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All responses Most smiled responses
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I think selling at craft fairs is a great way to build your business when starting out. It gives you a chance to gauge responses to your products in person and get a feel for what the best sellers are. Having this information will be a big help when approaching stores for wholesale accounts.
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I would suggest contacting your local bank (or several local banks) to see what they offer. If you're building a business, you should begin to build a relationship with your bank, and ideally they can set you up with a good deal. I did that for several years, and it worked well. However, I did just switch to using paypal virtual terminal, for a number of hard to explain reasons (the biggest one being not needing to buy any equipment)
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I don't really have a totem animal, but for a long time I had quite an obsession with ducks. It had to do with a long-running joke between my boyfriend (now husband) and i, and resulted in an absurdly large collection of rubber ducks (i think i had at least 200)
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I don't remember the first joke I learned as a child, but I remember that when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I was the queen of dirty jokes. (Well, dirty for a 5th grader.) They were all fairly long, and had totally cheesy punch lines like "where's the P?""its running down my leg?" and "my buns are burning, my buns are burning!"
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NYIGF isn't as scary as it might seem, so I wouldn't totally write it off - you can find some reasonably priced booths in handmade. But if you're making your items yourself, you might look into a show like the Buyer's Market of American craft - they have a section for home accessories, and the atmosphere is a little less intimidating.
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i think if the name relates very strongly to what your were doing previously, than you might want to think about a different name. (like if you were selling knitted goods under the name knitwit and are now switching to ceramic bowls) But it can be hard work to re-brand if you've already got a loyal customer base, so if the name still fits, you might have an easier transition by keeping it.
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it depends on your goals and focus. when i was starting out, i did more gallery/one-of-a-kind work, where it absolutely makes sense to use your own name. if you are focusing on a production line from the beginning, then i don't think it matters if you use your name or a made up name. if you have a very common name (or a very complicated name), you might benefit from picking a different name for your business
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As far as planning and organizing go, I'm pretty old fashioned. I use a binder to keep track of all my upcoming orders, and I always carry a notebook for to-do lists and ideas. I also use Word and Excel a lot.
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asked by DearMissNatalie
I think the number of products is going to vary greatly depending on the type of products you make and your budget. More important than the number of products you launch, I think its critical that you have a regular schedule for launching new products. (whether that's seasonally, monthly, etc.) Even if its just 1-2 new products for a launch, launching new products each season means another opportunity for promoting and press coverage.
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I tend to be the kind of person who will try every marketing tactic I possibly can, so its hard to pin point one method that has been the most successful. When I was first starting out, doing retail craft shows helped build an initial fan base, many of which I continued to connect with through my blog.
Lately, I've gotten my best results by being featured on larger design and shopping blogs. I've gotten coverage that way by (politely) contacting the editor to tell them about a new product launch. I also view my participation in trade shows as a form of marketing. -
asked by STMarket
I think the most challenging thing about both is the way that stress inhibits my creativity. As the only one running my business, I'm the one worrying about slow sales, cash flow, and my bottom line. But its also my job to be creative - to design new products and ways to promote them. And its very difficult to be creative when I'm stressed. Yet ultimately, the success of my business depends on my ability to be creative. Its a tricky cycle to navigate.
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megan auman’s Bio
designer/maker/educator
