Let’s start with how I started. Picking a domain name that represents your dream is hard. You spend inordinate amounts of time trying to out-wordsmith a whole planet of domain owners to find some new and interesting combination of words…
Preferably not too long, don’t make unintended suggestions (e.g. Katie’s hits gets the less than fantastic Katieshits.com), and actually try to convey something about your intended vision for the site.
And do I buy a .com? Or a .co.uk? Or a .business? Does anyone but me care? Do I really care? These are some of my night terror questions!
Picking a company name likewise. Should my business be calledKatie Could Limited? Or Ltd? Or Ltd. (with a dot)? Again, does anyone but me care? More night terrors! Ultimately, I made a choice and went from there, staying true to the idea that I would keep a high degree of consistency across the many business and media channels available.
Then there was social media stuff. To say I was a social media virgin is a bit of an understatement! I never really got, let alone… embraced, the social media thing, and I really was a complete novice when I started this venture! As a result of my peculiar aversion, I realise now that I have probably missed out on years of updates from friends and family who have been busy sharing their lives with each other all this time. And since creating my social media profiles I have really enjoyed catching up some fantastic life moments and laughing at all the silly stuff I have found.
Then there’s the meat in my business sandwich. The ‘buying-and-selling’ bit. I knew from the outset that I wanted to start a business buying and selling something, but deciding on what exactly has been percolating through my mind for some time now.
Like many who watch and get inspired by programmes like ‘Salvage Hunters’, ‘American Pickers’ and ‘Antiques Roadshow’, I have always loved the idea of discovering an unexpected treasure whilst rummaging through a pile of unwanted or discarded property. I would love to follow in their proverbial footsteps so I have decided to do just that. The trouble is that I don’t have all the necessary experience to know what is treasure and what is trash. I hope that it will come eventually or this may be a shorter journey than I intended.
In refining my ‘buying-selling-thing’ selection, some obvious practicalities came to mind – like actually being able to transport items myself without a team of burly chaps and a removal van. So far I’ve not yet managed to rope anyone else into being my pack mule (though not through lack of trying) so goods at the daintier end of the spectrum were a must. It is for these reasons (and a few others) that I decided to focus my energy on porcelain and china tableware, crystal and a few vintage accessories thrown in for good measure. These smaller items are much easier for me to collect, transport, store and most importantly, ship.
At this point I have to give a shout out to my ambassador of Ainsley, my duke of Daulton, my wizard of Wedgwood… Steve, thanks for the support and being such a great mentor.
Yours
Katie x
#katiecould #salvagehunters #americanpickers #newarkantiquefair