Indie business advice from a customer

1) Don’t be paranoid about idea stealers
I think about this often. There you are coming up with a great idea, putting time, labor, and money into a project and as soon as you present it in the cyber world someone on craftster or live journal is stealing it. Ouch! Is copying the highest form of flattery? Not for most when it comes to their livelihood. Most ideas are stolen from seasoned indie businesses. The copies fall short in quality, originality and usually do not sell. They eventually fade away. My point is this, don’t push potential customers/friends away and only share your work inside of a small core circle for fear of having your ideas stolen. It can become alienating when you let fear keep people away from your talent. There is a very talented you lady by the name of Yana Gorbulsky, she is the creator of supayana clothing and she does very well not only on eBay, but on her website and many boutiques. She is very inspiring and even inspired me to start making clothing. Yana appreciates her customers, shares information about her business and at one point let other ebayers use her company name in their keyword searches, saying that this was very flattering. She runs her business openly and unpretentiously. She is rewarded with high sales, repeat customers, and a very popular business. Go Yana! (www.supayana.com)

2) Respond to everyone!
I cannot tell you how frustrated I become when I email an indie business owner with compliments or questions and never get a response back. People are the reason why you even have a business, don’t neglect them. I have backed away from several indie businesses because of this. I do know how time consuming this can be and the volumes of emails that get sent to you at times, but even a simple thank you can go along way with a potential customer.

3) Myspace is your friend!
Oh myspace, how we love you for letting us befriend thousands of people. This will get the word out about your business. Sometimes you have to be shameless in your tactics to get noticed. There are people out there that are looking for you and this is one way of getting more attention to your product. Bulletins are helpful to let your fans know when you are having a sale or are putting a new product in your shop.

4) Blog, blog, blog
Many people are already doing this. And let’s face it: blogs can bring in extra money and popularity to your site. The more hits you get the more people want to pay you to sponsor your site for a small or large fee and the more well-known your art becomes. It’s smart and don’t be ashamed of doing it.

5) Find out what makes your work unique
I cannot tell you how many live journal groups I belong to with countless people selling plastic beaded jewelry and poorly crafted tote bags. We’ve all seen it, and we’ve all been there. Or maybe just me! (you should see what I was making when I first got my sewing machine or when I was hand sewing.) You have to start somewhere and these ladies are getting their feet wet. But, if you want to be taken seriously; learn your craft and learn it well then find out what makes you stand out from the crowd and use it to your advantage, don’t be afraid of an idea because you haven’t seen anyone else doing it. It’s a good thing!

6) Get outside of the community
The indie/crafty/diy community is great! But, you have to keep in mind that while these are the people that will often buy from you and help you out they are also the people that are doing what you do. They also have an appreciation for handmade items over mass produced ones. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of people outside of this community itching for your unique products and probably would buy from you if they knew about you. This makes me think of Etsy. There are artists that do really well with Etsy mainly because they are known outside of Etsy and other small online crafting communities. I feel that most people who use and know about Etsy are people looking to sell there, not primarily to buy. Ask some of your friends who don’t craft if they have ever heard of Etsy. Look at it this way (I’m bad at analogies) if there is a milk market and the only people that know about and use the milk market are milk farmers, what kind of sales should the farmers expect? Keep this in mind when you are plugging away on livejournal groups and Etsy. Don’t get me wrong, they can be very helpful tools, but thinking outside of the community (box) will help you out in the long run. www.etsy.com

7) Wear your product
If it can be worn, wear it. This is the best way for other people to see your work. I cannot tell you how much this has worked for me and so many other crafters. (Recruiting friends can be good for this as well, and they are usually more than happy to wear your goods!) It gets people interested and curious. So, when they ask and you say impressively that you made it yourself, they surely will want your business card to know more. Oh yeah, are you carrying any business cards and promotional items?

8) You should be! Carry promotional items with you and give them out with orders
Many times when you are out it is good to be able to leave something about your business with someone who is interested. Give them out for free and with orders. Get creative with these they are a great business tool.

9) Packaging and displays
I love when my order comes in the mail and I love it even more when it has a personal touch! Sometimes even poop can look good if it’s packaged correctly! Well, maybe not, but the truth is a little tissue paper, a note card, and any other creative packaging can make ordering from you again that much more appealing. Do some research by taking a look around the web, order from other designers, and find out what other people are doing to make their products look that much better. It’s important to be creative and unique when designing your website, packaging and displays.

10) Stay inspired and don’t give up
If you’re serious about making and selling your products don’t give up. The first few months and year will be your hardest to stay motivated and inspired to keep going. I’ve seen a lot of potential in many indie businesses that gave up because they weren’t selling like they had hoped. This isn’t going to happen over night and customers will develop trust in your business if it has staying power. Staying inspired can be especially hard. If you’re like me, there will be many days when you just cannot come up with an original idea and feel that creating anything spectacular will never happen again. I once heard someone say “you cannot fail, if you never give up.” If you keep trying at something and it isn’t working, instead of giving up, try another approach.

11) Craft fairs, magazines, consignment, and link trading
What are you waiting for? Get yourself out there!