work. This saves me from having to continuously look at my computer for my customers instructions and me getting lost on finding music, twitter, or pinterest. "OH YEAH! I have orders to do…" and blah blah. I get distracted easy. I'm working on it.

4. Crafting The Orders For The Day

This, of course, is the most important part of the day. Without this part, there is no Rustic Brand. My processing time is usually 3 to 5 business days but lately I have been so caught up that I take care of my customers orders in no more than 2 to 3. This is because I work everyday (Monday through Friday) on orders and not just a few times a week. This keeps me busy, for one, and keeps my customers orders out the door quicker. But, there are weeks where I get so many I cannot catch up like I would like and it's back to my normal 3 to 5 business days.

5. Packaging New Orders

At last! The hours of hard work is done and I package, print labels, and stock the orders in my cool vintage wire basket for them to go out the next morning. This is the best feeling for the day!

6. Currently: Fall Product Line

This isn't just for Mondays. I have been currently working on my Fall Product Line and designing what I need everyday. I will be announcing some new products soon and a little later after that with more. Fall is about to be here in late September and I am suppose to already have my Fall line out, but since I run my own business I like to announce my new seasonal products during the ACTUAL season. Working in retail for so long I hated seeing long sleeves and coats come in mid July. But with my company being mostly jewelry, I don't really have that problem ;-). Also, I will be shooting my Fall LookBook soon so I am searching for cool places around the area for the photo shoot.

6. Ideas For The Blog

This one is a new one. I do this everyday actually, or basically at night. I rest up a bit from orders, eat dinner, go to the gym, or whatever I feel like that Monday, and at night I write up a blog post or two. This does take some time and It is a lot of work but it is a nice change from the normal atmosphere. I enjoy writing on my blog very much and I like the feeling that it will always be here for when I do end up cooking, building something, painting, or whatever it may be and be able to post about it. I also sometimes spend this time updating the main website or Etsy and finding what I need to do to it whether it is updating the SEO or cropping the pictures better and so on.

So running your own business means Mondays are pretty important. They are around here, anyway. Orders do really start to pile up from the weekend so Mondays are the best jump start to making the rest of my week stress free. What are your Mondays like?