Sparrows End Business Diaries

It's summer so it's the start of a decline in my income...
It happens every year, but is it as bad this year??

You can find out here: sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/p/my-income-is-d…

I publish my income reports every month in my membership (£30 per year) and my latest one shows some ugly numbers! One of them even shocked ME despite living through it day to day 😱

To catch up on my back catalogue of income reports, goals videos, vlogs and other content in the Clubhouse you can join us all here:
sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/

I'll be back on the tube soon I hope, but I'm being kept busy working for an exam board on the summer series of A-Level exams at the moment.

PS. You can join Sparrows End Clubhouse as a free subscriber and get occasional free posts, plus free previews on nearly everything so it's worth checking out!

4 months ago | [YT] | 19

Sparrows End Business Diaries

Hello!
I just wanted to pop on to remind you that you can get exclusive content from me over on my membership here:
sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/

It's £30 for the whole year and I upload 4-6 pieces of content every month ranging from income reports, video diaries, goal-setting and productivity articles etc. It doesn't cost anything to go and have a look so you can be a bit nosy and see if it appeals to you!!

I'm still uploading twice a month on Youtube and am hoping to increase that soon to 3-4 times once I've organised my available time a bit better!

I'm thinking of these as possible videos for May - please vote for the one you're most likely to watch!

If you're interested in more than one then let me know (in order of preference) in the comments below...

Thanks so much 🙂

5 months ago | [YT] | 19

Sparrows End Business Diaries

Hello Everyone!
I've been a bit under the weather so my planned Spoonflower/Repper video had to go on hold (because it's more complex than a vlog/chat to camera) but I didn't want to get to the end of the week having not uploaded anything.

Yesterday, I filmed a few things throughout the day as I was trying to get back into the swing of work. This is what I did and what's shown in the video.

- I dispatched my orders from my vintage shop
- I re-organised and labelled some storage containers to help my reselling workflow
- I drafted two articles/planned two videos for my Sparrows End Clubhouse membership on Substack
- I deleted all my vlog footage then reinstated it! (I chat about why I did both of those things...)
- I chat about my plans for eBay moving forward
- I discuss some perks of working from home (when you're ill!)

Improved service will resume soon with the Spoonflower video and something for KDP.

For news and updates always check here on my community tab and for longer newsy updates make sure you've joined my newsletter mailing list here:

sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/

All the best my loves!
Mel

7 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 34

Sparrows End Business Diaries

The top-voted video is scheduled for Monday 12th Feb!
Now to get some of the others done 😄

8 months ago | [YT] | 28

Sparrows End Business Diaries

I did a THING! (please read about it and also please vote in the poll!)

I finally transferred my mailing list to a new host AND to somewhere I can offer bonus content (not available on Youtube) to both free and paid members.

Welcome to Sparrows End Clubhouse THE new home for my newsletter and community

sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/

Every month EVERYONE signed up will get a newsletter with updates about my income streams, things I've found interesting or useful related to business or personal finance (books, articles, videos etc) and first dibs on places on any mini-courses I create this year.

For peeps who want to dive deeper...

If extra content from me is a "Hell, yes!"...

(Let's pause for a sec - I already have paid members just from transferring my email list - so, we're really doing this!)

If you want to be part of a community of warm and supportive people who share your interests and want to dive deeper into the reality of building online businesses with someone who very happily shares it all (that be me!), then join the Sparrows End Clubhouse paid option to become a full member.

At the moment paying annually is 50% cheaper (£30/$38) than the monthly option (so if you're a "hell yes" then go for this) BUT if you're not sure and want to test it out, then start with the monthly option so you can switch to annual once you're SURE it's a good investment.

The benefits are:

- Full-length (30min) videos every fortnight where I share quarterly income reports, detailed behind-the-scenes stats, goal-setting/planning sessions, work-with-me vids and more...

- Short, easy to digest videos focused on productivity and motivation - think of them as mini coaching episodes to help us all (me included) keep going when online business just feels like such a TOUGH SLOG! I will be drawing on my training, teaching qualifications and mentoring experience to really hit the spot with these.

- Monthly podcast diary entries to keep you company while you work on your own businesses

Check out your options here:

sparrowsendclubhouse.substack.com/

*** Remember that, like on my channel, the community at Sparrows End Clubhouse is not about one specific income stream and is not tutorial driven. I'll be sharing my progress with reselling, KDP, Youtube, Etsy and anything else I try out this year. I'll share what's working and what isn't. There will also be plenty of general stuff about motivation, productivity and shaping your business to suit your lifestyle ***

For my full members already signed up, your not-seen-anywhere-else content will start in FEBRUARY!

See you in the Clubhouse x

BEFORE YOU GO please vote in the poll for February videos. I'll definitely make the top two and will then try to fit in the others.

I've just about finished the final two from Jan so they will be out soon!

8 months ago | [YT] | 21

Sparrows End Business Diaries

You voted for it. It's here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdWOk...

Hope you enjoy all the behind the scenes stats. If you have any other Youtube-related questions then drop them in the comments here or on the video.

Thanks again for watching ANYTHING on my channel x

9 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 34

Sparrows End Business Diaries

Hello Lovely People and 2024!
I'm back at work properly this week after taking the first two weeks of January very slowly. I've still been maintaining my reselling business (vintage stuffs on Etsy) but rested everything else, which in turn rested me.

The out-of-the-blue success of THAT video from autumn last year enabled me to step back a bit and still pay the bills! Hurrah! It has been such a treat to start the yearly slowly and to have time to make plans for what I want to accomplish AND enjoy this year. A huge thank you to anyone who has watched any of my videos in 2023, it led to this and I am very grateful!

I'm back recording videos and I'd love to know which of the following you are most looking forward to seeing - if it's more than one then let me know in the comments x

9 months ago | [YT] | 27

Sparrows End Business Diaries

I was RIGHT! (or rather the person I got the info from on Youtube about Spoonflower was right!)

They ARE removing the requirement to pay for samples of every pattern before putting it on sale (see screenshot). Having said that I might still go ahead with the "fill-a-yard" option because I think it will help me learn more about surface pattern design. Either way it's good news.

Wondering what I'm talking about?

In my most recent video https://youtu.be/AEfqq8mEOm8?si=95IK6... I set up a new income stream on Spoonflower using Repper (pattern-making tool) and spoke about filling up my shop with designs ready for January when the sample requirement is dropped. I haven't gone any further with it this week because I've been a bit poorly and have concentrated my energy on dispatching parcels for my reselling business instead.

But I am feeling better now so these are my plans:

1. Make a video focused on researching and creating Art Deco designs with Repper
2. Create a shop banner and logo
3. Upload 25 of the best Repper-made Art Deco designs to my shop

I will create videos for as much of this process as I can because I know a lot of you are interested in doing the same thing. Those of you who have purchased Repper using my affiliate link (thank you x) will want to get your money back as quickly as possible by selling some patterns, so if you'd like to follow along with me then please do and we can chat in the comments about how things are going after every video release. My next recording day is Tuesday so all being well there will be a Repper/Spoonflower video Weds or Thurs.

If you're looking at making Art Deco scrapbook paper for Amazon KDP a lot of this video will still be relevant.

Here's my affiliate link for a discount on Repper again, though to be clear it is no longer Black Friday so the discount is 25%. Please also be extra EXTRA careful to enter the discount code before entering your card details and making payment. I know at least 3 people got caught out by this and had to email Repper to get a partial refund - it's easily done, I nearly did it myself when I signed up with a discount code!

Use this link:
repper.app/?via=melanie
Enter this discount code:
SPARROWSDISCOUNT to get 25% off a yearly plan
(follow the sign-up process VERY carefully so you don’t miss where to enter the discount code!)

Also next week I'm launching my newsletter on Substack which will have a blend of written, video and podcast content, but more on that in another post!

Hope you've all had a lovely and enjoyable week

Mel x

10 months ago | [YT] | 35

Sparrows End Business Diaries

A small but powerful audience…

I’ve had two emails today from the peeps at Repper saying how pleased they are at how I portrayed their pattern-maker in my two recent videos. Plus I think they were surprised at how many sign-ups came from my small unassuming channel!!

I’m so excited to use Repper more and more in 2024 and what has been utterly delightful is seeing how some of you who have signed up are talking about how “we” will be making progress next year. The fact that you see this as a creative business experiment we will be embarking on together is the most heartening thing in the world to me.

I cannot wait to make update videos to let you know how I’m getting on and videos showing when I’ve learnt a new trick on Repper - as long as you promise to tell me how you’re getting on in the comments (good or bad, because we share the ups AND downs at Sparrows End).

I’m seriously going to start thinking of us as a little Repper Club of intrepid pattern designers determined to hone our skills and make money at the same time!!

So a huge thank you to those of you who have joined the “club” and signed up with my link.

As you know it was an affiliate link so I do get a bit of commission, which I will talk more about (basically tell you how much I made!) in my end of year income report.

It’s a little end of year bonus that I really appreciate and I’ve learnt so much about how important it is to wrap affiliate marketing in a package (in my case a video) that offers my audience value regardless of whether anyone signs up - you deserve that.

If you would still like to join in and sign up to Repper then here is my link and Black Friday discount code again. I can’t guarantee it will still work but it’s worth a try! Tomorrow I will be switching back to my regular 25% off.

YOU MUST USE THIS LINK TO GET THE DISCOUNT
repper.app/?via=melanie

YOU MUST USE THIS discount code SPARROWSBLACKFRIDAY to get your 50% off
**(follow the sign-up process very carefully so you don’t miss where to enter the discount code!!)**

If it still works It gets you 50% off your first year on a yearly membership plan. It’s part of an affiliate plan so see my affiliate disclaimer in my video descriptions.

See you all at the end of the week in my next video!
Mel x

10 months ago | [YT] | 32

Sparrows End Business Diaries

This feels a bit mad. So you might (or might not!) have noticed that I had a video do a lot better than usual last month. I’ve taken a screenshot of how much Adsense revenue I’ve made so far this month because it blows my tiny mind 🤯😂

THE DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE! I mean the bars on the screenshot say it all really. Swipe to see the amount in dollars.

But here’s the thing.

My household bills (excluding mortgage) come to £475 a month, add in my share of the groceries we get to £575, throw in my personal expenses and a little bit for savings and investments and the total is £703.

YouTube could, possibly, pay for all my outgoings in December. Just wow 🤩

Do you think I can get to £703 by the end of the month???!

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10 months ago | [YT] | 56