Sunday 16 December 2007

Gluten Free Business Update

We have decided that we're going to celebrate our 'big' Christmas on the Ukrainian holiday (January) and so my schedule just got a little easier... still, with a developing business I'm busier than ever... mostly trying to get all the computer stuff in place and working well.

Business notes (skip to bottom paragraph if not interested):

A couple of new tutoring book outlines are in the works. They'll come to fruition if I can only gather my scattered notes in one place. :embarrassed:

My website is slowly looking better and apparently loading fairly quickly on dialup. I'm presently working on getting the pages and buttons working.

It's a huge learning curve for me with all the code work and insertion capabilities that exist. There are also issues re: users having Vista or Firefox or Explorer. Kinks that will take me a while to work out.

In the meantime I'm also learning Access for my database and having a heckuva time with trying to make sure I do it all right the first time. As with all computer stuff, I think I just have to suck it up, input the info. and work out the bugs later (whether I like it or not).

I thought I'd have an easier time of it considering my background in using Lotus. I used to create automated business reports so that initial numbers could be inputted by frontline people and then the bottom numbers would just spit themselves out, thereby eliminating the issue of human calculation err. Even with this kind of background experience, I'm feeling extremely stunted.

Anyway, I thought I'd pick Access up much more quickly than I appear to be (I'm typically impatient with my learning speed though)... I can't imagine what this would be like for someone without any 'data creation' experience. No wonder it costs thousands of dollars to have someone else set up your website and databases!.. But with all the extra cost of 'special foods' - I'm trying to really keep costs down for my end users.

On the supplier front, I think that I've found my organic herb supplier, a Yu milk supplier and an organic rice supplier. I am still looking for a glass manufacturer that uses recycled glass to create end-products.

I've also found beeswax that is organic but not certified (which is the closest I can get after searching for a year)... So that's a *huge* plus because I have some difficulty making my lipbalms without it. I'd really like to find a better container than those plastic screw-up things that litter the planet. Hence, the glass supplier issue. Package development (on *so* many levels) seems to be an on-going business challenge!!

A couple of other projects on-line this month that, again, require a lot of new computer knowledge that I don't yet have. I don't want to jinx them by telling yet but as soon as I've got some product I'll let everyone know here (of course the free promos are always nice Very Happy)... some fun stuff for end-users.

One project, I'm hoping will come to start-up in Jan/Feb. The other one will be about a year off though that I'm working through with a friend that lives across the country. It's interesting working in a partnership via computers. Alone, yet not. Very Happy

My Yahoo group for Canada just recently picked up. I'm not really sure why or how they found me. As is typical of Canadians, they are polite and quiet. I guess the list service is kind of a nice thing... esp. for new people who don't know what to buy yet. I have a goal of listing 20 updates by the end of this calendar year. That's taking up some of my brain-space too (which companies/products are the most important to end-users) because I only have so much time and want to use it most productively.

My new facebook support group is on it's way... not super busy or anything but the people who are looking for support are slowly finding their way to me. As always, I will try to do my own bit of volunteer work for those who have food sensitivities and looking for info./recipes/etc.

Facebook seemed a good place to combine my business/networking with some volunteer time. I'm hoping it will help lead me to a glass manufacturer. (Yes, I can't get glassware off my mind... it takes up a corner of my mind every minute of the day and night. That's okay - I love a good challenge/puzzle! I'll come up with something - sooner or later!)

Anyway, if anyone here is on Facebook, look me up: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=564921318

After quickly proofing my notes above, no wonder my kitchen's not getting painted... Wink

We're in the middle of a snowstorm this morning and so I'm taking a few minutes out (finally) just to check in here. George just came in... he's usually brown but looks like a snowdog now. Very Happy
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Kind regards,
KimS

01/02/2002 Even Small Amounts of Gluten Cause Relapse in Children With Celiac Disease 12/20/2002 The symptomatic and histologic response to a gf diet with borderline enteropathy (Docguide.com)

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