Hi friends!

I’m running a little experiment. Would you like to participate?

Google Hangouts is a very interesting new technology that I thought might be useful for teaching Retail Readiness to those of you who have not been in the cities I have been able to travel to in the last two years. It’s kind of great because you don’t have to even leave your house!

Here is the description of the class:

Do you have a loyal following at Etsy, BigCartel or craft shows but want to see your work on the shelves of your favorite boutique? It takes more than having products ready to sell to earn a retailer’s interest, trust, and money. I’ll help you get ready to approach stores and tell you how to make it easy for a store to buy from you.

During this workshop, we’ll talk about preparing your business and your product line for wholesale, explore branding and pricing, learn how to research the stores you will approach and how to edit your line for maximum appeal. We’ll also look at the content of your linesheet and catalog, what makes a compelling pitch to retailers, discuss how buyers find out about new lines, and look at the lifecycle of approaching a store, following up, and taking orders. We’ll also talk about building and maintaining a good relationship with your stores.

I have never taught this workshop online so I’m going to offer the first session at a discount, in case there are any bugs to be worked out. The class is Monday, June 3 from 4 – 6:30pm Pacific Daylight Time, so that the middle and east coasters can attend; I’ll do some more west coast suitable sessions later on. This is a 2 1/2 hour class and it is $30. I have room for up to just 9 students at a time. (If all goes well, there will be more very soon!)

**The requirements are that you have a decent Internet connection, and an account that is associated with Google Hangouts. The very easiest way is to have a Gmail account, but if you are savvy and tend to read your email (from yourdomainname.com) in Gmail, you should be able to link up that account as well.**

June 3 SOLD OUT!!! Thank you for a great response. The next two classes are listed below. The class is $45 which is half the cost of the in-person workshop.

June 10, 3:30 – 6:00pm Pacific Daylight Time

June 24, 12:00pm – 2:30pm Pacific Daylight Time

Please use the time zone converter to make sure you know when to attend!

The glory days of selling on Etsy are over. It is next to impossible to set up a shop and get found immediately – without a lot of work on your part.  But if you have an Etsy shop you don’t need to say goodbye.  It’s just time to spread your business’ risk around and grow other sales channels for your wares.  This ensures you are not dependent on any one external platform to deliver customers to you.

Website Home

Too many of us have relied on shared community sites to represent our businesses online.  It’s not professional or practical.  If you are serious about your business, you need a website that represents your entire business – one equipped with shopping cart, blog, image galleries and so on.  When you have your own website – a website home – for your business online is easier on you, your customers. It’s your brand’s hub online.

Well-built websites allow you to add every kind of content you have – all in one place – and from there, you and your visitors can share your content from your website onto social networks.  This is a much better option than relying on any social networks, marketplaces and external websites to host your content.  You own your website and you’re in charge.  Having everything on one platform is good for SEO and a huge time and money saver.

Leverage Your Etsy Shop

When you are focused on building your own website’s traffic, you are putting your company in a much better position to weather a storm with any one of your sales channels.  With your website as the hub – it becomes the center of your brand.  And like the spokes of a wheel, your shared marketplace shops can be used as marketing channels.  Why not use your external shops to build your business?  For the audience Etsy and others deliver you, they should be paid transaction fees.  However, you need not promote your Etsy shop from your website or promotional material

Develop Your Mailing List

Developing a good mailing list is an amazing tool for a handmade business.  Creating a newsletter is effective way to let people get to know you and your brand.  As your business grows, so will your contact list.  There are many inexpensive, if not free mailing list tools like MailChimp or Constant Contact.  Your customers are your customers – whether they’re from Etsy or your website – so be sure to capture those email addresses on your orders.

Getting to know your customers will help you with every aspect of your business.  Your customers are your target market. Understanding what your target markets need/want will help you build your business.  Eventually you can slice and dice your customer list to determine which emails go to whom.  Customer loyalty evolves over time and connecting with them regularly is a great way to build trust.

Your Brand – Go Deep and Unique

Your brand doesn’t stop at your logo.  Your brand should be infused in all parts of your business.  Creating a brand starts with you.  From the making to the marketing of your goods your brand should be present.

What’s important to you?  What’s your mission statement?  Why do you do create the things you do?  What’s special about your company?  Answers to these questions are the building blocks of your brand. Once you have a firm grasp of your brand – make sure it is clarified visually and in all communications – wherever your company is represented online and off – website, social network profiles, show’s exhibit. Defining your uniqueness will help you stand out EVERYWHERE!

Develop New Sales Channels

There are more opportunities for selling your work than ever before. Each channel requires additional work, so it’s best to test which are the most effective for what you sell.

-Website Sales
The first place you sell should be on your website.  Even if you are just starting out, having your own website and shopping cart removes a fourth party from the transaction and saves you a bundle each year in transactional fees.  Using a shopping cart that updates Etsy listings – all the better.

-Marketplaces
Marketplaces are great way to get your work out there and Etsy isn’t the only game in town.  Although Etsy is handmade’s darling, there has been an explosion of marketplaces from which to sell your work.  Each marketplace has its own personality – some with curators, some without.  It’s easy to test the waters of some and find out where you fit in.

-Shows and Fairs
Art Fairs and Craft Shows come in all shapes and sizes and happen year round all over the world.  Research to find the right ones for you, your work, your location and schedule.  Expect to pay a fee or a small percentage of sales to participate.

-Parties and Trunk Shows
Stores, restaurants and friends are often quite happy to host a trunk show for you or a group of local designers/artists.  Not only are these events fun and laid back, but you can invite your local customers and meet new ones easily in a relaxed social setting.

-Wholesale
There is a lot to say on this topic but if you are in the position to wholesale your work, it’s awesome.  The key to wholesale for a handmade artist is being able to price your items low enough and understanding your capacity.

The solutions here are just some of the many ways to take charge of your business.  Most business successes are won through trial and error.  With some creative planning and testing, you’ll figure out what works for you.  And in no time you’ll be comfortable holding the reins of your indie business.

Jennifer Rapp Peterson is a business-minded creative type—equal parts right-brain and left-brain. Prior to founding IndieMade in 2009, the former software consultant-turned serial creative entrepreneur had built and sold a greeting card publishing business, invented award-winning toys, licensed several art and toy properties, illustrated 7 children’s books and built numerous retail websites. 

IndieMade empowers thousands of artists and entrepreneurs with its easy all-in-one website platform - with integrated store, portfolio, blog, marketing tools, web hosting, technical support and much more. IndieMade.com hosts a massive library of free resources written by creative business experts.

Just a quick recap from me, as a way to explain why it’s been so quiet around here.

1. I spoke at TYPO SF. There’s a short summary of the talk on their site. I must confess that I was nervous about talking about a new subject. I can talk about retail all day but coworking is a new domain for me. I think I learned a lot, though, and am excited to polish this down and share a shorter version on the Makeshift site.

2. I went to New York for six days. I attended 99u conference, met in-person the women behind Pattern Pulp and The Great Discontent, looked at some real estate and taught Retail Readiness – twice. I ate an awesome ice cream sandwich in between my multiple subway trips, too.

And now I’m back in San Francisco. There’s one more conference appearance this year – WMC Fest in August, in Cleveland. Look out for some fun collabs between me and Lisa Congdon, my longtime partner-in-crime.

I’ve also been encouraged (cajoled?) by Kim of Senn and Sons to teach Retail Readiness in Minneapolis in July. I said I wasn’t going to do it, but maybe I’m doing it? Anyway – if there is enough interest, I will book a ticket. Tentatively we are looking at July 13. If there is *not* enough interest, then I won’t be able to cover costs and won’t make it, so it’s up to you to leave a comment here.

Also! I’m not sure what’s going to happen to this blog. My interests are shifting and even the how and why of output is changing. I feel like I read, digest and curate a lot of things on Twitter. This wasn’t true for me two years ago, but it’s where things happen now. I also am starting to post at Medium, when I feel like what I have to say is not small business related and not exactly the kind of advice you are looking for over here. This is just to say that things may be sporadic, from me and my contributors. The archives will not go away, however. I appreciate your thoughts on this. It’s hard juggling so many things, and I’m not good at endings, only beginnings.

Photo © Erica Midkiff

I see this one a lot. Someone will write (usually informally, like on social media or a blog post), “Oh, I’m really excited about the Process.” Or “I have a new Sofa that I really love.”

In this context, “process” and “sofa” should not be capitalized. I’m not sure why people do this so often. Maybe to emphasize something they’re excited about? But no matter the reason, it’s just not correct.

The first letter of many words should be capitalized—proper nouns, the letter “I” when referring to yourself, and the first word in any sentence, for example. And there are certainly times when words that ordinarily would not be capitalized will require it—if they’re part of a title, like My Working Process, or an event, like The Sofa Hop. But in general, scan your writing to make sure you haven’t accidentally capitalized words unnecessarily. If you’re not sure whether or not a noun should be capitalized, check the dictionary.

Hope this helps!

: Erica Midkiff // Copy Editor :

Hi all, just a short note to say that next month are the last Retail Readiness workshops for a while. I need to focus on Makeshift Society so I’m taking a little break from teaching. (There is a chance I’ll be in Minneapolis this summer but I can’t promise anything yet.)

I’ll be in New York next week and have TWO options for you – a Saturday class and a Wednesday night class. Choose whichever fits your schedule!

You can read more about it and sign up here. Thank you!

Rena

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11 

As a consultant, I know and work with a lot of other freelancers and solo entrepreneurs – people who, for one reason or another, have decided that working for themselves is the right thing to do. Some do a bit of work on the side of a full-time job, and others have taken the plunge and rely entirely on freelancing to make their living. It’s an exhilarating and scary plunge, being your own boss – and it’s not for everyone.

Some people are lucky enough to retain a work environment around others, but many find that working out of their house is the easiest and most cost-effective solution, especially in the beginning. However, what does a lot of solo workers in, before they’ve given themselves enough of a chance to establish their business, is loneliness; rightly, they crave community.

This is not meant to be a lesson about networking and maintaining professional ties. Networking is naturally very vital to keeping your business lively and your prospects open. However, the network you build is a subset of the community you belong to. Knowing your community is knowing where you fit in on a larger scale, and being aware of the interdependencies that keep it moving, changing and growing.

When you work in an office, there are interactions that make up the fabric of your day – meetings and collaborations, yes, but also little things like saying hello in the hall or getting lunch with a friend. These seemingly inconsequential actions make us well-rounded, engaged and approachable and keep us from becoming a robot who is all work, all the time.

How do you truly create and nourish a community for yourself?

Go broad. Start by examining your current network of friends, coworkers and acquaintances. Who is doing truly interesting work, especially work that is not related to your own field? Being broadly knowledgeable will help you recognize, make and take advantage of interconnections that can benefit and influence your own work, as well as expose you to a great new group of people.

Go narrow. Talk to others like you, but in many different channels. You may be a jewelry designer, for example, but that is not the only way you can define yourself. For instance, you may also be an alumnus of a school or certificate program, the parent of a school-age child, an avid reader of fiction, and a foodie. Geting involved in the alumni association, the PTA, a book club or a community dinner club (as well as meeting up with other jewelry designers every now and then) can be just as beneficial for you in a business sense as well as helping with  your stress levels.

Embrace mentorship. Look at your own career and see what stage you are at. You’ll want to know a good range of people – some who are going through the same challenges as you, and others with more (and less) experience. If you truly click with someone, ask if they can be your sounding board and can mentor you…and also find a promising but less experienced person to mentor. Being on both sides of a mentor relationship can be extremely rewarding and educational. On the receiving end, you’ll learn the right questions to ask to solve a problem as you seek out answers. On the giving end, you’ll be able to solidify your stance and point of view, and improve your teaching skills as well.

Ask questions. If you are at all shy about meeting and connecting with others, one thing that always helps is deflecting the interest away from yourself. If you meet somebody, ask about what they do and are interested in. It’s a great way to keep the conversation going if you are at a loss, and you almost always learn something new and interesting.

Give it time. Not everyone in your community is going to immediately be a great fit, a best friend or a valuable contact. Nevertheless, they are part of your sphere of influence and extended family. It’s okay if people fade in and out of your life; allow some time to pass to get a better sense of the big picture of cause and effect, dependencies and relationships.

Okay. So you need to let someone know that they should email you and one other person when a task is done. What do you write? Do you know which of these is correct?

     Please email Cat and me when you’re done.

     Please email Cat and I when you’re done.

     Please email Cat and myself when you’re done.

It’s a tough one, right? You’ve seen them all—I know I have. To figure out the answer, take “Cat and” out of it. So which of these would you say?

     Please email me when you’re done.

     Please email I when you’re done.

     Please email myself when you’re done.

I hope your answer is the first one! The other two are incorrect. So now let’s look at the reverse. Which of these is correct?

     Cat and I will email you when the test is over.

     Cat and me will email you when the test is over.*

     Cat and myself will email you when the test is over.

Follow the same trick to figure out which is correct: take out our poor friend Cat. So you’re left with three sentences; which is correct?

     I will email you when the test is over.

     Me will email you when the test is over.

     Myself will email you when the test is over.

I think we all know the answer here as well!

* I more often see “Me and Cat will email you” but I wanted to be consistent in my treatment of each sentence. Just know “Me and Cat” is also incorrect because you still wouldn’t say “Me will email you when the test is over.”

I’m not going to get into the technical details of why each is correct (or incorrect)—this post is already long. But you have the basics down; now get out there and use these words correctly!

: Erica Midkiff // Copy Editor :

One of the things I feed off of as a creative freelancer, is a constant stream of visual inspiration. Every now and again we all need a little something more. We need to read something that inspires us, hear someone’s story. It is what fuels personal reflection, which is so vital no matter what your profession. This week I happened to come across a most amazing site, one that encompasses the beauty of visuals and the intellectual awesomeness of storytelling. The Great Discontent is a site offering in-depth interviews with creative gurus of all types. Run by Ryan & Tina Essmaker, the visual design is awesome and the interviews are equally so. You can spend a whole day pouring through the archive and find inspiration in all of them. With big imagery, large pull out quotes, and a scroll down format, the site is edgy and modern and perfect. I’m sure I’m the last to know about TGD, but hey better late than never eh? –Keely

images via TGD

If you are a reader of the blog Design * Sponge, then you know that blogger Grace Bonney has recently launched a new feature, Modern Etiquette. If you are anything like me and spend a good deal of your time in front of the computer connecting with customers, then you are going to want to regularly read what Grace has to say about appropriate and polite interactions across the web. One of her more recent post focuses on email communications. I highly recommend giving it a read.  We could all use a reminder from time to time about how to mindlfully craft and send emails and Grace gives good fodder to the importance of professionalism when it comes to email.

As part of my Boundaries for Better Business Class over at the Makeshift Society, I talk about email quite a bit.  We usually spend the better half of class discussion on the topic. As small business owners, email is pretty darn important.  A lot of us complain about it, have trouble setting boundaries around it, and have convinced ourselves that it might be the root of all evil.  Yeah, I hear ya, but from a greater psychological perspective, when it comes to your business, email kind of kicks ass.  Here’s why: the intersubjective analytic third.

The intersubjective analytic third. Whoa.  Sounds fancy, I know, and it kind of is.  I’m not sure anyone has referenced  Bay Area Psychoanalyst Tom Ogden’s theory when it comes to email, but here I go.  Ogden believes that when it comes to psychotherapy there is a third entity created by the analyst and patient.  He theorizes that the minds combine to create a third area of thought that can be spoken to and analyzed.  If it sounds really abstract, yeah, it is.  But all Ogden is saying is that there is this other space out there that can be examined and that is a combination of the communications of two people.  In essence, this is email. Think about it. A communication that exists in space between two people. Similar, right? The thing that is so magical about email, is that unlike the intersubjective analytic third, which takes years of training to grasp and reflect upon as it happens in the moment, email is frozen in time. When we receive an email, we can stare at it as long as we like before responding and when crafting an email we can read it as many times as we want before hitting send.  Email gives us the opportunity to do what we cannot in face to face communication, which is to stop time. And this my friends is why you and email should be sharing best friends forever heart necklaces.

Being able to stop time when it comes to business communications is like having a super power.  It is gives you the ability to respond instead of react and that is exactly what our customers and clients expect when hiring an expert.  We are to be able to lead them out of the burning building cool, calm, and collected. That’s what leaders do. Not only do we have time to think, respond, and propose a sound plan via email, but we can also do so in a tone and style that matches our mission and branding.  Sounds like a dream, right? Email is an important platform for us to show our clients what we are made of and put forth our most mindful selves. It ia a free opportunity to showcase our skills, professionalism, and personality and something we can use everyday to spread the mission of our company. Did I mention it’s free?

The key to harnessing the power of email for good instead of evil, is to be able to separate fact from feeling and respond rather than react.  We all have an optimal idea of how we want to present our business and email is a great place to present this sentiment repeatedly via response, no matter what the sentiment of the communication coming to us. Meaning, if you receive an inquiry from a potential client that seems terse, kind of rude and a little annoying, you have a decision to make.  What’s the cost benefit analysis? You could choose to not answer at all.  Maybe you do not need the business at this time.  Or, you could choose to answer as you would to the kindest and most amazing of email communications.  For my business that criteria is friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful, no matter what is coming at me.  There is no need to respond to jerk with jerk.  Email allows us to take a breath, gain some perspective, say, “hey, it’s not personal,” and elevate the communication to a place of appropriateness and one that best showcases our business.  So the equation goes from jerk = jerk to, awesome = potentially less jerky and maybe a little awesome. Sometimes communications that start out rough can actually result in a profitable business relationship and a customer that becomes one of our biggest fans.

I’m currently putting together a class description for an entire workshop devoted to harnessing the awesome power of email.  I’d love to hear your comments below on issues that would be helpful to touch on.

Mindfully Yours,

Lisa Anderson Shaffer