For many makers, who often work alone, it can be an isolating experience. Attending conferences, like Craftcation or workshops can help build relationships, find answers to problems we can’t figure out in our business and connect us to a community who can offer support. After spending four days of listening to creatives and business experts, you’d expect to learn a few things, right? Read on for the top five things we took away during Craftcation!
When you have an online business, it's easy to forget that what you see online is the best, curated or partial version of what's actually happening in someone's business. Yet still we persist in comparing ourselves to others on social media! Today, #ahasmember Amber of Ink & Matter shares how she finally moved on from it and what she does to keep from getting sucked back in.
Owning your own creative business takes a special person. You're not just pursuing creative passions, but you have to know business strategies that might not always be top of the right-brained mind. You can also find yourself concerned about business and that it can suck time and energy away from what makes your business special-- your creativity. We surveyed a few of our members how they balance this. Here are their responses!
Newsletters are more than just another email. They keep us in the loop on our industry, give us business tips and also help us know about new offers from our suppliers. Our members are quite knowledgeable and have honed newsletter inbox collections-- so we thought we'd ask them which newsletters they get excited to see. Here are their recommendations and few of ours too!
At our very first San Francisco Chapter meeting I met Vince of Vincie Bags-- and I know longer worried that we would find good people who cared about craft as part to help our new chapter flourish!
Vince is the kind of person who has honed his years of experience into generous wisdom and also hilarious insights. He is truly a craftsman and gives back unselfishly to his local maker community. I'm excited that he's sharing with us today how he has come to understand the steps of a successful creative business and ways to keep the cycle of "always learning" in your business.
My heart is full. Our third annual awards show was such an amazing culmination of celebration for handmade businesses. What moves me so much is not the grandness of the event or perfect details but how much people enjoy connecting with each other and how much they feel celebrated-- and celebrate others. It is the generosity of spirit that defines this event from start to finish.
Being held accountable feels like something ominous-- you will be taken to task for your actions! Ack! But really, if you think about it, it's really just a way to monitor progress... and also gain some perspective by talking it out with another person. Today we have Yuko of Honeyberry Studios sharing about how having an accountability partner helped to move her business forward!
