What's up Geeky Clean?

I'm taking some time to answer a lot of questions today about where I have been lately and what's going on with the business.

Let me start out by saying that I broke my business in December. I had so many orders between October and December, that I should have shut down my site. I really did think I could get them all out however, so I took the money that I had received and I bought supplies so I could keep up with the demand. That's really where I went wrong. I grossly overestimated how much product I needed, and spent too much money. It really didn't matter how many hours I was putting into it, I couldn't keep up. I had friends come in from all over the state (and even across state lines) to help me get as many orders as I could out the door. We did an amazing job all things considered, and got 300 orders out the door and on time. Right now I have 40 outstanding orders and I currently have no money to ship or refund. I spent every last cent expediting orders so they would make it on time for Christmas. It was a mistake, and it's totally my own fault. I never anticipated the sheer volume of people that would be demanding my products. I have been at an utter loss of what to do, and I really should have been communicating what's going on a lot better than I have been. Up until this point, I've had nothing to say and I don't feel like I can just tell people to "hold on a little longer, I'm waiting on a payday" or something. Using my own money is out of the question. Between my husband and I, we just don't have the extra cash and we're on a paycheck to paycheck status right now. I have not re-opened my website for business because I don't believe that taking more orders will solve the problem.

I'm happy and incredibly relieved to say I have a major wholesale order that I'm waiting to start as soon as a check arrives. I will be able to get everyone taken care of as soon as that order is done and I've been paid. I anticipate this money to be available within the next week to two weeks as of today.

If you would still like your soap:
Please email me at orders@geekyclean.com with the words "Send my order" for the subject line. In the email, please include the name you ordered it under and your paypal email. I will be sending along an extra bar with each order.

If you would like a refund:
Please email me at orders@geekyclean.com with the words "Refund" for the subject line. In the email, please include the name you ordered it under and your paypal email. This would also be the request to use if you are dissatisfied with a service. I want to do everything I can do to make amends with my current situation.

I will be emailing everyone a link to this blog, and if I don't receive a response, I will mail your order.


As for the future of Geeky Clean, I've found that online retail is really not for me, at least not at this magnitude. It's too much for 1 person to handle, and the customers suffer as a result of it. I will be moving the majority of my product over to Paizo Publishing to handle my online sales. Doctor Who of North America will be carrying my TARDIS soaps (yes, soaps, there is now a cheaper guest size police box) and of course ThinkGeek Geeky Clean's shop will still be open (not yet, soon) but only for a few of the specialty pieces. This will allow the ware house guys to do what they do best: get your soap to you as fast as humanly possible. This will also allow me to focus more time on doing what I do best, making new and exciting bath time goodies <3

This is me bearing my soul for all the internet to see. I will say that I have been avoiding outlets like Twitter and Facebook because I've had no idea what I would going to say...and call me a wimp, but there's some hurtful commentary out there..and I just didn't want to be torn apart on a daily basis. I will be keeping everyone updated as I get this ship turned around. Thanks guys, and have a weekend!

Jess

Holidaze!

Sugar frosted Holiday Greetings to all!

I'm taking some time this morning before I dive into soap to write this little post. I have been blessed with a large number of orders over the last two months, and the task of fulfilling those orders has been incredibly daunting. My in-box of my emails is tipped at just over 900 this morning, and the iPhone keeps dinging more arriving. My dad has taken time out of his busy work week to drive over to Ohio to pick up my supplies. I have family over in their free time to wrap soap and watch Christmas movies about every weekend now. I just want to be perfectly clear, we're working as fast as we can to get through orders. I made the promise that all orders placed by Dec 14th would be out in time for Christmas, and I will keep that guarantee. If I don't answer your email, please don't take it personally, it's not that I'm avoiding anyone..I just don't have the time to answer them all.

Your order will be sent out this week. I sacrifice a major portion of my holiday season for making and packing soap, and I need some time to get my own Christmas gift knitting done too. I'm determined to have everything out the door this week. I'm realizing this year more than ever, I need to hire help or figure something out, because this isn't quite working! Geeky Clean has just gotten too big for 1 person to handle. Start looking for our products to be more readily available (with faster ship times indeed) on Paizo.com I will be offering more products through their website and they've got a whole warehouse of people to fill those orders quickly! (and save my sanity)


On a side note: We got word that some of our family lost their entire home to a fire at 4 am this morning. Apparently they barely made it out before the second floor collapsed. This is really difficult news for our family in particular, as we've lost a dear cousin to fire once already. Please take the time to check your fire alarms, and check your fire extinguishers.

I hope everyone has a safe and warm holiday, and take time to cherish your family.
Many new and exciting products coming in January!

Geek or Treat Costume Contest!

The nights are getting chillier and there are pumpkins popping up on porches all around the country. It's the PERFECT time of the year for us to get our games ready for the winter! What better way to show off to your gaming group than a new set of shwag from LOTS of geeky crafters!

The Geek or Treat Costume contest will be held now through 12pm NOON EST October 29th. Submissions must be posted or linked on the Geeky Clean Facebook Page or right here in the blog comments. The picture must be of YOU, and had to have been taken in the last year. We don't want any 80's throwbacks. GEEKY AND SCI-FI COSTUMES ARE A PLUS! The judges are none other than those awesome individuals that contributed to these awesome prize packs. Speaking of which, let's talk goodies!

You will have the chance to win one of FIVE glorious handmade dicebags from Dragon Chow Dice Bags that contain the following loot:

-An extra large d20 from Games to Die For

-A set of handmade Halloween Buttons and Geeky Clean keychain from GeekBadge

-Two handmade nomz from Geeky Cookies

-Two handmade eyeshadows from Geek Chic Cosmetics

-A bar of Zom-B-Gone undead repellent soap from Geeky Clean

GOOD LUCK!

Beating the "work from home" blues

Recently I've been finding myself a little more down each morning that I drop my husband off at work. We own 1 car, so I wake up with Chris in the morning and drive him in each day. When I was first "funemployed" I would come home and take the dog for a 40 min walk. Then the summer really hit, and dangit..it's really HOT out there! So there go the walks. Now it's turned into "lets surf the web for an hour and a half and listen to the TODAY show" time. That was okay for a little while...but now I'm finding that I'm just flat out depressed when I drop Chris off. It's not that I don't have anything to do, I just don't have anyone to talk to either. The dog only says so much. I said something about it on Twitter, and I got some great responses on how to help yourself out when you work from home alone.

@GuitarKat had some great suggestions. I have a laptop that I usually work from the couch with. I'm finding out that that is a no no. As GK put it, "LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION" You want to surround yourself with a positive environment. Big window, big desk, and lots of sunlight. Make it uplifting and comfortable, but not so cozy that...you..fall....asleep...zzzzzzzzzzzz.
I have a beautiful art table that is currently drowning in 30 unfinished projects. This week I plan to clean the whole thing off an start anew with a pretty polished workstation. I'll be sure to take before and after pictures.

@HerUniverse, @_FestivalNet, and @TonyMast also had some good ideas. Schedule breaks for yourself. Take an hour somewhere to bake a batch of cookies! (Even if they're from a roll) Sometimes this is really hard to do. I have a TON of work to get done, and I'll find that the panic mode begins to set in and I just GO GO GO! I also forget to eat a lot. Set an alarm on your phone, or even an alarm clock for lunch breaks, 20 min Mario Kart/Twitter/Facebook breaks, or Starbucks break. Something to break up the day. Keep to a schedule, and you'll find yourself getting more done in-between those little downtimes.

Don't forget to shower! I know that sounds silly, but a lot of times I will find myself waking up and going straight to work on my projects. Before I know it its 4:30 and I'm still in my PJs. Some people like that, and that's fine! But for someone like me, I kinda like to feel a little bit more like a grown up when I answer the door for the UPS man. It doesn't kill me to put on a bra I suppose! Make up also does wonders for your self-confidence.

Stay away from time sucks. These include but are not limited to:

Deadliest Catch marathons
World of Warcraft (I don't CARE if it's a new patch, put a parental control on your account to keep you off during the day!)
Browsing Twitter..just..cause?
Farmville
Waiting in line at McDonalds at 12 noon

Lastly, a great suggestion from @Jwyl, audiobooks! If you're like me, you used to having human contact. So when that gets cut off for 8 hours, it gets kinda quiet. Try an audiobook! It's good to hear a human voice, and especially when it's about something you enjoy. Take a look at http://www.podiobooks.com for all kinds of FREE audiobooks in podcast formats.

I look forward to hearing any suggestions you guys may have. And if there's a geeky "work from home" chat channel or forum out there, I'd love to know :)

Thank You < 3

As many of you already know, I lost my job yesterday. What began as a really horrible day, turned into an incredible humbling experience from my Twitter followers. No sooner than I had posted my recent loss, then orders began pouring in from all over! The tweets and RT's came so fast I couldn't even keep up with them. My husband and I were amazed by the support I've been given! @NerdRage42 deserves a badge for how many tweets she threw out there on my behalf! (thanks sweetie) From the bottom of both our hearts, thank you all for your support!

Where is Solid Snake? I need his box.

The only thing this "Gecko" doesn't do is MOO!

A close look at the walking robot called, Big Dog

The Cake that made Wheaton cry (not really, but it's a good title)

I'm giving a big fat shout out to my friend, Marie at Celebration Generation Cakes in Minnesota. (if only you lived closer my dear!) I knew Marie was making a Tardis cake for none other than Mr. Wil Wheaton, the crown prince of Geek himself, but I had no idea how AMAZING this cake would turn out! (And Adam Savage, lets not forget the gremlin) I mean, just look at Wil's face when he saw it:




That's a happy geek! To see the cake in all it's glory, go check out Marie's blog post all about w00tstock 2010! Congrats lady, here's to many more epic cake jobs!

Check out even MORE of Marie's geeky cake concoctions here!