Vacation! Work? Vacation!!! What an exciting week!

 

I’m on vacation right now! And I laugh, because two of the BIGGEST items on my TO-DO list happened this week. LIKE SUPER HUGE things. LIKE, I’m SO excited… I can’t wait any longer to tell you WHY we had to hit pause on our vacation.

www.hilltopdesignshd.com

WE HAVE A BRAND NEW .COM!

We have a wonderful and AMAZING new WEBSITE!

It’s ALL OURS AND YOU CAN SHOP on it too!!!!

Etsy has served us well, but it is NOT exactly set up for the way we sell.

Hilltop has grown and to support that growth not only have we opened our own

BRAND NEW ONLINE HILLTOP SHOP @ www.hilltopdesignshd.com (go and bookmark that right now)

But we are now also able to offer our amazing consultant’s their very own shop links and workstations.

As a Hilltop Consultant you will have access to your sales, customer lists, items sold and more. This allows you to see a running tally of your sales throughout the month. NOT just at the end of the month with your commission check, like it used to be.

OH! Commission! YES!! You can see that too! Did you know that Hilltop Consultants make 50% commission on sales???? Well, now you can watch that ticker climb up and up!  It is simply wonderful!

Our Consultants will be able to post their links and have their customers shop directly from them.

So about ETSY. The shop will remain open on ETSY as it is a great place for a store as ours. Etsy is a great niche’ market place and I would never want to lose that. SO, If you would like to continue to shop on Etsy your wonderful consultants will still get credit for your purchases!

Hilltop is headed for BIGGER and BETTER with these two amazing platforms to purchase our quality skin care line from!

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…..

Not only are we launching our VERY OWN e-commerce site. We are opening our very OWN STORE.

This has NOT been easy. But really. It never is.

July 26^th. I had a vendor show in the town where I live and I was sooooo excited about this little space we were going to move into. IT was awesome! I was so excited to move into our little town. Only 10 days or so until I got the keys.

Then Monday came. Called to arrange pick for keys, no answer. Text. Nothing. Email….well you get the picture. And then I got that gut feeling, that gut instinct that won’t go away but you know. That plan I had… It’s about to change.

UGH!!!

I hate that feeling! So immediately I prayed. A prayer that included three things that Hilltop could use to better our upcoming holiday sales season.

The three things that I have been praying for are: 1.) MORE SPACE <<- this is the BIGGEST NEED. 2nd this space needs to be within my budget AND 3rd I want it LOCAL to the communities I’m involved in.

So I start to call around. Still hoping in the back of my head I’m wrong about that feeling in my gut.

I write two MORE letters to the different business in the town I live. Trying to see if their spaces are available. But door after door is closing. And I still know nothing in regards to my Martin space.

There are 2 potential spaces in neighboring towns that are cute but the prices are too high for my budget.

And then one afternoon, I notice a hand written sign on a building in Hopkins that has been empty for a while. So I call on it. Get the information and it is HUGE. THAT terrifies me. Because WOW…what am I going to do with all that space. So I call it a day, because really WHAT in heaven’s name am I going to do with all that space. And it’s kinda ugly. Soap needs cute.

So I pray, and I pray and pray and I weigh the pros and cons, and MAYBE I do need to check out the huge space in Hopkins. It fulfills ALL three of the requirements I was praying for. Not only by answering what I thought I needed…but by exceeding the requests.

This place is amazing folks. The potential for cute is beyond belief. And there is even a window we will be putting back in so you can SEE in and we can see out.

My cousin Jillian did a great rendering on Photoshop it even shows the new window…with a VIEW!!!

We will be packaging there, shipping there, and receiving there! Eventually creating there. Our offices will be there and YES! We will have a third platform for purchases, beause you can SHOP THERE!!!!

We found our HOME!

And IT’S HUGE and I feel like that is God saying “Here you go! Here is your space, I did you one better on the price! Now, fill ‘er up!”

That gut feeling God gives you…I was right on. The other building sold, and we ended up needed a new location just as I suspected!

SO!!!!!

I’ll let you know when we are open in Hopkins! I hope you ALL come and visit us for Arts and Eats. We are excited about opening up Hilltop Designs in Hopkins, Mi.

Until Next time, Happy creating from Vacation

Christine

A little #TBT for ya!

Remember when the Products looked like….

And then two of my amazingly talented cousins came along and helped to elevate the Hilltop Brand to THIS!

Also in those two month’s time after my first home party we had 5 people decide to partner with Hilltop.  They started their own little Hilltop Skin Care Store without walls and have been sharing the brand for over a year!  And now we have 20+ partners from sea to shining sea representing and sharing the Hilltop Brand.

So what started it all???  This simple Bar of Gardener’s

While the packaging has changed …the Soap inside is Still the same.

So in honor of #tbt Here is my VERY FIRST Hilltop Designs BLOG post EVER!

My APRIL Bar of Soap will be my Gardener’s Soap. This bar of soap is made from an Olive Oil Base with Basil, Oregano and Parsley mixed in. I know it sounds like it should be called Pizza or Pesto Soap. I promise after working for an afternoon in your garden…washing your hands with this will be so refreshing, soothing, AND CLEAN!

I’m a HUGE gardener but NOT a huge fan of Gardening gloves. In the heat of the summer, they just make me hotter and I hate sweat! So my hands take a beating, and need repair. The olive oil in this soap is such a great natural moisturizer that I never need hand lotion. The scent is almost nonexistent and is as natural as the garden you just left. There are no perfumes or dyes. The oregano can be thanked for this simple smell as it brings in a similar scent to patchouli. To me, the soap smells like a fresh spring day, after the rain.

So Why Herbs? I love using items I have around and in my house. One day I started researching the benefits of herbs in soaps and oils and I was blown away! Here are a few of their amazing features: Basil is a Natural Anti-Bacterial agent, helps clear Acne, and disinfect surfaces. Parsley is a Natural Odor eliminater, as well as Oregano. AND Oregano is also Anti-bacterial AND clears Acne. So not only can this soap add excellent moisture, but it eliminates odors, can disinfect surfaces, and it’s an all-natural Anti-Bacterial Soap.

This Soap will be available soon (April 1) and I know that some of you have tried it already! I will be selling the Soaps for $4.00 a bar and they are 4oz bars. I hope you enjoy April’s Soap and Stay Tuned for May’s Soap, it is inspired by my friend Julie!

Would you like to try a bar?  Head to http://www.hilltopdesignshd.com and click on Shop Now!  Or Follow this link.

Have a great 4th Of July and Happy Creating

Christine

Mission Main Street

Our Mission Main Street.

Did you see? I applied for a Grant! This is my 3^rd one, but my first one that requires your help so early out of the gate.

Grants are amazing financial opportunity’s that larger companies offer to help and promote other smaller business. This Mission Main Street grant is a Grant being offered by Chase. Chase, through this Mission Main Street Grant is to award twenty small businesses with grants of $100,000. Awesome!

So how did I hear about this grant? Via a Facebook advertisement by Chase. I was updating my Hilltop Designs page and it popped up on the side and I was like “oh! A Grant! Better check that out!” And then my thoughts quickly went to “WOW! I better apply now! Applications are due in less than 24 hrs and I’m gone all day tomorrow!” So at 10:30 at night I started the Application process.

Applications are hard. But the questions are pretty basic. I didn’t have a lot of time to hem and haugh on my thoughts so I just went for it and prayed they were $100,000 answers, in 200 words or less.

Answers to the questions:

• Tell us about your business and what makes it unique. Please provide a general description of your product, customers, competitive landscape, and overall performance.
• What inspired you to become an entrepreneur? Describe both your greatest achievements and biggest challenges.
• How is your business involved with the community you serve? Examples include: giving back to the community, sourcing locally, and/or contributing to economic development via hiring.
• What would a $100,000 grant mean to your business and how will you utilize the funds? Please be as specific as possible
• What are your short-term (1-2 years) and long-term growth plans for the business? How will this grant contribute to your plan?

200 words or is HARD! It’s emotional. And sometimes, you can stare at an application question for 5 min and you got nothing. So you come back…read old blog posts to try to juice up the think tanks and still….nothing’. But its 100,000 DOLLARS to 20 small businesses so YES you find those 200 words, you pray and you hit send.

 Because, man…what if you were chosen.

So Yea! Approved on Step one…On to step two.

Get out the Vote

Why should you vote for Hilltop Designs?

Here are some portions of my answers!

Hilltop Designs sells handmade skin care products. We do very well with people who are concerned about what chemicals they are putting on their skin. What makes Hilltop different is that I also offer a consultant opportunity.

Biggest Achievement: Starting this Business with a $20 bill and remaining fiscally responsible. I had always wanted to run my own business. So I talked to my husband about some ideas for me to do for work and about starting a business and being the best husband that he is said, “Go For It!” I had a $20 in my wallet, my husband’s permission and I started a business at 4.5 months pregnant, with the help of a 4 1/2 and 3 year old.

Biggest Challenge. Working in my home with three youngsters has its ups and downs. SPACE is a huge issue for me right now. Figuring out where do we PHYSICALLY go from here. It is my biggest concern.

We use local produce when seasonally available. I have hired 4 part time people from our local community. All of the products are handmade, hand wrapped and packaged in the USA!

Because of our Consultant opportunity this Business helps our local economy but it spreads though out the WHOLE US.

Great Answers on why you should vote.

RIGHT?

Have you? You SHOULD.

VOTE HERE.

So we have 12 days! We need 89 more votes to get to the next round. What happens then?

The Application goes before a judge’s panel.

Want to see who will decide Hilltop’s fate if we reach the next step????

https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/panelists

The last process of the Judge’s panel is the longest! Lasts from June 19 when voting closes until September. I can’t imagine how many applications they sift through. BUT I hope one WILL BE HILLTOP DESIGN’S!!!!

So we have 12 days! And we need ONLY 89 more people to vote via Facebook.

Sorry only Facebook votes count! Chase does not store or snoop on any of your information. They just use Facebook voting as a reliable way that each vote only counts once.

So if you haven’t already, would you mind voting.  And possibly asking a friend to vote for HILLTOP as well!?

Thanks SO much for being HUGE part of this Process!!!

VOTE HERE NOW!

Thanks again,

Christine