What if I said that the majority of the problems and difficulties you are facing in your handmade or art business at this moment in time are all linked? What if I said that they are the result of one small error? What if I said that none of them could even start to get fixed before you correct this error? It’s an error that all of us are making every single day. It’s an error that’s completely understandable and completely human and yet completely toxic to your business.
As solo business owners there are always more things to do than there are hours in the day. It can feel like we’re in a constant state of overwhelm. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that, when you’re overwhelmed, you need to cut back on some things. But which things do you choose when everything seems equally important? The fact is that most of us have a strange relationship with what is important. If asked, we know what is important to us, but the things we do on a daily basis often don’t correspond to it.
I learned a lot about marketing from buying a new coat for my job. When I first started work as a stockbroker in the City of London I needed to get a new coat for wearing on the many business trips I took as part of that job. I knew it had to be classic and well crafted and it also had to be practical to deal with being thrown into the overhead bin on an airplane (and sometimes shoved under the seat in front)
I’m guessing you’re feeling pretty exhausted right now. I’m writing this in December when most of us are on our last legs but even if you’re reading this in February, or June, or October, I’m willing to bet that you’re still tired and pretty stressed out. Maybe you’re struggling for sales and it feels like such a constant uphill battle to get your business off the ground. Maybe your business is growing and you’re struggling to cope with the extra work without help.
I’ve got strong opinions about Black Friday.
Actually I’ve got strong opinions about publicly complaining about Black Friday.
Black Friday is a relatively new phenomenon here in the UK and each year there seems to be more and more polarisation around the event and more and more Anti Black Friday blog and social media posts from makers. To be clear, I don’t believe that anyone should ever feel obliged to discount their products.