Monday, April 30, 2018

Blogs Blogspot Blogging Are Social Media Tools


Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Blogs, Blogspot, and Blogging are Social Media Tools also. When we work with our blogs, websites, selling platforms, etc. we know to use some Social Media Tools to promote ourselves, and to have us better seen with this worldwide internet we all use. Blogs, Blogger, Blogspot, Blogging, and such are also considered Social Media Tools that we can use for these purposes as well. 

There are many places out there that you can use for blogs, and to blog with. Please remember this as you read through this today. 

Blogs and Blogging  

Wordpress      Wordpress is a popular platform for anyone. A Blogger who writes, or maybe a photographer who wants to put their porfolio out there. With wordpress at anytime you can upgrade, and get your own domain name. Here other wordpress users can either like, see, and reblog your posts which will leave you with the potential of more followers, and readers. 

Blogger or Blogspot      This is one of the most well known platforms. It is backed by Google which makes it trustworthy, and a reliable platform. It is also simple to start. The Blog publishing service allows private blogs along with multi user blogs as well. 

Tumblr      This place has a social networking website with a blogging platform that allows their users to post to a short term blog. Its mostly visuals, images, videos and music. 

Weebly      This place has a lot of unique, and modern themes to start your blog off with for looking fresh. They also offer ecommerce, and iPhone application for posting while you're on the go. It is easy linking to Social Media. This site is suppose to be dummy free, and is suppose to be made as easy as possible for you to dive right into blogging.  

We have some choices for platforms to use for our Blogs which is great. Everyone has their own preferences of how to blog, and where you blog as well. This is perfect, and great because what one person might like or finds to work for them might not work for others. Some have found with their own websites that they can also add their blog with it too. Over time with market places, websites, and social networks blogs have been added to them as it is considered a form of using Social Media Tools. 

I know there are more platforms out there that I have not mentioned for you to consider. Some will be free, and some you will pay for. Consider the favorite phrase that you often hear "Google It"  Doing this you can find more that way too. Better yet, if you know of one you would like to share with us please feel free to do so. If you have a blog there please include your link here that we all may visit with you as well.

Hope you enjoyed your visit today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon. 

 

Monday, April 23, 2018

Taking Money to Make Money


Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Taking Money to Make Money with your business. Many decisions to be made. What have you decided you would like to focus on for your business? Vintage Collectibles, Antiques, DIY, Handmade, Restore, Blogging, Website, Freelance Writing, and there are so many choices you can choose. Also, do you want to do this part time, you already have a full time job and this will be a side hustle, or did you want to work from home full time too? We all have many ways we have started. Some of us are able to pretty much jump into things right away, some of us start and change our minds, some decide it's not what they wanted, and so on. I'm not gonna sugar coat this line of business. It takes a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of patience, and I think you understand.

Remember that old saying "It takes Money to Make Money". This issue is something that we all stress about before we start, during the building of your business, and later on it still comes at you to haunt you too. This can be very stressful for many. Many of us will pull money from our own personal accounts By doing this we sometimes feel guilty along with worries too. Many times you will ask yourself are you doing the right thing, is this business worth it, am I being selfish using this money to do what I want to do, and etc. 

We ask ourselves are we planning for our futures? Many of us will answer yes. With these thoughts we will have personal goals, personal dreams, and we like to plan ahead too. How many of us actually visualize, and try to focus with our business future?

I seen an article once that was inspiring, and it asked "If you were given $20,000 to invest, what would you do with this for your business?" So, how does one start with a list of things with your mind being so overwhelmed? It usually helps if you think long-term. It would help to have a detailed picture of what you want your business to someday become. A savings doesn't just happen for everyone. It comes with careful planning, and budgeting too. 

Go ahead, and take some time with the thought of what you would do with a $20,000 investment. You will find your list not only consists of your wants, but also what you are needing for your business to grow and expand. Once you have made a list prioritize it. Which items are you needing first, second, third, and so on. 

Income can be unpredictable, and you might find yourself holding back a little with your goal setting. Thinking of the $20,000 investment, and maybe a guaranteed salary might open doors, and clear away some of the fear and hesitation with your thinking. Redesign a website, work on your Blog, find a location to house inventory, then where to ship from, and see how your thinking can start to change?

When you look back over some of your ideas you might also realize that some of them are doable with your current situation you have now too. It's important to think past your current limitations which can then open up your plans for the future. 

There are plenty of ways available to get some money. Getting a personal loan, maybe take out a small business loan, etc. Upon researching you will find that there are some lending services specifically for funding small businesses. 

This is something that makes you think about business, and how often we hesitate to invest in ourselves. Money is considered common. The chance of creating something out of nothing, and building your own career. Well, there's nothing common about that. 

I always read, was told, and believed that if you did something that is a desire/passion of yours you have chances of being much more successful with it. You enjoy what you are doing, and it does not always feel like work when you can enjoy it, right?

Thanks for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! I wish you all a wonderful day with all you do. See you again soon!

Monday, April 16, 2018

Winter Wonderland in NW Iowa


Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Winter Wonderland in NW Iowa...woohoo!! 

First hand I want to apologize because my posting for this week will be short, and not what I truly wanted to do. I was going through some things, getting ideas of some subjects to post here for everyone, and then we had some very unexpected news. My husband's aunt who has had MS for years unexpectedly passed away. I think the news really numbed us more than anything. She didn't let it get her down, always a smile on her face with a really good sense of humor for things too. 

So, making arrangements for travel, motels, family gathering, flowers, etc etc. Communicating back, and forth we got the bigger part done. Then....NW Iowa has a weather issue which seems to be habit lately, unpredictable, and you know. Yeah, we are in the area that got hit with blizzard, high winds, snow, road closures, no travel advisory, and you got the picture. 

We are to be leaving home some time this morning...Sunday to go to Missouri to meet up with other family members, and to give our support where we can. First of all tractor is out, and Hubby is clearing out here for us to be able to get off of the property. We do have a really really big tree branch that broke from one of the trees, and is laying across the fence. Being able to get out today we will be able to see if there is any other damages to tend to. Then, once it gets cleared out here Hubby will then go down our gravel road to make sure that is cleared off for us, and others to get through. Our road likes to drift in places, and with the winds we had I am sure its drifted well in places. Luckily we are only about a mile from the highway so its not real real bad. Just the idea it is suppose to be spring, and we are still dealing with snow..urgh!!

I have some ideas noted for my next few postings. I have just had a minor delay, and again I apologize for this. Hope everyone had a great weekend, and wishing you a wonderful week! 

Thanks again for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you all again soon. 


  

Monday, April 9, 2018

Buy and Sell Business, Flipper


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Working for yourself, and having your own business is something that we all wish we can do. Some of us dream about it, some of us try it, and some of us succeed with it. There are many ways to sell online which many of us choose to do for different reasons. 

Many of us do the buying, and selling. Another name to consider yourself is a Flipper. Products are popularly found with Flea Markets, Yard Sales, Auctions, Estate Sales, Thrift Stores, etc. When people first start out doing this they might still have a full time job, they might be part time, and there are some that are not working. We all start some where. Anyone can do this sort of thing. You just need access to the internet, a camera, or a smart phone. 

Many start selling online as part time with like 5 - 15 hours a week, or maybe 10- 20 hours a week. Sometimes it is done to make some extra money. Some consider it a side hustle, and it's your choice if you want to make this into more of a significant job, or income. 

Never a dull moment with this line of work, and it is not a boring job. You set your own hours, and you choose the niche that works for you. Time flexibility is what really works for many people. You shop as you choose, you get to meet different people with your searches, and sometimes make some friends along the way too. 

When you hear of American Pickers, Storage Wars, Flipping Houses, etc this is what they all do with the niche that they have chosen. Majority of the time you buy used, and you resell. Many places that you can sell at is with Ebay, Amazon, Classifieds, Etsy. You can also sell on Craigslist, Facebook, Shopify, Offer Up, Your own site, etc. Selling online you reach a larger audience. 

There are some vendors who wish to not sell online. They have lived the lifestyle of Flea Markets that they do not mess with online selling. They make money with what they do, and you in turn can make money too. It's all what you put into it. 

Some items may need TLC, or a little fix up which could just be cleaning, or maybe some light painting too. Maybe a little glue, a screw, a nail, etc. All depends on the item, and what you wish to do with it. Sell it as is, or repurpose it which has become popular with many things. Let the creative side go to work for you. 

You set a limit that you want to spend when you go shopping with Flea Markets, Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, Auctions, Estate Sales, junking, dumpster diving, etc. Smart phones are handy to have because you can research things as you do your shopping too. Over time you will have your favorites that work for you, or that you have become comfortable with.


                                    Viking Bluenique Handkerchief Vase Hexagon Stand


                                            Vintage Blue Glass Dish Basket Home Decor

                                           Avocado Green Relish Tray Dish Glass Stand


   
                                           Cloche Glass Dome Cover Black White Stand

These pictures are showing some of the things that I had sold over time. I adore vintage blue glass, and a few other colors of glass too. The last 2 pictures were items I put together that I repurposed, reused, restored, and etc. The Avocado Green Dish was 2 glass pieces I partnered to make this piece. The Cloche Glass Dome Stand was some wooden pieces I glued together, painted black, glued on some old music book paper, mod podge is good to use too. There are different uses for each piece, I enjoyed the hunt for them, and I really enjoyed creating some of the pieces too.

I hope you enjoyed your visit with LilacsNDreams. Stop back anytime. You are always welcome to leave a comment, or to contact me for anything too. Hope to see you again soon.

Toodles, 
Kim ~ Lilacs 

Monday, April 2, 2018


Happy Easter Everyone!! Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Vintage Collectibles, Repurposed, Handmade, DIY, Recycled, Reused, Restored, and etc. LOL! I have a lot of interests, and I hope that they are things that you will be interested with too. 

This has been a very long time for me, and again I apologize for this too. Without telling you a long story of everything there were circumstances with health, and some serious family issues that had kept me away from everyone. I have been very excited to get back to my site here, but also was nervous to do so as well. It has been a while, things have changed over time, my interests have grown a little from what they use to be, etc. Many times I have wanted to jump in here, and instead I would research a little bit more, read a little bit more, take some more notes, take a few more notes, read a little bit more, and you get the picture. I just want to make this right so that you have a good place to visit, maybe some day do some shopping on one of my pages, place to read about some of the same interests that you have, maybe learn a little something now and then, and of course I love to hear from everyone and have them share along with us all here too. 

Over time I was able to make sure to keep the domains I wanted to use for my pages here with my sight. If you ever get a chance with some of your extra time just google LilacsNDreams to see where I have been, and what I use to do. Better yet, just put in LilacsNDreams.com, and stop by here to visit, read a little, say Hi, and share some things with us too.

So, for right now you will see me a lot on my first page, my home page here. I will slowly be working with my other pages, changing, revising things a bit, etc etc. Nothing drastic, but more like updating and just making it a little bit better. I have been over thinking this really, and it's time for me to just jump in, and start doing what I know to do. I'll learn along the way, and of course have a little fun with it too. 

The other page that I will be offering with my site here is my LilacsNDreams Shoppe page. That one will be slow working as I would like to see things in order a little bit more before I jump into it. But, eventually that will be my page where I will offer items for purchasing with vintage collectibles, repurposed, handmade, DIY, Reused, Restored, etc etc.  Would be much easier shopping there then heading over to one of the market places that is used for selling, signing into them, etc etc. That is a little ways off right now, no need to dwell on it at this time. It will come together in time.

So, for now my main focus is to visit with you all here. Get on a weekly schedule of postings here for everyone to visit with, and hopefully have you share a few things too. I have some things I am working on with crafting....or actually waiting for some good weather so that I can do some painting....and will be happy to share with everyone too. 

I'm excited for the new fresh LilacsNDreams, and I hope that you will be too. I hope that everyone had a great Happy Easter, and could enjoy the day. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I will see ya'll again real soon! Take care till the next time!

Toodles, 
Kim ~ Lilacs