Start Your Creative Business Ahead of the Curve

When I started making jewelry in high school I never set out to build a business. I just did it for fun as a creative outlet. It was to my surprise when someone asked me if she could buy the necklace I was wearing…one that I had made. WHAT?! It sparked something in me.

It would be years of making for fun and practicing my craft, before the idea of selling it for a living even crossed my mind. The day I decided that I was going to go ‘ALL IN’ with this crazy idea, I had a few hundred dollars to my name and zero idea of how to actually run a legit business. I didn’t even think of myself as a business; and that, my friend, is lesson number one-

It’s time to see yourself and your work as a business. For REAL. No matter what you are making and selling, if you want to be successful and make money, shift that mindset from hobby to business, stat.

Maybe you’ve had a hobby for years or you are thinking of a brand-new medium to make and sell. No matter what your creative business is, be DANG SURE you are passionate about it. Make sure you are prepared to make it day in and day out; make sure that it excites YOU, brings YOU joy, and the idea of sharing and selling it excites you too!

Next, Define what SUCCESS looks like for you. Write it down. Say it over and over. It is your new Mantra. Whether it is making enough money to buy more supplies to create more, or to quit your day job fully; what does a successful creative business look like to YOU?

Now here are a few major questions I want you to ask yourself before you jump all in on this creative business. The answers to these questions will drive your ENTIRE business and you will come back to them over and over again. Queue notebook, pens, pencils, highlighters…

Question 1 - Why?

Seems obvious. The superficial answer would be to make money, take care of my family, put food on the table, pay bills, etc… But I want you to dig deeper.

For example: I want to translate stories and moments that can be captured in adornments that may be then passed down generations. I make jewelry because it is symbolic, it holds sentimental value to the wearer and the giver. It gives me a creative outlet that couples me with my intuitive self, allows me to meet new people, and to connect with earth and natural elements. I want to bring joy and beauty to the people who purchase my work. I want to help empower with something meaningful and created from love.

Your WHY can be larger, smaller, less fluffy, and it may even change as your business evolves. But knowing your WHY is something you can always come back to when you need help making a big decision with your business. Does it align with my WHY.

Question 2 - Who?

So you have this creative idea, WHO is buying this product? I’m not going to tell you to come up with your “Dream Client Avatar” - because, frankly, I think it is a waste of time. I am all about SAVING you time. But I am going to tell you to start with a rough idea of who your WHO is, or who you want your WHO to be.

Start simple. What is their gender? Their age range? Are they married? Do they have children? What are their hobbies? Where do they live? What might their shopping habits be? Do they have disposable income? Do they shop local? Do they support small and hand made? What other values do they hold? What might be important to them when purchasing handmade goods?

Here’s an example: They are in their mid 20’s through late 40s, they would rather purchase jewelry over clothing, they invest in pieces they love. They are educated on metals and stones, they love giving jewelry as gifts and see the value in handmade and supporting artists. They are fashionable but had a classic and traditional sense of style.

This is a simple place to start, and as your business grows look at the data; narrow in on exactly who your WHO is. This will also be extremely helpful to you in the future as you expand your product lines, test new ideas, or zoom in on that target WHO with something that serves them spot on.

Question 3 - How?

So now you know WHY you are making and selling and WHO you are selling to (or at least have a rough idea.) Now you can get into the HOW. How will your customers purchase from you? Knowing how you will be selling will set you up for success right away and you can build the HOW into your products (I’ll dive deeper into that in another post, promise!). Like a majority of creative businesses these days, they are online. Either a custom website, an Etsy store, an Instagram shopable app, a Facebook store… the list goes on. Online is a great place to start, but in order to be successful - I suggest multiple streams of income.

Don’t rely solely on online sales, at least not right away. You have to do some legwork. Here are other ideas for selling your work.

Brick and Mortar - consign or wholesale your products to stores
Art and Craft Fairs
In Home Parties
Teaching a Class in your medium
Art Galleries and Openings
Collaborations with other Makers

I’ll be going into detail about each of these options on a future post- so for now, I want you to choose a few different steams of income that you think would work for you and your products. Three seemed to be the magic number for me when I started out.

For years I did online sales on Etsy, art fairs nearly every weekend and wholesaled to shops across the country.

Once you establish your business, it maybe next to impossible to keep up with different streams of income (and in which case, HELL YA, YOU DID IT!!!) - you must constantly assess what is making sense for you and your business. You want to avoid causing any extra stress than running a business already creates!

Grab your work sheet below. Spend some quality time with these questions. Be honest with yourself, dig deep!

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