Our most common question by makers here is: How Do I Get Ready for Wholesale? There are a lot of pieces to it and it looks a little (and sometimes a lot) different for every business, but if you're a maker thinking about scale is HUGE. It will help you make sure that you are maximizing your margins and don't find yourself in a "oopsie" pricing situation. Thanks to Dawn from our Austin Chapter for sharing her insights!
Ever curious about other maker workspaces? Of course you! Are we are all snoopy and who doesn't love a good studio tour? In this ongoing series, we check out our members' workspaces. Some are home offices and some are completely separate. But it's always fun to see the creative ways they set up their business. Enjoy!
In you case you missed our The State of Making, I wanted to share a few insights I learned from our guests. This is the second time we've done The State of Making and I learn so much every time-- right along with you guys! OK, so here were my big insights.
One of the best things about being part of a community of other professional makers is that there are people who have BEEN THERE and DONE THAT. We are blessed to have members with a wide variety of business experiences here at Academy of Handmade. Veteran maker and wholesaler Amy Chin shares with us today her wholesale wisdom-- born of smarts and trial and error. We hope you learn from how she's navigated the wholesale world.
Spring shows are happening! Catch these fine folks at awesome markets around the country. Our members will be at the shows below-- if you are vending or attending, feel free to say hello to them and connect. I would also love to know which shows you will be at this spring-- let us know in the comments. :)
Shows noted with * are members that also host shows/pop-ups
One of the hardest things about running your own business is having to deal with failure. It’s isolating and extremely discouraging-- which can create a downward spiral if we’re not careful.
We talk about the three ways I think makers and other creative businesses typically fail-- with two of them stinging the most and one of them that most makers deal with pretty well. Once we know what kind of failure we are experiencing, we can better make a plan to move on (I’m not saying it will be easy, but I’m saying we can!).
If you've ever wanted to breathe new life into your work, expand your audience and push your skills, then doing a collaboration could be amazing for you. BUT, they can also burn you if you don't go in with the right expectations. We are excited to have #ahasmember Kimberly of Lacelit share her recent collaboration and what she learned in the process.
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.
If you feel stuck in your business at all, taking a step back, as ironic as it seems can be huge for moving forward. If this post sparks something in you or you recognize what we're describing, take our Maker Business Type Quiz to better understand what's happening in your business.
Last month we launched our Portland Chapter! We are so excited to have two amazing women at the helm and I'd love for you to meet one of them-- Ullika or Ulli as we sometimes call her. :) If you are interested in starting a chapter near you, let us know! You can get the details here.
I'm pleased to let you know that we have added a bonus session! Last time we invited social media and online strategist Meighan O'Toole to do a bonus after she was unable to make it to her scheduled session.
It was such a fun time just chatting about what was going on in social media that we decided to do it again. This time we are focusing on how businesses deal with politics and controversy. It's certainly tricky and can be damaging if not done right. We'll talk with Meighan about making your way through potential land mines of running a business online!
After the holidays is a great time to do some spring cleaning-- including cleaning up your product line. We've actually had a few recent discussions in our member forum and chats about members who streamlined their product line and not only is easier to deal with... it's also been selling better! Today, we have member Marly of Fenimore Rutland sharing how she realized what to focus on AND why certain products weren't selling the way they should be.
One of the things that is hardest to do in business is predict where your business will go next. But if you are wanting to grow your business or even sustain it, planning for it now and implementing systems is key to making sure that growth doesn't crush you or doesn't look like what you wanted (read this blog post about burnout in a successful business). We're delighted to have members Chris & Andy Design share ways to prepare for this growth. You can learn more from Andy, who will be on our State of Making session on shows and booth design!
