| | |
|
After a 31 year career in a struggling industry, the inevitable became reality and I was sadly downsized. With my last day of work approaching, little did I know that the summer of 2015 would be the beginning of my entrepreneurial adventure and the start of Simply Cindy LLC, a home-based vinyl cutting and crafting business. At the time, I really had no idea how to get started, but I believed in my skill and ability and I am also very blessed to have some amazing business friends and mentors in my life, as well as a supportive husband.
Owning a majority of the equipment I felt I needed to get started, I really only needed to upgrade from the several Cricut cutters I already owned. It wasn’t an easy decision to “jump ship” from Provocraft (Cricut) since I had invested thousands of dollars with them over the years and I knew the software and cutters very well, but their cutters and the company no longer met my needs. To be successful, I needed a bigger, faster machine with more capabilities and I wanted to partner with a company that supported and stood behind their products. After investigating several machines, I bought the 24” Silver Bullet and I’ve never looked back. It is simply amazing.
Initially, my plan was to sell at craft fairs and by word of mouth. My first event was the Grand Affair in my hometown in September of 2015. I launched my Facebook page (SimplyCindyLLC) early in 2016 and I chose not to have a website or blog at this point. Since I’m plenty busy with what I have in place today and they can take considerable effort to maintain, that decision was right for me. At some time in the future, I may have to rethink that. I do want to explore selling online and I’ll likely do it on Etsy. I’m hoping to launch that site in late 2017 or early 2018. Wish me luck :)
Cindy at the Grand Affair – September 2015
After buying the “Bullet” as I like to call it, it took me a little while to learn the software and put it into full production, but it is running almost every day now and so much so, that I’ve actually purchased a second Bullet. This time I bought an 18” so it can travel with me. I’ve started teaching classes and that seems to be quite popular.
Product Line
The products I make are quite diverse with most of them having vinyl, but all involve using the Silver Bullet to complete in some way. Examples of some of my current product line and services include:
- Home and Garden Décor
- Wedding Décor, Favors, Attendant Gifts, etc.
- Clothing embellished with HTV vinyl
- Signage and Banners – Both commercial and personal.
- Outdoor Games - (bag/corn hole bag toss, Yardzees)
- Classes – Many of my customers are DIYers, so when I have something that doesn’t seem to sell well, I often offer it as a DIY class and they go over much better.
I’m only limited by my imagination or my customer’s imagination and I’ve not even experimented with a few of the Bullet’s capabilities yet. My product line is flexible and changing all the time and I couldn’t do it without my Silver Bullet.
Home and Garden Décor
Wedding Line
HTV Clothing
Signage and Banners
Outdoor Games
Classes
| |
| | |
|
|