how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel first attempt at a temporary business card

 Here is the thing. I could and kinda would LOVE to skip ahead to the shiny pretty business that I will make and grow into in even a few months from now. However I think it is really important to show that starting SOMEWHERE is better than not starting because it is not great. So going to the farmers market today and if I get to talking (which is my specialty) I wanted to hand over something with my current instagram and contact information. Neither the contractor card or the temp business template have my "real business name" on it. That still needs to be registered and I do not want it to be taken before me! The appointment is 2 weeks away and that seems like a nice easy excuse to lay low some more and not put myself out there.  I do know how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel!

The temp business card first printing on cardstock that is pre perforated came out all wrong and barely on the card. And you know what, I will probably still use those! I am going to try again and print one more batch of 10 for tomorrows farmers market. 

Ok so those lines were what I was centering to and they were not actually the right measurements for perforations. They were for a different company template and I should have looked at it. Either way I am prepared to hand something over if someone what to know more.  It links back to my personal instagram (company one not in use yet, waiting for name registration to take). 

Here is the the thing that I know how to do you that makes my business cards, as temporary and silly as they are, have a huge impact. 

I know how to make QR CODES in google sheets or excel. 

 Make coloumn 1 the URL and make column 2 this code (copy and paste)

=image("https://image-charts.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&choe=UTF-8&chl="&ENCODEURL(A2))

You will seem like the genius at work making all sorts of short cuts to things.

 ONE STEP AT A TIME!!! Building a business is overwhelming for sure! Even if you think you have a simple business to start, there are so many pros and cons of each choice that you have to make. 

Business name is the hardest! And I have one. I will have the website on the 23rd. My day to register it is 22nd. By then I need to choose the address for this, weigh the pros and cons of my actual home address or a PO Box or a virtual address. If it is a PO box I will have to ask for a street address for it if I want to be an LLC. I can start at sole proprietorship and work my way up to LLC in which case which are two other questions. 

I feel like I should be drawing a diagram for this. And there went 20 mins looking for free decision tree templates to use to make one for this.... oy vey. 

Ok so on step at a time, right. 

1. name
2. 2 address   - a. home b usps - c. ups 
3. be an llc and cant use PO box have to ask for private box with street address. or be a sole propritor. 
4. 
   
5. ANNNND I got side tracked trying to figure out a milage calculator for my buisness google sheets since I went somewhere to work today! 

Breathe Breathe Breathe Breathe Breathe

 

My first post to my GVR community face book page about my new company. I am a Garden Coach and Consultant. 

It reads:

"Hello! My soft opening for my Kitchen Garden Consulting company is going so well and I will announce the company name on July 23rd on my grand opening! In the mean time, I want to offer 5 FREE 1hr garden consultations to members of this group.

Have you just moved here? Have you lived here a while and always wanted to do a raised bed kitchen garden? Do you already have raised beds but can not figure out the what and the when of it all? I want to remove your fear of failure and the amount of confusion you may have around growing food. Focusing on food that you already enjoy eating, incorporating what works locally to the Denver Metro surrounding suburbs, and to be more connected to your community and yourself. You will be able to enjoy your Kitchen Garden with confidence. I will consult with you on your ideas. If you are interested in further assistance I can also design, plan and install your kitchen garden beds. I also offer planting plans through out our unique planting seasons.

If you love the idea of growing some of your own food, supporting our local pollinators, and generally living more sustainably, message me! Think your space is too small or it’s too late in the season to get started? Message me! I can get you set up to enjoy more than just summertime in the garden. I am here to guide you, so you can dig in and get growing!

Have More questions about what a kitchen garden is or what a consultation entails? Let me know below in the comments!

Serving Denver North East and North Aurora. Especially Green Valley Ranch / Painted Prairie."

If I did not have the I'm going to puke feelings I would leave it at that for this post. However... I thought it was a good idea to share how vulnerable it feels to make your first "announcement" about your new company and what you are offering to the world. It is the "about to perform in your high school play opening night feelings" it is the "at the top of the rollercoaster about to drop and scream and still also somehow be delighted and invigorated feeling" it is all that and more. When I told my partner "can I share with you something that I feel nauseous about? He answered in a question tone "the seadragon?" which is true. It does now in my older age make me a little nauseous. And while we both laughed, because it is brought up a few times a year even though it was many years ago my last trip on that was... I also was nervous to tell him the real reason.

I had been typing up this message to my community and putting it off for a few weeks now. The scary hard part is stepping out of your comfort zone and showing up for yourself and your community. I know that I have information that I want to share with the people around me. I know that I want to continue to grow and learn and know even more. The best part about this is that I will never be an expert in everything that has to do with the garden. I will, however, have amassed those around me to that fill in the gaps and help us lead our community in the Kitchen Garden Revival.

I officially started on this journey the first week of June. That is when I signed up for the Gardenary courses to give me the tools I needed to navigate this age old, and yet very very new profession. The one where we fill the gap of garden knowledge. What and when to do this and that with these plants. I have been propelled to take this idea of a business and to actually take action towards it. My peers in my community have helped get me to here. I am looking forward to putting in the work this summer and fall to make next year so extraordinary that I do not even recognize myself or my company anymore. Welcome to my ride!

I posted the offer to the group just before typing all of this. It is up for review by the group and it should be posted soon. I will go to sleep tonight and wake up to my first inquiry about what I am offering. There goes that nauseous feeling again! Remind me to breathe and I will keep you posted. 

Someone in on of my communities asked: 

"I am new to gardening...started last spring during lockdowns...I have carrots from last year that I left just to harvest the seeds...I just don’t know how. What do I do from here? " Here is her photo.

My answer to her and any others with this question: 

You wait! Wait until the fall or when the seeds get all dark and seedy. When the seeds start to brown and dry you can cut them off and store in a brown paper bag to finish the drying process. I actually always leave a few to go to seed in the garden and let them just plant themselves the next year too. If the seeds are all the way brown and dry on the stock I still put them in a paper bag for a bit before putting them in jars that I store in a dark cabinet until I am ready to plant. I will never need to pay for them again if I always leave a few to seed the next year, and not pull them all.

Poshmark: 5 lessons from what my first 50 listings taught me.

 Poshmark: 5 lessons from what my first 50 listings taught me. 

So far all of my listings on Poshmark are clothes from my actual closet. Some of them, a lot of them, I did get second hand or on sale and some never wore. It’s kind of emotional going through clothes that you no longer fit into or maybe never did and seeing them all online as a memory of a person you were trying to create.

The other thing I am learning from this experience is that it really is ok to put out c or b- work first. That way it is out there. The styling of my closet and photography is still not where I want it to be but it is definitely B+ or A- now. I love knowing that I still have room for improvement. There is still much to be learned. AND I still had a few sales from my first attempt at putting things online that no longer serve me. 

I know that releasing and letting go of the ideas in your head is really the cleansing, learning, growing part of all of this. I released the idea of perfection and finally after thinking about it and telling other people about it I finally got up to do it myself. I sold things, I learned a lot those first many 50 or so listings.

What my first 50 listings taught me. 

1. Just start getting things listed. You can add more pictures, information and more, later.
2. Shoot your photos in SQUARE mode. You can even use a setting where you can "lock in last mode" on the iphone so it stays there, if you are planning on shooting a lot. Honestly this is great for instagram too. The 1:1 ratio is what it will be called on your DSLR camera. 
3. You will probably try on a lot of your previous clothes to "make sure" this is going to be a lot. A lot of emotions, a lot of wiggling, some jumping, straining to get things back off again. Be ready for this by making sure you've eaten, have water, good tunes, maybe some other sensory needs like aromatherapy. 
4. Because of number 3 I recommend you have a shower, wash your hair, maybe even put on a little mascara. You will be looking the mirror a lot. If you are taking photos of yourself in the clothes, which is a great way to sell them if they fit well etc you will also appreciate this step. Remember you can always update the photos and information later.
5. Find a place you can shoot photos consistently so that there is some cohesion. My first 50 was me trying to figure out placements and shots and places in the room and lighting. And while I do not have any of these things perfected now, I have a set up that works can be recreated easily.  

When I spoke to my friend about the memory of a person I was trying to create, she said "Think of all the energy you put into trying to create that and how much more energy you will use to create your future. And you can thank the person you were creating then for getting you to now." 

So thank you past self for envisioning who you wanted me to be AND knowing know that it is an ever changing target that gets honed in more and more with each choice you make. Thank you for the energy and joy you had in the moment of finding that piece of clothing or even the joy you had wearing it on occasion. Thank you clothes for bringing me to a newer version of myself. You may now continue your journey with others that will also find enjoyment and beauty out of you and be a part of their story as well.  

 To get started on your poshmark journey Join me on Poshmark—my favorite app to buy & sell fashion and more. You'll save up to 70% off of top brands! For a limited time, use my code UPDING to save $10.

Yellow photos are from the first listing. White balanced, better lighting white background are the new photos I replaced the old ones with, deleting the yellow photos. 

Chia Seed Microgreen

This Chia Seed Microgreen method has NO SOIL. 

I set out to grow chia seeds I already had as micro greens. I did not want to use soil because we finally got our gnat problem down and did not want to invite bugs of any kind back in.  Some of our salad green come in these big plastic containers. I love reusing something before recycling it. This worked out perfect for the humidome part. This is where the rainforest effect happens inside of the closed space when it is watered and has no where to evaporate to.  

Friday the 11th, I started by a wetting paper towel with water and sprinkled some Chia seeds onto it. I then placed in a closet to let the seeds germinate.  I gave it some more water on Sunday, the Chia seeds all appear to have sprouted. It looked very wet in there so I left the lid off of it for a few hours before placing it back in the closet. This closet has no doors and so it was not super dark, just not in light.  On day 3 or 4 of the seeds being in the closet with the lid on and being sprinkled with water every day I moved them out to a space with indirect sunlight. By day 7 they were looking really healthy and yummy. I am going to let my go a bit longer before harvesting for my pita pocket sandwich. Once we have another salad container I will rotate another crop in at about this mark, where we are a week in. So that we will always have fresh greens! 

Day One. Sprinkle the seeds on a damp paper towel. Cover it with a lid

Re-Using a plastic container as my growing humidome. Then placed it in a closet. 

Top down view of the seeds all popped into little seedlings. I was afraid they were too wet so I vented the lid a bit for the day. 

June 18th, 7 days after I started this experiment. 

Top down view of day 7 of sprouting in indirect sunlight, You can see them all leaning towards the light. 

Close up view of the Chia Seeds Sprouts on the 7th day. I turned the container around so that the next few days they can lean the other way towards the sunlight. 

 

What starting a Garden Coach business feels like.

 

Hello friend! Are you struggling to see how you can take your joy and knowledge in a thing and turn it into a business? 

This is what starting a Garden Coach business feels like. ::Pictured here elation and bit of madness, the good kind like the mad hatter holding my booklet about consulting on kitchen gardens via Gardenary's Garden Coach Society training::

Are you struggling to get through the idea of providing a consult? I feel like I'm "not doing it right... yet” and today just looking up "consultation" makes me see that you are asking to be paid for your time to hear a persons needs and help identify a plan of attack" That's it! When you are used to talking about a subject you like and willing to offer help to those that have that dreamy eyed "wish I could grow stuff/do that thing you are doing" you know you are in the right spot.

Though I am cheating this week a little and on consult #2 (we will call her B) with just friends and have not pressed send on an email to my contact list (which is a different beast in and of it self and I am not sure I should use old work contacts), I am realizing that even these friends are close to doing the thing but something is stopping each of them! B has seeds and starts even that she grew from seed that desperately need out of their container. Simply knowing I was coming over for the consult she cleaned up so much oversized debris in her yard for recycling and tackled some of the other yard issues that she had been putting off. She also expressed her love for the questionnaire because it connected her more to the process. She was excited and though it will be a DIY renters special, I can see how even if I just left her with the 3ish plants per season to focus on and how to care for them, she was so happy about the experience. She even loved my specialty which is discussing/using free or found things for that extra personal/rustic touch.