Creative Hive

How a Strong Portfolio Can Help You Grow Your Business with Chloe Giodarno

When things weren't going so well, what was the one thing that gave your business a boost?

It seems an odd thing to list as it’s not really something in my control, but often when I’ve found myself in a slump my work will get featured by a large website or magazine and it reinvigorates interest in my work.

You can submit to a lot of publications, be it on or offline, and it can make a significant difference to the size of your audience.

How did you know it was time to hire someone and what was the first thing you outsourced?

I’ve never really outsourced, unless you count things like selling licences to other companies to produce products such as greetings cards, as it then takes me out of the production/purchase/delivery equation.

It’s not something I’d rule out for the future, but at the moment my online shop is (more or less) manageable enough for me to do alone, and it turns out I quite enjoy packing and posting everything so I’m not looking to outsource that work for now.

What steps did you take that really helped your business take off? What helped your business grow?

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Thinking About Promoting Your Product to a Store? Here are Six Things to Keep in Mind

It can be downright scary to talk to a store about your product! You have spent all this time and energy creating something and getting it right.

You’re thinking to yourself, “What if I’m not really ready yet to wholesale?”, “What if the store doesn’t like my color options?”, “Am I displaying my inventory in a professional way?” Here are a few things I have learned along the way about wholesaling. [Read more…]

Case Study: How I studied my ideal clients before launching my brand (and how I got 1000 Instagram followers + 6 blog features + Real clients in less than 6 months)

Starting an online business isn’t easy.

You are excited about your idea, you invest all your time, effort and money into it and most of the times you end up few months after hearing crickets.

I’ve been seeing many of my own attempts growing slowly.

My products disappearing from the Etsy results, my Instagram with barely likes…

As entrepreneur and creative I’ve started several businesses: from handmade products such as handmade soaps, clutches, kimonos or pencil cases to my graphic & web design studio & the cherry of my cake: Lovers Love Loving. [Read more…]

How to Manage Inventory – A Beginner’s Guide

As a seller of custom-made products, you often have to focus on two aspects of the business at once- manufacturing and sales. Both are equally important.

If you manufacture great products but don’t have a sales funnel, your products won’t move.

If you sell very well and lose sight of manufacturing, you may end up with no products to sell.

Advancements in inventory management have today made it possible to automate one half of the process. [Read more…]

How to Make Your Competitors Irrelevant

What do you think of when you hear the word “competitor”?

For most of us, when the word “competitor” enters the scene, all logic stays behind and we start dwelling on the frustration of the shops that are ahead of us.

But I'm here to tell you today: it doesn't have to be this way!

Your competitors are valuable to your business for many reasons but regardless of whether you use them or not, you still need to outrun them so you can stay ahead. [Read more…]