There are a lot of specific reasons a small creative business will struggle to succeed. I’m not covering everything that can sink a business, but rather 3 common mistakes that will set you up to struggle. 1) Selling entry level products “Entry level products” are products that require basic/beginner skills to make and almost…
There are a whole LOT of things you CAN do at the beginning of the month, but if you’re a solopreneur running a craft business, Etsy shop, or selling at craft shows, you likely have more tasks than you do time. So let’s keep things simple, and focus on 3 important tasks that will set…
Math. Woof. If you’re anything like me, you prefer to ignore the number side of your business and just hope for the best. But if you’re also like me and want nothing more than to build a successful business, you can’t ignore your numbers. There’s much more to building a financially sound business than what’s…
You know those roundup articles that ask dozens of successful business owners what their best piece of advice for other business owners would be? I find they’re often offering generic advice I’ve heard over and over. Like: “show up and hustle”, “don’t take no for an answer”, “surround yourself with people who are smarter than…
When I was new to the entrepreneurial world and starting my first few businesses, I followed a lot of common advice that may work for some, but didn’t work for me. These 5 things aren’t necessarily bad for a business. But it took me several years to realize they were bad for my business, and…
Before you can make a sale, you must first catch a shopper’s attention. If a shopper doesn’t notice your craft show booth or Etsy listing, or they do but aren’t drawn to it, you won’t have an opportunity to sell. You can’t build a display or create a listing that appeals to everyone. So you…
Digital products are often very profitable to sell online because you can create one digital product and sell it over and over to multiple customers. You may incur marketing and selling costs, but your production costs are zero (unless you make updates to the product). Some digital products are more popular than others and I’ve…
A piece of advice I often share is to refine your product line. Most handmade businesses I see are trying to offer too much selection. But I understand a lot of people don’t want to scale back. So if you insist on offering several different types of products, consider carrying a theme throughout them. …
This is a really easy and quick way to get ideas for new products, and get a general idea for what types of products are popular on Google (which typically means they’re popular on other platforms such as Etsy). Follow the 5 steps below to come up with a list of new product ideas to…
Most Etsy shops get their beginnings when a crafter makes a product for friends and/or family, decides they should try selling it, and then discover Etsy. The maker creates listings on Etsy and waits for sales to start coming in. This route leaves most makers disappointed when it’s months later and they have few to…