Market Locally

Summer is a great time to get out and market your business locally. 

With a variety of art / craft show, events, and networking opportunities there is always ways to market your business.

Looking for shows to participate in, in your area, check out Craftlister.com or festival net.com. 

I enjoy doing shows and participating in events to share my business with my community. Getting out and meeting my customers is one of my favorite things, and it has helped my business as well. I get to test out new products, determine my best sellers, and doing shows and events has helped me to narrow down my target market.

A few new pieces I will be showing at my upcoming show

I also leave my business cards in local coffee shops and post them on community boards, teach classes, and talk about my business whenever I have the opportunity. During the holidays I had a ton of sales from the ladies at my gym, just for mentioning my business after a class.

Marketing your business in your community is a great way to expand your business. This is also a great time of year to put yourself out there and start promoting what you have to offer!

How do you market your business locally?

Motivation Monday

Keep Trying

When things are not going our way,

  it's tempting to sit back and wait.

But then, more then ever, we must renew our efforts.

Believe in yourself.

Back your judgment.

Push through your protective boundaries.

Keep going.

Now Is the Time by Patrick Lindsay

Motivation Monday

Your Dream Business

When you close your eyes what does your dream business look like?

I always thought I wanted my business to be big with employees and I need to do is run things, but when I close my eyes these days I see myself creating my inventory and running my business with just a couple of people.

I will never be a big company or make tons of money, but now my goal is to make enough money to enjoy life and the creative process.

When was the last time you closed your eyes to visualize what your dream business looks like. 

Has the vision of your business changed?

Success requires dreaming, planning, and a lot of hard work. Visualizing your dream business will guide you to setting your goals, making plans, and deciding how much time and money to invest your business.

July is a great time to regroup. If you need to start over or add a few new ideas, then today is the day to make sure you are living your dream business.

Motivation Monday

Summer Motivation

This time of year can be challenging to to stay motivated to work your Etsy shop and business. I know for me it has been really challenging because I want to be outside in the warm weather after our long cold winter.

Summer is also challenging to get sales in your Etsy shop, because everyone would rather be out enjoying all the fun summer activities then being online.

Well this is the perfect time of the year to work on your shop and business for when things really start to pick up during the last quarter.

Here is a short list of ideas to keep you motivated all summer long.

Build your inventory
Create those new pieces you have been thinking about and add them to your shop.
Start a new collection to launch in the fall.
Try out new materials.

Find new places and ways to promote your shop
Research blogs to be featured on or to advertise with.
Look for offline opportunities, such as stores to carry your work, shows to participate in, places to share your marketing materials.

Update your Etsy shop
Take new photos.
Update your policies and about page
Change your tags and titles to be found in more searches.

Educate yourself
Read blog posts about business, marketing, and social media.
Check out all the tips from the Etsy Seller Handbook.
Watch Creative Live webinars and TED Talks for ideas and inspiration.

Have Fun
Take Fridays off and explore your city or town.
Create art just for the fun of of it.
Spend a day doing nothing, just enjoy the warm weather.

When sales are slow during the summer months, don't lose momentum. Do things to keep your shop top notch and have some fun.

What do you like to do during the slower summer season to stay motivated and work on your business?

Embrace The Process

When I taught art classes to kids they were always so enjoyable to watch. Kids create what makes them happy, and express themselves without any thought of how their masterpiece will turnout.

We lose that freedom to express ourselves as we get older. Our art becomes a process, we become concerned if people like what we create, making a grade, or worrying if it will sell.

This especially is an issue when we experiment with a new medium or try new techniques. I enjoy the process of painting and creating collage, but I am not very good at either. I always want the finished product to look like it does in my head and I never spend enough time enjoying the creative process.

In order to truly express our artistic selves we need to permit ourselves to create without the worry of being evaluated.

Try sitting down and working with a medium you have never tried and just create. Don't worry about what it will look like or if it turns out just right, just create for the purpose of expressing yourself.

This is a great way to get out of a creative slump, or if you need a break from a big project to rejuvenate your creative well.

Do some creative playing, try some new techniques, use colors you don't normally use, experiment with new materials, let your exploration be the process and your completed project be the byproduct.

How often do you work in a new medium or stretch yourself creatively?

Motivation Monday

Ask:  What is precious? Of all the things that you hold, with everything tugging you in a hundred directions at once, what really matters?

Then consider:  What would it look like to live toward what matters with everything you have?

Begin immediately.

A Field Guide to NOW by Christina Rosalie