Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Growing Your Crafty Business
I just wrote an article about resources that have helped me turn my hobby into a full-time profession. Visit my website to read the full article (Resources to Help You Grow Your Crafty Business), or skim the list below to find out some of the things that have helped take my business to a new level. Hope you find something that inspires you and helps build your business!
Craft, Inc: Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco — The only bad thing about this book is that it wasn't out when I was first starting! I read other hobby-to-business books that were helpful, but this one is really, REALLY good. I love that it includes Q&A with actual crafters, so you can see some real-world applications for some of the concepts. Craft fairs, marketing, pricing, financing...all this and more is covered in great detail.
Women's Business Development Center — Classes and counseling at little or no cost. I have taken several workshops and met with counselors, and I cannot say enough good things about this place. No clue how to write a business plan? They have a class centered all around business plans, with the ultimate goal of having you leave the class with a completed plan! If you're not in Chicago, there are groups in other cities with similar programs.
Entrepreneur Magazine &mdash What better to help you think big than reading a magazine filled with businesses at the $10+ million level? Even though most of these companies are completely different from mine, many of the issues we face are the same: inventory control, marketing, customer service, etc. I learn something from each issue that will help my business. And they also feature smaller companies who are every bit as inspiring as the big guys.
Instant Cashflow by Bradley J Sugars — If you want to stay in business, having good cash flow is the way to do it. Businesses can be profitable, but still go out of business due to cash flow issues. Really! This book gives nearly 300 strategies (though there is some overlap, so maybe 200 strategies is more accurate) to improve your cash flow. Sure, they don't all apply to crafters, but even if you find just a dozen strategies—and I wouldn't be surprised if you found three times as many—the book would pay for itself.
Guerrilla Marketing — Jay Conrad Levinson has built an empire on the idea of guerrilla marketing. My favorite book is Guerrilla Marketing for FREE. Let's face it, most crafters don't have a huge marketing budget, if we have one at all! So free strategies are perfect!
The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth From The Inside Out by Julie Murphey Casserly — Before you build a successful business, you have to be comfortable dealing with money, period. This is great book to help you get in touch with your true feelings about money in business and in your personal life. This book helped me realize it's OK to make money--after all, my goals of changing my community and the world are much more easily achieved with a little extra cash!
posted on 9:18 AM by Blue Buddha