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

When someone with a lot of presence in social media shared my work on Instagram or Facebook, that was really helpful.

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

With the exception of manufacturing, such as printing, I have never outsourced anything. From the beginning I was in charge of everything, from my website, photography, social media, etc. I have experience in design and brand management and now that I do it for myself I love it!

Now is probably the time to start thinking about getting help, but to be honest I enjoy the whole process too much. If I ever decide to hire someone it will be someone to manage the administrative part of the business such as answering emails or processing orders.

Now is probably the time to start thinking about getting help, but to be honest I enjoy the whole process too much. If I ever decide to hire someone it will be someone to manage the administrative part of the business such as answering emails or processing orders.

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

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

I started my business in 2010, so this has happened many times along the way! It has always been a bit of a roller coaster ride, which I think is important to remember is normal in this business.

My general rule of thumb now after going through this a few times is to shake things up. Customers get bored too – even the most loyal ones.

My best bet is to come up with some new ideas during these times to get them interested again (and to attract some new ones as well)!

If you don't have new design ideas, a fun giveaway that forces them to interact with your business is helpful too.

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

This is one thing I still haven't done and may never do. I have always done everything on my own which is both a good and a bad thing.

The nice thing about owning a business is being able to do things your way, whether that means hiring out or not!

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

[Read more…]

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?

[Read more…]