How to Start a Creative Business on the Cheap, Even if You’re Really Really Busy

Have you always wanted to start a business but just don’t have the money for start-up costs and room for inventory?

Are you super creative and artsy and make beautiful paintings, drawings, graphic design or are just plain great with words?

Are you a stay at home mom or full-time worker who always dreamed of running your own business but just couldn’t find the time?

Do you currently run a clothing business that uses your art but are sick of storing all the shirts, making them and shipping them yourself?

What if I told you that there is a way to start a seemingly passive creative business that allowed you to focus on creating amazing imagery and engaging with your audience while someone else took care of the rest?

That’s right – no inventory, no huge start-up cost, no leaving the house to obtain supplies and ship items AND you just have to do what you love – make beautiful art and connect with people who love your art on social media.

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9 Powerful Things You Can Do When Business Is Slow

It's that time of the year for you when sales have come to a halt.

You might be freaking out and thinking that your business is broken.

Don't panic!

For most of us, we sell products that are seasonal.

Gift products sell best in the fourth quarter with Christmas funding most of our sales.

Wedding products do best in the spring and summer.

Planner and organizational products are great for the start of the year.

That's just the nature of doing business.

You might feel better about this if you kept busy (doing things that matter, not doing busy work!)

Here are 9 Powerful Things You Can Do When Business is Slow to get your business in shape for when you do get busy!

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The 2016 Instagram Algorithm Change and 5 Steps on How You Can Fight It + Remain Unaffected

Have you heard about what Instagram is doing that will dramatically change your Instagram marketing plans?

No more flying blind.

No more winging it.

For most makers, artists and designers I teach and mentor, Instagram is their top choice of marketing to get traffic and sales to their shop.

Unfortunately, that's about to change.

Instagram announced on March 15, 2016 that they were going to implement an algorithm that would show the best posts to you first, rather than in chronological order as it had been doing in the past few years.

This comes as no surprise, considering Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012. And as small business owners who run Facebook pages, we all know about Facebook's algorithm that prevents your posts from being seen by your own fans.

It became so frustrating, disappointing and some creatives even felt it was a total waste of time.

Creative biz owners then flocked to Instagram because it was easier to use and the highly visual layout works well for makers, artists and designers. There had not been an algorithm yet, so everyone had a fair share when it came to Instagram reach and visibility. We were at an level playing field.

From today on, the tech world will be testing creatives once again.

I teach a course on how to increase your Facebook reach and engagement, called the Facebook Recovery System.

This course isn't about how to gain more followers, even though it's a nice side effect of increasing your reach and engagement.

For starters, I explain why there's an algorithm in the first place.

And Instagram puts it eloquently:

“As Instagram has grown, it’s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.”

Algorithms are put in place for everyone's benefit. It's in Google search engines, Etsy search engines, your Facebook newsfeed, Pinterest's smart feed, and now it'll be in Instagram.

There's simply too much content for anyone to consume in a single day.

Instead of showing you less relevant, lower quality posts even though they're more timely, Instagram (along with all other social media and search engines) is choosing to select the best photos to show you based on, according to Instagram:

the likelihood you'll be interested in the content
your relationship with the person posting
the timeliness of the post

What this means for you as a creative business owner

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10 Steps to Selling on Etsy and Making a Living with your Passion

Do you love making things with your hands?

Do you have a product idea that you think will do well as a business?

Wouldn't it be really awesome to make a living selling the things you love to make?

It's every maker's dream!

If you're completely clueless as to where to begin, I'm here to help!

While I would normally advocate for you to start by setting up your own shop/domain, sometimes what you really need is the fastest route to setting up shop.

Creating your own ecommerce shop takes more time and involves a steeper learning curve. It can be way over your head.

Good news is, you have tons of opportunities to start an online store without jumping through technical hoops.

Enter Etsy.

Etsy is the biggest handmade marketplace online today. Millions of people shop on Etsy daily, and your store could be one of the many that's making sales.

It's free to open a shop. Transaction fees are only 3.5% per sale. It costs $0.20 USD to list an item for 4 months. Read on for how you can get your first 40 listings are free!

Here are 10 steps to selling on Etsy and making a living with your passion.

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