Craft Business

Recently, I received a question from one of the Quilting Business community members from Ottawa, Canada. Since it was about starting a business, I thought it was very applicable to the Craft Business community as well. Over the past week, we’ve exchanged a few emails, and we’ve discussed Assia’s desire to have a quilting business. […]

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If you want to succeed in today’s over saturated business environment, you need to have a story for your craft business.

Why? Because people are completely overwhelmed by the amount of information they process on a day-to-day basis. With hundreds of television channels, regular and satellite radio, and not to mention the Internet, today’s buying public is exposed to hundreds – if not thousands – of marketing messages each and every day. It’s getting harder and harder to stand out in the crowd, and most businesses are becoming part of a generic landscape with very little distinguishing them from the next provider in their market. You can barely distinguish one pizza place from the next, one gas station from the next, one plumber from the next.

Which businesses stand out from the crowd? It’s the businesses that have an easily identifiable story that resonates with their market. A story that defines what the business is about, and what customers and potential customers can expect in every dealing they have with your business. And, a story that your customers will tell others, passing your story along and championing your cause.

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WOW!!!!

All I can say is, “WOW!” As of today, there have been 418 respondents to my short poll, “What Are You Most Interested In Learning?” And for the most part, the results are very clear. Here are the top three responses based on your feedback:

1. How to sell my crafts – 67%
2. Marketing tips and tricks – 54%
3. Selling my crafts online (eBay, etsy) – 49%

So, almost 50% of you wanted to focus on these three topics.

What does this mean? It means I’ll be putting a lot of my efforts into tailoring the content of the Craft Business Blog to your areas of interest. So, starting some time this week (most likely over the weekend), I’ll start pulling together some great content that covers these topics.

But first, I wanted to thank everyone who participated. I never expected such a large response, and I’m really glad to see that you really do pay attention to those funky little emails I send out.

And… one more thing. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make sure everyone was updated when the blog is updated. I think I have it figured out, but I’m not a super-technical guy so I may do the wrong thing. So if you receive multiple emails over the next few days, I apologize in advance.

Thanks again!

Chuck

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve become obsessed with making soap. There are just so many creative things you can do with soaps – from the design, to the colors, to the shapes, and the scents – that soapmaking seems like such a great craft to get involved in. And, I can tell you that […]

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I’m getting ready for work, but I just found this incredible interview of Dana Meanor of DLPom Hancrafted Expressions. Dana combines soaps and paper making in her craft business (as well as some incredible jewelry). Her soaps are handcrafted pieces of scented art, and her packaging is made by recycling ink-free paper into her packaging […]

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Here’s another great article from the Craft::Boom website, and it’s part of their interview series. In this interview, Lisa Lam talks to Akhila from Akhila Handbag about the difficulty of time management in running a craft business while being a full-time “mum”. In the article, Akhila explains her strategies for getting work done without skimping […]

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Craft business owners live for the seasonal craft fairs and trade shows that allow them to showcase their goods during the holiday buying season. But if you decide to exhibit at one of these events – and why wouldn’t you? – remember that the craft fair or craft show will be packed with men and […]

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