Just Moved from S-B-F.com...

[ShopLady]

Hi everyone. I just moved over here from the .com from under the username "Tshirtnoise.com"...heard there is plenty more activity here than there is there so here I am, ready to participate, get tips, and help out if I can.

I hope all of you had a very good holiday!

[Blessed]

Welcome to S-B-F.net! It's a great place to be!

[vangogh]

Welcome to our new home ShopLady. It has been more active here and hopefully we'll be able to share what we know. Thanks for joining the community.

[ShopLady]

Thanks so much for the welcome!!!! :)

[orion_joel]

Welcome Shoplady, Nice to have you here, there is i think more activity, or at least maybe more interesting activity.

[cbscreative]

Welcome aboard. The vast majority of us here are deserters from the .com. Some of us were there a long time. Joel above was sometime in 04 there, I was June of 05, vangogh was Dec 05, and many others you will get to know here date back quite a while on the old SBF. Why we left is a long story, but I hope you like what you find here. It's a great group of people.

[KristineS]

Welcome ShopLady. It's lovely to have you here. I think you'll find a lot of helpful information.

[Vivid Color Zack]

I'm from SBF.com too, I really like it here there is a lot more activity and a lot of really useful information. Everyones super supportive and even when people disagree here nobody really gets heated. I still hit the .com every now and then but I see threads go days without a reply, it's really kind of pointless.

Care to introduce yourself in a little more detail? Obviously your business has something to do with Tshirts :)

[vangogh]

Zack most of us are originally from SBF.com. It used to be a great place, but the community was being ignored by the current ownership. We took things in our own hands and moved much of the community here.

ShopLady I'll second asking for more info about you and your business. Always happy to know more about the members here.

[ShopLady]

Sure thing, Zack! And yep, lots of activity here and helpful info, it's so appreciated. :)

Well, I am a work at home mother of two beautiful little girls and I run an online store called T-Shirt Noise (There is a bunch of work currently being done on the website, so please pardon any errors! Everything will be finished up this afternoon). Born and raised in Chicago and am now living in the south. I really love graphic design, photography, writing and basically anything that will make for great memories, even if I will be too old to remember them when I'm an old lady chasing her cats!!

Anything else, just feel free to ask. :)

[vangogh]

Thanks for the added info. If you want to share your name feel free. I'm Steve as are quite a few other people here. I'm the original though, since I got to be member #1 for installing the forum software.

If you're ever lost for a solution to a problem just shout out Steve. There are enough of us that one of us will likely hear.

[ShopLady]

About the business? Sure thing!

A year or so ago I was already in the business of selling t-shirts, mugs and tote bags. It was doing decently, made enough money for gas every so often which was nice. To some that may sound like I had no goals at the time; I did and still do, I'm just not the ungrateful type and am thankful for what comes my way. Good, bad, big or small. If good things come my way, I do my best to return that kindness and pass it on. If something bad comes my way, I am glad to have learned a lesson and make sure to not mess up again.

Then one day it just came to a head, I was ready to give up. Because of my un-success (No, it's not a real word, I promise) people and family had come to stop believing in me because with all of the time I spent putting that store together and maintaining it they feel I should have been making near millions. It made me feel really low, and worthless to say the least. It was a really low point for me at the time, because aside from work, it felt like nothing was going right and if it could go wrong, it definitely did. So, for a few months I stayed away from the shop and stopped selling altogether. It was a much needed break.

This past summer I slowly got back into the scheme of things, and opened up a new shop. It was a bit odd really...having been through an emotional rollercoaster and weeding out the negative people in my life that only succeeded in bringing me down was a very rough ride...but it opened my eyes a bit. And that is when the ball started rolling. I woke up one morning, made the coffee, fed the kids waffles, sat at my desk in my pajamas and thought to myself, "I am not anyone's scratching post or puppet, I have my own voice and I'm going to use it". After that the inspiration just flew out of my brain, at one point so fast the I couldn't keep up. Floodgates? Maaaaybe. But! I do know this: "Make Noise, Be Heard" is a slogan that even a few of my friends have come to work into their daily lives.

It's about having the guts to express yourself without worry and doing it with a little tact. Tact matters, alot. I am in no way trying to encourage anyone to do something against the law because it's how you are expressing yourself. <--- That will be in the disclaimer.

If you are making noise, you're being heard...but if you're being noisy, you're making people not want to hear you.

It's about stepping out of your own little shadow, even if for a moment, to get something off of your chest for yourself, for someone else, for a group of people in the name of the greater good. That moment can make a huge difference! When it comes down to it, you'll be able to say, "See? I DID that, I said that!"

Music is the theme for the shop because it's a very popular way to express yourself, unwind and dance crazy alone or in large groups.

That is it, at least for right now! As usual questions are always welcome. :)

[vangogh]

I think a lot of us have had to go through the process convincing family and friends that what were are doing is real and is work. I know people still see me as someone who doesn't always work since my office is my home. Sometimes I'll tell someone I can't do something because I need to work and they look at me kind of odd. It's just something we all have to go through.

[ShopLady]

They look at you odd? Wow...you know, some people need to take a moment to think about what it's like to having a work environment at home. It can get pretty hectic! :)

[KristineS]

I like your philosophy ShopLady! Everyone needs to find their own voice.

[ShopLady]

Thanks so much! :)

[vangogh]

The odd looks are from people who don't see working at home as working. Chances are I put more hours into my business each week than they do punching in to their job, but being home based still caries a stigma for some people, I guess.

[cbscreative]

For anyone who thinks working at home is not a valid way to make a living, I say, "Enjoy the traffic jams that come with a real job."

[ShopLady]

Agreed to you both! I don't get it either.

[Paul Elliott]

Hey, ShopLady, I'm a refugee from SBF.com, too.

Where in S. LA are you? I'm in Ruston.

Is your site down? Link is dead right now.

Paul

[ShopLady]

Hi there! I'm in Lafayette area, howdy neighbor!

And yeah, =\ That was at the fault of the hosting that I am using at the moment, I was never notified about any of their site updates, if any, and that is the second time that has happened. I lose visitors like that and it isn't encouraging to say the least. :)

[Paul Elliott]

Hi there! I'm in Lafayette area, howdy neighbor!

Great! One of my favorite places is the Kings Truck Stop just east of Opelousas. Love their seafood gumbo--the best!


And yeah, =\ That was at the fault of the hosting that I am using at the moment, I was never notified about any of their site updates, if any, and that is the second time that has happened. I lose visitors like that and it isn't encouraging to say the least. :)

Yep, I got it earlier this evening.

On page 4 of your homepage inventory has a problem. The right-most product on each row does not show a size on the drop-down even though it appears it should. I didn't check any other pages for errors.

Keep up your excellent work!

Paul

[the goat]

Hi Shop Lady, I dig your vibe and your attitude. It sounds like you are doing what you want to do. That's more than most can say.

[ShopLady]

Thanks for the heads up on that Mr. Elliot; when the inventory isn't available for any item the checkout option and any other options attached to the item won't be made available until the inventory is replenished. I'll go ahead and keep checking into that, would hate for it to be a simple coding error or something.

I really don't like those!!:p Thanks again!

And thank you, the goat, I really appreciate that.:)

[Paul Elliott]

Thanks for the heads up on that Mr. Elliot; when the inventory isn't available for any item the checkout option and any other options attached to the item won't be made available until the inventory is replenished.

I's working fine now. I checked a number of others, and everything seems to be functioning well.

Paul

[ShopLady]

I's working fine now. I checked a number of others, and everything seems to be functioning well.

Paul

Thank you so much! =)

[Paul Elliott]

Do you still do voiceovers? I occasionally have marketing clients who need that. My squeeky voice with a Texas twang won't work. :o

Paul

[ShopLady]

Do you still do voiceovers? I occasionally have marketing clients who need that. My squeeky voice with a Texas twang won't work. :o

Paul

Sure! I am available to do a bit of voice work if it is needed. If possible, shoot me an e-mail or a PM here on the forum.:)

[cbscreative]

That was at the fault of the hosting that I am using at the moment, I was never notified about any of their site updates, if any, and that is the second time that has happened. I lose visitors like that and it isn't encouraging to say the least. :)

I'd be shopping for a new host. Unfortunately, hosting is one of those things that is overrun with bad players. If they are having problems with uptime, I would hate to think what issues you could run into with security. Since you are dealing with ecommerce, you need to be sure they are keeping pace with security. I've seen some horrible things happen with inept hosting companies.

[ShopLady]

Yeah, you make a good point, cbs. I just noticed that the site I am using for hosting is charging so much per year for SSL certificates, but you have to buy one from them. Does that make sense to anyone here? I don't want to pay for one if I'm being jipped.