149 Days Left

i will fix the image sizes when i get home to my 'puter

Dear reader,

July was not as eventful as June - No big launch, no convention drama. It was a month of slow and steady progress which felt like exactly what I needed. I spent most of it working on the basics: figuring out my systems, learning the building blocks of actually running buddy beans like a real business, and starting to plan for the biggest part of the year.

Blocks

me when i lie

This might sound like a small thing, but I'm finally getting the hang of Meta ads! I have a couple running that are doing consistently, relatively well and after months of it being a total crapshoot with some days good, some days negative, having some consistency takes such a mental load off. It actually means I'm making some income so I can stress a little less and focus a little more.

I also started posting content more consistently going from basically zero to about two posts a week. I'm enjoying the process and trying to be more intentional about my content mix. It's not a crazy volume yet, but at least it's a rhythm!

My first 'viral' post (that isn't a giveaway lol)

Remember the Fan Expo Anaheim recap from last month? Well, the video I made about it hit 192k views! It resonated with a lot of small business owners and artists who've had similar poor experiences at conventions. It's nice to know that I'm not alone, but it also seems to follow the trend of people tightening their belts on non-essential spending right now. Hang in there everyone 💪

New products

I shared a couple of new products I've been working on and the reception was way better than expected!

• First up is my XL buddy bean - it's a manta ray, and I'm so excited about it! It's wider, heavier, and designed for people who have been asking for a bigger size. I personally love sea creatures and hope I can make many more of them.
• Second is a new product type: sitter critter plushies. These are a little different for buddy beans because they're more aesthetic than functional as in they're not microwavable, but they are REALLY cute. I have no idea how they'll perform but I think I can make a lot of fun content around them at the very least.

I really enjoy documenting the BTS of developing products and talking about the work that goes into it!

Inventory squeeze

I'm now completely out of Nimbuses, down to <30 Churros, and the only buddies in healthy stock are Slippy & Apollo. It's a bit stressful because with less optionality, I've noticed people are ordering fewer bundles, but I'll be turning on preorders for Nimbus (and Churro if she sells out), which should help bridge the gap. My big shipment is exiting the factory soon, then it'll be on a boat, and should arrive by mid-September.

The problem? I'm also moving homes in September! So I need to figure out what to do when 70 boxes of buddy beans show up at my old place. Hopefully I can redirect the shipment but that's a problem for future me.

Q4 planning & goals

I'm getting SUPER serious about Q4, for real this time. My goals for October through December are:

• Post every single day (90+ pieces of content)
• Hit 10k total followers across Instagram & TikTok
• Sell out of my upcoming inventory shipment

I'm about 50% done with planning my content calendar right now. Once I finish concepting everything, I'll need to start batch filming and drawing a ton of assets. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm ready and excited for it!

I also have another collab that I'm trying to launch next month. It's been difficult to get across the finish line but please wish me luck as I'm extremely excited about this one ✨

Yellowstone

I'm writing this from a family vacation at Yellowstone National Park and I'm stressed out! This is supposed to be a relaxing time, but I feel like I should be at home working. There's no signal or internet anywhere except at the hotel, which does not feel good when I have so many things I can and should be doing.

After this, no more travel for the rest of the year. I was actually planning a Japan trip with my best friend who just moved across the country, but we both agreed we need to bunker down and get real work done. Pushing it to next year...

Last but not least, a massive shoutout to Henry, who is packing and shipping orders for me while I'm gone, taking care of our dog Yogurt, and doing all of this during an extremely busy week of his own. He probably won't see this (because nobody does hehe) but I am so grateful.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and hope you have the best August ever!