Small Business Tip: Making friends

"Sailing" woven friendship bracelet by JDStar

In a world of competition and rivalries, it's good to have people that support you. Connecting with other small business owners isn't just a good way to meet people, it's a great way to network your business and share customers.Tonight, I'm sharing a simple tip: make friends with your craft community.

Sure, the tip seems easy. Being involved in local craft or Etsy groups (like this one!) is a great way to meet people in your area with similar interests. Non-crafty friends don't always understand the excitement of getting into a good craft show or designing new business cards.. but crafty friends do! But, there are some things to note.

DO

• Connect with crafty friends on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. It's a great way to easily message and get to know people, but like any relationship.. don't be creepy.
• Cross-promote businesses! Offer your friend's fans or blog readers a discount on their purchase with discount codes or have them host a giveaway for one of your items. It could open up a whole new customer base.
• Support your fellow artists. Just because you aren't vending at a craft fair or being featured at a gallery doesn't mean you shouldn't attend or promote it through social media. Show them you're a fan-- that's what friends are for.
• Share resources as you feel comfortable. There's a difference between being friendly and giving away trade secrets.
• Build relationships with brick and mortar shops. Become a Facebook fan, follow them on Twitter, shop there, tell your friends about them. If you're consigning with a shop, show them some love! They're not the only one responsible for promoting your items. You need to get the word out.

DON'T

• Don't force it. You won't always connect with everyone. Just like with dating, you don't build a relationship on one similarity alone. Be yourself and you'll find like-minded crafters.
• Don't let them see you sweat. Rivalries are out there. Ever seen Storage Wars? Although they sure are fun to watch on TV, it's not a cute look in the handmade community. Believe in your business and don't dwell on the haters.. even if they try and send you nasty remarks to bring you down. 

Those are the main points to keep in mind when connecting with other crafters. Be social and find some fun people! Check out the Discussions in the OkEtsy group-- the perfect way to chat with the rest of the OkEtsy team!

Casey Maute is a contributor to the OkEtsy blog and lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She has worked under the name Lollywood from 2008-2010 and recently opened a new Etsy shop called OSO handmade. She loves craft shows, eating from food trucks, finding cool local shops, and working with PR and social media.

OKEtsy Featured Seller: TessaYvonne

Hi Tessa. Please introduce yourself. 
My name is Tessa Hamilton and I live in McAlester.  I enjoy many different types of crafts but above all else, I enjoy making jewelry.

Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes right from the items I use in my jewelry.  I start with a stone, bead, crystal, etc. and the ideas of how I want a piece to look just come to me from there.  I especially love making custom pieces because my customers help focus my creativity by giving me some ideas about what they like. However, I don't just get inspiration from the materials I use, I also get inspiration from things around me.  A change in seasons may direct my attention to different color choices or a fashion trend my challenge me to try different materials.

What is your favorite media to work with?
I would have to say that sterling silver has been my favorite media to work with so far.  Sterling silver isn't as expensive as gold and I presonally wear more silver than gold.  I love cutting, bending, and soldering sterling silver.  The feeling of working with the tools and manipulating something in my hands to make something new and beautiful is truely gratifying.

 Where would you like to see yourself 5/10 years from now in this project?
In five years I would like to offer a larger selection of jewelry and as I currently only sell my pieces within the United States I would also like to be selling internationally.  In ten years I would like to expand my shop offerings to a full line of woman's accessories such as scarves, bags, and hair accessories.

What is one of your keys to success?
The key to success for me this far has been to keep finding new ways to get noticed.  I talk about TessaYvonne on my personal Facebook page, I also have a Facebook page for TessaYvonne, I place business cards in several places in town, I talk about TessaYvonne to anyone who is willing to listen, I get involved in Teams like the OKEtsy Team, I create treasures, and I wear my jewelry.  One because I like what I make, but it's also easy to talk to a stranger about TessaYvonne after they compliment something I have on that day.

What is one crazy thing about you?
My stepdaughter said the one crazy thing about me would be my two stepchildren.  My husband might agree.  I love them all and while they drive me crazy from time to time, I would have to say that one crazy thing about me is I shop in color.  It's something I do without noticing.  Depending on how I feel whether I'm shopping for jewelry materials or for clothing, I will buy items in a monochromatic fashion.  One shopping trip I will buy oranges and another trip I may bring home greens.

What is something you would love to learn how to do?
I would love to learn how to speak Italian.  I think the language is beautiful and I would love to go to Italy in my lifetime and be able to easily communicate with the locals as I sample their cheeses and take in the views.  Delizioso!

What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is yellow.  Though I like all colors, yellow makes me think of lemon scents and bright sunny days.  It's a cheery, clean color to me.

What do you love about Oklahoma? 
I love the people of Oklahoma.  They are warm and inviting, hardworking and giving, and they would do anything to help family, friends, and neighbors.  I think Oklahoma, especially where I live, is an excellent place to raise children.  I live in a rather small area which facilitates a close community and the morals and values I was raised with are all around.

Be sure to check out Tessa's fun jewelry over at www.tessayvonne.etsy.com

And visit her on facebook at www.facebook.com/shoptessayvonne

My Best Craft Show Advice

Casey Maute is a contributor to the OkEtsy blog and lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She has worked under the name Lollywood from 2008-2010 and recently opened a new Etsy shop called OSO handmade. She loves craft shows, eating from food trucks, finding cool local shops, and working with PR and social media.

The fall craft fair season is in full swing and most crafters are either living on caffeine as they prepare for the weekend's show, or cursing themselves for missing the deadline for yet another event.

I've been doing shows for 3 years now, and I've learned a lot through trial and error and the help of other crafters. I wanted to share one tip about shows that can save you a lot of money, time and effort.. I even made a little rhyme!

 Vend the shows you'd want to attend

 The 2011 Indie Emporium show in Tulsa,
taken by Briana Hefley Shepard of Bifftastica 

Vending at craft shows is a great way to promote your handmade business and gain customers, but you need to do some research before you send in your booth fee and spend countless nights preparing. My best advice would be to attend a show as a customer before attending as an artist. You may think you are missing out on a perfect opportunity by not applying, but like each artist-- each show is different. You'll want to take in everything and look at the show from all perspectives.. including:

• Is there an admission cost to shop at the show? If so, what incentives do they get for their ticket price?
• Who are the customers? Who is the show's target market? Do your items fit in with that market?
• Is the show 100% handmade, or do they allow resellers? 
• Is there a variety of artists? Over-saturation can cause shoppers to overlook your items, thinking, "I just saw that, I just bought that, I don't need to look at more of those."
• What is the crowd like? Ask vendors about foot-traffic and if they would do the show again. 
• Are there other activities at the show? Free music, food vendors, or children's activities can bring larger crowds, but just make sure that the main focus is buying awesome art, otherwise crowds may show up with little to no money for shopping.
• Who is putting on the show? Are they known in the craft community, is the show established, or will they disappear into the night with your booth fee and then cancel the show? Being a little bit cautious never hurt anyone.
• Do I have enough inventory to do a show yet? If you are just starting out and worry that you don't have enough product to even make your booth fee back, you may want to find a show that will let you share a booth with a friend. You can split the fee and will have someone there to talk to and won't have to worry about getting a stranger to watch your booth while you get food or use the restroom. Always check before applying that the show accepts booth sharing, since each one will have different guidelines.
• Finally, read the application and guidelines! Check for times you can set up, when your fees are due, is the show for crafters in a specific state, do you need a tax permit.. Most of your own questions will be answered in the guidelines!

 The 2011 Indie Emporium show in Tulsa, taken by Briana Hefley Shepard of Bifftastica

Researching for a show can seem like a lot of work, but if you can answer all those questions with positive responses... and the show has the environment you like and your customers would like.. then start prepping your application and get it submitted before the deadline! I've had great experiences with Oklahoma craft fairs, and am looking forward to vending at two this season! (The Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar in Oklahoma City on December 10, 2011, and The Alliday Show in Tulsa on December 17, 2011)

Lesson 2: Be Yourself

There are a bunch of local bars in the neighborhood where I live. Most of them have a retro or upscale feel to them. The buildings are well maintained and have interesting architecture and design. But this one bar really just looks like a hole in the wall. You know, the kind of bar you would expect to see in a student ghetto? No windows, no decoration, no class. Simply put, it looks out of place. I found myself wondering the other day why this bar doesn’t do something to make itself look more appealing to the eye. Why not renovate so you fit in with the rest of the neighborhood? I started thinking about how their business would bring in wealthier customers, and therefore bring in more money. But then it dawned on me that my assumption may not be correct.

You see, this people who run this bar know who they are as a business. They know that their bar appeals to a certain group of people, and they are not ashamed of that. They fit into an aspect of society. And perhaps if they renovated their bar to appeal to a different group of people, they business would no longer succeed. They may fit into the neighborhood better if they renovated, but they would be competing with local bars for the same group of people.

As small businesses (and humans in general), it is too easy to try to fit in to a mold instead of standing out as ourselves. While it is smart business to follow certain consumer trends and fashions, we do not want to change who we are in order to appeal to another group of people. We will just end up competing with other businesses for the same group of people, while leaving our original clientele without a business to serve them. And most importantly we lose sight of ourselves and our originality in the process. We are creators, not copiers. We cannot be afraid to be who we are, because really that is when we will be at our best. At the end of the day, I will succeed by just being me.

Welcome to Etsy

Dara's note: We often have newbies post in our forums with general questions of how to help their shops succeed. Because this has been a reoccurring theme, I decided that we would start a weekly post to help answer some general questions. Please know that I certainly am not an expert and that I am learning right alongside of you. 

Lesson 1: Don't Get Discouraged

We all know how it is. You finally get the courage to set up a shop and list your babies, your creations, for the world to see. You dream of being an overnight success, and yet at the same time you are afraid of being an overnight failure. You check your email constantly for any sales. One day passes, then another, then another. Still no sales. Maybe a week passes, or two or three. Perhaps a month or more. Doubt starts to set in and you begin to wonder if you ever should have done this. You start to doubt your abilities and talent. 

The good news is you are not alone! Most of us are not overnight successes on Etsy. Most of us do not bring in enough sales in our first few months (or years) to quit our days jobs or take lavish vacations. It takes time, lots of time, and effort to succeed on Etsy. Often times newbies will post in forums their discouragement and wonder what they are doing wrong. While we all have things that we can improve on (are we ever really satisfied with our photos?), not being an overnight success does not necessarily mean that you are doing everything wrong. Take time to learn what to do right by reading articles and blogs, but mostly give yourself time to learn and succeed. Don't let a lack of sales drive you away from Etsy. Make a decision that you are not going to quit or give in, and come learn with the rest of us! We are so glad that you are here :-)

Inspirational

I think what a lot of us on Etsy try to do is to take something we like and (hopefully) bring the joy of that creation/product into the lives of other people. But, how do you take something that makes your life more difficult, more of a challenge, and turn that into a booming business?

Brand Channel has a great career profile going on of Rachel Coleman from Signing Time. She is an inspiring woman who took her daughter's deafness and made it into a positive to help parents all over the world, and to help her daughter have more people to communicate with.

Here are just a few of the questions from the Brand Channel article, and please click here if you would like to read the rest.

-Amanda-

_________________________________

Tell me a little bit about Signing Time. My sister Emilie Brown and I created Signing Time ten years ago. We didn’t realize my daughter, Leah was deaf until she was one-year-old because back then they weren’t doing the hearing test at birth. At 14 months we started signing with her and by 18 months she had over 50 signs. Of course we were signing because she was deaf, but we soon realized there are benefits to any child even if they’re not deaf. With sign language, kids can give clear, concise, brilliant information before they have the ability to speak. My sister taught her son Alex signs so he could communicate with his deaf cousin Leah. Both kids were using finger spelling and they were reading words before they were two, but I was frustrated with how few people could communicate effectively with Leah. I hated to see her isolated because people didn’t know sign language. So when my sister called me and asked me if we could make a video that teaches children music, I told her I’d rather make a video that teaches kids sign language. We started out with one little video, a VHS tape that took us a year to make. We did it on credit cards and favors from friends and family. We didn’t have investors and we were busy moms. How does social media play a role in marketing and publicizing your brand? It takes out the middleman, and that‘s good and bad. It’s cool to be that in touch with the people who love what you do. People seem genuinely surprised that I actually respond. I don’t know what that’s a symptom of. I have a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. When I’m traveling, I let people know where I am performing and where to buy tickets. My Twitter account also has personal stuff too, like when my youngest, Lucy was in her spelling bee and people were cheering her on, virtually of course. My accounts are really me, it’s real interaction. Once someone suggested I hire someone to manage those accounts, pretending they are me. I would never do that. I think the reason is that when I was seventeen I wrote to my favorite band. They wrote back and invited me to shows and they even ended up having my band as their opening act when they came through town. I was so moved by that and thought that if I’m ever in a position like that, I’m going to be generous. I think it’s silly when celebrities act resentful of the people who house and clothe them. Social media keeps everything fresh. It helps me keep a finger on the pulse of what our consumers, fans and friends really want. How did you grow your brand from a small family venture to a large-scale enterprise that services people across the nation and around the world? Emilie has always had a marketing mind. We bought the website SigningTime.com and put our videos on it. We quickly saw how word of mouth really made a difference in selling our product. Our brand grew because speech therapists told their clients to buy our videos, pediatricians wrote down our website on prescription pads for patients to browse, and friends told friends. We have enjoyed some great publicity because our company story is the personal story of our family. We’ve hardly invested in advertising in all ten years. It’s been a real grassroots effort. And I know that we still have a lot of room to grow. We’re on public television and we also have music videos airing on Nick Jr. We now have 26 DVDs in the Signing Time series, and 4 Baby Signing Time DVDs. About a year and a half ago, we launched The Signing Time Academy, so that people who are passionate about Signing Time, and about sign language, can become certified to offer Signing Time and Baby Signing Time classes in their communities. We now have over 700 instructors in the U.S., Canada, China, Brazil, and Australia. We have them all around the globe. We started Signing Time 10 years ago, and I love that there are still avenues for us to reach people we would never have otherwise reached. I think in the next five years sign language will get the recognition it deserves as an essential part of parenting. Ten years ago, when someone would see someone else signing with a child, they would ask if that child was deaf. Now, when people see someone signing, they often ask, do you have Signing Time? I think that‘s great. How does Signing Time make its unique mark in the business world? I think it’s coming. We’re in the process of creating some amazing things. We’re looking at ways of educating children that haven’t been done before. Signing Time was a great idea, but it may not be the best idea we’ve had yet. Emilie and I come up with new ideas for new products all the time and we have a couple of things brewing that we think will be revolutionary. Signing Time gave us credibility through exposure on public TV as well as cable, and the Emmy nomination, people see that we know what we’re doing. Our audience will always be children and their families and teachers, and we are really good at creating music with heart that’s catchy or inspiring. We have some ideas that aren’t focused on sign language. Most of our little fans are zero to four and we’re looking at what’s next for them. We have a number of really cool things on the horizon. So far, we have a track record of surprising others, and ourselves. We intend to keep that up.