Thank YOU aftcra supporters​!

In the spirit of being thankful, we want to take this time to thank YOU for supporting the launch of aftcra! We are a couple months into beta and we’re overwhelmed by your engagement and enthusiasm.

You have followed us on Twitter & Facebook and spread the word to your friends (and we like your friends)! You have also provided valuable feedback to help make our site better. A great example of this is the new “Guest Checkout” feature that is enables buyers to make quick purchases without registration. Incorporating your suggestions is exciting for us because this site is just as much yours as it is ours.

At aftcra, your success is important to us. Our priority is to provide the best customer experience by maintaining a humble, family-like approach to doing business while having fun and promoting all things handmade. If you have suggestions, don’t be shy, we want to hear them! We are excited for our journey together.

Thank you again for your support. We are thrilled to you have joined us in the made in America craftolution!

The aftcra team

Exercise Your Mind: Take Time to Be Creative

Let’s face it; life can be busy and hectic. We have all sorts of demands for our time and attention. When we get a moment to ourselves it is easy to revert to something mindless such as watching tv or checking our facebook profiles. That down time is important but so is taking the time to exercise. I am referring to mental exercise not physical. The best way to exercise our minds is by exploring our creative sides. From personal experience, I believe taking the time to be imaginative provides an array of benefits.

Recently, I joined a friend at a local paint bar which is exactly what it sounds like…a place to paint while enjoying an adult beverage (or two). I was surprised at how invigorating it was to explore my creative side in a new way (I am not a painter). With each brush stroke, all the noise from my day faded away. I was truly living in the moment focusing on what color to pick next and how to angle my brush. Was it a masterpiece? No. But I transformed a blank canvas into unique creation.  I found expressing myself artistically to be immensely satisfying and very inspirational.

My friend seemed to have the same reaction. She had a particularly rough day at work but by the end of our session she was smiling and laughing and having a wonderful time.

The best part about this form of exercise is that the options here are truly endless. So I would love to know, what are some of the ways you explore your creative side?

 

Liesl

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EXECUTION – It’s the only thing!

Ideas, ideas, and ideas – everyone has the next game changing idea. I’m sure you’d agree with me that most people like to share their business ideas but rarely execute on them. So today we’re writing about something that you’ve accomplished as a small business owner – the act of execution! Execution is the only thing that matters in the end. It’s the major step in starting a business that aspiring small business owners and entrepreneurs need to think long and hard about.

What is execution and why does it matter? Execution is defined as: The carrying out or putting into effect of a plan, order, or course of action. At aftcra, we have learned how difficult this can be over the last couple of years. What started out as an idea quickly morphed into a constant challenge of execution – web development, social media integrations, online payments, etc. What that means is an idea is only about 5% of a total project (although absolutely critical). The other 95% of the project is tackling one thing at a time.

What I’m trying to say is, starting a business isn’t easy. We know how many long hours get put into your job to make sure that your product is exactly what you intended. We understand all of the other challenges that come along with being a business owner. We appreciate all of the blood, sweat and tears you put into your work and your company every day.

We believe that, by continuing to follow our passion and enhance aftcra, “Crafted by American Hands” will become something that creates a lot of value and promotes a movement that we are all proudly contributing to…

Dan

[email protected]