Flippin' Chaos...

So, it's been 6 months since we've completed a Blog...Flippin' Chaos!  (why do I feel I should be in a confessional as I type this?)

We ALL have Chaos in our daily lives, whether we work for "the man" or we have our own small business (actually there is definitely MORE chaos when we work for ourselves as we have to be and do EVERYTHING!).

Our last 6 months have been incredibly chaotic 😣😲 

Social Media Chaos Update ~ As we discussed in our last blog (November 2022) we are still struggling with social media and marketing, but finally feel more comfortable with our posts and now actually have 44 Instagram followers WHOO HOO ~ go us (though we are always learning for sure!).

Family Chaos ~ I hate getting older... actually age doesn't bother me a bit, but the reality is as we get older so do our parents.  The last 6 months have been a series of multiple hospital visits, a diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure, a Pacemaker Implant and a complete change in reality for Those Flippin' Broads and That Flippin' Gramma.  

Business Chaos ~ Along with life, as above, we still have a business to run ~ create products, file taxes, create social media posts, write blogs (ok, so we skimped on this for a while), scan receipts, market, research, organize, etc.

LIFE is Chaos!

"In the midst of Chaos, there is also opportunity" ~ Sun Tzu

Opportunity ~ There is ALWAYS opportunity!  All great changes are preceded by Chaos... we learn as we go!  And boy did we learn...

    *  We learned we needed to create a spreadsheet to organize and maintain daily sodium and water intake

    *  We learned we needed to create a spreadsheet to organize ALL the new medications and times to take them (because why would you be able to take all of your meds at the SAME time and who can remember all of that?)

    *  We learned we needed quite a few spreadsheets 😆

    *  We learned we needed to research new foods (for sodium content and flavor!)

    *  We became fast friends and learned a ton from the hospital, doctors, nurses, physical therapy and home care staff.

    *  We learned what NOT to do and what works for our household of 7 members (4 humans and 3 furries) including realizing what a calendar was actually for... Doctor Appointments, Physical Therapy and Nursing Visits, Speech Therapy Visits... 😉

    *  We learned we have a color printer for a reason ... and created all of spreadsheets in color so the "refrigerator art" would be pretty to look at!

    *  We learned our skills aren't just for our business, but that a repurposed cabinet would be lovely in our dining room AND hold all of the medications, medical paraphernalia and low sodium snacks (inside the cabinet of course) ~ beautiful functionality!

    *  AND we learned we needed to (really!) organize our work room to make it easier to find things, create things and have a calm place in the middle of all the Chaos!

"Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of chaos, and sometimes in the middle of chaos, you find yourself"  ~  Boonna Mohammed

We found ourselves alright... more in tune with each other, more in tune with the business and more in tune with life itself... as Donna Karen is so poetically quoted ~ "Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting"!

Our take away (and hopefully yours too!) is LIFE is Chaos ~ go through it with your eyes open, learn from it, print everything in color, and wake up the next day to a better, more creative and productive you!

Until next time....Keep loving what you do and have an awesome 'flippin' day!  😎

It's Another Flippin' Day - So many things to say/do - so little "Flippin' time!

 It's Another Flippin' Day.....So many things to say/do - so little 'Flippin' time!

Ok....commencing rant(S)...

SOCIAL MEDIA - I (Mother Broad) grew up in the '70s and Daughter Broad grew up in the '90s so...NOTHING prepared either of us for the marketing madness that is social media!  Does anyone else feel technologically OLD? We totally do!  Sure we had a "My Space" and a Facebook page to keep up with family, but now...YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat...and...I'm sure we are missing a few.  Marketing is hard! Trying to get your business known is like trying to pull teeth (without the apple and/or string and door knob doing the work 😉 LOL) We have been getting familiar with a few of the social media sites (mainly Facebook, Pintrest and Instagram as they seem the "easiest"), but with every site working differently, it can be complicated. We are learning (or would like to think we are) slowwwly. A little helpful (hopefully) advice: DON'T BE AFRAID to Google or YouTube your questions, most questions you currently have other people already asked!  Someone with more experience/time has figured out how to do what you need and has posted a helpful video or blog (this is the part of technology we LIKE!) You will eventually learn "the right way" - that is the way that works for you.  Us, we have learned how to use (for the most part) and have been adapting to this media marketing phenomenon, though we still do not feel like we understand how to actually "make it work" for TFB.  Like us, all you can do is KEEP on KEEPING ON!...Finding/Creating/Marketing our "Brand" has (IS) been the hardest part of our journey so far...and...don't get me started on creating Ads and Discounts 😬.

MATH (your teacher was right, you WILL use it in your everyday life! 😲) - There is a LOT of math involved in owning/running your own business; accounting, inventory, taxes, cost, selling price, car mileage...you name it. If you are currently unable (like us) to pay for an accountant/bookkeeper/tax specialist/etc..., there are many free programs with helpful videos/blogs online. We have been doing research for what seems like forever (lets face it, a few years) and have FINALLY found what seems to work for us. All the crazy equations and programs out there for cost, selling price, margins, etc. won't help as much as you thought until it makes sense to you and your specific items/creations. Best advise we can give: find what you like/understand, makes sense to you and is "easy" to apply to your entire inventory! ...We thought we would be up and running within a month (2 at most) and have a good idea of what we were doing...well, let me tell you WE WERE WRONG!  Be patient with yourself and remember (that teacher again) Rome was NOT built in a day!...(neither was Amazon) 😎

FAILURE - Who else HATES this word?  I (Mother Broad) have never been "good" with my own failures (this, of course, was passed along to Daughter Broad).  I tend to create a (very) high standard for myself and (7 times out of 10) it is unobtainable!  It was a little "easier" while I was working in the medical field as there were so many other factors/people in the equation.  Now, there is only myself and Daughter Broad.  I am (and have always been) much more understanding of others "failure" (set backs, mistakes, etc.) as I truly see that they were doing their best with what they had or with the situation at hand. Let me tell you...creating TFB has been a very BIG life lesson.  Though I still have my "moments", I have become much more understanding and kinder to myself.  I now know that along with my many abilities...I also have limitations.  The best part of this "discovery", for me, is knowing that between myself and Daughter Broad there are FEW things that we can't figure out together. We can rely on each other, ask for advice, be honest knowing that we each have our "better at" and "not so good at" parts and what one doesn't understand the other grasps easier. Now when I find the "not so good at", I pivot and either ask for help or put it aside to move on to something I'm "better at".  I am much happier knowing that I can't (and don't have to) be great (or even good) at "everything" and I am "human" after all! This knowledge has greatly helped me become (continuously becoming) a better wife, mother, friend and human being! Give yourself a break (insert Rome not being built in a day again) and remember This Is What You Have Always Wanted - do your best, learn from your (and other's) "failure" and ENJOY the process!

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT - So, we don't like waste (reuse, recycle, repurpose), of any kind, and strive to use  materials responsibly (and sometimes for what they were actually intended).  (Insert Teaching Moment Here 😄)...Love what you do and do what you Love - Don't WASTE time, money, resources, tears, materials or energy on second guessing if this was "the right move" or if there is "a better way" - continue to grow, learn and do this for yourself (selves) - know that you are the BEST at what YOU do.  

Ok, end of rant(s) - for now 😁

Until next time....Have an awesome 'Flippin' Day!

From the 'Flippin' Beginning....

Hey Ya'll it's Another 'Flippin' Day.....

We've been pondering what to write for our very first Another 'Flippin' Day with Those Flippin' Broads Blog....well, frankly, our FIRST Blog ever.  And....we decided to just start at the beginning.

So...the concept of blogging is rather foreign to us (yes we know it's been around for a while now LOL). We are somewhat social media illiterate.  I'm sure there are more of us out there....We're thinking there are probably more than a few "support groups".

To sum up - we are a Mother/Daughter team - outside of the box thinkers, dreamers, artists, nature lovers, animal lovers, adventurers, creators and sarcastic goofballs - who decided to take on the small business world.  

A little background....

I am (Mother Broad) from a very small town in the beautiful state of Colorado and grew up with a Father who logged for a living.  I loved those days that I got to ride in the "big truck" with my Dad and see all the trees, wild flowers and animals along the way.  You might find it a little odd that I grew up seeing nature dismantled.  However, the owner of the logging company, town mill and a family friend was not just a business man but a nature lover and planted almost as many saplings as trees he hauled off the mountain.  I recognized early on that it is important to give back to Mother Nature. 

From the time Daughter Broad was a little bit of a thing, we would go to thrift stores and garage sales (where she scored her first - and still loved - tag along bear "whitey") because, frankly, I couldn't justify buying new when there were so many used items in the world (at a much lower price tag) that could be made exactly how we wanted them. You know the saying.....One person's trash is another person's treasure.  Boy did we treasure their "trash" LOL. Our apartments and homes through out the years were furnished and decorated with those treasures.

A little more background....

We live in a central Florida town that encompasses 90 square miles, so you have to drive a bit to get anywhere.  We noticed every time we left the house there were discarded items (ie: furniture, paintings, books, ladders...) by the side of the road.  We would always keep an eye open for something we could use at home.  We found many items and yes, we stopped and loaded them into the truck.  As time went on we noticed more and more people were "throwing" items away that had a lot more life to give. We started "collecting" all useable items (ok so maybe some items weren't usable, but we saved them anyway). Our carport became a free storage unit. (...unless you ask my partner who lost all of their workable space and sometimes a tool or two).  

As time went on (and we could no longer make a clear path through our carport) we started upcycling.  I know it's not a new concept, but just in case you don't know, upcycling is to reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original (yes, we Googled the definition).  We created for ourselves, for friends, for family, for friends of friends and friends of family oh...and co-workers too.  Our weekends were spent happily working in our workspace (formally known as the carport) and creating everything from dressers to wind chimes to birdhouses to....all made from things we picked up for free or were donated to us.

Now.....

We had completed so many wonderful things for ourselves, friends, family and.... getting burnt out (in the medical field) we decided to take a giant leap and landed right in the middle of Those Flippin Broads.  And, as they say, the rest is history...we are doing what we love with who we love.  Although, not profitably.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us.  Next....we want to talk about how unprepared we were (and still are) for the "business" side of the business.  Until then...Have a fantastic "Flippin' Day!

Those Flippin Broads