The joys of growing

This past week or so we have been working on our latest new toy, Quick Books! It is a task getting to learn all this at once but it is coming along even though it is slow going with so many things to learn at once! I am not at all a comupter geek so getting the thing to send an e-mail through the program took some toying with tonight but I finally got to send out the first invoice of the year through QB! Now we are almost in business. Its a good feeling when you can work through issues and learn something new like that.
Learning curbs are all over the place right now. We are learning more about venders and which ones work for us and which ones we will have to work on fitting in right for them to work for us later. Shipping...what a trip! It is an adventure every day trying to chose the things that make your business work for you. Shipping was one of those also. There are a lot of choices out there but I find the cheapest and easiest works for me.
While things are crazy here being a business owner just starting out in this economy and with all the task and learning is made more interesting buy working for someone else while I get started. This eats into time I need some days but it also pays the bills and gives me some money (later on) to add to the business. It can be hard at times working on their stuff all day and then coming home to find something I have to take care of right away with mine.
Meanwhile the Network is still growing and I am excited about having some time soon to work on a village again myself. I have not had any time for months now to work on one. The Christmas village is still half done and set up in the studio still. Got to take that down and start on a spring and summer one. Maybe this time I can finish it. I want to get some more tutorials on the Network so I hope this is the season for it.

Coming Soon to Building New Worlds

Over the past few weeks we have been planning out 2009 for our store and made a very change in direct for this year. In keeping with our commitment to bring the best products and service we can to the village community we are happy to announce that soon we will be offering Woodland Scenics products at our store and on our online site also! As those of you know who have come to the Network, we use Woodland Scenics products in our village displays with some wonderful results and now we are going to offer this products to you also. Best yet, if you pre-order with us from now until the end of February, you get a 10% discount on your order. If there is anything that we do not have on our list to order that you want simply e-mail us with your list and we will add it to our order. We will be adding things through out the year for the store and site so check back with us for updates on what we have in stock coming soon! Also take advantage of the discounts.
Along with our commitment to the villager out there we are also getting ready to offer something a little different for 2009. Coming soon we will be offering you a way to wear your village! More details on this will be coming up in another blog so check back with us soon on this interesting bit of information.
While we have been looking at new ways to give the community products and services that you want we have also been looking into video tutorials for making displays and things for your village. We have started accounts on You Tube and Justin TV that are running teasers right now but in the coming weeks we will be to the list. If you have an account on either of those site, look us up under Building New Worlds. We will be posting updates on here, the Network and on Tweeter when those come out also.
With the state of the economy we know many of you are wondering how to keep your collection and your hobby going this year. Over the coming months we will be talking more about this on the Network so, please check in there for some new ways to make things for your village and for ways to cut down the cost of building your displays while making them effective and amazing!
www.buildingnewworlds.ning.com

Struggling but still kicking

With the uncertain future of the retail part of BNW we are still working on projects for the up coming year for the Network and it's memebers. One of the projects we are looking at and have started of sorts is You Tube video not only talking about village collecting but also showing video on how to landscape villages and more. We are excited about this idea which came from some of our members.
Another thing we are thinking about doing along with this is a kind of broadcast about villaging. We have opened up an account on one of the more family friendly sites to do this in time if this looks like an option for us. Again something that we are exicted about and hope that this works out in our favor.
We are also looking at the idea of creating a booklet about landscaping and village collecting but this is a bigger project that might take some time. We will update this idea more as we look at doing it. There are a lot of things we dream about that takes a lot of time to do. That is one of them.
Overall even with the grim look for the retail for now we have high hopes still that 2009 will be a brighted year. Keep coming back to see what we are up to and what the scoop is on our progress. You never know what we are thinking up next!

Results of the 2008 Halloween Contest

Building New Worlds hosted the 2008 BNW Halloween village with fewer entries than normal but it was a successful contest none the less. Here are the results of this years contest which BNW retail store sponsored.

Main Village contest go as follows
1St Place Entery #4 Georganne
2Nd place Entery # 1 Cithie
And Ties going for 3rd Place to Jason and Sly Granny!

Accoessory contest
1st Place entery 2 Jea
2nd Place entery 1 Georganne
3rd Place entery 3 Pam

Newbie Contest We only had two enteries this year
1 Place Entery 2 Tim
2nd Place Entery 1 Donna

We will be starting the Christmas 2008 contest after the Holidays and are taking entries from our members from now until Dec 30th 2008.

Gearing up for the Big Day!

Building New Worlds first year of retail has officially come to a halt now that Halloween is over and its getting time to find out what the big picture was for the year money wise. What our profit/loses were for the year. Typically the first year of business is going to be rough and it is not going to be the big success you would hoped it would be. Most businesses in their first couple of years or so lose rather than gain. I know this and yet I can not help but wonder what I could have done differently for the year that would have made it a lot more effective than it was. The retail sector for everyone this year was not so good. I know that also so this is something I have to take into account also and the lack of time to promote BNW this year also. the cost of start up for a new business is not cheap even with low overhead and all that.
In planning for 2009 I am hoping to have more time to do some things that I think will build our visibility on the www and will make it more fun for us in the long run. The learning curb is a friend and yet not so kind at times. This year was not as fun as I had hoped but I am not whipped yet!
Over all some of the things I hope to do are workable as of now. Some of the things I hope to do will still mean making some sacrifices that I am pondering at this moment. Mean while I keep telling myself it is all a matter of time before I get it right and we find our place in this big ole world!
On the other hand the Network has grown in leaps and bounds this year. We are seeing more people come in by the day and there are few issues going on with that part of BNW. Nothing that can't be fixed easy enough. Some projects I have started for that are on hold this week. We have a life outside of all this and with work and the death of a close friend some things this week will have to be held off until there is time and energy for that. I am find with this though I would no doubt wish things to be different. At any rate, life is life and we go with what we are dealt. Until next time,this is Neo Dreams saying, Dream big!

We're stepped up a bit

Building New Worlds just got a new computer as part of our 2009 start off. I know it is early for starting off the new year but it was a great deal and the old system was very out dated and slow. What does this new system mean for us and you?
First off, having a new system with more speed and better programing means faster time with updating the web site, the network and all those other things we have beeb working on. It also means that as we go on and updated the office and get things settled in the way I want them we will be able to get more information out sooner than in the past. The computer is just the start of what is in store for BNW over the next few months. The old system will become a storage for information that we will be using for doing tutorials, keeping track of invetory and other store information and the like.
As I start to work on the organization of things and get projects back on track we will also be able to see a more clear picture of where we are headed over the next year. It is pretty exciting for us here at BNW so we hope you all will be as excited about the changes as we are!
Next blog I hope to have more on what I am working on and about some of the changes we have done by then.

The ends and outs of a small business in a bad market year

This is our first year for doing Building New Worlds and I had my fears about starting a business in a year that did not start out good for the stock market but, I am not as worried as I was now that we have it going. What can you do? You either go with your dream or sit on it until you are too old to so anything about it. I chose to go with it.
This year has been slow so far and I have a lot of people who have had a longer run that I have that are doing better than I am but I am not down and out yet! My 2009 plan is already running in my mind and even if it might seem crazy to some I am going to move forward to the next level and go into the next year knowing that as long as I an kicking there is a chance that BNW will always have a breath too.
Over the winter time I am going to start laying the plan on paper and see just what it will take to get us going for the next year. I am eye balling Google Ads really hard and hoping that this will be a part of the next year. I am also hoping to get a shopping cart for the site next year so that I can take it right on to the next level that way also and save my custerms time with that.
One of the other projects I have in the works is a news letter that I am going to be working on that will go hand in hand with the Blog, Network, store and so on to keep members and custerms informed about what we are doing and when changes happen. All on all 2009 will be another busy year for me and this one is not over yet by no means. This Halloween season is just started and I am waiting to see how it goes though not as fearful as I once was.

Why another Lemax online store?

Over the past year I have ask myself a couple of times or so why would we need yet another store for Lemax? A lot of people out there sell Lemax or Department 56 or some other band of village. Does to world really need another village seller? My thought right after that was SO WHAT! You might think that I have lost my mind in saything this but here is why I came to the conclusion that selling Lemax was right for me.
I started collecting Lemax Spooky Town in 2002. My first three pieces I got all at once and just had to have them. Spooky Town was my first true love of things that I have ever collected. Never cared much at all for most things I got into. I was not sure though what to do with these amazing little buildings and things. So I will pull them out and sit them around at halloween and collect a few more pieces over time. Then came the day I found out that people landscaped these things. They made little worlds out of them and that was awesome! I had some art skills so I figured I would give it a try one day. I lacked the time or place to do this though then.
Back in 2005 though two things happened that changed my world. One not so good and the other was a blessing in the form of Lemax villages. I went to work one night back in August of 2005. Back then I was a Team Lead on the over night for a Target store in Evenston IL. Shortly after I got to work I had a seizure. Not just a small trimbling one but a full blown, lasting for ten minutes, seizure. That week I found out I would not be going back to work for a while. At that point I was scared, confused and even plan depressed. While all this was going on I needed something to take my mind off the whole seizure thing. I started working on my first village landscape. Not just some small project but a full village with all the triming. Meanwhile the doctors where busy trying to fix the seizure thing.
The treatments were not working very well but when I was working on my village I felt normal again. I felt alive! That was something I would never forget. Something that even now makes days that are not so good some of the best days of my life. It was through village collecting and building villages that I found a way to make my siezure disorder a much better thing that it was will any medical help. To this day I credit having fewer siezures on no meds at all to the work I put into my villages and the love of those around me.
While getting to know other villagers I learned a lot of them had medical conditions also. Over time I have found that many of the members of Building New Worlds use villaging as a means to help them through life and coniditions that are not always very good. THAT is one of the reasons I chose to be yet another retailer of Lemax village.
Another reason is that I love my collection and as a collector I feel that giving other collectors a great service and someone who know village buidling to go to is something wonderful to give back to a hobbie, a company and a community that has made such a difference in my life. It is with this love for all these things that I started Building New Worlds and it is with this love for all these things that I will make Building New Worlds something to be proud to be a part of.

What's New with Building New Worlds?

With the addition of the online store and our connection with Finch Family Water Garden in Albany, OR. we have seen a lot of changes this year in BNW. Between the work with the store and running the network we are running full speed this year to make sure that BNW is getting a great start. In addition to the Lemax Spooky Town line I am also offering small display bases that I have done at the store front only right now. This will start off the opening of selling landscaping items later on which we are hoping to offer in 2009. We are still in the planning stages for that though. The Network is going full blast right now with well over 300 members and very high hits a day along with high log ins on the site from our current members. Some of the topics we are getting into now are more about landscaping and additional pieces to buy or make for Halloween villages. The start of the Halloween Village Season took off over night!
Our plans for starting a news letter for Building New Worlds members is still in the works also. There is a lot of work already going into our days here so again this is something that is just in the planning stage. I am working on a test piece now for that to see how weill I can crank one out and still make it worth reading. Remember I am still working for another company while doing all this. They take up a lot of my time but, the bills have to get paid somehow you know.
Over all the success rate right now is on the Network. We are very pleased with that as that was the focus and ground work that starte all this madness. The Network is now ran buy the Admin with me doing some of the back ground work when needed. This is set up that way so that I will still have time to post and give personal attention to memebers rather than being that creator who is so back logged with work that I could not have time for being an active memeber. That is one of the things that sets us apart from the other sites and message boards. Our online community is ran by members not the owners. We have also in the past year started collecting feed back from memebrs on what they want on the Network and how we should go about doing things on there in a way the works for them. This direct feed back has been an impact on not only the content of the site but the look and even how it functions. Members having this control feel more like a apart of the community and are more likely to return seeing that they are a part of something growing as fast as we are.
Our plans for the rest of 2008 are to run the contest this year which will be sponcered by our retail store and to promote this contest highly! We are also working on the database for Lemax collectors which will update all other data bases that might exist and complete them also. To date we believe we have found and listed all of the Lemax collection from its start to date. Other than that we are planning out the road map for the store's 2009 opening and getting some ideas of what we might be selling next year. That is still TBA. Check back with us for more information on that later. Mean while it is back to a busy day here and beating the heat!

Building New Worlds makes the "Buzz"

Word just in that Building New Worlds was listed in the newest addition of Village D-Lights under the "Just So You Know" section for the Aug/Sept volum! We are very pleased with this information and would like to thank the people at Village D-Lights for that early Halloween gift! While we are on the subject of making the buzz in village collectors news, we are also pleased to report that this week Building New Worlds online Network became now 300 plus members strong and growing. People from all over the world have been dropping in the check out what is going on in our community and the word is getting around that we are out there. Its always a good feeling when your work starts paying off and you see results like we are seeing now with BNW.
Spooky Town season for 2008 has been rocked with interesting new twisted this year. None of which has been more interesting than the "recall" of the Octo-Squeeze and the strange news that this piece was pulled from Michaels Crafts but will be added to the retailer Lemaxvillages.com this season. We are not sure exactly what happened that this change took place but, Lemaxvillages.com should be getting their stock of that piece later this month. Check them out for that piece if you are interested.
Meanwhile we are gearing up of the big push for Spook Town village season 2008. The major store display is getting worked on and we are very pleased with how that is taking shape. Finch Family Water Gardens is looking more like Spooky Town by the day as we see the progress being made with this super-size village!
I would like to take a moment to thank a few people for all their work and support over the past few months while I have been on this adventure of a life time to expand Building New Worlds. James Finch, the owner of Finch Family Water Garden, the admin and members of Building New Worlds and those close to me who have been there to cheer me on while taking on this project. I started out with a very small dream and a small village not so long ago and today I am seeing the start of something much bigger than I can really understand right now. Thank all of you who have been there through out this time and will be there in the coming years for your support and work behind what I hope will be one of the biggest things to hit village collecting since those first buildings came out so long ago.

Spooky Town Village Season 2008

Building New Worlds has been going through some changes in the past year and they are BIG, very BIG! On May 31st of 2007 we opened up the Building New Worlds online community through the Ning Networks. At that time we started out with a hand full of devoted members and an idea for something new to take village collecting to the next level. On our one year anniversary this year we were over 200 members strong and as of this writing today we are now at 300 members stronger and growing. Along with the start of a open social network for village collectors we also started the retail sector of Building New Worlds with an online store and a store front. As if this was not enough we have started regrouping our dream somewhat and are in the process of redeveloping our inner workings. Marketing and managing BNW in ways that we hope will make a loud noise within the village collecting community. Now we will talk some about these things we have just sprung on you.
First there is the BWN open social network. Manned by a team from all over the world, this network is designed to be a safe and family friendly place for villagers to join, set up their own personal space in the network and get to know more about village collecting while meeting new friends. Building New Worlds network is safe and monitored through out the day to insure that you have a place to go to that is not full of unwanted postings and spam. We take great pride in the vast amount of information stored there.
Members of Building New Worlds can not only feel free to post threads and blogs but they can share video, pictures and even music. There are groups to join and a live chat set up on the network to talk to fellow members about village collecting and landscaping. There are a wide rang of tutorials, threads and groups devoted to teaching new ways to landscape and how to make interesting new things for the villages. We also offer the latest news and information on lighted villages and are open to collectors of ALL types of villages. No one brand is singled out. You can find the Building New Worlds Community at
http://buildingnewworld.ning.com

This year we opened up the retail sector of Building New Worlds with an online store and joined forces with Finch Family Water Gardens in Albany,Oregon to bring you Lemax Spooky Town 2008. We have the complete line of Lemax Spooky Town offered for the year. Along with that we also offer in the store bases created by Neo Dreams for displaying village pieces. These are one of a kind and each detail is hand crafted from start to finish. Our goal in the coming year is to bring the online store into the next level of guest service by offering more products and expanding not only the Lemax lines we carry but also landscaping supplies as well. We seek to become a one stop shop for all of the needs of village collectors. Our online store is located at the following link
http://www.buildingnewworlds.com

Along with all this I personally have been developing my skills as a villager this past year and have made my work very public for the first time. This year if you live in or around Albany Oregon you can drop into Finch Family Water Garden and see my Spooky Town 2008 village in progress as I work on it right in the nursery. If you do drop in please say hi, ask any questions you might have and feel free to take pictures. I love pictures and that is what I am leaving you will today.