What to Work on in Slow Times of a Handmade Business

When I was a visual merchandiser for a large retailer, so slow months after the holiday rush made it hard to get excited about work, but at least I had a boss telling me what to work on and giving me a sense of security.

Once I started my handmade business, these times had me wishing for a leader who could just tell me what to do.

Unfortunately, we’re the only ones who know our business inside out and can make the best decisions for it.

But you can seek guidance. That’s what I’m here to help you with.

 

1) Start with a goal

It’s not just about writing down a goal for the sake of it; it’s about setting your destination. You wouldn’t set out on a road trip without a destination in mind.

It’s likely you want to be someone new and exciting with your business this year, so set a goal that gets you excited.

I like to keep goal-setting simple and focus on the revenue I want to earn.

From there, I can break that into:

• Monthly revenue goals
• The projects that will help me reach those revenue goals (e.g. launching a Spring collection, running a sale, adding a new revenue stream to by business (e.g. affiliates), etc.)
• Then break those projects into steps
• And break steps into tasks.

Be sure to keep your goal attainable.

Look at what you earned last year and how much you want to increase that number by. Assess why you did or didn’t hit your goal last year and what you can do differently this year. 

 

2) Create your production task list

Slow times are a good time to plan and create your upcoming schedule.

Start with your monthly revenue goals and consider what you’ll need to do each month to reach it.

For example, you may need to:

• Launch a new product collection to boost sales in March
• Sell at a craft fair to hit your April sales goal
• Launch a summer collection in May
• Etc.

Once you have a rough plan for the year, look at the projects in the first month you need to prepare for.

Start breaking that project down into steps.

For example, launching a new collection in March may require me to:

• Research current year’s Spring trends
• Source materials 
• Create prototypes
• Photograph products for website and lookbook
• Etc.

Then, you can break each step into tasks.

For example:

• Research current year’s Spring trends
  • Read articles
  • Create a mood board
• Source materials
  • Make a trip to the fabric store and gather samples
  • Order samples for online fabric stores
  • Determine prices based on material costs
  • Choose final materials and order
• Etc.

Once you’ve listed every task under every step, now you can estimate how long each task will take and start plotting them into your schedule.

This will help you see how much work has to be done before the project’s completion date and ensure you’re leaving yourself enough time.

I also find, when I have a detailed list of tasks, and those tasks aren’t overwhelming, it motivates me to take action.

“Design a new product collection” sounds daunting. “Go on Pinterest and look at Spring trends” sounds fun and easy

 

3) Create your sales and marketing task list

The same idea applies to this step; look at your upcoming project and think about everything you’ll need to complete to market and sell.

Consider things such as:

Marketing

• Sending newsletters
• Social media posts
• Business cards and flyers printed and handed out
• Placing ads
• Etc.

Selling

• Updating website
• Ordering shipping materials
• Applying to craft shows
• Preparing for craft show sales (e.g. ordering a Square credit card reader)
• Etc.

Follow the same process and break each step down into tasks and roughly schedule them on your calendar. 

A good practice to get into is keeping a running list and writing down all the tasks you wish you had time for.

When you’re in the thick of preparing for a craft fair and think:

“I really need to test out faster ways to attach this button”

“I really should take my sewing machine in for a tune-up before it conks out when I really need it”

“I really need to go through my craft closet, organize and take stock of materials I have”,

Write those down. They’re the perfect tasks to complete when times are slow.

 

You should have a good list of things to work on now. The last step is not to overthink it. We all want sales, but you have to accept that not every month can be a growth month.

When you’re focused on increasing sales in a slow time, you can feel desperate, be reactive and second-guess every task you think about starting because it’s not a direct path to making money. This leads to unproductive days and frustration.

Stick to your plan and work with the intention to prepare and organize. It will get busy again, sales will ramp back up, and you’ll be thankful you took this time to prepare for it instead of scrambling to offer new products and build stock.

To take your goal-setting, planning, and scheduling to the next level, check out THE SUCCESS PLANNER. 

 

What do you work on during the slow months of your business? Share in the comment section below!