Hello to you

I felt compelled to start a blog as I'm approaching (or perhaps already passed) the one-year mark of self-employment.

So, what in the hell do I do? I design, print and sell customized invitations and greetings- it's that simple. If you would've asked me the same question a year or two ago, you likely would've heard a weird, incoherent answer from a nervous “businessman.”

The nerves have calmed and the past twelve months have been amazing. Here's a quick run-down of some things that have happened:

1. Hanging up the apron and leaving a lucrative career as a bus boy to focus on my growing business.
2. Took a 33-day working vacation to Argentina. A lot of work didn't get completed, but it was a very important learning experience in many ways.
3. Traveled to Argentina for another two months (a lot of work was accomplished this time).
4. Bottle fed an adult tiger
5. Months of intense project management to prepare for the launch of a new and improved cardcandy.com.

So, how did I get started? My first business attempt/idea wasn't a success. My first idea was to start a running/fitness website, I designed a logo and that was about it. I also repaired and sold Xbox360's on Craiglist for a while...pretty cool. Then, I tried to sell strange bird paintings on Etsy...0 sales. Oh well. 

My mom who runs the successful Simple Beauty Veils on Etsy suggested that I should start designing wedding invitations. Even though I knew nothing about wedding invitations, I decided to give it a shot because I didn't feel like returning to any previous business ideas or working day labor again.

I got my first sale after about one month- it was a Thank You Card with an owl illustration on it. I was so excited that had made my first sale ($9.99) that I went straight to the store and bought two Four Loko's.  If you've ever had the original Four Loko (now off the market) you won't find it unusual when I say I woke up on the bathroom floor the next morning. 

I'm not sure if you would call it a proper celebration, but I know the rush from that first sale triggered something inside of me and I knew that this was the direction I was going to take my life in. 

I modeled my Etsy shop after a seller named "GoodFrau", I believe she is still designing and selling. Being a typography nerd, I started designing save the date cards that people were responding to. After a few months, I blew myself away by being able to pay my rent with my little Etsy shop. I continued to research and design and print and sell and answer emails and etc. . . while splitting time between busing tables and dating women. 

Fast forward a bit to when I barely had time to keep up with all of the work I had to do. Mix that in with cleaning up broken glass, greasy spoons and half eaten barbecue plates and I wasn't a happy camper. I left the restaurant industry and went full steam ahead into my passion, my budding design business. Within four months of going solo, I was running my Etsy shop along with a standalone website at cardcandy.com. 

It feels unbelievable to think about how my business has grown and where it has taken me (physically and mentally) in the past two years. Now, I am on the verge of launching a new and improved website that will put my business in the lead pack of the wedding paper industry. By the way, if you're a graphic designer or photographer and would like more information on my new website leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Life is interesting right now and I'd like to share it. I'll be using this blog to talk about life. I don't know if anybody will even read it! Enjoy yourself. 

Cheers,

Reginald