Creating buzz for your business
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…]
Jewelry is going to some new and exciting places this year, and you do not want to miss some of these new pieces, gem combinations, and hybrids. The latest pieces to walk down the catwalk will surprise you and make you giddy with their big, bold cuts and takes on color.
In your own shop, reach for rough-cut gems, bright colors, and big, crazy combinations to put yourself on the cutting edge of what’s trendy and happening right now. Your own collection of gemstones needs to be a lot more colorful this year, both for your sake and that of your customers. One look at this year’s fashion week will convince you that colorful can open doors you didn’t even know existed. [Read more…]
You have a crafty hand.
People always compliment your work and say, “you should totally sell these!”
Then your wheels start turning, “how CAN I sell them? Maybe online? In a store?”
You do some slight research to see if those people were right about you selling your “stuff.”
You'll most likely come across Etsy on your hunt for information.
You've probably already heard of Etsy since it's been around awhile and you probably know someone you has also sold their craft there.
But shucks, that sure does look intimidating.
Well, that's where I come in.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just add your products to your Etsy shop and the sales just started rolling in?
Customers would leave you nice, positive comments.
You'd be the top shop of the search engine for your products.
Easy peasy.
If only it didn't take some major research and smart work to get there.
The market would be even more saturated if it were that simple.
You're probably wondering, how the heck can I sell over $2k?!
Have you ever been curious about how much other people make from their jobs?
I know I have, and the first place I look at is GlassDoor.com where employees of specific companies share reviews for the businesses they work for.
But more interestingly, they also share their annual income.
This is great data for job seekers and college students picking a major.
Unfortunately, this kind of data for handmade businesses is not readily available for public viewing.
This is one of the few reasons why I do an annual income report for my handmade business every year.
Here's 2014's income report, and here's 2015's.
One, to educate other creatives who are interested in taking their business to a more serious level.
Two, I believe in transparency and that you should follow a mentor or teacher that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.
Three, because this is a good excuse for me to do a year review and analyze what went wrong or right so I can make plans for the new year.
Are you ready to take a peek behind my business?
Here's a snapshot view of how the year went: