"The more techniques I discovered and learned the more I wanted to create. I felt great doing again what I used to love and enjoy back home. It made me feel all cozy and myself again, something I didn’t feel for some time. Moving to another country started taking its toll but craft made a new place where I lived feel like home."....
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Took me a little longer then expected to write this post but I decided to take some extra time to make sure I cover everything and make it short but sweet! Although it still turned out to be fairly long post, I hope it will be helpful and informative! Thus, here are 10 things I learned after 3 years of working on turning my crafty hobby into a handmade business:
1. Label your creations as soon as you can!
It's been only a year or so since I started labeling my items and I am still kicking myself for being so slow with ordering them. It is so important to make sure your customers can find you again even after a year or more by simply googling your business name on the label. Not mentioning how much nicer and more professional items look with labels on them.
2. Invest time and money in branding your venture.
To be honest, I just followed my intuition when it came to branding my business. I wanted to keep everything in the same colour, same font and same packaging way before I read all the advice for handmade business branding. I knew I'd better get the banner/logo/business cards done for me by professional designer and so glad I did. I saved up and did it all, even the newsletter template. Later on I learned that cohesive look of your brand is essential for brand recognition. Well, I did something right.
3. Go your own way, from items you make to pricing them.
I won't mention copycats issue, that I came across during these years, simply don't want to touch this subject. It's obvious that designing something unique and that shows your style is not easy, but it is possible. Not mentioning that great feeling you get when people buy something you designed and love using it in their homes. So, make an effort and you will be rewarded!
In general, looking at the competition when you pricing is a good idea (in order to stay competitive) but keep in mind that other makers might be using different supplies, calculating and charging differently for their labour... Maybe, another business owner got their own pricing wrong and here you are matching the price that doesn't really cover any of your time! So, calculate you own pricing.
4. Plan, plan and plan your day, month, year.
Earlier this year, I wrote this post on Time management so do stop by to have a look if you feel that you need some help with time planning. Depending on a season, my routine changes a bit to accommodate the demand but good old list of things to do is a great place to start. During the day, log out of the media accounts so you are not tempted to check them every hour. Scheduling your Facebook/Twitter posts is great for getting things done.
Get your food and drink ready in the morning. Why do you need a lunch box when working from home? I used to skip lunches a lot until I felt that this is not doing me any good. Even when working from home, sometimes you feel that taking 30 minutes to make your meal might interfere with your creative process so having food/drink ready is great time saver and good for you too.
5. Do not panic and start discounting your products like crazy when it's quiet!
Use this time to your advantage by working on more stock or creating something new. Although, I do know it's easier said then done. When you just started, it is very hard to get through the month so it is a good idea to have an emergency stash to fall on if you can. For a long time I had to invest everything that I made back into my business and sometimes even my wage from the day job. Unless you are super good with your spendings (I am not. I have a fabric addiction!) you will have to put back everything you make in a first year or so. I really hope it won't be the same for you though! However, discounting your creations at the end of every month or very frequently, paints a picture of a business that is not doing so well and, after some time, you will rarely sell at the full price as people will know that you will have sale in the end of the month anyway. No, I am not saying not to have specials or sales at all, just don't do them constantly. What do I do when I have a slow month? I bite the bullet, cut down on spendings and sit tight as I know it will get better.
6. Start small, aim big!
It's my personal opinion, and something I worked out for myself, that starting with the local market and then going international is the way to go. In the beginning, after trying but not really succeeding to sell on Etsy and other international websites, I decided to concentrate my efforts on the local market. Madeit is a great platform to start on. It's friendly, easy to use, you are a part of an Australian handmade community where you can learn, gain the confidence and build up your brand. I only recently felt that I now have a good range of products to offer a big international handmade market and re-opened my Etsy shop.
7. Build a mailing list for your newsletter.
My biggest regret, to this day, is not starting to send out a newsletter a year ago. I don't regret waiting until I felt comfortable with what I actually want it to look like but I do feel a bit disappointed that I haven't started to think about it earlier, like a year earlier. It took me a while to understand what is the purpose of sending out a newsletter and how I can make it feel as a part of Plushka's brand. I didn't want it to contain only discounts and "buy this" links. I wanted it to be another way to connect with my customers. It's been up and running for 8 months now and I love it so far. It's fun and it reflects my style, just the way I wanted, and hopefully customers enjoy reading it too.
8. Plan your collections.
Depending on the way you run your business, whether you accept customer and/or wholesale orders or just make items ready to purchase, your collections will vary. However, thinking ahead, creating seasonal items and releasing 3-4 items that complement each other, creates a nice shop to browse through and gives you a sense of stability. By planning your collections, you know what you need to work on next and there is no worrying about having too many ideas. I am, like any creative person, love working on something new and quite often come up with a new item out of the blue but do I have my future releases planned out months ahead.
Back in March I wrote my thoughts on building a handmade collection and interviewed other designer too so if you would like to read more on this subject, here are the links: part 1 and part 2 of that post.
9. Make your items in bulk.
(when you see that an item is getting a good response)
There is always something in the bulk production line in Plushka's studio, like robins at Christmas. It's always feel like it is taking long time to make 10 at once but in the end you have enough stock and time to work on something new. When I make one at a time, I feel like I cannot work on anything else and it holds me back. I love having piles of shapes cut out and ready to go!
10. Release your creations slowly.
This year, I learned not to get all of my creations out there all at once. It prevents all that stressing out that something new has to be made urgently! If you are just opening a shop, have some stock stashed away and list items slowly. Do the same after a new collection release, it's a good idea to have some items at the back that you can list after the release (colour/size variations) in order to keep shop looking fresh.
Phew, I think I covered the main points but do ask if there is anything you would like to hear more about!
What's next for Plushka?
Stay tuned for the next week's post.
P.S. Have you entered my Mollie Makes giveaway yet?
