Most makers don’t have a business plan. For a lot of us, we never intended to be business owners. We just liked making things. Eventually, somewhere along the way that changed into a way to make some extra money on the side, a way to create flexible working...

“Oh look, a brand new solution to all of my problems that will mean I can make tons of sales while I get on with painting/looking after the kids/drinking sangria on the beach”

OR

“Oh great! A new tool I have to learn because that lady I met last week said everyone is making a ton of money from it and I’m totally missing out”

We all know that product photographs are really important for selling online. They are the only way your online customers can know how lovely your handmade thing is. The only way that they can see what they’re going to get. And they’re not only important online. Good photos get us accepted to the best art and craft fairs, they get us published in newspapers and magazines, they create great stand displays and, perhaps most importantly, they create brand recognition.

Makers often spend a lot of time worrying about how we are perceived by other people. Our customers, our suppliers, our stockists and even passers-by. Many of us start out without any kind of business training, working on the kitchen table, on the living room floor, in a spare bedroom or while the kids are napping. A hefty dose of imposter syndrome can make us ashamed of our smallness, and we carry that feeling of not-good-enoughness around with us.

Money.
It's the lifeblood of our businesses. In fact, if we're not making money we don't actually have a business, we have a hobby.
But why do so many artists and makers agonise over money?
Why do we struggle so much to charge enough to even meet our basic needs? Why do we consistently undervalue what we do? Why do we hate talking about money? And why do so many of

And actually that’s one of the more terrifying things about starting your handmade or art business. Because what does that really mean? Six weeks, Six months? Six years? How long until your marketing plan works? How long will it take until you can draw an income...

Unless you’ve got an enormous following already, it’s unlikely that simply marketing to your current customers will provide you with enough sales each month, so all makers need to be constantly on the hunt for new customers. Not everyone who sees our work is a potential customer. Not everyone who is a potential customer becomes a buyer. Not everyone who is a buyer becomes a repeat buyer. And not everyone who is a repeat buyer becomes a raving fan.