Archive for the ‘crafty business’ Category
Whenever I hear about a design challenge, I instantly want to tell you about it (especially when the prize is cash in your pocket). So if you are a graphic designer, illustrator, doodler, artist, or dabbler, be sure to check out the latest UncommonGoods Design Challenge.
The designer who creates the winning look for this challenge will not only win $500, that person will also have their design featured on a sustainable line of party cups and plates that will be made available for purchase in time for Memorial Day weekend. Pretty exciting!
Think picnics, potato salad, and corn on the cob because you’ll be creating something with uncommon style that can go from pool party to a causal outdoor wedding in a breeze.
Here’s some inspiration for that “blank” summer canvas you are designing for (remember there are cups too)…
I wish I could enter this competition myself. I have so many ideas brewing!
Like all of Uncommon Goods’ design contests, it is super easy to submit your work for consideration (mention you found ‘em via papernstitch in the form), but the deadline is REALLY SOON, March 15th, so get to it!
Guest judges for this opportunity range from Candace Holloway (UncommonGoods buyer) to food stylist Diana Yen (who has styled for Kinfolk Magazine). This is a great opportunity to get your work seen. And I was told by the folks at UncommonGoods that even if you don’t win, it will get your name out there for future graphic design opportunities.
Here’s your chance to get your work seen on a larger scale and get that $500 in your pocket! Deadline for entries is March 15, 2012 at 11:59 PM ET. Enter now.
This contributor post was written by Tiffany Moore.
We all have dreams. We all have lives that we want. We all have these thoughts and whispers, “What if…”
“If only…”
“I wish I could…”
So what if you could?
Often, it seems the only thing standing in our way is fear. I say only with a grain of salt because fear is big, huge, so while it’s just one thing, it can take years for us to get to a place where we are willing to take steps to move beyond it.
The sad truth is that there isn’t any way to actually take fear out of the equation of our lives. The big key is to learn to work with your fear or push it aside momentarily while you take the steps you need to take.
When you’re up to something big (like life-changing BIG) fear is there. It’s so present, and it’s not going anywhere. I always tell my clients that fear and doubt and wondering if you’ll succeed are really good signs, because it means that you’re shaking things up and getting uncomfortable.
Getting comfortable with discomfort is one of the first steps to not letting fear be a factor in making your decisions. Playing big means stepping beyond your normal and what you usually do. It means putting yourself out there in new and exciting ways. It means spending a LOT of time in the land of discomfort.
It’s so easy to look at other people and think they have it made in their creative careers, to think that the deck is stacked against you while your peers have had all the breaks. While this might be true, it’s also (I say much more!) true that we all struggle. We all get scared. We all doubt and worry and wonder.
And some of us do it anyway.
What would you do if fear wasn’t a factor? What would you put out into the world if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Leave your response in the comments below.
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*image via conilab: Do What You Love/Love What You Do
Tiffany Moore, co-founder of Teahouse Studio is a life and business coach. She helps creatives take their business (and LIVES) to the next level with her sparkly butt-kicking and thinks that everyone in the world is beautiful, including you.
Today, podcasts are back!
I sat down (virtually of course) with Jena Coray to discuss a few things that I think you are going to want to hear. If you have ever struggled to find balance with your business and personal life or you’ve found it difficult to pursue your passion, you’ll want to listen in on my 40 minute podcast with Jena.
For those that don’t already know Jena’s story, she is the creative soul behind Miss Modish (previously Modish blog) and also makes up half of The Maven Circle along with her biz partner Jen.
Together, Jena and Jen recently launched The Catalyst Course – which was designed to help people find more fulfillment in their lives. We’ll chat about the course in the podcast too if you’d like to hear more. Here’s a picture of the ladies of the Catalyst Course…
Here’s what Jena and I discussed in the 40 minute podcast:
-What lights your flame? The path to discovering your true passions and why exploration is so important.
-Recalibrating your mind and body – making a shift physically + mentally. And how some of the smallest shifts can make the biggest impacts.
-How self-care can make you happier in your biz + in life and tips for relieving stress.
-Time management – fitting more into your day and getting rid of the non-productive hours.
-And more.
Visit Jena Coray on Miss Modish and the recently launched Catalyst Course + The Maven Circle. And get updates from Jena on twitter @miss_modish.
Listen to the podcast now…
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This contributor post was written by Genevieve of Lightbox SF.
Unique Selling Propositions or USP is a sales and marketing term that boils down to: What do you offer that makes your business stand out from all your competition? What makes you unique?
It’s actually a harder question to answer than you think. I was stumped the first time a marketing coach asked me. I knew that Lighbox SF wasn’t like every other creative business coach out there, but I couldn’t put into words why or how. After really mulling it over, the answer came down to a few things that made us different. Our various backgrounds that influenced how we worked and wanted to work with clients, our philosophy of marketing a business that focuses on storytelling, embracing uniqueness, and community and our focus on creating a sustainable life and business at the same time come together to set us apart. However, it took us almost a year to be able to really express it.
Today I’d like to pose the same question to you and I really want you to think about it. Do you do anything that no one else can or does? Do you offer something that can’t be found anywhere else? Is your design style so unique that no one else can come close? There are a few of you that may answer yes to one of those questions, but many of you won’t. Don’t despair!
A USP can be something as simple as how quickly you complete custom orders or the personalized service you give in your shop. It doesn’t have to be amazing new technology or even a product no one else has seen, but it needs to be something that people want to come back for. It needs to be a distinction that makes it easy for customers to decide to pick you over your competitors.
Think of your product from the customer’s point of view. You’re looking for a new pair of shoes and you see two pairs that look very similar and you like the style of both of them, but one is almost twice the price of the other. Seems an easy choice right? You choose the cheaper one. But what if you knew the ones that were more expensive would also be so comfortable you could wear them all day, running errands, to work, and even out for a night on the town and your feet wouldn’t hurt. However, the cheaper ones, even though they looked the same from the outside would give you blisters by lunch. If the expensive shoes fit within your budget, wouldn’t you buy them?
A USP is often about perceived value, not straight up cost or detail. Customers like things to be easy, they like to have experiences that make them feel special, and we generally buy because we want something, not because we need it.
Answer these few questions and you’ll be a lot closer to defining your USP.
1. How does your product make your customers feel?
2. What keeps them coming back?
3. What do you do that’s different from your competition?
4. Do you or can you solve a problem for your customers or within your industry?
Be specific. Give proof of your benefits. And most importantly can you consistently deliver on this USP every single time you make a sale?
I’d love to hear what makes you different from your competitors.
Leave your response in the comments below.
Genevieve Robertson writes about creative marketing strategies over at Lightbox SF. She helps makers, artists, and crafters brand their businesses by telling their stories and embracing what makes them unique.
We’re going the anti-Valentine’s Day route apparently (nothing against V-Day at all – but it’s getting coverage everywhere else today). So on the day dedicated to love, let’s instead take same time to think about how we can love our business. What do you say?
If you file your taxes quarterly for your biz, you’ve already made a payment this year, but if you’re struggling to get those numbers right for the next quarter or are waiting until April 17th to send it all in, here is a time-saving (and headache saving) tip from Marlo of Creative Arts Consulting.
The following guest post is by Marlo Miyashiro…
When tax time rolls around, do you find yourself stressing out trying to go through your (hopefully) long list of Etsy sales trying to figure out which ones are in your state?
Did you know that Etsy has a CSV download function that will allow you to open up a spreadsheet and SORT by STATE?
Well, if you didn’t know it already, here’s how to download your info and get on your way to faster filing!
1. Open up your Etsy account
2. Go to “Your Account”
3. Click on “Sold Orders”
4. Scroll ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM of the page
5. Keep going!
6. There, you’ll see a tiny little hyperlink that reads “Download CSV file”
7. Click on the link
8. In the “orders” section, use the drop-down box for “Year” and click on 2011
9. Leave the “month” box alone (for the full year report)
10. Click on the button “Download CSV” and save or open it in your spreadsheet program
11. Sort the whole list by State
Smile as you realize how much time you just saved yourself. WhooHoo! Hope that helps you as much as it helped me.
How will you show your business some love today?
About the author: Marlo Miyashiro (a.k.a. IMakeCuteStuff) has been in the retail and wholesale handmade craft industries for over 20 years as a jeweler, crafter, teacher, mentor, small object photographer, arts business consultant and organizer for the Seattle Etsy Team: EtsyRAIN.com. Also find her via her consulting and photography sites.
This contributor post was written by Vanessa of Thrift Core.
Do you long to fly free doing what you love?
Of course you do. It’s the American Dream, and it’s not some ethereal fantasy; it’s attainable. If you hate your day job and long to create full time, quit!
It’s always going to be scary to leave a “real” job with a steady paycheck. Every successful artist will tell you of times of self-doubt and fear of going broke. It takes sacrifice to live your dreams. So while you still have a steady job, here is something to help move you forward toward your dream.
The following three action steps will help you prepare for your career as an artist or freelancer while you’re still working a day job:
1. Plan Every Day: Dedicate at least 30 minutes per day toward your goal of leaving the day job. You can read inspiring business stories or work on your product. Be consistent and dedicate time to making your dreams a reality.
2. Work Part-Time: Set up your online shop, sell at art fairs or get yourself set up in galleries or boutiques. Whatever your dream is, do it part time while you work the day job. This isn’t easy, but it does more than help you get established. It’ll help you figure out what path to take. You never know if you’ll like the job until you actually try it!
3. Write Your Business Plan: No matter how small your operation is, you need a write your business plan. It will help you determine how you’ll earn money, pay the bills, and so much more.
Hint: Set a Date Think about a comfortable date to leave your day job, and mark it on your calendar. Even if it’s years from now, giving yourself a date to work toward will keep you motivated.
Remember the Strangest Secret To Success: We Are What We Think About. Keep your dream on your mind, and failure is impossible.
Let’s make 2012 the year we do what we love.
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*image above She Looks for Adventure
Vanessa wrote this post. She left her job as a fulltime copywriter and webmarketer and has made a career out of her passion for art, creativity, and thrift. She writes about thrifting, creating, and saving money every weekday on her blog, Thrift Core.
This contributor post was written by Tiffany Moore and is a follow-up to her earlier post, The First Rule of Pricing.
This week, I want to talk about rule #2 when it comes to pricing for your creative business: it has to be sustainable.
I know that sustainability is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, but the bottom line is this: if you are working towards a creative business that you can make a living from, you have to be sure that you set things up so that you can earn a living wage. You have to be able to pay yourself. Or else it’s not going to work.
It’s scary. It’s a big thing to consider, especially when you’re starting out.
The truth is that when you get started, you likely aren’t going to be earning a living wage from your creative business. Most of us have side projects or second jobs that sustain us while we get started, BUT you have to have a vision of sustainability in mind before you jump in.
Too often, as creatives, we focus on the passion, on the heart. On the craft of it all. And that all still can count for a LOT but bringing a sense of business in, even from the beginning, can often make the difference between making a living and having a hobby.
The point is for what you love to be what you do, right? Getting real about the business side of things sooner rather than later will help solidify that as a reality.
What is the best business decision you made early on? On the flip side, what is the one business decision you WISH you’d made early on? How were you able to find your sweet spot?
*image via WilloToons: Stitching it all Together
Tiffany Moore, co-founder of Teahouse Studio is an artist, life coach, change agent and magic maker. She helps creatives live their happiest, most sparkly lives (starting NOW) and thinks that everyone in the world is beautiful, including you.
