Stealing customers isn’t really the advice you’d expect to hear when learning about best handmade business practices is it?   But I’m not really talking about “stealing”. Rather…choosing a different type of competitor than you may be thinking of, and then rising above that competition to encourage your competitor’s customers to give your business…

  This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure here.    Holidays tend to encourage consumers to step up their shopping. Even people who aren’t big shoppers feel enticed to purchase Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, etc. products….

  Whether you have a website, Etsy shop, or a shop on another online marketplace, you need to direct traffic to it to generate sales.   One of the best ways to generate long-term traffic and valuable traffic is to start a blog and write content that is of interest to your target market.  …

One can build a successful business selling quilts, however, it does require some strategy. In this article, I’ll share some best business practices that can be applied to a handmade quilt business to increase the chances of it succeeding. It will require work outside of designing and creating quits, but that work with be worth…

    Many handmade businesses sell their products wholesale, but should a quilt business consider selling wholesale?   This article will explain the difference between wholesale and retail pricing, why you need both if you’re selling your quilts through retailers, and why you may not want to sell handmade quilts wholesale.     WHAT IS…

    Quilts are expensive because of the labor required to make them. Quilts require pieces of fabric to be evenly cut and sewn together to get the basic shape of a blanket. Then that piece must be sewn together with batting, backing, and binding to create a finished blanket. Some quilts even have topstitching,…

  If you’re planning to sell the quilts you make (successfully), you must price them properly. Everyone has their way of pricing quilts and if you’re following a formula that works for you, keep using it. This quilting price formula is customizable to your business so you can change the profit and markup numbers based…

  Thanks for clicking!   By opening my email and clicking the link (or seeing my pin on Pinterest and clicking the link), you’ve done more than most people are willing to do for their business.   You’re willing to invest the time to determine how you can improve it.   For that, I’m offering…

  If you’ve created holiday-themed products, you have limited time to sell them. Which means you must work hard to market them. As you probably know, they aren’t just going to sell themselves.   (If you haven’t created products for the holidays, here are 3 quick and easy steps to boost holiday sales with minimal…

  Obviously, 2020 has been a year unlike the rest. So, as business owners, we should be preparing for the 2020 Holidays a little different this year.   Call it a new trend, a shift in consumerism, or a new way of life, these are ways typical holiday traditions may be changing this holiday season…

  There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to branding and what a brand is.   What you probably do know is: your brand is NOT your logo.   Which is true.   Your logo is part of how you communicate your brand, but branding a business is not like branding a cow; you…

  To have a successful business, there are basic best practices that every business must have in place, as well as, basic mistakes that should be avoided.   These are the most common mistakes I see handmade business owners make and why they can harm sales…     HANDMADE BUSINESS MISTAKE #1 – BEING TOO…

  Have you felt it? A slow economy? A dip in traffic? Fewer sales coming through your website? If you have, you’re not alone. When the economy takes a nosedive, people alter their spending habits and businesses feel it.   But that doesn’t mean your handmade business is doomed. As with anything in life, you…

  Imagine choosing a gift for someone you love.   It’s fairly easy to find something they’ll appreciate because you know intimate details about them.   You know their likes and dislikes, what brings them joy and what stresses them out, items they’ve been wishing for and products they complain about.   On the other…

  Getting customers to your Etsy shop, website, or craft show table takes a lot of work.   So it’s important that you make the most of every shopper.   It’s not about taking advantage of shoppers and tricking them into spending more money.   It’s about presenting options so they can make an educated…

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure here.    Although craft show table covers shouldn’t be the star of a standout display, they shouldn’t be an afterthought.   When I started selling at craft shows, my…

  Most advice on finding customers is focused on defining an ideal customer; the type of person who is most likely to buy your products.   The way place a business can get off track is by creating products based on what the business owner wants to make, instead of what a target market wants…

Your customers are already planning for Christmas   I always advocate planning ahead as a small business owner (which is why I created THE SUCCESS PLANNER…set your goal now and start making a plan for how to get there this year).   But there’s a new trend this year that will have your business planning…

This article is the third and final article in a series covering how to write powerful product descriptions that sell and includes templates you can use to fill in the blanks with your product details.   If you’d like the free worksheets that go with these articles, please sign up for my newsletter below: If…

  When you set out to create a new product, where do you start?   >> How do you decide upon design? >> How do you choose colors, or scents, or materials? >> What makes you certain your product lineup needs this new product?   The world is, as it always has been, changing. And…